New Britain herald., 1915-02-18


 aims second and complete reply to the American note of protest, which on December 2S, asked for an early improvement in the treatment of American commerce by the British fleet, was made public last night by mutual agreement between the state department and the British foreign office
 The note, addressed to Ambassado Page by Sir Edward Grey, under date of February 10, denies that the de- pressiOn in American industries is due to the activity of the British fleet and suggests among other causes the shortage of shipping facilities, the consequent dminution of cotton trade, and the destruction of many neutral vessels by submarine mines laid by the enemy indiscriminately."
 After giving a long and detailed answer to the charge that American ships and cargoes were being undulE detained, the communication contains in it's concluding paragraph the am nouncement that Great Britain in tends to take retaliatory measures against the German submarine cam paign against enemy ships, but does not reveal tne1f naCuIc.
 No Clear Division.
 Conceding that foodstuffs intended for the civil population of a coun try are not contraband, the British government points out that "in any country in which there exists such tremendous organization for war as now obtains in Germany, there is no clear division between those whom the government is responsible for feed ing and those whom it is not"
 Tt will still be our endeavor,' says the final paragraph to avoid injury and loss to neutral, but the answer by the German government of their intention to sink merchant vessels and their cargoes without verification of their nationality or character and without making any provision for the safety of non-combatant crews or giv- ing them chance of saving their lives has made it necessary for his majesty's government to consider what measures they should adopt to pro- tect their interests. It is impos- sible for one belligerent to depart from rules and precedents and for the other to remain bound by them"
 Legal Principles Discussed.
 Supplementing the preliminary re- ply of several weeks ago, the new note is about 10000 words long and includes not only statistical argument, but a further discussion of the legal principles involved Foremost, how ever, is the denial of the British gov ernment that the depression in Amer ican industries referred to in the American note, was due to the al- legged interference of the British fleet with American commerce, or ''the re- suit of any eXerciAe of belligerent rights"
 Since the presentation of the pre- liminary note, Sir Edward states that he has had further opportunity of examining into the trade statistics of the United States as embodied in the customs returns in order to see whether the belligerent action of Great Britain has been in any. way the cause of trade depression which your excellency Ambassador -Page) describes as existing in the United States, and also whether the seizures of vessels or cargoes which have been made by the British navy have in f1icted any loss on American owners for which our existing machinery pro- vides no means of redress
 ''In setting out the results of my in vestigation," writes the British secre tary, "I think it we'll to take the op- portunity of giving a general review of the methods employed by his najesty's government to intercept contraband trade with the enemy, of their consistency with the admitted right of a belligerent to intercept such trade, and also of the extent to which they have endeavored to meet the representations and complaints from time to time addressed to them