Norwich bulletin., 1915-02-20

III international law or the ton taken by order of His Majestyss government they will have every -oT- portunity of establishing their case in due course before the prize court, and His Majesty's government would in this connection recall the attention of the United States government to the considerations put forward in Sir. Edward Grey's note to Br Page. of the 10th inst, as to the propriety of awaiting the result of prize court pro- ceedings before diplomatic action is initiated. It will be remembered that they have from the outset given def- nlte assurance that the owners of the Wilhelmina as well as the owners of her cargo, if found to be contrabenl, would be equitably indemnified
 Foodstuffs Not Absolute Contraband.
 There is one further observation fo Which His MajeSty's government thinks right and appropriate in the present connection to give expression They have not so far declared food stuffs to be absolute contraband: they have not Interefered with any neutral vessels on account of their carving 1oodstuffs, except on basis of such foodstuffS being liable to capture if destined for enemy forces or govern ments. In so acting they have been guided by the general principle of late universally upheld by civilized na- i tions and observed in practice, that 1 the civil populations of countries at war are not to be exposed to treatment rightly reserved for combatants. This distinction has to all intents and prr- poses been swept away by the novel doctrines proclaimed and acted upon l by the German government.
 It is necessary here to dwell upon the treatment that has been metsd out to the civil population of Belgium
 and those parts of France which are
 In German occupation.
 ! Tn : When Germany, long before any ! mines had been laid by the BIftfsl, an. l thorities, proceeded to SOW mines llD- ! on the high seas. and by this means sunk considerable number not ouIv | British, but also neutral merchantmen | with their unoffending crews, it was
 so His Majesty's government holds 1 open to them to take retaliatoTXr
 measures, even if such measures were 1 of a kind to involve pressure on t31e
 clVlI population, not indeed of neutral ] states, but Of their enemies. They 1 refrained from doing so. When s,If1- l seqUently English towns and defence less British subjects, including women 1 and children, were deliberately and l systematically fired upon and killed 1 by ships flying the flag Of the im- perlal navy; when quiet country towns 1 and villages, void of defences and pos ] sessIEg no military or naval import 1 ance, were bombarJled by German air | ] sustained from drawing the logical con | sequences from this form of attack on l defenceless citizens.
 l British Merchantmen Torpedoed.
 Further steps in the same directfbn are now announced and in fact have al =
 reaoy- been taken by Germany. British | merchant vessels have been torpedoed l aat sight without any attempt bDefYe- l made to give warning to the crew n. any opportunity being given to save l uneir lives. 4 torpedo has been fired
 against a British hospital ship in day light and similar treatment is threat a ened to all British merchant vesseIsas,l the ufture, as well as to any ueptr-1I
 ships that may happen to be found in the neighborhood of the British Isles 1 raced with this situation His ! ha1esty's government considers ii would be altogether unreasonable that 1 Great Britain and her allies should bs expected to remain indefinitely bound 10 their grave detriment. by rules and principles of which they recognize the justice if fmpartalIy observed as be- tween belligerents but which are er the present moment openly set at de-
 hance by their enemy.
 Future Actions Should Not Be cbzI-
 lenged.
 ! NIf, therefore, His Majesty's zovel-n : ment should hereafter feel constrained | to declare foodstuffS absolute contra
 band, or take other ceasures for inter 1 fering with German trade by way of
 reprisals, they confidently expect that
 such action will be challenged on the 1 part Of neutral states by appeals to l laws and usages of war whose validity rests on their forming an integral part or that system of international doc
 Urine which, as a whole their enemy
 frankly boasts the liberty and intention
 to disregard so long as such neutral
 states cannot compel the German gov
 ernment to abandon methods of war
 fare which have not in recent history
 been regarded as having the sanction
 Of either law or humanity