The Washington herald., 1915-01-11
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

government must bear some Of the re-
sponsibility for delays Of neutral ship
ping, because Of its action i'm prohibiting
the publication Of ships manifests until
thirty days after thy have left port.
the effect OF which has been. the note
declares. the examination and detention
of more ships than would have otherwise
! been necessary
. Finally, Sir Edward Grey declares that
/ His Majesty's government would be
/ pleased to enter into SOM sort of an ar
rangement with the United States by
which mistakes can b" avoided. repara-
tion assured in case of injury and deten-
| tiOns reduced.
Note Given in Entirety.
The complete note follows:
The British Secretary Of late for
Foreign Affairs to the American
Ambassador.
Foreign Office. Jan. Z, 1915.
Your EXcellency:
4 have the honor to acknowledge re-
Ceipt OF your note of the 18th of December.
'It is being carefully examined and the
points raised in it are receiving conSidera-
ton. as the result OF which a reply shall
be addressed to your eXcellenCy, dealinS
in detail with the issues raised and the
points to which the United States govern
mcnt have drawn attention. This con-
sideration and the preparation of the re-
ply will necessarily require some time.
and | therefore desire to send without
further delay some preliminary observa-
tiOnS which will, trust. help to clear the
ground and remove some misconceptions
that seem to exist.
Frnnkness Is Always Best.
Let ME say at once that We entirely
recognize the most friendly spirit re-
ferred to by your cXCrllenCy. and that
We desire to reply in the same spirit and
in the belief that. as your eXcellenCy
states. frankness will best serve the con-
tinuance of cordial relations between the
two countries.
His majesty's government cordially
concur in the principle enunCiated by the
government of the United States that a
belligerent in dealing with trade between
ncutrals, should not interfere unless such
interference is necessary to protect the
bclligerents national safety. and then
only to the extent to which this Is neCes-
sary. We shall cndcavOr to keep our
action within the limits of this principle
on the understanding that it admits our
right TO interfere when such interference
is, not with bona fide' trade between the
United States and another neutral coun-
try, but with trade in contra band destined
for the enemy's country. and we are
ready. whenever our action may unin-
tentionally exceed this principle TO make
redress.
Gives Export Figures.
we think that much misconception ex-
lists as to the extent to which we have,
in practice interfered with trade Your
eNcellenCy'S note seems 20 hold his
majesty's government responsible for the
present condition of trade with neutral
countries and ii is stated that through
the action of his majesty's government.
the products of the great industries OF
the United States have been denied long
established markets in European Coun-
tries, which. though neutral, arc con-
tiguous in the seat Of war. Such a result
is far from being the intention of his
majesty's government, and they would
exceedingly regret that it should be due
to their action. l have been unable to
obtain complete or conclusive figures
showing what the state OF trade with
these neutral countries has been recently,
and I can therefore only ask that some
further consideration should be given to
the question whether United States trade
with these neutral countries has been SO
seriously affected. The only figures as to
the total volume of trade that 1 have
seen are those for the exports from New
n
and they are as follows, compared with
the month of November 1913:
Exports from New York for November, 1913, and
November 1914 respectively:
Denmark ...........-.......'...-.. Sos0 'Ol ~
Sweden ...............-............ SIfOD 2,SoWO
Norway OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. E1OO 2SlsOO
Italy 2glOo 41Sl00
Holland ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. iSs9O0 390OO
1T is true that there may have been a
falling off in cotton exports, as to which
New York figures would ne no guide, but
his majesty's government have been most
careful not to interfere with cotton, and
its place on the free list has been scrupu-
Iously maintained.
Figures Not COncIusIve.
we do not wish to lay too much stress
upon incomplete statistics; the figures
above are not put forward as conclusive;
and we are prepared to examine any fur
ther evidence with regard to the state of
trade with these neutral countries which
may point to a different conclusion or
show that IL is the action Of his majesty 3
government in particular, and not, the |
existence of a state of war and conse-
quent diminution OF purchasing power
and shrinkage of trade, which Is respon-
sible for adverse effects upon trade with |
the neutral countries.
That the existence of state Of war
on such a scale has had a very adverse
effect upon certain great industries, such |
as cotton, is obvious; but IL is submitted |
that this Is due to the general cause Of |
countries as France. Germany, and the