Norwich bulletin., 1916-05-06


 vile. N. Y0.-Following is the text of the note of the German government in reply to the American note re- specting submarine warfare, delivered on Thursday by Gottlieb von Jagow, the foreign secretary, to Ambassador Gerard:
 Text of Note
 'sThe undersigned, on behalf of the imperial German government, has the honor to present to his excellency the ambassador of the United States, James W. Gerard. the following reply to the note of April 20 regarding the conduct of German submarine war fare:
 'aThe German government handed over to the proper naval authorities for early investigation the evidence concerning the Sussex as communicat- ed by the government of the United States Judging by the results that the investigation has hitherto yielded, the German government is alive to the possibility that the ship mentioned in the note of April 10 as having been torpedoed by a German submarine is actually identical with the Sussex.
 Asks Suspension of Judgment.
 'aThe German government begs to reserve further communication on the matter until certain points are ascer- Iained, which are of decisive impor- tance for establishing the facts of the case. Should 1t turn out that the com mander was wrong in assuming the vessel to be a man of war, the German government will not fail to draw the consequences resulting therefrom. Denial of Indiserininate Destruction. ''In connection with the case of the Sussex the government of the United States made a series of statements, the gist of which Is the assertion that the incident is to be considered but one instance of a deliberate method of in discriminate destruction of vessels of all sorts, nationalities and destinations by German submarine commanders.
 "rhe German government must em- phatically repudiate the assertion. The German government, however, thinks ,t of little avail to enter into details in the present stage of affairs, more par ticularly as the government of the United States omitted to substantiate the assertion by reference to concrete facts.
 Has Restrained Submarines
 ''The German government will only state that it has imposed far-reaching restraints upon the use of the subma- rine weapon, solely in consideration of neutrals' interests in spite of the fact that these restrictions are necessarily OI auYdnLdSc to .d0fLlduy No such consideration has ever been shown neutrals by Great Britain and her allies.
 Instructions to Commanders
 saThe German submarine forces have had, in fact, orders to conduct the submarine warfare in accordance with the general principles of visit and search and the destruction of merchant vessels recognized by international law, the sole exception being the con- duct of warfare against enemy trade carried on enemy freight ships encoun- tered in the war zone surrounding Great Britain. With regard to these no assurances have ever been given to the government of the United States No such assurances are contained ir the declaration of Feb. 8, 1916.
 Allowances Must be Made
 "The German government cannot admit any doubt that these orders were given or are executed in goot faith. Errors actually occurred. They can in no kind of warfare be avoided altogether. Allowances must be made in the conduct of naval warfare agains an enemy resorting to all kinds O Unavoidable Dangers for NsutrsIs rlises whether permissible orzillicit.
 But apart from the possibility O errors, naval warfare, just nkeswarfar' on land, implies unavoidable dangers for neutral persons and goods entering the fighting zone. Even in cases wherl the naval action is confined to ordinary forms of cruiser warfare, neutral per. cons and goods repeatedly come tt grief.
 Has Repeatedly Pointed Out Danger '-The German government has re, peatedly and explicitly pointed out thu danger from mines that have led to tht loss of numerous ships.
 Has Made Several Proposals
 'sThe German government has madt several proposals to the governmen' of the United States in order to reduc, to a minimum for American traveller and goods the inherent dangers O. naval warfare. Unfortunately, the gov, ernment of the United States decided not to accept the proposals. Had i accepted, the government of the United States would have been instrumenta in preventing the greater part of tn accidents that American citizens Rlav met with in the meantime.
 'Tahe German government still stand by it's offer to come to an agreemen along these lines.
 Has Decided to Make Further Con
 sessions
 "As the German government repeat tedly declared, it cannot dispense witt the use Of the submarine Weapnn il