Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-08-13

Correspondence of the Associated Press)
London, July 2S.-The most detail
ed description of the British system
of blockade which has been framed
was presented to the members of the
American Luncheon club by Sir Frank
Newnes, in an address delivered at the
last meeting of the club. Sir Frank
is the head of a great publishing firm
founded by his father. He is a men,
Der of the royal volunteer naval re-
serve, and is acting as assistant Sec
rotary of the committee on detention
of neutral ships presided over by
Lord Peel.
Sir Frank called attention to the
fact that the blockade was not estab-
lished until the order of council of
March II, 1915, was issued, and that
the total stoppage of Germany's enor-
nous trade, all done through neutrals
was a gigantic and difficult business.
He remarked:
ct has been the desire of the Brit
ish government in carrying out an eff
fective blockade of Germany to in
terfere as little as they possibly can
in the ordinary trade between neu-
trails, and in fact they have been
strongly criticised at home as having
considered the interests of the neu-
trails too much"
How System Works.
His explanation of the system fol-
lows:
Every ship east or west bound
passing up or down the English chan
mel or by the north of Scotland is
stopped by one of the British men-of-
war, boarded and examined. These
ships are armed merchantmen and
are on duty right across from the
north of Scotland to Norway, one
ship every twenty miles-they are
manned by the royal naval reserve
men from the mercantile marine who
are used to examining ships papers
and documents. A copy of the ships
and to give you some idea of the
labor involved some ships have be-
tween 300 and 600 different descrip
tons of goods on board all Of which
have to be sent out-and thus these
kilograms run to many thousands of
words. The telegraphed manifest
goes at once before the contraband
committee which sits every day and
all day, presided over by E. NJ. Pol
lock, kings counsel and member of
parliament for Warwick. The COM
mittee consider each item, and if they
have any reasonable suspicion that
any items are destined for the enemy
the ship will be detained and ordered
IN {Lo if1y,oc OF
suitable port. If she has nothing
suspicious the ship can proceed at
once and I may say that the contra
band committee works so expeditious-
ly that it's decision on the ship or
goods is nearly always given the same
day that the manifest is put before it.
when the manifest is telegraphed
to The contraband committee it is also
telegraphed to the war trade intelli-
gence department which has been
created for the purpose of supplying
information on which the contraband
committee can decide whether certain
goods should be allowed to &C for
ward or not.
Germany's Export Business Dead.
I'm addition to the contraband COM
mittee there is the enemy exports
committee presided over by Com
mander Leverton Harris. M. p, which
deals with goods exported from Ger
many. This is muchs simpler task
than dealing with imports into Ger
many, as America and others, for the
purpose of their customs, already re-
quire that the country of origin shall
be given, and the effect has been that
the export trade Of Germany was al
most Immediately killed, and there is
no doubt that this has been one of the
great causes in the fall of the mark,
as it compels Germany to pay in gold
and not in goods.
"Prize Court-When suspect goods
are unloaded from ship they are at
once put into prize and the owner of
the goods has to make a claim for
their restitution. and must bring an
action for, their recovery. Such ac-
tions are tried in the admiralty court