The Washington times., 1916-02-03
BRITISH CIVILIANS
FREED FROM APPAM
BelIigerents Must Remain on
Liner Until Their Status Is
Established.
CONTINUED from First PaEeO

Africa, and carried American pass
ports No international complications
segarding HIS detention as a prisoner
Of the Germ ans are expected He had
NO COMPLAINT 70 make regarding his
treatment.
Off Newport News.
The Appam arrived OF Newport News
at IN o'clock this morning. anchoring
near two German merchantmen.
The liner was Immediately surrounded
nv ship chambers and launches. Capt
J. II. Williams. immigration officer,
went aboard. A few minutes later Col
lector Hamilton arrived from Norfolk.
going. straight to his office in the Gus
tom house.
"Thc Appam has come here to dis
charge her passengers" said Mr.. Ham
ilton. How am ! treating her? Well"
he smiled. n am treating her as a Brit
ish merchant ship that has arrived here
hVinC the German naval ensign. under
command of man who asserts he is
He added that the State Department
had not officially ruled on the liners
status. He said Captain Williams, OF
the immigration Service, was to be in
charge of the landing of passengers, and
that, with the exception of the German
prize crew and the twelve Britishers
against whose landing the Germans
have protested, everyone is free now to
60 ashore.
Until all the questions regarding the
status Of the liner had been decided by
Washington. the Appam will remain in
American custody.
liner was to come alongside at o'clock
this afternoon to take the crews of tho
Sunken British steamers to Norfolk.
Thence they will sail for New York,
and be returned to England.
Sealed In Bond.
The collector said that. with the ex-
ception of the British colonial officials,
whose luggage is particularly heavy, all
passengers luggage would have to go
through customs.
The luggage may be sealed here in
bond. sent to New York, and put
aboard the steamer on which they sail
to Europe.
Capt. Guy Gaunt. British naval at
tache, lis looking out for the landing OF
the British passengers; ]. s. Andrews,
acting appraiser of the port, will be in
charge of all luggage inspections.
The shifting OF the vessel today Is the
latest in a series of rapid developments
in the case which began late yesterday
afternoon.
This followed official action by tho
state Department. and a series OF con-
fcrences between Collector of the Port
Norman X. Hamilton, Prince Hat5feldt,
and Lieut.. Hans Berge, commander OF
the AppaIn. on the one hand, and the
collector, Capt. Guy Gaunt. British
naval attache, and Skipper II. G. Har-
rison, the vanquished English captain
OF the captured liner on the other.
Those Released Yesterday.
It resulted in the unconditional re-
lease last night of several of those held
aboard the Appam. including:
Sir Edward Mereweather, X. e. NJ. G.,
f. C. V. O., British governor general
OF Sierra Leone. and Lady Mereweather;
Frederick Seaton James. c. M. g.. Sec
retary administration of Nigeria; Col
ony Chief Fuller. of Ashanti, Gold
Coast, and Mrs. Fuller; Evan Jones,
master steamer Trader; Ralph n
feates, master steamer Author; David
Bartol, master steamer Corbridge; Rob
ert Rend, master steamer Ariadne; John
Brockett. master steamer DhOmonby,
and John Z. Jones, master steamer Far
ringford.
The release OF the crews of the YES
SETS, all of which suffered capture ny
together with the landing of the rem
Dants of the crew OF the iDHfated Clan
McTavIsh. the Australian meat ship,
which was sent to the bottom off the
canary Islands the day the ocean-wide
flight OF the Appam began.
After the British officials and ships
captains had returned to the Appam
last night from the conference at the
any first-class passengers who so de-
sired might go ashore at once.
Will Sail Saturday.
A launch had been kept waiting by
the Elder Dempster Company, repre-
senting the Apam's owner. and she i'm
mediately went alongside the prize.
Several passengers Immediately went
aboard and were taken to Norfolk.
e., NA1 fnV ynw
York. to sail for England on a ship of
the same line as the Apam, which is
scheduled to clear on Saturday.
Most of the passengers are still
aboard however. Mr.. James and a few
others put up at the Chamberlain last
night The shippers Of the sunken ves-
sells, however, returned to the Appam
to spend the night.
The landing of most OF the prisoners
from the Appam, while partially dis
pelling the mystery which the young
German prize officer wrapped about his
craft upon her unheralded arrival here
on Tuesday morning, and. which he
severely maintained until last night, has
not, however In the opinion OF officials
here. cleared the international obscurtty
of the case in the least.
1t Is pointed out that the instructions
sent to port officials by the State De-
parment late yeserday indicated that,
so far as the United States Government
might land, with the exception OF her
prize crew.
These the United States was prone to
reEsrd as units of an armed belliEerent
force.
When Prinz Won Hatzfeldt. the coun-
selor from the German embassy. learned
of this. 1t is said that he Immediately
protested against the landing OF four
British army officers who chanced to
be among the captives including Lieu
tenant Fox, secretary to Sir Edward
Mereweather, and to the landing Of
the original crew of the Appam.
The crew. he contends. in resisting
capture" had constituted itself in the
eyes OF International law an armed
belliGerent force.
Together with these points, there still
remains to be settled the question raised
by Prinz Won HatZfeldt that Germany,
in the matter of the Appam, will stand
upon the provisions of Article 10 OF the
treaty OF 1855 as revised in 1912; not to
mention the final disposition of the
Appam herself, for the surrender OF
which, a demand has already been made
by the British representatives.
And practically every one of these
questions will have to be met and
answered by the State Department be-
fore the sojourn of the Appam here can
be regarded as a closed incident.
Compromise Reached.