The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-03-28
1ERESFORD WANTS
BRITISH NAVY TO
HANDLE BLOCKADE
Tells Lords More U-Boats
Are Being Launched Than
Are Captured.

H.,
blockade, during which government
spokesman characterized as ridiculous
a demand of Lord Charles Beresford
that the blockade be turned over alb
solutely to the navy, and insisted that
the rights of neutrals as sovereign
states must be respected, occupied the
attention of both Houses or Parlia-
ment yesterday.
Complaining that the Foreign Of
fficea had too much power over the
navy to the detriment Of the latter,
Lord Charles Beresford, in the House
of Lords, expressed the opinion that
captures of submarines by the British
were not at all equivalent to the num-
Der Of submarines the Germans were
launching.
He said that the loss of 225 nler-
chant vessels, amounting to more than
10000 tons, thus far in March had
resulted from war measures Of the
Central Powers, who he believed had
more men and more food than had
been imagined in England. With long
er days and calmer weather the losses,
he argued, would increase, and the
public ought to have the facts brought
home to it.
The losses of British, allied, and
neutral vessels for February, he put
at PSI, with an aggregate tonnage of
more than 100000.
Must Respect Rights Of Neutrals
Baron Hylton, replying for the gov
eminent to a question concerning sup
plies reaching Teutonic allied coun-
tries, admitted that large amounts Of
products had reached them from Ho1-
land and Denmark. Since the middle
Of 1916, however, there had been
great reductions in such exports. Bar
on Hylton said it must be remembered
that both Holland and Denmark were
sovereign states, which, as neutrals,
had their rights as well as the bellig-
erents, and that it was for the rights
of neutra1s that Great Britain went to
war. He asserted that the War Cab
met, after a careful consideration of
the blockade policy was satisfied that
it was proceeding along correct lines
and that the policy was being eff
GENTLY carried out.
Baron Emmott paid a tribute to
Lord Robert Cecil, the Blockade Min
lister, for his vigorous and vigilant
policy in, this matter while still re-
tanning friendly relations with neu-
trails. It was untrue and mischievous,
Baron Emmott added, to say that the
Danish government was pro-German.
eff we won this war by policy of
necessity knows no laws" Baron En-
mott concluded, "we should become
Prussianized in the process and the
German spirit would be victorious, al
though Germany suffered defeat
The Marquis eff Lansdowne said that
had the government brushed away the
entire procedure that had been fol-
lowed, instead of having kept neutrals
in good humor, he believed the coun-
try would have had some Of the neu-
trails at war with Great Britain.
Subsequently, in the House of Conn
mons, William A. S. Hewins and Car
lyon w. Bellairs, Unionists, raised the
question of the effectiveness of the
British blockade and the difficulties Of
enforcing it. Mr.. Bellairs said the
difficulties had been largely removed
when the United States, A.tthe most
powerful and most critical neutral
came in on the side Of the Entente
Allies.
Lord Robert eecI1, Minister of
Blockade, assured the members of the
House that the closest cooperation
existed between the Admiralty and his
department, Admiral Sir Dudley de
Chair, formerly in command of the
blockading squadron in the North Sea,
having been appointed to advise him
as to the views Of the Admiralty and
the Admiralty as to the views of the
Foreign Office.
Lord Robert, in reviewing all the
steps that had been adopted in con-
nection with the blockade, emphasized
with ya11Je the rafiopin0 Inv ,, 4o,rroo
ment with some body in neutral
country as more smooth and effective
than compulsory rationing. He said
the system of letters Of assurance
which had been arranged with the
United States had been enormously
important in smoothing over difficult
tiles with that country, enabling the
government to know exactly what was
going on concerning exports from the
United States to neutrafs and permit
ting the United States without unfair
ness or injustice to regulate supplies
to these neutrals. In his Judgment the
measures adopted had succeeded COM
pletely in stopping overseas importa-
tons into enemy countries.
Lord Robert then produced a num-
Der Of figures which he contended
proved there was no leakage. He still
felt, however, that everything neces-
sary had not been done to complete
the blockade of Germany. There was
the question of the home product OF
borded neutra1s, which was a most
i'dificult subject He had arrived at
the conclusion that the only way to
deal with this matter was by securing
agreements with neutrals to stop or
diminish such trade.