BARBARIC METHODS

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 66, 18 March 1915, Page 2

BARBARIC METHODS

OF GERMAN WARFARE. 7 SIR E. GREY'S ENDICTMENT IN REPLY TO AMERICAN NOTE. .(Received 3 p.m.) . - . • LONDON, MarcK 17. Replying further to the American Note on the blockades of Britain and Germany. Sir Edward Grey quotes the treatment of Belgian civilians, the barhaTous treatment of British prisoners en route "to Germany, the sinking of merchantmen, and also the sinking of the William P. Frye and the east coast raids. He. admits . t'jat- Britain anchored mines in the high seas long after Germans adopted the practice, but English mines were harmless if adrift. He quotes Prince Bismarck on the stoppage of noncombatants' food, and says t\at therefore the practice presumably was not repugnant to German morality. Sir Edward Grey, replying to Mr. W. A. Page's inquiry as to how neutrals could avoid dangers under the blockade, explains that Britain aims at minimising inconvenience to neutrals, anil refrains from the confiscation of ships and cargoes. Every regard was shown for the American- cotton trade, and also -Britain- did not -interfere with neutrals carrying the enemy's non-contraband cargo outside European waters.