SCAPA FLOW.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16704, 12 December 1919, Page 9

SCAPA FLOW.

fßeßtor'« Tel«rr»nu.) BERLIN. December 6. | Tho full :?>;•. of Admual von Trotsa's letter l.as uiiiciaiiy boon published, with. an addendum d.vl.ir.ng ihat the pur- j jkisc of communication was rather to; admoni>h the crows. who wero uneasy about their jvr.-onal fate. to continue in hold out. There was no hint in tho letter of forcibly solving tho future lato of tiie On the contrary, the entire letter w..s b.i-.'d on the idea that in accordance with tho intention of: the Gorman Admiralty this question should Ik* solved bv way of negotiations. * * j The statement again contends that Rear-Admiral von Router was led to, order the .-inking of the shins purely by his assumption that the armistice had expired. [The British Admiralty last week published a tran.-lation of a letter found in ti:e sale of von Renter's flagship. I Tile document, was dated May I'tii, and j marked "most secret." It was written, by Admiral von Trotsa, Chief of the • German Admiralty, to Admiral von j Router. It di.-:"i-. 1 the probable in- | tent ions nf the Allies in regard to the: fate of the interned fleet, which it was j declared, however, could not be docid-. Ed without German co-operation and consummated by Germany. The letter emphasis:d that surrender to the enemy was out e; tiie question. The Admiralty cited the foregoing letter and other instances in refutation of the German allegation that German orders failed to ieach Admiral von Router, and show-; that tiie last orders reached him on June 17th. tho very day o:i which, according to the text of another doeu- • nient, he instructed the commanding officers of ships, carefully detailing the preparations made to effect their rapid sinking, in the event of forcible British intervention, without German assent, ' or on his orders, regarding which ho • indicated a secret code.J ALLEGED BREACH OF ARMISTICE. (Australian ar.d N.Z. Cable Association.) BERLIN, Decrembcr 7. ' A semi-official message says: While the British steamer St. Helena was anchored in Iloltenau Locks, Kiel Canal, a man on board escaped. A British patrol pursued the lugitivo and iired on him. German troops occupied tho locks and police from Kiel boarded the stoamer and found German prisoners of war, en route to Danzig, to be forcibly incorporated in the Polish legion. They had been selected from prisoners' camps in England, on account of their Polish names. It was pointed out that tho men were in German waters, and therefore no longer prisoners. Tho captain of tho St. Helena protested, and released 600. who did not wisli to remain on hoard. About 100 remained and proceeded to Danzig. The German Government has protested vigorously to tho inter-Allied Navy Commission, at tho infraction of German sovereignty and tho armistico, involved in tho passage of a steamer through the canal with German prisoners. and tho crew's use of firearms. THE SAME OLD GERMANY. COaOfENT BY ant HUGHES. arELBOURNE. December 1. Commenting on the departure of German delegates from Paris and the recent European development, Mr Hughes stated that the position was most serious, and might lead to something still worse. Even now wo might be robbed, by trickcrr. of the fruits of victory. "It is idle," said Mr nughes, "to comment on what may happen, but it is well to remind the people of Australia that these are tho people with whom we wore advised to mnko" a penco by negotiation. "How would they regard a peace by negotiation when this is their attitude under tho peace imposed by victory? The- German to-day is still the German of 1911. To him a treaty is still a scrap of paper. Ho has learnt nothing from the war, cxccpt that there nro moments when it is inopportune to strike. My friends hero who spoke glowingly of tho German democracy, who bado me shako the German by tho hand, still suffer from the same delusion, or tako traitorous refuge under tlio same cloak nf hypocrisy They are readv to abandon compulsory training. They sfll sreak contemptuously of those who defended their country in the hour of peril. To them the plain events of tho day are nothing. It may be that tho present crisis will pass, and I earnestly hope it- will, but if it does not it will be a bad day for Australia if those men who spoke of peace by negotiation, and bade us pull out of tho war, control the reins of Government."