BRITAIN AND THE DUTCH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 43, 14 November 1917, Page 5

BRITAIN AND THE DUTCH

THE SAND AND GRAVEL DISPUTE HOLLAND ATTEMPTS TO JUSTIFY ACTS London, November ;2. A White Paper containing the British and Butch correspondence concerning the gravel question shows that the Dutcn Government not only contendod thai the gravel transmitted was not, intended for military purposes, but that the Rnine Convention and other agreements imposed.on. Holland an obligation to guarantee free navigation of tho wnters lying between the Rhine and Belgium. ' ' Mr. Balfour disputes the applicability of the agreements quoted, and asks, aB Holland, regards the agreements as preventing the enforcemnt of her obligations as a neutral,-on what ground sho claimed to prevent tho departure of Gorman ships captured at Antwerp by tho Belgians. Lord Robert Cecil, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Minister in .Charge of the Blockade, commenting recently on tfio British embargo on the Dutch, transmission of 6and, gravel, and metal) to' Belgium, declared that the question' was 'most 6erious. Ho had just returned from the West front, and undoubtedly the Germans wore using these materials for concreting their trenches, pill-boxes, etc., in vast quantities. Replying to the Dutch contention that Germany was using theso materials. for roadmaking, Lord Robert Cecil omphasieod tho probability of the Germans satisfying their civil requirements with materials obtained from Belgium itself, thuß enabling the imported materials to be used for military purposes. This justified tho stoppage of tho cablo communication between England and Holland. "The war's course," said the Minister, '-makes it mora and more apparent that the Allies must cut off Germany's importations at their sources, which is equivalent to saying that trade with neutrals must be subjected to tho soverest limitations." Holland agreed to stop transmitting Ger. man concrete material from August 15 until early in 1918. She decided, however, without Britain's assent, to con. tinue until 'November IS and then stop unTTT flie middle of March.