THE BRITISH BLOCKADE

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 143, 17 June 1916, Page 13

THE BRITISH BLOCKADE

CONDITIONS IH THE NORTH SEA. RUSES OP BLOCKADE-RUNNERS. ! IKROM 00R OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, 4th May. The Brooklyn Eagle has secured some interesting copy from a British Admiral concerning thts blockade which the Navy is keeping on the North Sea. R-ear-Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair is responsible for the information. On. the outbreak of war ho was appointed to the command of the lOth Cruiser Squadron, and on giving up this command, on 6th March last, he became Naval Adviser to the Foreign Office in matters of enemy trade. The British blockade in the North Sea- is concentrated chiefly throughout the area to the east and north of, Scotland, maintaining a guarded district, which completely intercepts all traffic to and from the Scandinavian countries and Denmark. Immediately upon the declaration of war, in August, 11914, the Admiral was assigned as com- | mander of the naval patrols in the North Sea, and hoisted his flag on H.M.S. Crescent, shifting afterwards to H.M.S. Alsatian. When the blockade was instituted the British organisation of patrolling squadrons was essentially small, but quite adequate to the nature of the work. Gradually, however, the blockade was pulled very much tighter. The number of patrolling ships increased month by month, until we now have a complicated network of cruisers scatter T ed over the North Sea; a network through which it is impossible for any steamer, sailing ship, or trawler to pass without coming under our direct observation. OVERHAULING SHIPS. "Our North Sea blockade,1' says the Admiral, "consists of tho strategic placing of units of patrolling squadrons, all out of sight of each other, but within easy steaming distance. Usually our j cruisers are about twenty miles apart, and as each cruiser is afforded a clear view of fifteen miles to the horizon, no 'blockade runner can pass between, them without being seen by one or both. To maintain our blockade, wo have chosen a type of warship known as an auxiliary armed cruiser, usually a converted passenger ship or merchant trader, covered with war paint, and mounting several giins of various calibres sufficient to their duties. Such ships are not properly warships at all, for the superior fighting craft of the British Navy—superior in armament, ordnance, and speed —are kept inviolate for the long-antici-pated engagement which we, hope to fill with the German Navy. Although there is an adequate sprinkling of Royal Navy men in command, by far the majority of blockade officers are drawn from the Royal Naval Reserve. These men, many of whom have had splendid careers in the British mercantile marine, are peculiarly fitted for blockade work; they are accustomed to manifests and ships' papers; they know how to make a quick and comprehensive and judicial inspection of cargoes."

The boarding party consists of an officer and five armed men, and, if necessary, the crew is mustered to determine whether any German subjects are aboard. In the case of fishing trawlers, which swarm the North Sea, it is possible to examine the cargo immediately; and where ships are partly in ballast the examination may also be done quickly. But it is absolutely impossible to examine a large cargo in mid-ocean and in heavy weather. His experience as Commander of the North Sea blockade for twenty months was that all neutral captains invariably prefer to bo sent into a. British harbour. The delay is reduced to a minimum, and the inspection is accomplished with safety and despatch. BLOCKADE RUNNERS. With regard to devices adopted by blockade runners to elude the vigilance of examination, the Admiral mentions some of the chief ruses :— 1. Double bottoms, decks, and bulkheads, concealing guns, rifles, and other firearms or ammunition. 2. Copper keels and copper plates, on sailing ships. 3. Hollow masts. 4. .Rubber onions—-these were discovered when one of our officers dropped one on the deck ; the onion, bounced 10 feet into the air. 5. Rubber concealed in coffeo sacks. 6. Cotton concealed in barrels of flour. 7. Eubber honey, ttincU in the iatm of honeycomb, filled' with a curious' liquid mixture. 8.,

false manifests—this is the most frequent form of faking. On four distinct occasions which have come under tho Admiral's direct personal observation our blockading patrols have rescued neutral ships from imminent destruction by German torpedoes in the North Sea- The merchantmen were lowering their boats, with the submarine standing off waiting to fire. A few well-directed shots from our guns soon disposed of the menace, and the neutrals were able "to rehoist their boats and proceed safely about their business.