THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1915. THE SUBMARINE BLOCKADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15998, 17 August 1915, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1915. THE SUBMARINE BLOCKADE.

Precisely six months ago, at twelve o'clock to-night, the German submarine blockade, ot the L nited Kingdom commenced. Though a conn 1 of despair it was expected to do great things, to isolate Britain, to suspend British commerce, to ruin British colonics and to

compel submission to German terms. Of the actual result, New Zealand has unmistakable evidence, in the sustained price of its colonial produce and in the uninterrupted | sailings of its Homeward-bound ! shipping. There has been a certain amount of loss ; ships have been sent to the bottom of the seas, while men. women and children have perished by piratical submarine attacks. In six months the losses to the British mercantile marine [ slightly exceed 100 vessels, or equal j to about one per cent, of all British shipping. A hundred years ago American privateers were able to capture British ships at more than four times this rate. Even if the British fishing craft, which have been sunk as " prizes" in the past six months, are included, British losses against the modern German submarine are still small compared with ' the losses of a century ago. For ; this Germany has ruthlessly sacrificed the. lives of about 1800 noncombatant passengers, seamen and I fishermen. These losses only cm- ' phasise the complete failure of the i German submarine campaign, for ; they show us what was expected to be the fate of every unarmed ship in British seas, and the doom of every civilian who ventured on ; those prohibited waters. The mostJ notable outcome of ' this German j eifort—as of the bombing of un- , defended coastal towns, of the employment of poisonous gas, of the butchery of prisoners and of the ravaging of occupied territoryhas been to strengthen and confirm the conviction that the safety of civilisation and the sanctity of treaties and agreements depend upon the extermination of German militarism. The dastardly sinking of the Lusitania. an event celebrated in Germany and hailed with exultation by Germans throughout the world, is a typical instance of the crimes which ! the German submarines have j strenuously attempted. That simii lar horrors have not been frequently I inflicted upon the world is due to i no lack of criminal enterprise on the I part of these international outlaws, j but to their inability to carry their | :: will" into action.

| The effect upon neutrals of this murderous submarine policy has | been unmistakable. The British j Government has received protests | from the t- nited States and other ! neutral nations against the working [ of its " contraband" proclamations. ! In no case, however, has any sug- ! gestion of inhumanity been made, nor has there been any serious attempt to deny that British methods can be diplomatically justified and can be defended upon grounds of recognised international law. The monstrous Gorman claims that, neutrals can be slain without warning while enjoying the freedom of travel guaranteed to them by their governments and recognised by international custom and specific international agreement, have estranged • every civilised neutral, particularly the United States. Owing to the peace-at-any-price policy of Mr. Wilson, an interchange of Notes between Washington and Berlin is so far the only result of the murders of American citizens by German submarines, but it is not improbable (hat even Mr. Wilson may be compelled to break off diplomatic relations with a state which exhibits as profound contempt for American protests as indifference to American rights. This phase of t.he submarine problem has assisted to teach the Americans that if Germany became a dominating world-power absolutely unrestrained ruthlessness and brutality would govern its relations to the rest of the world.

Much comment lias been made from time to time upon the assumed inability of the British Admiralty to deal with the submarine menace. At the end of six months it will be universally admitted that the Silent Navy" has scored a unique and extraordinary triumph under circumstances of unparalleled and unprecedented difficulty. Bo far from the German tactics becoming more dangerous as the months go by, they dwindle in effectiveness. The public has not the slightest conception of the means adopted by the Admiralty to fight the lurking submarine, but it, is unquestionable that some unremitting pressure, is limiting their activity and curbing their viciousness. Xot an Allied transport- has been sunk by German submarines; not a hitch seems to have occurred m the constant

streaming of reinforcements and supplies across the Channel ; the danger to merchantmen is certainly j less than it was in March, judging by our few losses ; there is a growing belief that the submarine is in some unknown manner being steadily mastered by our British seamen. At all events, at the end of six months we can say with confidence that Germany's submarine blockade has done no more than to brand its originators and perpetrators with indelible infamy, it having had no effect whatever upon the' free use of the seas by British shipping.