British government rejects American allegations over trade
London, 11 January 1915 - The British government has rejected claims by the United States government that it is behaving unreasonably in interfering with international trade since the outbreak of war.
It was alleged by the government in Washington in a note to the British government that the detention of American ships by British war vessels was shutting out products of the great industries of the United States from long-established markets in European countries around the seat of war.
Amongst the trade claimed to be most affected was that of cotton, while some foodstuffs were also detained in port as the British navy conducted searches of the vessels in question.
Figures released yesterday demonstrate that some 773 steamships have sailed from America for Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Italy. Of these, 45 have had their cargoes intercepted and impounded, while eight ships have also been impounded.
Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, has written to the United States Government saying that the government had been warned that consignments of copper could be concealed in bales of cotton.
He also claimed that information received by the British government that special instructions had been given to transport rubber from the United States under another designation to escape notice and such cases have occurred in recent weeks.
He continued: ‘It is essential under modern conditions that where there is real ground for suspecting the presence of contraband the vessels should be brought into port for examination. In no other way can the right of search be exercised, and but for this practice it would have to be completely abandoned.’
Underpinning the actions of the British government: 'We are confronted with the growing danger that neutral countries contiguous to the enemy will become, a base of supplies for the armed forces of our enemies, and for materials for manufacturing armaments.’
Ultimately, wrote Sir Edward Grey, Britain was in a position of being forced to act to protect its own national security.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
