"I do not doubt, Mr. Ambassador, that the Federal Government, comparing
on the one hand the unspeakable violence with which the German Military
Government threatens neutrals, the criminal actions unknown in maritime
annals already perpetrated against neutral property and ships, and even
against the lives of neutral subjects or citizens, and on the other hand
the measures adopted by the allied Governments of France and Great
Britain, respecting the laws of humanity and the rights of individuals,
will readily perceive that the latter have not overstepped their strict
rights as belligerents.

"Finally, I am anxious to assure you that it is not and it has never
been the intention of the Government of the republic to extend the
action of its cruisers against enemy merchandise beyond the European
seas, the Mediterranean included."

SHARP.


British Order in Council

Declaring a Blockade of German Ports

_LONDON, March 15.--The British Order in Council decreeing retaliatory
measures on the part of the Government to meet the declaration of the
Germans that the waters surrounding the United Kingdom are a military
area, was made public today. The text of the order follows:_

Whereas, the German Government has issued certain orders which, in
violation of the usages of war, purport to declare that the waters
surrounding the United Kingdom are a military area in which all British