DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

File No. 763.72/1174.
MARITIME DANGER ZONES. 31
Ambassador Marye to the Secretary of State.
[Telegram.!
AMERICAN EMBASSY,
Petrograd, November 5, 1914-
Kussian Government officially notifies Embassy that it
has placed mines in zone from fifty-eight fifty north
latitude and to east of twenty-first meridian also at
entrance of Gulf of Riga and around Aland Islands and
consequently entrance and exit of Finnish and Riga
Gulfs forbidden.
MARYE.
File No. 763.72/1268.
Ambassador Gerard to fhe Secretary of State.
No. 261.] AMERICAN EMBASSY,
Berlin, November IS, 1914-
SIR: With reference to my cipher telegram No. 823,
dated November 12, 1914, 1 I have the honor to transmit
to you herewith a copy in translation of the reply of the
German Government to the protest of the British Government
against the laying of German mines.
I have, etc.,
JAMES W. GERARD.
[Inclosure—Translation.]
REPLY OP THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT TO THE PROTEST OF
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE LAYING OF
GERMAN MINES.
It has been brought to the knowledge of the German
Government that the British Government addressed a
Note to the neutral Powers under date September 20th,
1914, protesting against the laying of German mines. It
is asserted in the protest that the mines were laid in a
way contrary to international law and in forbidden
localities; that they were not sufficiently anchored or
under proper observance; and were not notified to the
neutrals in accordance with rule. Furthermore attention
is called to the declarations of the first German delegate at
the Second Hague Peace Conference which are in contradiction
with such practice and likewise to the deliberate
injury to neutral trade which Germany's action on
the open sea is alleged to involve.
The German Government makes the following reply to
this protest:
I.
In condemning the alleged German practice the British
Government relies on the 8th Hague Convention of
October 18th, 1907, relative to the laying of automatic
submarine contact mines. It overlooks the fact that
under Article 7 of this Convention its provisions do not
1 Not printed: gives purport of inclosure herewith.