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Show uu BRITISH WARSHIPS ACTIVE IN ORIENT Honolulu, T. H.. Aug 31. The Am-' Am-' erlcan liners Manchuria and China of the Pacific Mail Steamship company's oriental fleet were halted by the British Brit-ish warships off Honk Kong and forced to surrender to the British authorities au-thorities sixty German and Austrian reservists bound for the European war from the Phillipplnes, where they had been living This was the news brought by Captain Thompson and Purser Landers of the China, which arrived here today, bound for Son Francisco After first Inquiring of Washington If they were safe In an American registered reg-istered vessel, according to officers of the rhlna, and having received as-1 surances that they could not be mo-' lested, tho Germans and Austrians ! took passage lor San Francisco via! Hon-; Ron-- Shanghai. Nagasaki and j Honolulu This roundabout route was ' necessary because thej knew they I could not reach home via the Suez canal, and neither the China nor the I Manchuria were scheduled to call at Manila on the return trip. On arriving at Honk Kong the vessels ves-sels were halted bv ships of the Brit ish fleet, the passengers were sum- moned for Inspection and required tn give their nationalities at the call of the purser's roll. Those who appeared to be Germans or Austrians and could not prove oth lerwlse were taken in a navy tender to i Stone Cutters' Island for detention. Two Germans aboard the China claimed Swiss citizenship and were not held. All German residents of Hong Kong Captain Thompson reports have been held. Manila newspapers of Aug 8 arriving arriv-ing here confirm the captain's Btory. They say that after the Manchuria had sailed trom Manila a rumor gained gain-ed circulation there of a plan to arrest ar-rest the Germans on board the Manchuria Man-churia after she reached Honk Kong and that on this account it was understood under-stood she would not touch there, but would make Shanghai direet. This course, however, was not followed rr |