Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-03-31 | Page 25 | Diplomatic Secret History is Related

DIPLOMATIC SECRET HISTORY IS RELATED Attempt of Germany to Coerce Portugal Portu-gal in 1916 Is Told for the First Time. LONDON, March SO. At the Royal Colonial Institute, Lord Denbigh related the other day a pieccf of diplomatic secret history. ' At Madeira the Germans took a hotel, then wanted a convalescent home, and finally wanted to establish certain vested interests. They demanded certain concessions con-cessions from Portugal, a nd the German ambassador, calling on the Portuguese government early in 1916, said that if the concessions asked for were not granted the German emperor would eend his navy up the Tagus river to Lisbon. The Portuguese government sent a telegram to .England and that night the British ' admiralty was on the point of mobilizing the whole resources of the British fleet. They thought of another way of meeting the situation, however, and sent the Atlantic fleet, instead, close up agalnet the Portuguese- coast. They let the emperor know what had happened through an undiplomatic clian-nel, clian-nel, witli the result that the next day the German ambassador had to call again on the Portuguese government and explain ex-plain that he. had exceeded his instructions.