Show WILL NOT ENDURE SEIZURES OF ills MAILS UNITED STATES NOTIFIES ENG LAND AND PRANCE FRANCE THAT LAW LESS PRACTICES MUST STOP in note couched in vigorous terms the entente powers are warned that only radical chang will sat sty americans washington the united states denouncing interference with neutral mails malls has notified great britain and france that it can no longer tolerate the wrongs which american citizens have suffered and continue to suffer through the lawless practice those governments have indulged in and that only a radical change in policy restoring the united states to its full rights as a neutral power will be sat is factory this notification is given in the lat est american communication to the two governments the text of which was made public by the state depart ment may 27 the time in which the change must be effected is not sped bed but the united states expects prompt action onerous and vexatious ab abuses uses which have been perpetrated by the british and french governments in seizing and censoring neutral mails are recited in the communication and answers are made to the legal ments contained in the reply of the entente governments to the first american note on the subject it Is vigorously set forth that not only american commercial interests have been injured but rights of property have been violated and the rules of 0 international law and custom palpa dalpa tily bly disregarded notice is served that the united states will soon press claims against the british and french governments tor for the losses which al at ready have been sustained the governments ot of the united states great britain and france ap pear to be in substantial agreement as to principle the note says the method of applying the principle Is the chief cause of difference the government of the united states must again insist sis that the british and french gov ern ments do not obtain rightful juris diction of ships by forcing or inducing them to visit their ports for the pur pose of seizing their malls or thereby obtain greater belligerent rights as to such ships than they could exercise on the high seas for there is in the opinion of the government ol 01 the united states no legal distinction be tween the seizures of malls at sea w which aich Is announced as abandoned and their seizure from vessels volun tartly or involuntarily in port the british and french practice amount to an unwarranted limitation of the use by neutrals of the world worlds s high way for the transmission ot of correspondence spon dence after detailing instances of damage suffered by americans because of the detention of mails malls the note concludes as follows the government of the united states and other neutral countries and employed by tho british and french authorities in interrupting malls passing between the united and other neutral countries and bety between veen the united states and the en amies of great britain can no longer tolerate the wrongs which citizens of he the united states suffer and continue to 0 suffer through these methods to submit to a lawless practice of this character would open the door to repeated violations of international law laa by the belligerent powers on the ground of military necessity ot of which the violator would be the sole judge manifestly a neutral nation cannot permit ltd rights on the high seas to be determined by the belligerents or the exercise of those rights to be per or denied arbitrarily by the government of a warring nation the rights of neutrals are as sacred as the rights of the belligerents and must be as strictly observed the government of the united states confident li ii the regard for in ter national law and the rights of neutrals which the british and trench governments have so often proclaimed and the disregard of which they have urged so vigorously against their en amies in the present war expects the present practice of the british and french authorities in the treatment of mails from or to the united states to cease and belligerent rights as exer cased to conform to the principle gov arning the passage of mall mail matter and to the recognized practice of nations only a radical change in the present british and french policy restoring to the united states its full rights as a neutral power will satisfy this gov eminent |