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Show DACIA WILL BE j CAPTURED AT SEA Washington, Jan. 21 The British .government announced tonight through its embassy here that If the former Hamburg-American liner Dacia proceeded to 6ea she would be captured cap-tured and taken to a prize court. Her cargo of cotton will be purchased by the British government or forwarded to Rotterdam without further expense to the shippers, according as the owner own-er may prefer. The state department had communicated commu-nicated this information informally to the owners of the Dae la as a result re-sult of a message from Ambassador 1 Page, and was notified In reply that the vessel was loading at Galveston and would put to sea. notwithstanding notwithstand-ing the British government's position Tt was believed that the owners had resolved to test the issue in a prize court. Inoidentally. the war risk insurance insur-ance bureau of the American govern-I govern-I ment today issued a poliry insuring I? the cotton cargo at 4 per e?nt- but de' I clined to Insure the vessel itself. British Statement. The statement from the British em- I bassv was as follows: j "In connection with the transfer of the Dacla from the Gen-man to the ! American flag, the British govern ment, while anxious to avoid causing i' loss to the shippers of the cargo, has J found it impossible to agree that the ,'; ivansfer. in the circumstances In which it has been effected, Is valid in accordance with the accepted prln- 1 ciples of international law. If, there- i fiore, the Dacia should proceed to sea and should be captured, the Brit 1sh government will find itself ob-I ob-I Hged to bring the ship (apart from the cargo) before the prize court I , "It Is stated that the cargo of the Dacla Is to consist solely of cotton I owned by American citizens. If this Is so, and if the vessel should be captured, the British government will I guarantee either to purchase the i irgo at the price which would have i been realized by the shippers If the ! cargo had reached Its foreign destl- : nation, or, if preferred, it will under- j take to forward the cotton to Rot terdam without further expense to the shippers." j Holds Transfer Valid. The above announcement concludes i the first chapter in the negotiations which the American government un- dertook on behalf of the owners of J the Dacla to secure her freedom from capture. Under the declaration of Tondon a transfer of flag must be proven to be of a bona fide charac- j ter and not made morely to escape the consequences of war. One of the alleged suspicious circumstances cited at first was that the Dacia planned to traverse her old route from the United States to Germany This led to a proposal b the owners that the ship take her cargo to Rotterdam, Holland. Hol-land. The state department asked that. In view of the change, a single voyage by the vessel be not Interrupted. Inter-rupted. Soon after the war began, holding .that all of the parties to the declare tion of London were finding loopholes In the convention and amending It at their own pleasure, the state department de-partment announced that aa far as the United States was concerned it would uot be bound by those declarations. decla-rations. Consequently the American government Is operating under the general principles of international law which recognizes bona fide transfers of ownership of merchant vessels of a belligerent power even in time of war. oo |