To the Editor of the "Norra-Carina Datty News."
Stn,—Replying to your comment on above subject in your issue of to-day's date I beg to explain as follows:
German vessels interned in foreign ports, although unable to ply their trade for the time being, cannot be classified under the heading of "Captures of War," for if such were the case the German losses would probably exceed 60% of the total German Mercantile Marine. Neutral ports of North and South America, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines are crowded with German ships which are and will remain German property.
My assumption, that the British Admiralty has not taken into consideration the capture of any of the small fry of German shipping (below 1,000 tons), may not hold good and it is quite likely that one the hands of Great Britain and her allies without the news having been reported out here. In the latter case the figures will more likely read an below:
Ships.
Tons, Reported captures......387 1,114,000 Unreported captures..330 116,000
726 1,230,000 The percentage of loss of ships or of tonnage, as revised above, is not affected to any appreciable extent in comparison with my previous computation.
Thanking you for publishing my first note on this subject. am, ete. ai!
Shanghai, Oct. 8.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.