All British merchant ships must readily and correctly reply to the signals of a Japanese man-of-war, British shipping companies are warned. by Mr. Herbert Phillips, H.M. Consul-General,. Admiral Sir Charles Little, Commander-in-Chief of the China Fleet, has informed the British Consulate-General that his attention has been drawn to a case in which a British merchant ship did not respond correctly to the signals of a man-of-war, Hence Mr. repeats the warning to British companies, The British Government, Mr. Phillips points out, has agreed that Japanese warships may communicate with or board British merchant ships in order to verify the right of the ship to fly the British flag: the British ship must therefore comply with such requirements without hesitation or reasoning why If it is considered that a Japanese warship has exceeded its rights or has interfered unnecessarily with the ship, early representations should be made to the British naval authorities, Mr, Phillips continues, If a British warship is in the vicinity this may modify the situation, but does not. affect, the. necessity for compliance with Japanese requests in the first place.
Mr. Phillips has, therefore, asked all companies to impress on the masters of all their ships the importance of complying with these requirements, He emphasizes that in view of the Serious consequences that might result to British shipping generally from the failure of one ship to follow these instructions ni jets "must understand that personal feelings should not be allowed to enter into the question."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.