London, Feb. 24.
Naval circles here yesterday maintained an official silence on reports from Copenhagen that the British Fleet was carrying out manœuvres off the Russian port of Murmansk.
Informed sources, however, pointed out that a blockade of Murmansk would imply a war-like act against a port of a neutral with whom Britain has ostensibly good relations. If the British ships off Mur-mensk were watching for German shipping or other shipping en route to Germany, which was considered quite possible, they would be carrying out contraband in that area the same as they have been exercising in all major shipping lanes converging on Europe, they said.
The British Fleet in that vicinity would serve a two-fold purpose. They would prevent cargoes from moving from Murmansk to Germany an they would prevent German ships from returning from the Atlantic by way of the Arctic and reaching safety in Norwegian territorial waters.
Another possible explanation of the report that the fleet was near Murmansk was that the British could that way interrupt possible shipments of German war materials to Russia, which would be in line with British seizures of German exports as authorized by the Order in Council last November.—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.