London, Feb, 24.
Captain Roy Jennings of the steamer Asiatic, which as far as is known is the first ship to ram a submarine in this war, said today, "I think the force of the ship plus th 6,000-ton cargo must have given those fellows a headache," he said.
Captain Jennings said that "at about 1030 o'clock on a moonlight night we were travelling about ten knots when suddenly we felt a terri-be impact. The ship shuddered. I and several of the crew members saw that we struck a submarine a glance: ing blow.
"I think she must have been si facing, either to recharge her batteries or was paying attention to a lighted neutral ship visible a short distance away. We must have inleted some severe damage because we saw the submarine on the surface for_a long time."
No warnings were sounded along the coast and no bombs were dropped. The raider was first sighted coming in from the sea at 11 a.m. It was also reported that a German bomber was sighted flying at a high altitude off the Norfolk coast, Royal Air Force fighters were immediately dispatched to the scene, they said. Bomb explosions and machine-gun fire were heard, but the result of the battle was not known.
Inhabitants of the Roker district in Sunderland reported yesterday Washington, Feb. 24.
Great Britain's reply to the United States Note of December 8, protesting against the British blockade of German exports, has been received by the State Department. It is understood that the Note defends the British position, and recalls that some concessions have been made for German exports already paid for by
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.