London, Mar. 12.
For the week ended midnight March 10, five British ships, totalling 18,673 tons, were lost as a result of German action, according to an announcement by the Admiralty. No neutral ships were sunk.
Losses, the communique says, were well below the average since the start of the war, which was twelve ships and 42,000 tons. The total British mercantile tonnage sunk as a result of enemy action is about 640,000, averaging 24,000 a week. This is about two-thirds of the average weekly loss over the whole period in the last war, and less than one-third of that during the first six months of 1917.
During last week, the Germans lost two ships with a tonnage of 11,377.
Up to March 6, 27 ships had been lost in convoy of a total of 11,774 British, Allied and neutral ships, and only two neutral ships had been lost out of 1,360.
The fact that no neutral ships were lost during the week would suggest that more neutral ships were taking advantage of British convoys.
Mr. Welles called on Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Halifax after he had been received by King George.
Mr. Welles continued his secondary fact-finding interviews today by talking to the leaders of the Government Opposition. He saw the Labour Party leaders, Mr. Arthur Greenwood and Mr. Clement R. Attlee, at the American Embassy for 80 minutes. Later he was visited by Sir Archibald Sinclair, Liberal Leader.
After. luncheon with Sir John Simon, Chancellor of the Exchequer, at No. 11 Downing Street, Mr. Welles visited Sir Alexander Cadogan, Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, at 430 pin. He then paid a call on Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, at 5
It was understood here that the U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, has been quietly advising memers of Congress at Washington to refrain from any retaliatory action against the British seizure of American mails pending Mr. Welles' return home, hoping that he would be able to iron out the situation.
On the basis of recent British statements, it was believed that Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Halifax probably informed Mr. Welles that they did not desire unduly to hamper United States mails and shipping, but contended that much aid was reaching Germany from the United States. Therefore the British action was a necessity in war.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.