London, June 27. The British naval authorities have instructed British destroyers at Swatow to escort British merchantmen, desirous of entering the port of Swatow, into the harbour and to protect them against attacks by Japanese warships. This is in accordance with the contents of a note handed today by the British Consul-General to the Japanese Consul-General in Shanghai, declaring that Britain would hold Japan responsible for all damage done to British merchant men and British property in China.
The note stressed that British merchant men insist on the right to enter all Chinese ports and that they would exercise such rights—Trans-Ocean.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.