Washington, Dec. 8.
IHE American Government is compelled to demand that measures adopted by the British Government should not hurt the American nation's legitimate commerce," a Note to the British Foreign Office asserted today in regard to the new blockade of German exports. The American Government, ihe Note added, reserves all its rights when and as they may be injured.
"The stoppage of neutral vessels on the high seas by belligerents must be justified by one of the recognized belligerents' rights," the U.S. Note concluded.
Its text was published by the State Department here after it was forwarded to the British Foreign Office through the London Embassy.
It stated, inter alia:—
"The American Government is compelled to consider whether the British measures may not lead to any immixtion in the legitimate commerce of its (the United States) nationals and reserves, in the interim, all its rights and the rights of its nationals in every case that any attempt may be made upon them in whatever the circumstances may be.
"Apart from principles of international law whose maintenance in full
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.