File No. 763.72111K92/12

The British Embassy to the Department of State

Memorandum

Information has reached the British Embassy to the effect that the Kronprinz Wilhelm has plates bent in two places at the bow with a hole below the water line, apparently due to ramming a prize, the Wilfred M., on January 14 last. If the above statement is correct it would appear that the injury is not due to the sea and that according to the principle laid down by the United States Government it should not be repaired.

The above observation is respectfully submitted without prejudice to the principle embodied in the Hague Convention XIII, Article 17, “that the local authorities of the neutral power shall decide what repairs are necessary.”

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