Surrender of the German navy and delivery of its ships to the Grand Fleet (consisting of the British and United States navies), began November 21, 1918, just ten days after the armistice was signed Ninety German ships of all grades constituted the first delivery. Admiral Sims, of the American Navy, King George and the Prince of Wales, were aboard the Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of Admiral Beatty, commanding the Grand Fleet. Five hundred British and American war vessels were in the receiving lines, and convoyed the surrendered German ships to the Firth of Forth, just below Edinburgh, Scotland, where they will lie until their disposal is determined. Among the German vessels surrendered that day were sixty submarines.
Other deliveries of German war vessels were continued. On November 29th it was discovered that of the 360 submarines of all types built by the Germans, the Grand Fleet had destroyed or captured 200. Of the remaining 160 nearly all had been surrendered by that date. This being the exact number called to surrender by the terms of the armistice, it would appear the allied conference was fully informed to that effect, and thereby was enabled to strip Germany of the last of these vessels, whose record of murder and piracy at sea is without any precedent whatever in history.
FORMER KAISERIN WEEPS
The meeting of former Emperor William and the former empress at Amerongen is described by a Dutch correspondent as follows:
"The gates were thrown open, the drawbridge was lowered with a noise of chains and iron bars that sounded very medieval, and in the courtyard before the castle an elderly man in a gray military cloak was seen at a distance, walking slowly and leaning on his stick. It was the ex-kaiser. The ex-kaiserin's car was driven into the courtyard, the ex-kaiser threw down his stick and, before the valet was able, opened the door and handed out his wife.
"They shook hands and then threw themselves into each other's arms, the ex-kaiserin falling upon her husband's shoulder and crying like a child."
FORMER KAISER'S ACT OF RENUNCIATION
The text of the former German emperor's act of renunciation, which was issued by the New German government, "in order to reply to certain misunderstandings which have arisen with regard to the abdication," follows:
By the present document I renounce forever my rights to the crown of Prussia and the rights to the German imperial crown. I release, at the same time, all the officials of the German empire and Prussia, and also all officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Prussian navy and army and of contingents from confederate states from the oath of fidelity they have taken to me.
As their emperor, king and supreme chief, I expect from them, until a new organization of the German empire exists, that they will aid those who effectively hold the power in Germany to protect the German people against the menacing dangers of anarchy, famine and foreign domination.