The population of Ulster in 1911 was 1,581,696, (that of Belfast being 386,947;) the population of Newfoundland with Labrador in 1914 was 251,726; the population of Western Australia when it exercised the option of inclusion in the Commonwealth of Australia was 184,114; it has since nearly doubled. A similar case of separate treatment, this time within the United States, is that of West Virginia, which, in 1862, determined to remain within the Union when the rest of Virginia seceded. West Virginia became a State on Dec. 31, 1862, and was not re-integrated in the Old Dominion at the close of the civil war.
Court-Martial in Italy.
Four principal Directors of the Genoese Electrical Power Company, named Königsheim, Ampt, Martelli, and Hess, early in April were sentenced to death by court-martial at Milan by being "shot in the spine," and a decoy girl was doomed to twenty years' imprisonment, while three associates were relegated to the galleys for life. It was proved that the condemned men received from Germany wireless messages, to be forwarded to North and South America for the purposes of its underseas campaign, and incriminating letters of their treasonable acts were discovered. Ampt and his three co-Directors received a decoration from the Imperial Government, but were so successful in deceiving the Italian Government that they were subsequently decorated as Cavalieres of the Crown of Italy.
American Trade Pact with Norway.
The signing of a general commercial agreement between the United States and Norway--the first agreement of the kind to be entered into by America with one of the North European neutrals--was announced by the War Trade Board on May 3, 1918. It was signed by Vance McCormick, Chairman of the War Trade Board, and Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the famous explorer, who was sent to the United States at the head of a special mission.
Under the agreement Norway is assured of supplies to cover her estimated needs so far as they can be furnished without detriment to the war needs of the United States and its allies, and Norway, on her part, agrees to permit the exportation to America and its allies of all Norwegian products not needed for home consumption. It is provided that none of the supplies imported from the United States or its allies or forwarded with the aid of American bunker coal shall go directly or indirectly to the Central Powers or be used to replace commodities exported to those countries. This applies to anything produced by any auxiliaries to production obtained under the agreement. In consequence of the agreement the War Trade Board announced on May 9 that exports to Norway were about to be resumed.
Another result of the improved relations between the two countries was the chartering by the United States Shipping Board of 400,000 tons of Norwegian sailing ships, to be put in non-hazardous trades, thereby releasing other ships for traffic in the danger zones. This was one of the most substantial increases which the American-controlled merchant fleet has received since its inception.
British Shipping Losses
In the May issue of the Fortnightly Review of London appears the following analysis of the gains and losses of the British merchant navy since the outbreak of the war:
| 1914 (August to December.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tons. | Tons. | ||
| Built | 675,010 | Total losses | 468,728 |
| Captured from enemy | 753,500 | Total gains | 1,429,110 |
| ————— | ————— | ||
| Total gains. | 1,429,110 | Balance | +960,382 |
| 1915. | |||
| Built | 650,919 | Total losses | 1,103,379 |
| Captured from enemy | 11,500 | Total gains | 662,419 |
| ————— | ————— | ||
| Total gains. | 662,419 | Balance in 1915 | -440,000 |
| Brought down from 1914 | +960,382 | ||
| ————— | |||
| Balance at end of 1915 | +519,422 | ||
| 1916. | |||
| Built | 541,552 | Total losses | 1,497,848 |
| Captured from enemy | 3,500 | Total gains | 545,052 |
| ————— | ————— | ||
| Total gains. | 545,052 | Balance in 1916 | -952,796 |
| Brought down from 1915 | +519,422 | ||
| ————— | |||
| Balance at end of 1916 | -433,374 | ||
| 1917. | |||
| Built | 1,163,474 | Total losses | 4,000,537 |
| Captured from enemy | 11,500 | Total gains | 1,174,974 |
| ————— | ————— | ||
| Total gains | 1,174,974 | Balance in1917 | -2,834,563 |
| Brought down from 1916 | -433,374 | ||
| ————— | |||
| Balance at end of 1917 | -3,267,937 | ||