April 23—­The Federal Council has extended until July 31 the operation of the order which provides that claims held by foreign persons or corporations which accrue before July 31, 1914, cannot be sued upon in the German courts; many newspapers comment bitterly upon the American note replying to the Bernstorff memorandum on the sale of arms to the Allies by the United States; there is rejoicing in Berlin over German gains near Ypres.

April 24—­Dr. Dernburg, in address at Brooklyn, says that evacuation of Belgium depends on England’s agreeing to the neutralization of the sea, free cable communications, revision of international law, and consent to German colonial expansion; interview printed in Paris quotes M. Zographos, Foreign Minister of Greece, as declaring that Greece is ready to unite with the Allies in the operations at the Dardanelles if invited to do so.

April 27—­Copenhagen reports that systematic efforts are being made, under instructions from Imperial Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg, to buy sufficient foodstuffs in neutral countries to last Germany for four years.

April 28—­The Supreme Military Court has confirmed the sentence of death imposed on Dec. 29 on William Lonsdale of Leeds, England, a private in the British Army, for striking a German non-commissioned officer at a military prison camp at Doeberitz.

April 30—­The subscriptions for three-quarters of the latest war loan have already been paid; the payments reach the total of $1,687,750,000, more than twice the amount required at this time under the stipulated conditions of the issue; German Embassy at Washington states that the Emperor of Russia has ordered prisoners of war of Czech or other Slav origin treated kindly, but prisoners of German or Magyar race treated severely.

GREAT BRITAIN.

April 1—­Lord Kitchener follows the lead of King George in announcing his intention to abstain from liquor during the war; the nation is stirred by the drink question, and prominent observers believe that anti-alcohol legislation will not be necessary; 25,000 women volunteer to aid in making munitions of war.

April 2—­Text is made public of a protest by Germany, transmitted through the American Ambassador in London, against treatment of captured German submarine crews; Germany threatens reprisals in the form of harsh treatment of captured British officers; Sir Edward Grey in reply says the submarine crews have violated the laws of humanity and they are segregated in naval barracks.

April 3—­Government takes control of all motor manufacturing plants to accelerate the supplying of war material.

April 4—­The Archbishop of Canterbury in his Easter sermon dwells upon the national necessity for prohibition during the war; a band of the Irish Guards, arriving in Dublin on a recruiting tour, is enthusiastically cheered; John E. Redmond reviews at Dublin 25,000 of the Irish National Volunteers; Limerick welcomes recruiting officers; every man in the British Navy has received a pencil case, the gift of Queen Mary, formed of a cartridge which had been used “somewhere in France,” with silver mountings.