And, finally, the Austro-Hungarian warships are instructed, even in case of encountering armed enemy merchant vessels, to give warning and to provide for the safety of those on board, provided it seems possible to do so in the circumstances.
The statement of the American Ambassador, to the effect that the armed British steamers _Secondo_ and _Welsh Prince_ were sunk without warning by Austrian submarines, is based on error.

The Austrian Government has in the meantime received information that no Austro-Hungarian warships were at all concerned in the sinking of these vessels.
The Austrian Government has, as in the circular verbal note already referred to--reverting now to the question of aggravated submarine warfare referred to in the memorandum--also in its declaration of January 31 of this year issued a warning to neutrals with corresponding time limit; indeed, _the whole of the declaration itself is, from its nature, nothing more or less than a warning to the effect that no merchant vessel may pass the area of sea expressly defined therein_.

Nevertheless, the Austrian warships have been instructed as far as possible to warn such merchant vessels as may be encountered in the area concerned and provide for the safety of passengers and crew.
And the Austrian Government is in the possession of numerous reports stating that the crews and passengers of vessels destroyed in these waters have been saved.

But the Austrian Government cannot accept any responsibility for possible loss of human life which may after all occur in connection with the destruction of armed vessels or vessels encountered in prohibited areas.

Also it may be noted that the Austro-Hungarian submarines operate only in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, and there is thus hardly any question as to any action affecting American interests on the part of Austro-Hungarian warships.
After all that has been said in the preamble to this Memorandum, it need hardly be said that the declaration of the waters in question as a prohibited area is in no way intended as a measure aiming at the destruction of human life, or even to endangering the same, but that its object--apart from the higher aims of _relieving humanity from further suffering by shortening the war_, is only to place Great Britain and its Allies, who have--without establishing any legally effective blockade of the coasts of the Central Powers--hindered traffic by sea between neutrals and these Powers in a like position of isolation, and render them amenable to a peace with some guarantee of permanency.