Lord Devonport clearly stated that in reality one and a half million tons of metal ore had been imported; whilst he produced statistics showing the name of every ship, the date of entry, the place from which the cargo came, the quantity and character of the ore carried, and the agents to whom each was consigned. To summarise shortly the total shipments for the period named by Lord Devonport, August, 1914, to January 15, 1916, it appears that 298 ships carrying 1,414,311 tons of metal ore entered Rotterdam. The countries from which the ore came included Sweden, Norway, Spain, Algeria, Russia, and Great Britain. The totals shown monthly are as follows: ORE CARGOES. 1914. No. of Ships. Tons. August 38 174,162 September 11 61,679 October 10 47,900 November 8 37,300 December 14 63,900 ------ Total 384,941 1915. January 17 76,200 February 17 79,700 March 13 85,800 April 22 123,800 May 17 68,100 June 21 95,350 July 21 89,150 August 19 82,300 September 19 92,400 October 22 105,270 November 13 59,700 December 12 48,300 Total 1,006,070 1916. To January 15 4 23,800 ------- Grand Total 1,414,311 Two hundred and fifty eight ships carried 1,321,456 tons of iron ore; 25 ships carried 41,830 tons of zinc ore, the remainder taking copper ore, pyrites, nickel, manganese, and calamine. Lord Devonport added: "What has come of the much-vaunted order in Council declaring that no goods should either enter or leave Germany? What is the ultimate destination of these cargoes? There is no concealment about the matter. Every captain knows exactly. There are no facilities in Holland for converting ore into pig-iron; not a single blast-furnace, and no coal to feed it even if there were. "The cargoes are transhipped into barges and carried up the Rhine to a place in easy communication with Essen, where Krupp's works are situated. Sweden is the main source of the supply. _It is astounding to me that the British Government should sit still while these ores are sent to the enemy_ from mines which are virtually the property of the Swedish Government.