On January 7, eight days after the sinking of the _Persia_, the German Government notified the Government of the United States through its Ambassador in Washington as follows: [Sidenote: Submarines in Mediterranean ordered to respect international law.] "1. German submarines in the Mediterranean had, from the beginning, orders to conduct cruiser warfare against enemy merchant vessels only in accordance with the general principles of international law, and in particular measures of reprisal, as applied in the war zone around the British Isles, were to be excluded. "2. German submarines are therefore permitted to destroy enemy merchant vessels in the Mediterranean, _i. e._, passenger as well as freight ships as far as they do not try to escape or offer resistance--only after passengers and crews have been accorded safety." Clearly the assurances of the German Government that neutral and enemy merchant vessels, passenger as well as freight ships, should not be destroyed except upon the passengers and crew being accorded safety stood as the official position of the Imperial German Government. [Sidenote: Germany offers indemnity for Americans lost on _Lusitania_.] On February 16, 1916, the German Ambassador communicated to the Department of State an expression of regret for the loss of American lives on the _Lusitania_, and proposed to pay a suitable indemnity. In the course of this note he said: "Germany has * * * limited her submarine warfare because of her long-standing friendship with the United States and because by the sinking of the _Lusitania_, which caused the death of citizens of the United States, the German retaliation affected neutrals, which was not the intention, as retaliation should be confined to enemy subjects." [Sidenote: French unarmed _Patria_ attacked.] [Sidenote: The _Sussex_ torpedoed without warning.]