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<p>[Page 114]</p><p>18 fuse cases and<br />125 empty shrapnel cases<br />4200 cases of cartridges (several thousands in a case)<br />and 189 cases of infantry equipment.</p><p>Portion of the cargo was composed of material regarded at that time as contraband by Great Brittain [Britain]. Judge Julius A. Mayer gave a decision in the Federal District Court of New York in August 1918, absolving the steamship company from damages in the 76 suits involving £1,200,000 that had been brought against it on the ground that the "Lusitania" carried ammunition and high explosives and had been improperly navigated while passing through the submarine zone. He said:</p><p>The cause of the sinking of the "Lusitania" was the illegal act of the Imperial German Government, acting through its instrument, the submarine commander, and violating a cherished and humane rule observed until this war by the very bitterest antagonists. [end English quote]</p><p>[Transcribed and translated from German by Rosemarie Graffagnini for the State Library of New South Wales]</p>