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Noble Woman The Life-Story of Edith Cavell

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<h2>XI</h2> <h3>JUSTICE AND SAVAGERY CONTRASTED</h3> Sir John Simon, the late Home Secretary, in an interview with a United States correspondent in London, averred that in the record of Britain's treatment of persons accused of military offences the case of Miss Cavell had and could have no parallel. To no woman, even in cases of clearly proved espionage, had Britain meted out a sentence of death; and in no case is a woman, whatever her nationality, tried in any but a civil court. It may be urged that in an occupied territory such as Belgium the administration of the law may call for slight difference; but the Cavell case was not a sudden[Pg 109] or unexpected discovery that called for a drumhead court-martial on a battle-field. The 'crime' was committed in Brussels, where the invaders claim to have restored orderly government under their own civil governor. <blockquote>'In England the accused is brought before a tribunal which holds a preliminary inquiry taking the summary evidence. He is always assisted by a lawyer, and a complete record of the evidence, oral and documentary, is given to the accused, who is then allowed an interval to prepare for defence. If it is a woman, the trial always takes place before a civil tribunal; if a man, he has the right to claim to be tried before a civil tribunal instead of a court-martial, if he be a British subject. At the trial, whether military or civil, the lawyers for the defence have the same opportunities as are given the accused in an ordinary case in peace times. 'In the last case involving a woman in this country the offender was of German[Pg 110] birth, though technically a subject of another country owing to marriage. She was acting in association with a male spy, and was detected travelling to various points in order to collect information about naval defences. The evidence against her was overwhelming, and did not depend solely on witnesses, but on documents found in her possession and letters written by her and her associates. 'Going through the preliminary proceedings as previously described, she was tried in September by three civil judges of our High Court and a jury, and was convicted, not of harbouring German soldiers, but of deliberate and persistent spying for the purpose of providing the enemy with important information. Her male companion was condemned to death; she was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. 'In the case of a court-martial, reconsideration always takes place; in a civil trial, such as the one just recounted, there is a right of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal and consideration by the Home[Pg 111] Secretary, who gives his advice as to the prerogative of mercy. In the particular case mentioned the woman did not appeal. 'In any case when the accused has claimed to have connexion with a neutral country we have not waited for application to be made to us. We thought it right to give the neutral Embassy information of the arrest. It has happened in several cases that the accused was carrying what he alleged to be a United States passport. In such cases, as the others, the American Embassy was consulted, and the solicitors and counsel for defence were retained with the Embassy's approval. 'Execution never follows a sentence here without a proper interval. Indeed, there was a case not long ago when on the eve of the execution a postponement was requested in order that some further representation might be considered. The sentence was postponed for a week, and the whole case was reviewed in the light of the new material. In a case now pending the accused says he wishes to call evidence from the other side[Pg 112] of the world. We don't know whether the evidence will be helpful, but we have postponed the final trial from August to December. 'Mind you, I am not claiming any credit for the British Government for our procedure. There is nothing unusual, to my mind, in taking care that the accused persons have the fullest opportunity for their defence. The thing that strikes Englishmen as most incredible in the case of Miss Cavell is the calculated indifference with which the inquiries of the American and Spanish Ministers were treated. If the excuse is suggested that in time of war severe and harsh measures have to be taken, our own experience is enough to show that it is possible to combine a regard for the rights of the accused and the respect for humane considerations with the effect of punishment of hostile offences of the most serious kind. 'It would have seemed impossible for the Germans to do anything to increase the horror produced by their behaviour in[Pg 113] Belgium. It would have seemed impossible to do anything which could cement more closely the bond of sympathy between the populations of England and Belgium. But they have accomplished both impossibilities by one horrible act of brutality.' </blockquote> The foregoing contrast between British and German conceptions of justice is practically the difference between barbarism and civilization; and Sir John Simon's impressive exposition of the difference between the two systems calls for nothing to elaborate it. <hr /> [Pg 114] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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