THE MURDER OF NURSE CAVELL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2602, 26 October 1915, Page 6

THE MURDER OF NURSE CAVELL

1 AN INSPIRED STATEMENT FROM GERMANY <• IN VIEW OF INCORRECT COMMENTS" By Tel«ET»pi—Prasa Association—Copyright London, October 24. An inspired German telegram gives new allegations regarding the execution of Nurse Cavell, "in view of the incorreot and exaggerated l foreign comments." A long trial, it says, proved 1 that Nurso Cavell end others had for months been engaged in assisting Belgians to enlist in the hostile armies, and 'in assisting British and French desert'ers to escape from Belgium. The Gov- , ernor-General .had repeatedly warned them that severe punishmeht was inevitable. The sentences were pronounced at a public sitting in. accordance with the law. The accused' admitted their guilt. Nurse Cavell was this principal agent iii the plot for enlisting. Belgians. Regarding the assertions that she unselfishly tended the wounded, the message says the fact was that her nursing fees were such as were within the reach of the wealthy only. German women had already been "executed in France. "The British may remember," the telegram adds, "Kitchener's cruelties to women and children in the Boer war."

ATTEMPT TO PRESENT AN ANALOGY SPURIOUS COMPARISON • EXPOSED. Amsterdam, October 24. !All that official Germany can s;y in defence of Nurse Cavell's execution is contained in an. article in the "North German Gazette," which mentions a British officer's letter to the "Manchester Guardian" on October 18, concerning a French girl shooting two snipers. The article continues: "'When such deeds, which are a mockery of all usages of war, receive homage, it must not cause astonishment if t!ho guilty are treated according to the laws of war. Had this French girl been seized by us and shot dead, as she deserved, the British Press could not have loudly enough deplored German methods of warfare. Tho same Press is trying to set'the world against us because in, Belgium a sentence of death according to the laws of war was carried out upon an Englishwoman guilty of treachery in war."

The Dutch newspaper "Telegraaf" comments: "The Germans' defence of the execution could not be weaker; it is, rather, self-accusation, because it proves that tho Germans are strangers to all human feeling and every sentiment of mercy." The "Handelsblad" (Dutch) says that the comparison of the French girl's act with Nurae Caveil's conduct and tho horrible punishment inflicted by tho German Government is completely unjust.' NO PARALLEL IN BRITAIN WE HAVE NEVER SHOT A WOMAN SPY. (Rec. October 25, 7.5 p.m.) London, October 25. Sir John Simon (Home Secretary), in an'.interview, said that tho trial of Miss Cavell had no parallel in Britain's treatment of persons accused of military .offences. No womaoi spy had been shot ; in England. What struck Englishmen as incredible was tho calculated indifference with which the American and Spanish Ministers' inquiries were treated. '-'Is the excuse suggested that war-time calls for severe measures? Our own' experience shows that it is possiblo to combine a regard for the rights of accused persons with a respect for humane considerations."

THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER., London, October 24. Regarding the letter to the "Manchester it is stated that an officer of the British Army in France gave a long narrative of his experiences during a big attack, and. incidentally stated that a girl of seventeen performed wonderful acts of heroism. Sho helped with the wounded, and in a cellar improvised a dressing, station, when two German snipers fired into it from a neighbouring house. The officer added: "We were unable to got them, as tho door of their houso was covered. She saw this, and took a wounded officer's revolver, climbed to the back of the house, and shot, both tho snipers." PULPIT REFERENCES. London, October 24. Many references have been made" in the pulpits to Nurse Cavell's heroism.