©ij£ JfliitmiiTn ' SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1916. ' A JUST DEMAND FOR RETRIBUTION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2824, 15 July 1916, Page 8

The Dominion SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1916. A JUST DEMAND FOR RETRIBUTION

The justicc of the demand for the punishment of those responsible for ihe war crimes of Germany cannot be gainsaid. It has been well said that punishment is the other half of crime,' and it would )>g a' bad thintj for-the world if there should be no retribution for tho shameful crimes' .which the Germans have committed on sea and land in this unprecedented conflict. The British instinct for justice has led many of our public men to urge that an endeavour should be made to : discover "tho persons primarily responsible for such atrocities as the torpedoing of the Lusit-ania, the shooting of Nukse Cavell, the murder of wounded soldiers, the ill-treatment of prisou■ers,' and other diabolical acts of "frightfulness," of which the Huns have been guilty. The French are in full sympathy , with this desire that the doers of such deeds shall bo. made to suffer. Men who show no mercy to the helpless should receive no mercy when the day of judgment comes. We are told that many French writers have signed a petition asking for a declaration from the Allies that these Teutonic criminals,: including the most high-. ]y placed povson.igea, be punished after the war. This is a perfectly just and reasonable request. Tl; simply means that the necessary steps shall be taken to ensure the eventual vindication of outraged lav/. . If adequate penalties are not inflicted upon the authors and inutigators of atrocities that have 'horrified the civilised world tho reign of law will be ' weakened. Such disregard of the'claims of justice might do serious injury to'the future development of international law, for, as Mn. Balfour has pointed out, "If the rules of warfare are to bind one belligerent and leave the. other free they cease to mitigate suffering; they only load the dicc in favour of the unscrupulous; and those'countries will most readily agree to changes in the law of nations who do not mean to bo bound by them." It has been laid-down by authorities on the ethics of war that as regards the guilty death may bo inflicted, after tho war, at leant on the chief _ culprits. Francis .de ViTTOEiAj in dealing with the rights of the victor (supposing,' of course, that he has justice on his side), says:

When victory has lwcn gained, and danger has passed, the guilty may rightly be put to death. But the sole motive of punishing a violation' of right in not always, sufficient, to justify tho capital f.entcHct) on all the-guilty. Tt would not l>e permitted, in tho case of the citizens-of a-place,-to, put all tho.-puilty to death for a crime - committed by a

provijico or n town: or in a peneral .revolt to execute a whole population. The punishment must be proportionate to the wrong done and to tho losses r-ansed.

The Germans have mad© it abundantly clear that in waging war they care nothing for either law or •morals. The only restraining influence on their brutality is the fear of consequences. It would he a good thing if the Allies made a plain and positive declaration that everything possible will be done to collect evidence with the object of' discovering the persons by whose orders atrocities have - .been' committed, and that, when the fighting is over, the guilty ones will be made to answer for their crimes. It..is stated that the French War Office has fpr some time oast been compiling a black list of lawless German commanders, with a view to retribution, and British statesmen have more than once announced that those in authority would be held personally responsible for crimes. ..that could be sheeted home to tliera; but no. formal declaration on this matter has'yet, been made by the AlliedGovernments.- ■ Perhaps the French' Government will now take further action, for, as Professor Morgan (late Honm Office Commissioner with the British 'Expeditionary Force) remarks, "there is only too much -reason-to- : sunpose that ' with the growing vindictiveness of the enemythings will be worse before they a,re better."-. The Germans are now threatening to be more brnta! than ever in their treatment nf British prisoners. Their War Boole contains dark hints that, there may be occa-sions-on which it .might be profitable to massacre. Prisoners of war. ."Dead men tel! no tales" .(writes Professor Morgan), but an exceptionally able intelligence officer states that it is believed that British prisoners are taken in small parties they are nut to death in cold blood. Certain it is that, our men, when captured, are kicked, robbed- of- all tliev- posse? l ;, threatfined with death if the.y will not.give' information, and in 'some'ca?ps forced to dig trenches and. half:, starved..: The Germans are satisfied that-we cannot eomnete with.them' in brutality. British ' sentiment rightly revolts from the moral degradation that-an. attempt to do, so would mean.".'The Huns know this, and take full advantage of it. To ouote Professor Morgan once more: "Every tender feeling that th»ir enemy has becomes a hostage for his tractability, because it can be violated if he is contumacious. _ His own humanity will be his -undoing." But if we cannot' return outrage for outrage we can a.t least, •let this-outlaw nation know that it is our firm determination to make their leaders pay _ the penalty for those shocking' crimes which have revealed 1 Germany to the world as the enemy of tb'j human race.