MISS CAVELL'S MOTIVE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 209, 29 May 1919, Page 2

MISS CAVELL'S MOTIVE

■ : NEW -FACTS ELICITED, The newspapers announced to-day (says (he "Daily News" correspondent, writing from lirusscla on March 12) that the remains of Miss Cavell would be exhumed .next week and taken to England. On visting the execution ground nt the Tid National, where many victims of the Germans are buried, r I found a handwritten notice in/English, "The body of Miss Cavell has been exhumed, and is not -here." ' It. appears ,, that the coffin .wa3 taken from- the burial wound so long ago" as last Friday. Toero will, howevor, be delay, possibly until May, in the- transfer .of tho body of tho murdered nurse to England. M. Sadi Kirschen,' the counsel who defended Edith Cavell before the German court-martial' in October, 1915,' has just published a' most interesting volume on the cases tried by the German , military tribunals where he appeared for prisoners, in which ho devotes some space to tho Cavell'trial.

Tho book shows that tho German police report made it clear- that Miss Cnroll'e organisation was not ongaged in capionag.i. ' ' ■ ■ ..' . ■'■'!-:"It ia blackening the memory of Miss Cavell," writes her counsel indignantly, ."to compiiro-this.heroine to vulgar spies, to women .paid hy an enemy Power.' , ■ M. Sadt Kirschen regards the shooting of! Miss Cavell as 0110. of tho mysteries of tho Ciermnn war policy.. He holie'vea that von Bissing, in accord with, .the military prosecutor, Stocber, ' who conducted the. case, had .dec'dcd from tho first, to .feed German .hatred with an English victim. ; . ■

Von Binsing,. declared that he was not authorised to interfere with tho excoti. lion of the sentence, and von Snuberstweig, the military governor, who confirmed the sentence, could not be moved, though the. United States and Spanish Ministers pleaded with him until 2 o'clock iu the morning—in fact, almost up to the hour of execution.

Jf. Sadi Kirschen tells this story of the ' tragic night when -Miss C'ayoll's fate was decided. The Marquie de Villalobar, tho Spanish Minister, advised Baron yon' der Laucken to telephone to the' Kaiser before' Miss Cavell and her associate were executed. "It is not.possible." was the reply. "I- should not dare to do if. I am'not. like you, a personal friend of my. Sovereign."

/Later, when it lwoame known in Brussels'that the Kaiser was very annoyed because he hnd not been consulted, von der Lancken said to the Spanish Minister. "How sorry I am I did not follow your Kcod advice."

"I can understand that," replied the Marquis, ■ cuttingly. 'Toil let slip a Rood opportunity of becoming the friend of your Sovereign." ■ .