THE KAISER'S ESCAPE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 277, 19 August 1919, Page 8

THE KAISER'S ESCAPE

I;, NO TRIAL FOR CRIMINAL OFFENCE

MR. MASSEY OBJECTS

i. Tho preparations that aro being made. | fljjvjthj' trial of the Kaiser were men- ! .by" th'fl Prime Minister (Right ! Hon,. W ~F. M'asssy) 'at the Now Zealand F &ub luncheon yesterday. Mr. Massey liTOa ono of the members of tho War j Crimes Commission set up. by the Peace [■■'Conference for tlie purpose of gathering ' . against enemy criminals, and

f he was.ohairman of one of tho sub-com-f. mittees est up by tbat commission. He j haH~in 'opportunity of getting first-hand i■■ liforaiaiion' regarding, somo of the ■;eaemy^"violations of. tho laws of war [' and'-of humanity. !- -Ihe most jniportant question betojpe twit commission was whether or not tho f men wta> had committed crime?'end had transgressed the ordinary laws'of war I fikraH be punished >nd. whether the : •mnmbmtait should be commensurate j '■with tho offences. We considered the f question of the punishment of the ! : KaW. You have seen that the Kaiser eis .to be tried'. I hope he mll.be pirns' ished if te deserves it. Every man ivcharged with an offenco is entfted to a fair trial, and I am not one to demand the punishment of any man unless ho • gets a,fair trial. . . " ' "The Kaiser is going to be. tried by ■i an-international tribunal. We were not able to reach unanimity on the commission"" It is extraordinary what differences of opinion there are on theso f. matters. There were several men oil | .'that commission, repiw.tatives of great 'countries, who thought that the headl of ! the State, King:, President. or > ! should bo regarded as abovo the law f and should not be punished for any of- -- fence: I cannot hold with that view, f'■ I that if the head of tlie State 11 ! ffuiliy of a criminal offence and if lie freaks the law, then he lfl responsib 8 ! to the law. Wo have a Kir.g of oui t own. ■ I eannot imagine Jung Georgo i being guilty of any crimmaloffencc. lie !. i not that sort of man. He isw». f : tha bffit man I have ever met. I speak o/'toimente were submitted, s ' --bo-US. ■ X wish I had time to read you f VJia: record of orimes contained m the [ ■ report of that commission. There are [' enumerated there—many of them | I.never believed i. bellies to be capable, cnme= worth} ol !* S ia hell, committed by . German, !;■: and -mow particularly by .thayjXtea ; t!he Turks and Bulgarians. It is scales i ly possible to print the o f cnmM <' 1 against men, women and ' i most horrible things. possible to think i 'of I say that if ever it is B oß3 ' l^ 0 J® j i.punish: the criminals; thev should bo ! ?^ith d 'regMd to Oie-Kaiser, wenreoom- [ amended that an international i" should bo eefc up consisting ot tnree | f Judge?'froia each, of the five Great Pow- i ?■ ere and tliat a panel of; the : fifteen Judge* should try tluvKareer- We ! .recommencfed that ho shoreld be tried ; /for a criminal offence, or orimtoal of : fences, and sbwiW be pimislied if he were !" found guilty- ThatMßonrr^ommenda- . tion, but it wns not agreed to. I can form a pretty good idea of thefressiiw i ■ that was ■ brought to bear and of why i' ,Britain'had to dve way. here w i. the point The I&iser is not to be tned ' for-a criminal oironce. It. mil not be !> nossible to. hang him. shoot him. or out I him in prison. He is going to be teed ■ for a moral offence asamst the Caws ot f humanity, and I think that he may be •' interned, but it will not be possible to ;• •nuni.-h him for the crimes which ho is ' supposed to have committsd._ Yet is it i pror/sSod'to' punish other criminals. _ ! "We recfimmended that 'heads ot.otat^s I and all subordinates, if iilleged to be I miiStr of erimes, should be tried by m- - tornational tribunal. That is not bemg i done under the present proposals. What i Is inteud«d now. is that if the countries concerned have not hold of persons eup- ! '... posed"to ibe guilty of crimes they may i -fe-y these pei'cons and puuish them. We . have got a number of alleged war crim- ' liwbTs rindfT lock ond ltey at the present [. time, and fli£-y will be tried and if gmlty ■ they wili bs puniahed. What I like least ; . ' about the matter is that we are going ' l " "to punish some subordinates, -but we are noing tn allow the Kaiser to. go freo, even : -if lie is"gni!ty of criminal offences. X S: don't like,.it. .1 don't think .that tlie !■ "right thing is being done. lam not i ' fleeting upon the heads of the British ;. for" I know that this must have been forced upon them." : - Mr. Masney added that Some people ; 'might'lie inclined at thfe present time to ; say to the war criminals, 'Go, and ?in ■ no more." .:jßut, that.did not seem to ; hini',,to; b»;tlie right thing to do. The v : . lawa of nations and of hnmanity ought ' to be upheld. If the people wio had jv done binitall and lawless things'in the :: .liist ; of''power and conquest were to e3I .'cape pnnishment, tho nations might see :, ether unscrupulous, ambitious war lords ! .attempt to succeed where the Germans I had just failed. Punishment ought to : 1 fall upon the heads of the, guilty in order f' that the lessons of"the"war might'not !. " be forgotten in the years to come.