THE MARTEN CASE RE-OPENED

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 30 August 1901, Page 3

THE MARTEN CASE RE-OPENED

[PHB PBESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.]

Berlin, August 29.

The case •of Marten, condemned for murder of Captain von Krosigh, is being re-opened.

[The particulars of this remarkable case are as follows :

An extraordinary military trial has just been conoluded at Gumbinnen, after occupying one of the newly-instituted Courts-martial -for five days (says the London Times.) Gumbinnen is a small garrison town In East Prussia, near the Russian frontier. These remote garrisons both on the western and eastern frontiers of Prussia, have an unenviable reputation in the army. The officers, as was brought out in the recent murder case at Morchingen, in Lorraine, have often been removed to a great distanoe from their acccustomed social surroundings. There are no higher recreations for them, unless they happen to be exceptionally constituted men, than the pleasures of the mess-room. It therefore sometimes happens that they become morose or even violent, and the lives of their subordinates in'such circumstances are far from enviable.

At Gumbinner, where several squadrons of the 11th Pomeranian Dragoons are quartered, there was a Captain von Krosigk—the son of a well known Prussian cavalry general—who had the reputation of being extremely hard on his men and who was far from popular in bis squadron. He had among other things, dealt so severely with a veteran sergeant named Marten, who had distinguished himself in two campaigns, that Marten had to be transferred to another squadron. A son and a son-in-law of old Marten were in Captain von Krosigk's squadron, and it is understood that they felt bitterly aggrieved at the treatment the old man received.

Late in the afternoon of last January 22, Captain von Krosigk had just finished putting some of the Dragoons through their drill in the riding school. He was talking to a brother officer when suddenly there was a flash and a report, and he fell dead, shot through the heart. To this day it has been impossible to fix the guilt of the crime on any of the troopers, though the smoking carbine was found immediately after the murder. Several of them had been arrested and afterwards set at liberty. Three of them, Marten, his brother-in-law Hick el, and a trooper named Domnig, have just been tried by Court-martial at Gumbinnon, the firstnamed being charged with having shot Captain von Krosigk through an embrasure in the wall of the riding school, the other two being under suspicion of complicity. The verdict was given late on Monday. Marten, who under the pressure of mental anguish, as hn alleged, had escaped from, his prison before his trial and had unsuccessfully attempted to cross the Bussian frontier, was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, and to military degradation for desertion, and the opinion was expressed that snspioion'attacbed to him in connection with the murder. But both Marten and the other two dragoons were acquitted on the capital oharge. Since then Marten and Hickel were retried and Marten was sentenced to death and Hickel acquitted. Now it seems there is to be another trial.]