STEALING NATION'S SECRETS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 97, 14 October 1911, Page 11

STEALING NATION'S SECRETS.

HOW INTERNATIONAL SPIES WORK. A short time ago -Portsmouth was disturbed by a very unusual incident (says nil Knglish paper). Two men landed at midnight from a small rowing boat near the Tipnor powder magazine, an important depot used as a store for all the military explosives at Portsmouth, which is guarded night and day by armed sentries. The sentries challenged tlieui twice, but as the men disregarded the challenge they lired. The intruders thereupon rushed back to the boat and vanished in the darkness. 'Wliile in certain quarters it is alleged that the importance of this incident has been exaggerated, and that it is probable that the men 'acted in ignorance rather than with any mischievous intentions, the general opinion seems to be- that the incident provides another striking illustration of the daring of foreign spies. As a matter of fact, spying is greatly on the increase, and Lord; Haldane, realising this fact, has introduced a new Bill, in which it is proposed to inflict heavier penalties 011 persons found in prohibited places- and those who make any sketch, note, model or plan, likely to be useful to an enemy. In the existing Act these offences are classed as misdemeanors, the penalty being imprisonment for one year, with or without hard labor, and a fine, or either. In the new Bill these offences are classed as- felony, and the penalty 'is not less than three years' nor more than seven years' penal servitude—a very drastic change. Persons attempting to commit an offence of this' kind, or inciting others, are liable to similar penalties. Another new provision relates too "harboring spies." This offence is classed as -a misdemeanor, and the person is liable to imprisonment for 12 months, with hard labor, and a fine. Power is also given to justices to grant searchwarrants, or in cases of urgency a superintendent of police may himself give written authority for a search "in the interest of the State."

It is not an easy matter, however, to catch these spies. A few months ago a GerniMi officer was arrested for making sketches of the harbor defences of Portsmouth. But for every spy caught there are hundreds who are never discovered, or who, if they are, are quietly despatched out of the country to save international troubles.

The greatest danger, however, lies in British soldiers and sailors betraying their trust and selling plans which it would be almost impossible for a foreigner to obtain. To the credit of both services, it should be said, that such cases are very rare indeed. But it is nevertheless a fact that some time ago a plan of the defences of Malta, the great Mediterranean fortress, second only in value to Gibraltar, was sold by a renegade who had worn the uniform of the British Army. And there was an outcry against tlie inadequacy of the sentence of twelve months passed at Manchester on this spy, who betrayed information which would enable a possible enemy to prepare a scheme for the reducing of Malta and the wresting of the island from the British Crown. It was not the judge who was to blame, however, but the defects in the law which enabled a spy to escape with punishment which would have been meted out to a. common felon.

What was more startling still was the fact revealed by the military correspondent of the Times, that this spy, when arrested, was actually bargaining for the selling of plans of Gibraltar itself to a foreign Power.

About the same time it was learnt that a detailed description of our submarine defences had disappeared from the room of a high official, which meant to say that the whole scheme of our island's submarine defences was reposing in the archives of a foreign Power, and that the latter knew the site of every mine at Portsmouth and Plymouth, so that, at the call of battle, its warships could thread their way with ease through the passage left for the passing of British squadrons. Of course, the schemes of defence in such cases are being continually changed; hut the mere fact that such plans could disappear provides a remarkable illustration of the success with-which these international spies 7iicot.

It is not long ago since. Lord Methuen and Colonel Haldane met, in Berkshire, a foreign spy who, not knowing who they were, asked for detailed .information about the width of the roads. Plans for the invasion of England by synchronous raids are now in the possession of the War Office. One of them was tested a short time ago by a party of English officers, and it was found that the main features of the spot chosen for the raid were more favorable to the invader than the defender. Then, again, no little uneasiness was caused by the discovery that a party of foreign staff officers in mufti, made an extended riding tour on the East Coast in 1908. Of course, it is easy to exaggerate the importance of such incidents; but there is no doubt that there are hundreds of foreigners •moving among all classes in England l in the pay of foreign Governments, on the look-out for securing valuable naval and military information.

Many of these spies mix in the best society, are accomplished linguists, and reside so long that they become in time naturalised British subjects. They pass as Englishmen, and perhaps secure an appointment in an academy for the training of young men for the army and navy._ Their credentials take them into the highest official circle, and by their agreeable manners they become, in time, honored guests, in society, matters being discussed in their presence in a manner which would be carefully guarded against did the fact become known that they were foreigners. Another method of these spies is to operate among working men, ingratiating themselves particularly with those who know something of military methods. In the workshops they endeavor to start a discussion on barrack-room life, aeroplanes in war, the latest methods of signalling, life aboard a man-o'-war, and other such topics. The man who appears to show the widest and most intricate knowledge is singled out, and the spy makes it his business to become an intimate friend of that man in order to learn more.