WHO IS IT?

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1915, Page 10

WHO IS IT?

LIFE SENTENCE FOR BRITISH SPY. I DAME RUMOUR BUSY. London, October 28. , - It was officially notified early thirl week that the trial was concluded an Friday last, at the Old Bailey, befojre Mr. Justice Darling, Mr. Justice Avery and Mr. Justice Rowlett, of a British subject who was charged on three counts of collecting, recording and to communicate to the enemy information concerning his Majesty's military forces, works and munitions, and those .of his Majesty's Allies, which informatiq'n was intended to be directly useful to the enemy. The prisoner was found)/ guilty on all three counts, and was sentenced to be kept in penal servitude f*«r life. Within a day or so of the'issue of this intimation the public was; notified of the execution of three spies—presumably alien, since no mention was made of their nationality. ; The fact that (he death penalty \v«s being so freely meted out to foreigners naturally caused people to woiider why the "British subject" was let' off with ti life sentence. Germans, Auijtrians or Bulgars who indulge in espionage are, when all is said and done, doing what they can to assist their cmmtrics —in other words, they are patriots who stake their lives im the cMmee that their doings will fail to :i t,vact the attention of the. British authorities. They are "noble quarry" to their hunters compared to the "British subject" tried at the Old Bailey. Ii is offence in tjio eyes of ordinary men jlmna unvu ilmn tint pemm.}-. , ''Why has J this foul sewer rat been spared?" is/the question that is being asked ,'liy thousands of Englishmen to-day. /And why is his name so carefully withheld from us? It is averred that all sorts of precautions were taken to prevejnt anybody except the jurymen audi Co'urt officials from getting a glimpse, (of the prisoner, and that the jurymen! themselves were most carefully shepherded during the trial, and everything possible done to ensure that they would fiiot divulge the identity of the accus«: ( l. The result of all this secrecy is naturally a crop of rumours, some of them of a most disquieting character. It is' alleged in some quarters that the prisoner was for several years, and until quite recently, employed in a capacity that gave him access to most important S/Lnte papers, and that he was on terms /ijf > close personal intimacy with men holding positions of the gravest responsibility in connection with the fighting services, that, in fact, he was in a position to give our enemies information of vital importance to them. It has also been allleged that .this nameless scoundrel Owes his life simply to influence in very high quarters, and the idea that he will remain in durance vile for life is scouted by those who profess to know who the prisoner is. There may be nothing in the tales afloat, but it seems to be a fact that a certain man, who used to frequent a certain rather exclusive club, suddenly ceased his visits a few weeks ago, and has not been seen in town since, and the name of the vanished individual happens to be the same as that which, it is hinted, belongs to the creature tried at tho Old Bailey. It is not a name the man in the street is familiar with, nor does it strike one as being quite English, Scotch or'lrish, but it appeared not so long ago in a list of un-English names attached to gentlemen employed in our Government departments which a widely.rcad London newspaper published.