HOW TO END THE SPY-PERIL
"After this war," said Mr. Justice Ridley, in a passage already quoted,
"we must make an end of spies."
"After this war," however, may be too late. I contend we should make
an end of spies _now_, and with that end in view I would propose very
strong measures--so strong that, I willingly admit, only very grave
national peril would justify it. That peril, I contend, actually exists
to-day, _and no steps we can take to minimise it can be regarded as
excessive_.
At the present moment it is perfectly easy for any German agent to
travel quite freely between England and the Continent. As we know, the
Germans have in their possession a large number of stolen British and
American passports. By means of these passports their agents can come
and go between England and the Continent practically as they please,
taking with them any information they can pick up. And, although the
collecting of information has been made much more difficult by the
additional precautions taken since the outbreak of war, information is
still to be obtained by those who know where and how to look for it.
Now, the only channels by which this information can be conveyed abroad
at present are, first by correspondence in invisible ink beneath an
unsuspicious letter addressed to a neutral country--this was proved
at the court-martial of the prisoner of war, Otto Luz, at the Douglas
Internment Camp--secondly, by travellers between England and the
Continent, and thirdly, by secret wireless stations communicating
between our shores and the German ships--probably submarines--lying off
the coast. All three of these channels of leakage must be stopped.
The first step should be the absolute closing of the sea routes from
these shores to all persons, excepting those who are vouched for by the
British Foreign Office. The second is a much closer and more persistent
search for concealed wireless plants, and a third, a closer censorship
upon outgoing mails to neutral countries. I happen to know that in
certain instances censorship upon both cables and correspondence is
quite inadequate.
As to the second proposal, there will be no two opinions. Wireless is
already forbidden, and there is no hardship in taking steps to see that
the law is obeyed. With regard to the first suggestion, I am well aware
that many people will think it, as indeed it is, extremely drastic.
It would, of course, cause great inconvenience, not only to British
subjects, but to the subjects of neutral Powers with whom we are on
the best of terms. It would seriously interfere with business which we
have every wish should continue, and I should never suggest it unless I
were convinced of the urgent need.
A correspondent who has just returned from Holland, where, says
the _Evening News_, he saw British tradesmen doing business with
German manufacturers, shows how easy it is for the Germans to send
professional spies to England _via_ Flushing. A German permit will pass
anyone over the Belgian frontier into Holland: a Belgian passport is
not necessary, but such passports are issued by the local authorities.
There is nothing to prevent a German commander getting a Belgian
passport and issuing it to a German if it suits his purpose, while the
present examination arrangements on the English side offer no obstacles
to spies landing, especially from boats containing five or six hundred
refugees.
The remedy is to make the landing test far more stringent, and to use
responsible Belgians in the work. One can readily understand that the
average Englishman, even though he spoke French and Flemish, would not
be able to detect a German, speaking both languages, as being anything
but a genuine Belgian. Such a man, however, would be readily detected
by a Belgian; however well he spoke the languages, some trick of accent
or pronunciation would be sure to "give him away." Thus our Belgian
friends could do much to prevent the German spy getting into the
country.
Assume that the spy is here; how are we to prevent him getting out?
By closing the sea routes to all who could not produce to our Foreign
Office absolutely satisfactory guarantees of their _bona fides_. The
ordinary passport system is not sufficient; the Foreign Office should
demand, and see that it gets not only a photograph, but a very clear
explanation of the business of every person who seeks to travel from
England to the Continent, backed by unimpeachable references from
responsible British individuals, banks, or firms.
In every single case of application for a passport it should be
personal, and the most stringent enquiries should be made. I see no
other means of putting an end to a danger which, whatever the official
apologists may say, is still acute, and shows no signs of diminishing.
Under the best of conditions some leakage may take place. But our
business is to see, by every means we can adopt, that the leakage is
reduced to the smallest possible proportions.
Now, a few words as to the future. Let us look forward to the time when
the war is over, and Europe is at peace again. Will it be necessary for
us to take steps to prevent a recrudescence of this German espionage,
or can we assume that there will be nothing of the kind again?
In the language of Mr. Justice Ridley, we have got to "make an end of
spies" once and for all.
The spy system has gained a firm and, I believe, quite unshakeable
footing in the German military system, and my own view is that directly
the war is over the old game will begin all over again. Whatever may
be the result of the war, we can take it for granted that Germany will
cherish dreams of revenge, more especially against the "treacherous
British," upon whom, at the present moment, she is pouring out all the
vials of her concentrated hatred and malignity. She has been spending
huge sums annually on her spy-system, and she will not readily give it
up.
I certainly cherish the hope that after the war we shall be spared
the flood of German immigration that, quite apart from all questions
of espionage, has, in past years, done so much harm to England by
unloading on our crowded labour market a horde of ill-paid and
wage-cutting workers, many of whom were trade spies, and who have done
much to drive the British employee out of the positions which, by
every natural and political law, he ought to hold. This has been made
possible to a great extent by subsidies from German rivals anxious
to get hold of British trade secrets. The German clerk will never be
the welcome figure he has been in the past with certain British firms
who have regarded nothing but cheapness in the appointment of their
staffs. Still, we may be certain that, welcome or unwelcome, the German
will be with us again; as a rule, he is sufficiently thick-skinned to
care very little whether he is wanted or not, provided he "gets there."
He will be a potential danger, and his activities must be at once
firmly restricted.
With this end in view the French system of the registration and
taxation of every alien coming to reside in this country ought to
be insisted upon. Many worthy people seem to think that there is
something highly objectionable in a precaution which is taken by every
European country except Britain. As a matter of fact, there is nothing
of the kind. Every Briton, in ordinary times, who goes to Germany is
registered by the police; there is no hardship and no inconvenience
about it, and no reason whatever why the person whose motives are
above suspicion should object to it. The same is true of Russia, where
the passport system is strict; yet, once you have registered, you are
free to do pretty much as you please, so long as you do not attempt
to interfere in political matters, which are surely no concern of the
foreigner. Germans should be the last people in the world to object to
a policy of registration and supervision in this country, and to do
them justice the reputable Germans would never think of protesting.
Another essential precaution would be that every alien coming to reside
in this country must produce his papers. There is no hardship in
this; the honest foreigner never makes any trouble about showing his
papers at any time. In every country save Great Britain everyone has to
possess such papers, and there is no reason why he should not produce
them when he goes from his own to another country. By a system of
papers and registration, the police would be enabled at any moment to
lay their hands on doubtful characters, quite apart from spies.
It is also to be sincerely hoped that the Lord Chamberlain's Department
will request, as the _Globe_ has justly demanded, that City financiers
who have been accustomed to make use in this country, without the Royal
licence or the King's permission, of German titles of nobility, will
discontinue this practice when they become "naturalised." We should
then have fewer pinchbeck "Barons" among us than at present.
Evidence has been accumulating during the past few years, and came
to a head with the case of the German consul at Sunderland, that
naturalisation in the great majority of cases is a perfect farce. The
"naturalised" are still "Germans at heart." Naturalisation is usually
adopted either for spying or for business purposes, and to suppose that
the mere fact makes a German into anything else is to argue a pitiful
ignorance of human nature, and particularly of the German nature. There
is in this, of course, no reproach; we should think as little of a
German who forsook the cause of his country as of an Englishman who
turned renegade. The Germans are an intensely patriotic people, and
we may honour them for it, but we do not want to help them to further
exercise their patriotism at our expense.
Notable changes in the law relating to the naturalisation of aliens
were made by the new British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act,
which came into force on January 1st, 1915. Among the most important of
these is the power given to the Home Secretary to revoke certificates
of naturalisation obtained by means of false declarations.
The Naturalisation Act of 1870 is now repealed. That Act contained
no definition of the classes of people who are to be regarded as
natural-born British subjects. This omission is rectified in the new
Act, by which such persons are defined as follows:--
(a) Any person born within His Majesty's dominions and allegiance; and
(b) Any person born out of His Majesty's dominions whose father was
a British subject at the time of that person's birth, and either
was born within His Majesty's allegiance, or was a person to whom a
certificate of naturalisation had been granted; and
(c) Any person born on board a British ship, whether in foreign
territorial waters or not.
I regard section (c) as far too sweeping; it seems to imply that
even the children of German emigrants born while their parents are
travelling, say to America, on board a British vessel become British
subjects, even though they may never set foot on British territory
during the whole of their lives! In such a case, naturalisation
will mean absolutely nothing to the person concerned, while it is
conceivable that his claim to be a British subject might involve us
in awkward entanglements. A person born on a foreign ship will not be
regarded as a British subject merely because the ship was in British
territorial waters at the time of the birth.
Children of British subjects, whether born before or after the passing
of the Act, will be deemed to have been born within the King's
allegiance if born in a place where "by capitulation, grant, usage,
sufferance or other lawful means His Majesty exercises jurisdiction
over British subjects."
The qualifications for naturalisation are extended under the new Act.
Section 2 provides that the Secretary of State may grant a certificate
of naturalisation to any alien who shows
(a) That he has resided in His Majesty's dominions for a period of
not less than five years in the manner required by this section, or
been in the service of the Crown for not less than five years within
the last eight years before the application; and
(b) That he is of good character, and has an adequate knowledge of
the English language; and
(c) That he intends, if his application is granted, either to reside
in His Majesty's dominions, or to enter or continue in the service of
the Crown.
Paragraph (b), which is new, is certainly very valuable and it will
be cordially approved. Hitherto, in the granting of naturalisation
certificates, character and a knowledge of English were entirely
disregarded. By means of the new provision we shall be able to shut out
from British citizenship a large and exceedingly undesirable class of
alien immigrants and render their deportation practicable in case of
misbehaviour.
In the case of a woman who was a British subject before her marriage
to an alien, and whose husband has died, or whose marriage has been
dissolved, the requirements of this section as to residence are not to
apply, and the Secretary of State may, in any other special case, grant
a certificate of naturalisation, even though the four years' residence
or five years' service has not been within the eight years immediately
before the application for naturalisation. The provision as to the
women is both humane and just. It will alleviate the hard lot of many
Englishwomen who married Germans before the war, and whose cases under
the old Act involved much unmerited hardship.
Section 3 of the Act is very noteworthy. It provides that
(1) A person to whom a certificate of naturalisation is granted by a
Secretary of State shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be
entitled to all political and other rights, powers and privileges,
and be subject to all obligations, duties and liabilities to which
a natural-born British subject is entitled or subject, and, as from
the date of his naturalisation, have to all intents and purposes the
status of a natural-born British subject.
The 3rd Section of the Act of Settlement, which disqualifies
naturalised aliens from holding certain offices, is to have effect
as though the word "naturalised" were omitted. This section applies,
among other things, to membership of the Privy Council or either House
of Parliament, or to "any office or place of trust either civil or
military."
The power given to the Secretary of State to revoke any naturalisation
certificate obtained by false representation or fraud is contained in
Section 7, which says:--
(1) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that a certificate
of naturalisation granted by him has been obtained by false
representations or fraud, the Secretary of State may by order revoke
the certificate, and the order of revocation shall have effect from
such date as the Secretary of State may direct.
(2) Where the Secretary of State revokes a certificate of
naturalisation, he may order the certificate to be given up and
cancelled, and any person refusing or neglecting to give up the
certificate shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding one hundred pounds.
This is a very valuable provision, and it is one that, whenever fraud
or false representation is detected, should be summarily and rigorously
enforced. In the past our practice in the matter of naturalisation
has been decidedly too lax; I fear the granting of certificates had
become rather too much a matter of form, and possibly statements as
to residence, etc., had not been too closely scrutinised. There is
thus reason for believing that a good many individuals who are to-day
masquerading as "British citizens" would have extreme difficulty in
making good their claims to that honour if they were closely pressed
for evidence.
It is important to remember that under the naturalisation law a
naturalised "undesirable alien" cannot be deported in the event of his
being convicted of a certain class of offence to which the alien of the
lower type is especially prone. These are just the men who most dread
deportation, since they are usually well known to the police of their
own country, and they are therefore most likely to resort to fraudulent
means to secure the protection afforded by naturalisation here. When
such individuals fall into the hands of the police in future, we may
be sure that their papers will be scrutinised with special care, and
should any evidence of fraud be detected we shall be able to strip them
of their too easily obtained British nationality, and relieve ourselves
of their presence.
The taking out of naturalisation papers is one of the natural weapons
of the spy, and by the circumstances of his case he is very frequently
compelled to resort to devious means to secure his papers. Under the
new law it will be easier when he is detected to treat him as an enemy
subject, since inquiry of a close character will be likely, if not
practically certain, to reveal the deception of which he has been
guilty.
It is to be hoped on every ground that the new law will be rigorously
enforced. I hold very strongly--and recent cases have justified my
belief--that the _naturalised alien_ is among our most dangerous
enemies. For this reason, if for no other, the acquisition of British
nationality should be made as difficult as possible in order to protect
our country against hordes of subjects whom we do not want and who, if
the truth were told, would be found to have but the most shadowy claim
to the honour they seek.
But, as the _Globe_ has well described it, the Act is, at best, only a
piece of belated legislation. It is to be regretted that the Government
could not have seen their way to issue a proclamation postponing its
operation, so that Parliament could have some further opportunity of
discussing it before it is treated as settling the extremely difficult
and complicated questions which are inherent in the subject, questions
which have gained a new meaning in the last few months. It would be
satisfactory, for instance, to investigate the very curious problems
raised by the Third Section. Under this, certain disqualifications
which the Act of Settlement imposed upon naturalised aliens are again
made inoperative except as against aliens. Under the Act of Settlement
naturalised aliens were prohibited from becoming members of the Privy
Council, or of either House of Parliament, and from holding any office
or place of trust, "either civil or military." It is notorious that
naturalised aliens have sat on both sides of the House of Commons,
_are actually members of the Privy Council_, and have occupied places
of the most intimate trust in civil and military affairs. It is surely
time we reverted to the older methods. No naturalised alien should be
appointed a Privy Councillor.
The whole Act is therefore belated and incomplete. It does not,
so far as one can understand it, provide for the one thing really
necessary--that the individual seeking naturalisation in this country
should divest himself altogether of any allegiance to the Sovereignty
under which he was born. Whether he can do so, or not, is his affair.
Germany, by her new Citizenship Law, as the journal quoted has pointed
out, has devised methods obviously designed to disguise the real nature
of the act of a German on seeking naturalisation in a foreign country.
Against such attempts to deceive the nation of which a German, for his
own ends, seeks to become a member, it may be difficult to continue
effective measures, but at any rate we should make the attempt.
Naturalisation is primarily a favour granted to the alien, and is only
in very rare and exceptional cases an advantage to the State which
grants it. Therefore it ought to be hedged about with such restrictions
as will make it as certain as any laws can do, that the individual
seeking it divests himself of all his former allegiance.
It is perfectly certain, as the journal before mentioned has remarked,
that there are in this country to-day many naturalised Germans who,
if they had not taken out letters of naturalisation (which are in
effect letters of mark), would now be interned in some concentration
camp. They are chartered enemies, who can be compared to none so
justly as those German spies at the front who penetrate the Allies'
lines by wearing British uniforms. The French Government have, unlike
our own, been quick to see the danger that exists, and to cope with
it. A Bill has been introduced into the French Parliament empowering
the Government to withdraw naturalisation from persons who preserve
their original nationality, or who, by reason of their attitude to the
enemies of France, are judged unworthy of French nationality. The Stock
Exchange has taken similar action. British citizenship is a privilege
which in no case ought to be lightly conferred, and assuredly it should
never be relieved from the obligations which properly accompany its
great advantages. No man can serve two masters, at any rate when they
are at war with one another; and, to be just to the Germans, they have
not even tried.
We know that the German espionage organisation in England was set
up some time about the year 1905, so that there has been plenty of
time for the German General Staff to get together quite a number of
agents who, under our present system, fulfil all the demands of our
naturalisation laws. We must make this more difficult in the future,
remembering that the naturalised German is at least as much an object
of suspicion as his non-naturalised brother.
Residence of aliens, whether naturalised or not, in the immediate
vicinity of our dockyards, naval bases, and important strategical
positions should be stopped, once and for all. We know how in many
recent cases the activities of the German agent have been concentrated
upon these points, where the most valuable information is often to be
picked up, and if we are indeed to make an end of spies, this closing
of certain areas to aliens is one of the first and most important steps
to take.[3]
I have just heard of a case in one of our most important garrison
towns, where, for years past, a shop overlooking the barracks has been
in German occupation without apparently any business whatever being
done; the stock was practically allowed to rot in the windows, and
certainly the volume of trade was not enough to pay the rent. We can
form our own conclusions as to the real object of such establishments.
Not very long ago Captain Persius, the well-known German naval expert,
described, with his tongue in his cheek, the ease with which he was
able to get information at certain British dockyards, and we know
that many foreign visitors have been allowed practically free access
to many of our battleships and to the naval ports. The case of the
undergraduates who posed as foreign princes and were shown over one of
our Dreadnoughts will be well remembered. All this kind of thing must
certainly be put an end to in the future.
The question of wireless is also another matter to which we shall have
to give considerable attention. It is very much a question whether
we should not, in future, adopt some stricter system of compulsory
registration of all wireless plant sold and worked in this country. We
all hope, of course, that after the present war we shall see a long
period of undisturbed peace, but not even that assurance ought to be
allowed to blind us to future danger, any more than the belief that a
German invasion of Great Britain is an impossibility should cause us
to relax, for an instant, our preparations to meet it should it come.
Wireless is likely to play a growing part in our world communications,
and the tremendous possibilities which attend its unauthorised use have
to be reckoned with.
I confess that I should have hesitated to introduce even into a
novel such an incident as a German officer attempting to escape from
this country packed up in a large box. Yet such a case has just been
reported; the man was detected and arrested by no more than a lucky
accident just as the case was about to be placed on board the liner
which was to convey it to Rotterdam. Examination of the case showed
how carefully the plans for the escape had been made, and certainly
there is a very strong suggestion that the affair could not have been
undertaken without active assistance from persons outside the prison
from which the officer had escaped. And those persons were spies.
It was stated, I see, that the man is believed to have been trying to
get over to Germany with important information, and in all probability
this is true; it is not at all likely that anyone would have adopted
such a desperate expedient merely to escape from custody. The incident,
in its practical bearings, is not of great importance, since it is
not a plan likely to be adopted except by someone who was absolutely
desperate, and obviously we cannot examine every packing case shipped
abroad, even in war time. For us the importance of the incident lies in
the light it throws upon the skill and resource of the German secret
agents, and the need for straining every nerve to cope with their
activity. One cannot but admire the courage and resource of a man who
was ready to take the risks involved in this particularly daring
adventure.
Whatever system we decide to adopt to protect ourselves against
espionage in the future, there is no question that the entire matter
ought to be in the hands of one central authority, with very wide
powers of inquiry and action. We must put an end once and for all to
the idiotic--no other word is strong enough--position in which Mr.
McKenna is able to say that outside London the spy-peril is no concern
of his, and that he has no power of action. Whether we complete and
extend the operations of the Confidential Department, or whether some
new organisation is brought into being, the matter of espionage for the
country as a whole _ought to be centralised in the hands of a single
authority_.
I know certain people are likely to raise a grumble that the cost
will be considerable. Supposing it is? No one suggests that we should
spend, as Germany has been spending, £720,000 a year on spying on our
neighbours; all that we need to do is to establish a complete system of
contra-espionage, and look after the people who want to spy on us. In
doing this, surely the expenditure of a few thousands a year would be
money well invested.
In France a system has been adopted--too late, unfortunately, so far
as the present war is concerned--by which the public are invited to
co-operate in the work of checking the activities of the spies, by
giving to the proper authority information of any suspicious cases
coming to their notice.
My view is that a somewhat similar procedure should be adopted here.
In this way public opinion would be educated up to the importance
of the subject, and a great deal of valuable information would be
acquired. It is certain, of course, that much of this information would
be valueless, but it would be the duty of the special department to
separate the chaff from the wheat, and to see that every suspicious
case was duly inquired into. Apart from anything else, this action by
the public would, in itself, give the spies to pause, for they would
realise how much more difficult it would be for them to carry on their
nefarious work undetected.
I come now to perhaps the most unpleasant feature of the spy
problem--the possibility of our betrayal by traitors in our own ranks.
I am proud to think that, in this respect, we are perhaps better off
than any nation under the sun, but at the same time, there have been,
in recent years, one or two proved cases, and, as I have already said,
a good many where grounds existed for very grave suspicion. However
mortifying it may be to our national pride, we cannot overlook the
possibility of our secrets being sold to the enemy by men of our own
blood.
In this connection, I cannot do better than quote an instructive
passage from Paul Lenoir's masterly book on "The German Spy System
in France," one of the most complete and fascinating exposures of
German machinations that has ever been written, and a veritable mine
of information on German aims and methods. Lenoir relates how, on one
occasion, he had a long conversation with a very distinguished member
of the German spy administration who had expressed the wish to meet
him. In the course of their conversation, the German said:--
"Ah! If only you knew how many of your politicians who shout and
declaim in France demanding the suppression of _your_ Secret Service
funds--if you only knew how many of those men are drawing thumping
good salaries out of _our_ Secret Service funds; if only you knew
what proportion of their election expenses is paid by us every four
years!"
I do not suppose for a moment that we have in England anything of this
kind; the class of men who secure election to the House of Commons is
no doubt above temptation. I, however, mention this instance, revealed
be it remembered by a Frenchman working hard in his country's cause,
to show how very far the German espionage bureau is prepared to go to
seduce men from their natural allegiance, and convert them into the
most dangerous enemies of their country. And, with regret I confess it,
we have to face the fact that even in our own services there are some
whose honour is not proof against the lavish stream of German gold.
How to detect and defeat them is indeed a difficult problem; all we
can say is that in this, as in other matters, eternal vigilance is the
price of liberty. But at least we can say that when they are caught
these men ought to be made to pay a terrible price for their treachery,
as an example and a deterrent to others. There must be no illegal
sentences of death, as in the Ahlers case. There must be no paltering
with this blackest of crimes, and no concession to the sentimentalists
of the cocoa-Press.
In conclusion, I appeal to my readers to believe that I do feel, after
many years' study of this subject, that in German espionage lies one of
the greatest dangers our beloved country has to face.
I earnestly appeal to them to do all in their power to assist in
forming a vigorous public opinion, that shall insist that, at whatever
cost, this canker in our public life shall be rooted out. We must--and
we can, if we devote our attention to it--make an end to the spy in our
midst, and make it impossible that our hospitality shall be abused by
those who are plotting our downfall. To do this a strong and healthy
public opinion, which shall drive supine officials to determined
action, is the first and greatest requisite. Without that--and it is
the purpose of this book to assist in rousing it--we shall drift back
into the old rut of contemptuous and incredulous neglect, and it is
more than probable that our last state will be worse than our first.
We can rest assured that Germany will never willingly give up the
system that has paid her such enormous profits; it is for us to meet
craft with craft, to smash her spy organisation, to show her that we
are determined that we will put an end to an insidious form of attack
which in time of peace--whatever we may think of espionage in time of
war--is nothing short of moral and political corruption in its worst
and most hideous form.
Another point which has apparently been overlooked by the public is the
fact that as recently as January 14th the United States Embassy, acting
for Germany and Austria, announced the astounding fact that German men
over 55, Austrian men over 50, with all those physically unfit for
military service, as well as all women of both countries, _may leave
Great Britain and return to the land of their birth_! The Ambassador
stated that anyone wishing to do so should apply to the Home Office
(Permits Department) for the necessary permission; and, further, that
the Austro-Hungarian Government were organising personally-conducted
parties to Vienna and Budapest!
Now, it is to be sincerely hoped that the Home Office (Permits
Department) will not consider any man who has a weak heart, a faulty
leg, or bad teeth, or is over 50, incapable of acts of espionage.
Further, as alien women have been allowed to move freely about the
country, and as our Confidential Department knows that the enemy has
already made good use of the fair sex as spies, is it really too much
to expect that the Permits Department will--if aliens are allowed to
leave at all--grant the necessary passes with a very sparing hand,
and submit to severe examination anyone desirous of joining these
personally-conducted parties which sound so delightfully alluring?
But to the man-in-the-street this official announcement of the United
States Embassy, especially after the prosecution of Mr. Ahlers, must
cause considerable dismay. Are we to allow these enemy aliens who have
been among us ever since the outbreak of war to return, and carry with
them all the information they have been able to gather?
Surely this is a most important point to which public attention should
at once be directed! If the Home Office are actually about to issue
permits to enemy aliens to return home, then why bother any further
about espionage? We may just as well accept Mr. McKenna's assurances,
close our eyes, and fold our arms.
Further, with the illuminating discussion in the House of Lords on
January 6th, 1915, the Briton--as apart from the politician, or
the supporter of the cocoa-Press--surely cannot be satisfied. The
Government spokesmen told us that we still had among us no fewer than
27,000 Germans and Austrians at liberty, and of this number 2,998 were
living in prohibited areas--an increase of 37 since November 7th!
The lack of organisation for dealing with these aliens is the most
deplorable feature of the administration. There are three separate
authorities. The navy, military and police all act according to their
own interpretations of the Defence of the Realm Act, and when one or
other takes drastic steps for the removal of alien enemies, somebody
who stands in the background reverses the process. A truly amazing
state of affairs.
The splendid efforts of the Earl of Portsmouth, the Earl of Crawford,
Lord Leith of Fyvie, Viscount St. Aldwyn, Lord St. Davids, the Earl of
Selborne, Viscount Galway and Lord Curzon made in the House of Lords
seem, alas! to be of no avail, for, while on November 25th Mr. McKenna
gave details showing the distribution of male alien enemies, the latest
figures supplied in the House of Lords on January 6th by Viscount
Allendale show:--
Nov. 25th Jan. 6th
Aberdeen to Berwick 35 59
Northumberland to the Wash 543 437
The Wash to Thames Estuary 54 38
Thames Estuary to Dorsetshire 136 } 161
Devonport to Plymouth 3 }
____ ____
Total 771 695
Our authorities have actually admitted that from November 7th to
January 7th, 49 more alien enemies have gone to live on the East Coast
of Scotland and on the South Coast of England! And Mr. McKenna has
permitted them to do so!
Surely by the official assurances of safety an attempt has been made to
lull us to sleep--and we are now being slowly lulled into the hands of
the enemy!
In these same areas were 2,190 women alien enemies on November 25th, as
compared with 2,303 at the present time.
The figures show that there has been a decrease of 106 in the
neighbourhood of the Yorkshire raid. But there has been an increase of
22 on the South Coast, and of 27 on the East Coast of Scotland.
Under whose authority, one may surely ask, have 49 alien enemies been
permitted to settle on the Scotch and South Coasts?
With these 27,000 alien enemies free to move five miles in each
direction from any area in which they may be living, and power to
make longer journeys if they can get a permit--not a very difficult
thing to do--the Home Office is adding to the danger by encouraging a
movement for the release of some of the 15,000 alien enemies interned
originally because they were held to be dangerous. The Chief Constables
who are being asked to certify such as might be released, may, I
quite think with the _Evening News_, be pardoned for giving a liberal
interpretation of the request.
Surely every sane man must agree with the opinion expressed by the
same outspoken journal, namely, that with some 35,000 Germans and
Austrians, registered and naturalised, moving freely in our midst, a
Government which permits that freedom is taking risks which it ought
not to take. The German Government, in their wisdom, are not guilty of
such folly. Every British subject, even those who have lived there for
forty years, and can hardly speak their mother-tongue, is interned.
Why, if a naturalised German is known to be an enemy of the country
of his adoption--be he waiter or financier--should any tenderness be
displayed towards him?
He is an enemy, and whatever Lord Haldane or Mr. McKenna may say, he
must be treated as such. I write only as an Englishman fighting for his
own land.
I repeat that I have no party politics, but only the stern resolve
that _we must win this war_, and that all who lean to the enemy in any
manner whatever must go, and be swept with their fine houses, their
wives and their social surroundings into oblivion.
To-day we, as Britons, are fighting for our existence. To give our
alien enemies a chance of espionage is a criminal act.
Sir Henry Dalziel advocates the constitution of an Aliens Board to
deal with the whole subject. He evidently has no faith in the present
indecision, for he has expressed himself in favour of moving all alien
enemies fifty miles from the coast.
The flabby policy of indecision is, one must agree, a mistake.
No one wants to embarrass the Government, who in so many ways have done
admirably, but, in the face of the serious dangers which must arise
from the presence of 27,000 alien enemies within our gates at this
moment, even implicit confidence must not stand in the way of a stern
and effective national defence.
And the removal of the spy danger is, I maintain, eminently a matter of
national defence.
It is for the public to make a stern and unmistakable demand.
* * * * *
The following lines, from an anonymous pen, appeared on December 10th
in the _Evening News_, which has performed a patriotic work in pointing
out the peril of spies, and demanding that they should be interned.
Though amusing, the words really contain a good deal of truth:--
_"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Kaiser to the Spy,
"For I've lots of work to give you, and the pay is very high,
And you've only got to send me a report from day to day,
All about the English people, and the things they do and say._
_"There is Fritz and Franz and Josef, though their names you may not
know, You may write to them and see them, but as 'Number So-and-So,'
And should you meet your brother or your mother at the game,
You are not to recognise them; they're numbers just the same._
_"You will travel through the country in the name of Henry Jones,
Or as Donald P. McScotty, selling artificial stones;
You will rent a modest dwelling in the shadow of a base,
And when nobody is looking you will photograph the place._
* * * * *
_"Then 'Hoch' unto your Kaiser, 'Am Tag' your daily cry,
God bless our Krupps and Zeppelins, the victory is nigh.
God bless our shells! and dum-dums! Kultur shall fight her way;
God, Emperor, and Fatherland in one Almighty sway."_
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 3: THIRTY MILES INLAND: MILITARY ORDERS TO EAST COAST
ALIENS.--Notices to quit coastal towns adjoining the Tyneside district
were yesterday served by the police on behalf of the military
authorities upon persons regarded as undesirable residents. The
people affected include enemy aliens and naturalised aliens of both
sexes, also British-born descendants of aliens, including even the
second generation. Exceptions have been made in cases of advanced
age and extreme youthfulness. New addresses must be approved by the
military. Notices were also served on German residents in Sunderland
to leave the town and district and move into an area approved by the
military authorities. The order applies to men, women, and children,
whether naturalised or not, and must be obeyed within eight days. The
approved area will be some inland place about thirty miles from the
coast.--_Daily Mail_, December 30th, 1914.]
THE END
Printed by W. Mate & Sons, Ltd., Bournemouth.
End of Project Gutenberg's German Spies in England, by William Le Queux