Part 4

Other ideas for the perpetuation of the name of Nurse Cavell included the raising of a Cavell Regiment, that should be a living monument of brave men, who would be heartened and vivified by the noble life and death of their devoted countrywoman. But the true spirit of Britons negatived the necessity for a particular regiment. The next day after the announcement of the death of Miss Cavell every eligible man in her native village joined the Forces, and the recruits, all told, must have numbered many thousands.

Probably it would afford general satisfaction if another proposal bore fruit, namely, the institution of a new Order, equivalent to the Victoria Cross, for heroism by women of our race and Empire; and the heroism of our women in the present War emphasizes the justice and wisdom of some such acknowledgement.

Up and down the country there were soon memorial schemes, generally in connexion with local hospitals or the British Red Cross Society. One of the first of this kind was the endowment of a bed in King Edward VII's Hospital, Cardiff, by Sir W. J. Thomas. There speedily followed the proposed institution of other beds to be named after Miss Cavell: the City of Dublin Hospital asked for L500 to endow a bed; the 'Ediths' of Yorkshire commenced to collect to perpetuate her memory in the north; and a fund of L1,000 was started for a free bed for nurses at the Mount Vernon Hospital for Consumption.

Miss Scott Cavell made it known that her sister had hoped some time in the future to establish a home for nurses only, those either convalescent or tired, or who required a temporary home on holiday from abroad, or a temporary place of rest only. A subscription list was at once opened to give effect to a plan that had been so near Nurse Cavell's heart.

A similar idea, but on a larger scale, was favoured by Sir John Howard, well known in Brighton as the giver of the John Howard Convalescent Home for Ladies in Reduced Circumstances. He announced that in memory of Miss Cavell he would build twenty-four cottage homes for incapacitated nurses, and endow each with the sum of ten shillings a week. This munificent memorial will entail the expenditure of about L30,000.

IX

BRITISH OFFICIAL REPROBATION

The language of diplomacy is of a restrained and judicial character, even when dealing with questions that arouse in the lay mind a whole storm of feeling. But the letter of Sir Edward Grey of October 20, 1915, addressed to Mr. Page, the United States Ambassador in London, with studied calmness and marked dignity indicts the German authorities of an unwarrantable haste in carrying out the sentence that amounts to political murder. The Foreign Secretary's comments were as follows:

'Sir E. Grey is confident that the news of the execution of this noble Englishwoman will be received with horror and disgust, not only in the United States, but throughout the civilized world. Miss Cavell was not even charged with espionage, and the fact that she had nursed numbers of wounded German soldiers might have been regarded as a complete reason in itself for treating her with leniency.

'The attitude of the German authorities is, if possible, rendered worse by the discreditable efforts successfully made by the officials of the German civil administration at Brussels to conceal the fact that sentence had been passed, and would be carried out immediately. These efforts were no doubt prompted by the determination to carry out the sentence before an appeal from the finding of the court-martial could be made to a higher authority, and show in the clearest manner that the German authorities concerned were well aware that the carrying out of the sentence was not warranted by any consideration.

'Further comment on their proceedings would be superfluous.

'In conclusion, Sir E. Grey would request Mr. Page to express to Mr. Whitlock and the staff of the United States Legation at Brussels the grateful thanks of His Majesty's Government for their untiring efforts on Miss Cavell's behalf. He is fully satisfied that no stone was left unturned to secure for Miss Cavell a fair trial, and, when sentence had been pronounced, a mitigation thereof.

'Sir E. Grey realizes that Mr. Whitlock was placed in a very embarrassing position by the failure of the German authorities to inform him that the sentence had been passed, and would be carried out at once. In order, therefore, to forestall any unjust criticism which might be made in this country, he is publishing Mr. Whitlock's dispatch to Mr. Page without delay.'

Sir Edward Grey also wrote to the Spanish Ambassador in London acknowledging the good services of the Spanish Minister at Brussels, and concluding thus:

'His Majesty's Government much appreciates the efforts made by the Marquis de Villalobar on this occasion, and the sentiments of humanity and chivalry which animated him, and they would be grateful if your Excellency would be good enough to so inform the Spanish Government.'

In the House of Lords the Earl of Desart asked the Government if they could give any information with regard to the execution of Miss Edith Cavell by the German authorities in Belgium. Her offence, he said, of assisting her own countrymen and the countrymen of our Allies to escape was one which a belligerent was entitled to protect itself against, and a sentence of execution might even be passed, but such sentence ought never to have been carried out by any country. It was rumoured that other persons against whom similar charges had been made were lying in peril of their lives, and it might be possible through the action of neutral countries to prevent a recurrence of one of the greatest tragedies of the War.

The Marquis of Lansdowne replied:

'I am not surprised, and I am sure no member of the House can be surprised, that the noble Earl should have called attention to this most deplorable incident. We have been during the last few months continually shocked by occurrences each more terrible and moving than its predecessor; but I doubt whether any incident has moved public opinion in this country more than the manner in which this poor lady was, I suppose I may say, executed in cold blood.

'It is no doubt the case that she may by her conduct have rendered herself liable to punishment, perhaps to severe punishment, for acts that could be taken to be a violation of the kind of law which prevails when war is going on. But I have no hesitation in saying that she might at any rate have expected that measure of mercy which, I believe, in no civilized country would have been refused to one who was not only a woman, but a very brave and devoted woman, and one who had given all her efforts and energies to the mitigation of the sufferings of others.

'I am able to tell my noble friend that a full report relating to the circumstances under which Miss Cavell was executed was forwarded to the Foreign Office by the United States Ambassador. We learn from this report that the representatives of the United States and Spain at Brussels up to the very last moment neglected no opportunity or effort in order to obtain a commutation of the death sentence passed on Miss Cavell, or even to obtain at least a period of suspense before that sentence was carried into effect. These efforts failed.

'With regard to the second part of my noble friend's question, I am able to tell him that two French ladies have been condemned to death on a charge of sheltering British and French fugitive soldiers. These ladies were to have been executed on Monday last; but I am glad to be able to add that, as the result of strong representations made by His Majesty the King of Spain and by the Pope, the execution of these sentences has been postponed pending consideration by the German Emperor of the reports on both cases. I will only add that I am convinced there is not a man or woman in this country who will not join with the noble Earl in the protest he has made against this terrible occurrence.'

In the House of Commons Mr. Asquith, the Prime Minister, said:

'If there be moments such as come to all of us when we are tempted to be fainthearted, let us ask ourselves what year in our history has done more to justify our faith in the manhood and the womanhood of our people? It has brought us, as we cannot at this moment forget, the imperishable story of the last hours of Edith Cavell, facing a terrible ordeal worse than that of the battle-field. She has taught the bravest man amongst us the supreme lesson of courage. Yes, and in this United Kingdom and throughout the Dominions of the Crown there are thousands of such women. A year ago we did not know it. We have great traditions, but a nation cannot exist by traditions alone. Thank God, we have living examples of all the qualities which have built up and sustained our Empire. Let us be worthy of them, and endure to the end.'

The Secretary for Foreign Affairs was asked whether, according to Article 10 of the Hague Convention of 1907 and the guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium, to which Prussia was a party, the late Miss Cavell was, according to such law as could be applied to her case, guilty of any military offence.

Sir E. Grey: 'It seems unnecessary to go into technical legal points to condemn what has been done in this case. The reprobation of it, which I believe is widespread in the world, rests upon higher considerations, which arouse deeper feelings, than mere illegality.'

In another question the Secretary for Foreign Affairs was asked whether he had taken, or intended to take, any steps to convey to the Military Governor of Brussels that, when opportunity offered, he would be held personally responsible by His Majesty's Government for the quasi-judicial assassination of Miss Cavell.

Lord Robert Cecil: 'On May 5 last the Prime Minister assured the House that due reparation would be exacted from all persons, whatever their position, who can be shown to have maltreated our prisoners in Germany. That pledge still holds good, and applies with twofold force in the case of the savage murder under legal forms of a noble woman. I do not think that it would serve any good purpose to attempt to convey this resolve to any particular German official, who, for aught we know at present, may not be the chief offender.'

The statement of the Prime Minister to which the above reference was made was as follows:

'The Government were at least as anxious as anybody else that when the proper time came due reparation should be exacted from all persons, whatever their position or their antecedents, who could be shown to have violated the most elementary principles, and perhaps the most fundamental, of all the rules and usages of civilized warfare.'

If there be any value in the British Government's expressed determination, then assuredly von Bissing and von der Lancken will be indicted for the offence that stinks in the nostrils of the whole world.

X

GERMANY'S CYNICAL DEFENCE

Germany speedily found it wise to attempt to justify the execution of Miss Cavell in order to moderate the storm of indignation that had been aroused in neutral countries. To that end Dr. Zimmermann, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, set forth the German defence in an interview granted to a United States correspondent in Berlin.

'It was a pity,' said Dr. Zimmermann, 'that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but it was necessary. She was judged justly. We hope it will not be necessary to have any more executions.

'I see from the English and American press that the shooting of an Englishwoman and the condemnation of several other women in Brussels for treason has caused a sensation, and capital against us is being made out of the fact. It is undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been executed; but consider what would happen to a State, particularly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies to go unpunished because committed by women. No criminal code in the world--least of all the laws of war--makes such a distinction; and the feminine sex has but one preference, according to legal usages, namely, that women in a delicate condition may not be executed. Otherwise men and women are equal before the law, and only the degree of guilt makes a difference in the sentence for the crime and its consequences.

'I have before me the court's verdict in the Cavell case, and can assure you that it was gone into with the utmost thoroughness, and was investigated and cleared up to the smallest details. The result was so convincing, and the circumstances were so clear, that no war court in the world could have given any other verdict, for it was not concerned with a single emotional deed of one person, but a well-thought-out plot, with many far-reaching ramifications, which for nine months succeeded in doing valuable service to our enemies and great detriment to our armies. Countless Belgian, French, and English soldiers are again fighting in the ranks of the Allies who owe their escape to the band now found guilty, whose head was the Cavell woman. Only the utmost sternness could do away with such activities under the very nose of our authorities, and a Government which in such case does not resort to the sternest measures sins against its most elementary duties toward the safety of its own army.

'All those convicted were thoroughly aware of the nature of their acts. The court particularly weighed this point with care, letting off several of the accused because they were in doubt as to whether they knew that their actions were punishable. Those condemned knew what they were doing, for numerous public proclamations had pointed out the fact that aiding enemies' armies was punishable with death.

'I know that the motives of the condemned were not base; that they acted from patriotism; but in war one must be prepared to seal one's patriotism with blood, whether one faces the enemy in battle, or otherwise in the interest of one's cause does deeds which justly bring after them the death penalty. Among our Russian prisoners are several young girls who fought against us in soldiers' uniforms. Had one of these girls fallen, no one would have accused us of barbarity against women. Why now, when another woman has met the death to which she knowingly exposed herself, as did her comrades in battle?

'There are moments in the life of nations where consideration for the existence of the individual is a crime against all. Such a moment was here. It was necessary once for all to put an end to the activity of our enemies, regardless of their motives; therefore the death penalty was executed so as to frighten off all those who, counting on preferential treatment for their sex, take part in undertakings punishable by death.

'It was proved after a long trial of the sentenced persons that they for some months past had been engaged in assisting Belgians of military age to enlist in hostile armies, and in enabling French and English deserters to escape the country. They had many helpers, and had organized branches.

'The Governor-General had repeatedly issued warnings against such activity, pointing out that severe punishment for such action was unavoidable.

'The guilty persons were sentenced in a public sitting according to the law based on the provisions of the imperial penal code and the military penal code for war treason and espionage. No special law exists for Belgium, and no so-called "usage of war" influenced the verdict of the court.'

Dr. Zimmermann maintained that the execution was carried out in accordance with the established regulations, death occurring immediately after the first volley, as attested by the physician who was present.

The greater part of Dr. Zimmermann's futile reasoning is not worth discussion in detail. The one outstanding fact is the common belief that no military authorities in Europe, other than German, would have executed Miss Cavell for an offence actuated by purest motives of patriotism, and in which there was not the faintest suspicion of espionage. It may be remarked, too, that in America Judge Lynch never executed a woman. The attempt to draw a parallel case between Nurse Cavell and Russian women who have fought as soldiers is puerile in the extreme. In the case of the Russian, she is dressed in male uniform, and the German who shoots her in action does so in ignorance of her sex; Miss Cavell was a Red Cross nurse whose services to German wounded alone should have struck a spark of compassion.

* * * * *

Later, an inspired telegram was issued from Berlin to counteract the 'incorrect and exaggerated' discussions in the foreign press. It was stated that Miss Cavell was sentenced in a public sitting, although it is an incontrovertible fact that the American Legation could not get permission to be represented. It is laid to Miss Cavell's charge that she 'nursed only rich people for heavy fees.' Even if it were true, it would not palliate the German offence of hurried and clandestine murder; but we know, and the Germans know, that her whole life was spent in doing good for others. Finally is repeated the old statement that cruelties were committed by Lord Kitchener during the Boer War on women and children. This oft-repeated libel needs no refutation of ours, because it was demolished years ago by the German official history of the Boer War.

The next step in German impudence was an attempt to make believe that in the documents exchanged between the American Legation in Brussels and the German authorities as published by the British Government, some circumstances of the utmost importance are inaccurately reported by the Belgian lawyer who acts as legal adviser to the Legation. To this Sir Edward Grey informed the press that the papers relating to the case of Miss Cavell were published exactly as they were received from the American Embassy and with the American Embassy's consent.

On November 20, however, nearly a month later, the British Foreign Office did make public one correction:

'The letter addressed by the United States Minister at Brussels to the Ambassador in London, under date October 14, to the effect that the German prosecutor had asked for a sentence of death against Miss Edith Cavell _and eight other persons implicated by her testimony_ was due to erroneous information furnished to the United States Legation, and, so far as it has been possible to discover, no other person has been directly implicated by any testimony on the part of Miss Cavell.'

The acknowledgement of this mistake, however, could have afforded the Germans but little satisfaction, because its only effect was the removal of a slur on the loyalty of Miss Cavell to her friends.

In the clumsy attempt to justify their savagery the Germans have done nothing to prevent judgement going by default in the heart of all civilized nations. They omit all reference to their inhuman haste and calculated trickery, and their venomous refusal to allow exhumation and proper burial. No laws of war permit such outrages, no military necessities can excuse and no pedantic partisan can vindicate them.

XI

JUSTICE AND SAVAGERY CONTRASTED

Sir John Simon, the late Home Secretary, in an interview with a United States correspondent in London, averred that in the record of Britain's treatment of persons accused of military offences the case of Miss Cavell had and could have no parallel. To no woman, even in cases of clearly proved espionage, had Britain meted out a sentence of death; and in no case is a woman, whatever her nationality, tried in any but a civil court.

It may be urged that in an occupied territory such as Belgium the administration of the law may call for slight difference; but the Cavell case was not a sudden or unexpected discovery that called for a drumhead court-martial on a battle-field. The 'crime' was committed in Brussels, where the invaders claim to have restored orderly government under their own civil governor.

'In England the accused is brought before a tribunal which holds a preliminary inquiry taking the summary evidence. He is always assisted by a lawyer, and a complete record of the evidence, oral and documentary, is given to the accused, who is then allowed an interval to prepare for defence. _If it is a woman, the trial always takes place before a civil tribunal_; if a man, he has the right to claim to be tried before a civil tribunal instead of a court-martial, if he be a British subject. At the trial, whether military or civil, the lawyers for the defence have the same opportunities as are given the accused in an ordinary case in peace times.

'In the last case involving a woman in this country the offender was of German birth, though technically a subject of another country owing to marriage. She was acting in association with a male spy, and was detected travelling to various points in order to collect information about naval defences. The evidence against her was overwhelming, and did not depend solely on witnesses, but on documents found in her possession and letters written by her and her associates.

'Going through the preliminary proceedings as previously described, she was tried in September by three civil judges of our High Court and a jury, and was convicted, not of harbouring German soldiers, but of deliberate and persistent spying for the purpose of providing the enemy with important information. Her male companion was condemned to death; she was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

'In the case of a court-martial, reconsideration always takes place; in a civil trial, such as the one just recounted, there is a right of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal and consideration by the Home Secretary, who gives his advice as to the prerogative of mercy. In the particular case mentioned the woman did not appeal.

'In any case when the accused has claimed to have connexion with a neutral country we have not waited for application to be made to us. We thought it right to give the neutral Embassy information of the arrest. It has happened in several cases that the accused was carrying what he alleged to be a United States passport. In such cases, as the others, the American Embassy was consulted, and the solicitors and counsel for defence were retained with the Embassy's approval.

'Execution never follows a sentence here without a proper interval. Indeed, there was a case not long ago when on the eve of the execution a postponement was requested in order that some further representation might be considered. The sentence was postponed for a week, and the whole case was reviewed in the light of the new material. In a case now pending the accused says he wishes to call evidence from the other side of the world. We don't know whether the evidence will be helpful, but we have postponed the final trial from August to December.