"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[pg 197] 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[pg 198] 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[pg 199] 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?

[pg 200]

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[pg 201] 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 hard[pg 202]ship 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[pg 203] 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[pg 204] 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.[pg 205] 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.

[pg 206]

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[pg 207] 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[pg 208] 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[pg 209] 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[pg 210] 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[pg 211] 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[pg 212] 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.

[pg 213]

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[pg 214] 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[pg 215] 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[pg 216] 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[pg 217] 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.

[pg 218]

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[pg 219] 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[pg 220] 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[pg 221] 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[pg 222] 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.

[pg 223]

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.

[pg 224]

"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."