The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1902. THE JUSTICE OF ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 94, 22 April 1902, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1902. THE JUSTICE OF ENGLAND.

For the. cause that lacks assistance

For the wrong that needs resistance

For the future in the distance

And the good that we can do.

The release of Commandant Kruitzinger must- be regarded at this critical juncture as a very fortunate event. It is very probable that the Commandant had in some instances, like most of the Boer leaders, broken the letter of International Law; but Lord Kitchener must have felt that in demanding even a just penalty for such offences, he would have incurred a heavy responsibility. Happily, there seems to have been no evidence to connect' Kruitzinger with ; the cold-blooded murders for which Scheepers and others have endured well-merited punishment. On the other hand, an intercepted letter was produced in Court, which showed that Kruitzinger was strongly opposed to the methods employed by Scheepers, and remonstrated against his barbarity. The. high rank held by the Commandant, his successes against us, and the gallantry which led to his capture, had combined to enlist public sympathy strongly in his favour. The Peace Society had forwarded a petition to the King, praying that His Majesty should at once intei'vene on Kruitzinger's be-, half. Mr T. Shaw, M.P., at a large public meeting convened in London, declared that the whole world was looking on, anxious to see what we would do with this man. whose acts, if he had been a British citizen, wotdd have brought him the highest honour that the Crown could bestow. It was publicly ' asserted that if' Kruitzinger s life were forfeited, nil hope of' reconciliation with the Boers would be gone. The petition presented to the King dwelt not only upon the splendid courage .displayed throughout the war by Kruitzinger. and his heroic efforts to rescue his wounded comrades, but upon the vast influence for good that a merciful view of his case would have upon even the most, irreconcilable Boers. There is, of course, a great deal to be said- from this point of view, and we believe that everybody concerned has greeted the-happy termination .of Kruitzinger's trial with heart-felt relief. At the present time, even among the Imperialists who believe most firmly in the justice of England's cause, and the necessity of the war. a feeling is constantly gaining ground that severe measures, should be employed against individual Boers only with great care and discretion. No one familiar with Englishmen will accuse them of wishing to take vengeance on a gallant enemy; and even if this impression of the British nation prevails on tne Continent, such a consideration need not weigh seriously with Lord Kitchener or the Ministt :s to whom ho is responsible. But we have to consider most seriously the effect of such extreme penalties upon the inhabitants of South Africa. Our great task in the future must be not only to conciliate the Boers, but to confirm in our favour the (sympathies of the great Afrikander population, which still wavers on the border of disloyalty. They must be made to feel that they can expect with certainty the same treatment that England metes out to her ow-n children; that, in the splendid phrase of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, though they have lost their independence, they have not lost their freedom. The

execution of Boer commandants guilty of murder would be in every sense justifiable, and we do not think that Lord Kitchener1 would hesitate to exact the full penalty for the atrocious crime of murdering

wounded men. The fate of the Australians who were shot for killing surrendered Boers affords the fullest assurance of that. Bxit in cases where any reasonable ground for doubt remains, there is more to be lost than gained by a stern insist-, ence upon the military definition of acts of warfare.

This view is well expressed in a very noticeable letter that the Master of Balliol College has forwarded to the "Times," signed by sixteen professors and other members of Oxford University. The writers view with the gravest apprehension the practice of executing- Boer generals on the verdict .of courts-martial. "It may be true that these generals have violated the laws of war, and we have no doubt that, the courts-martial have acted in the full belief that by a few exemplary sentences they would deter Cape Colonists from rebellion, or protect natives or secure strict adhesion on the part of our enemies to the laws of war." Still the writers plead earnestly that this line of policy may be reconsidered. "Our opponents and those who sympathise with them will hardly believe in the competence'and' impartiality of an English court-raai--tial which decides upon evidence, some of it, doubtless, native evidence, given while the country is still seething with the passions of war." Such sentences, the writers hold, cannot have the moral effect which the ad-

ministration of judicial punishment is always supposed to produce. "It is only too probable, that the men who suffer by them will be regarded as martyrs, Avhose memory will be cherished for generations, and so far as we can see there is no immediate advantage which can weigh against the dishonourable imputations to which this course of policy will be almost sure 'to give rise." The writers therefore consider it highly desirable, that no capital sentence upon the generals of the opposing •forces should be inflicted, at least at the present juncture.

Such a protest, signed by men of such high professional eminence as Professor Edward Caird, Professor E. Jenks, Professor Rhys, and Professor Alfred Sedgwick, could not fail to produce considerable effect on public feeling in . England. That Kruitzinger's release and the circumstances that marked the occasion will make some impression even upon the obduracy of the Boers can well be imagined. In time, they will come to understand that English justice is free to ' all, and even-handed. For ruffians like Morant and Handcock, who disgrace their flag, the punishment is as prompt and inevitable as to otir most malignant enemy. The gallant foemen who have fought us fairly to the bitter end we can afford to treat not only with justice, but with that generosity that ' onty a strong nation, victorious in a just cause, can venture to bestow.