CRIME ON A GERMAN WARSHIP.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3, 3 January 1903, Page 5 (Supplement)

CRIME ON A GERMAN WARSHIP.

A REMARKABLE AFFAIR.

A remarkable crime took place on 15th November on board the German guardship Lorelei, the guardship of the German Embassy at Constantinople, which was laid up in the Piraeus for repairs. According- to the first reports two German bluejackets, who had been left in charge of the guardship, had disappeared as well as a bos containing important documents. On further inquiry it was learnt that the corpse of one of the men had been found in the sea 30 yards from the vessel, the body bearing marks which showed that he had been murdered. The remainder of the crew had spent . the night ashore, and know nothing of what took place on board. A woman was arrested, and a reward of IOOOfr. offered. Athens telegrams later announced a fresh development of the story. The missing sailor was named Kohler, and a man was arrested on suspicion, and was found to bear tattoo marks identical with those on Kohler. He confessed that he committed the crime single-handed in order to steal the money which the commander sometimes placed in the safe. The German Minister expressed his thanks to the Greek Government for the arrest of Kohler.

On Tuesday, November 18, the funeral of the murdered man took place at the Piraeus. The ceremony was witnessed by crowds of people, who at the conclusion proceeded to the, law courts, where Kohler was being examined. When he was brought out for conveyance to the gaol the crowd made a series of rushes to seize him and lynch him, and it was not until cavalry had been called out and had charged the mob that the accused could be removed. Many people were injured. Public opinion in Athens has been excited over the Lorelei affair, the chief cause of offence being the language attributed to the commander of the warship. The German sailors refused to admit that any of . their could have committed such a crime, and asserted that the perpetrators must have been Greeks. The captain was alleged to have said, "Germans are not Greeks." and this was construed as an insult to Greece. Subsequently the commandant of the Piraeus issued a statement pointing out that the words of the commanding officer of the Lorelei had been badly misunderstood. On Wednesday there was a demonstration of students. The sensation caused by the affair was so great that the electoral campaign, ■which was at ita height, was relegated to second place In public interest.