THE ENEMY'S SUBJECT.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 13 October 1914, Page 6

THE ENEMY'S SUBJECT.

f ' his status in belligerent •_ : .. , country;

According to the strict old theory, elating from mediaeval times, writes *'Ex-Attache," in <the Chicago Tribune, . each and every subject of the one belligerent is at war "with each and every subject of the other. That is to say, the enemy's subject in the country should/be treated as a prisoner of war, and his property is liable to confiscation. ...'■; . -:. 7J.' '. .' \\: ■■■.•.' But no civilised Power nowadays dreams of putting these doctrines into practicej-4he"on]y exception in relatively modern- times having: been that of the first Napoleon, who, upon the rupture with England, after the peace at Amiens at the beginning of the last century, ordered the arrest of all English in France, or in any foreign country subject to French domination, on • the pretext that they might serve as hostages for such Frenchmen as were likely to be captured on board French vessels after the declaration of war. _ Practically the entire British population in France, Belgium, and Holland *rt the time when Napoleon, after his -dramatic quarrel with the English Ambassador at the Tuileries, proclaimed war, were detained in France until the close of the conflict, which lasted several .years. Few acts on the part of the great Corsican have excited more universal '■ reprobation than this measure, which was regarded by the civilised world as an offence against the law of nations worthy only of a barbarous' ruler. It was argued that, ho matter w,hat . ancient ■ statutes i might prescribe, the ' usage aniorig Christian Powers in these modern Jimes. was to allow the subjects of the; enemies to remain within the territory during good behaviour, andin the enjoyment of their property, subject to imprisonment, or to expulsion within a. stated period, if they conducted themselves in such a manner as to give offence to the authorities of the country whose hospitality they enjoyed, or if their presence for one reason or another was. held to constitute a peril to the State. Just before his Vdeath in 1909, the Jtiorjit Hon. Hugh Arnold Forster, who had been Secretary of State for War in the Unionist Administration, obtained from the Attorney-General of the Liboral Government-.now in office an expression as to the attitude of the British Crbwi) on the stibjsct of the treatment of aliens in tims of war. The foreigners whom he had in view were those many tens of thousands of Germans—considerably over a hundred thousand—making their residence in the United Kingdom, and most of . "whom are carried on the roster of re- "* serve of the Kaiser's army. That so able and brilliant a states-

man as Arnold Forster should have

considered it necessary to question the Government as to the .status of all ~these hundred thousand or more unarmed soldiers of the reserve of the German army-who might be living in Great Britain at the moment of an outbreak of war with Germany as merchants, waiters, etc., indicates that the matter is one which, at any rate, merits thoughtful consideration and discussion. „.....:■■

Sir William Robson, the. AttorneyGeneral, in his reply to Mr Forster, •announced thatj in the event of war, "England would follow the humane and chivalrous practice of modern times and would give the subjects of a hostile belligerent Power who;might be - fouad engaging in civilian pursuits in Great Britain a reasonable time within which to leave for their own country, 16T^ jf they were;under obligations to enter service under the enemy's flag and to return as jb©«."

Sir William mad© it perfectly clear s that this was a matter of modernusage •Wid Courtesy rather than of law and \ right, and pointed, out.that at the out- - break of the Franco-German war of 1870 France not only gave ample time as she did recently, for all German sub- , * jects found on. her territory to leave for home if they f wished to do so, but f <even made special arrangements f.or their protection and organised exceptional railroad facilities for their beneJ" fit, 'although it was perfectly well known that they were going back to the > Fatherland to fight under the enemy's flag". On the other hand, the AttorneyGeneral showed that there are still in

, existence ancient unrepealed statutes (which, though not invoked, have, I Relieve, their place in the legislation of , most foreign countries) authorising the Government to • detain and intern foreign soldiery found on its territory on the outbreak of war with the nation to which they .belonged. 1 The English law states that this might be done in the event of military considerations rendering it necessary, and occasions might arise, when the temptation to niake use of this law ■would be very great,' such as, for in-. , v stance, if the chief of staff and some of the best generals of the German army and the ablest commanders of ler navy happened to be on British soil when war was. declared. * That such laws exist in Austria- is i shown by the. fact that the chief of staff _of the Servian army, General Futmk, and its cleverest strategist, being found at Budapest, on his way back to Belgrade after the declaration «f war by Austria, was promptly arrested by the Austrian military author--1 ities, to be held, as: a prisoner of war ■rf rery moment that Emperor . francis Joseph heard of the matter he, c- with that chrva|ry^whieh ' has always tmguished him,. 'at once gave orders m the generals-liberation, that apblo--7 v jgies should be offered 4 to him for the ■\ treatment which he had received, and y that he should be speeded homeward s - with all due honor' and courtesy * '-r t aws ng°inS b.apk to'the days of King . John of England' and of Magna Charta provided that no alien should be allow- - leave for. a country at war with , x England, untilpit had been ascertained €. OW,-% at nation..was about to treat , ±*nglish subjects. And always subject > to this understanding, a statute bear- ;; ang the sign, manual of Edward 111 * gave foreign merchants forty days after -the outbreak of hostilities in which to depart. , "With regard to merchants and nont * combatant citizens of a hostile power \ the question .of their enforced depar- , tare within a reasonable time is a mat- ■' lt T or *™ ■ discretioji of the State in the territory of which they are resii. y6^*' Ver?; rarely they- are compelled - to leave. Nearly, always they are permitted to stays ;. Thus, when-the United States was at s , "«;ar with Spain, sixteen years ago, ■; Plenty of Spaniards remained unmolest;v^ ed throughout the connict. Naturally „- they, were subjected., to some special ~ eupefvision by the Government, both , for its own security and for their protection. • .■ . ■ .