RETRIBUTION.

Southland Times, Issue 17789, 19 July 1916, Page 4

RETRIBUTION.

It is interesting to note that th* demand for the punishment of those responsible for the war crimes of Germany has been strongly supported in Prance, where many men of letters have signed a petition asking for a declaration of 'the Allies’ policy in regard to this important subject. The request is a perfectly reasonable, one, and it might have some deterrent effect if the Allies made a solemn .pact to punish the authors of the crimes that have disgraced the enemy’s conduct of the war. It is not suggested that vengeance should be wreaked blindly upon the German people, but that an effort should be made to discover those, responsible for such atrocities as the sinking of the Lusitania, the murder of Nurse Cavell, the shooting of the wounded, the ill treatment of prisoners, and the innumerable outrages that have been committed in Belgium. It is highly important that crime should not go unpunished, whether committed in war or in peace, and the rules of warfare recognise the justice of meting out punishment at the close of a war to those who have committed crime. The matter is one that should interest neutrals as deeply as it does the countries engaged in the war, and It is to be hoped that the agitation for a formal declaration of the Allies’ intentions will be continued and that it will be successful. The fear of the consequences is the only restraint that is effective with criminals, and it might check the of the Germans if those in high-places knew that they would be held" personally responsible for crimes fhat could be sheeted home to them.