The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-12-07

IECIN ny CABLE TO THE NEW YORK
HERALD M THE ST. LOUIS KErlBLIC.
Ey HERBERT Paul.
London. Dec. G.-Cnpyright. fn2D-The
Royal Commissioner upon martial Law in
South Africa aye thorOIsh-.oing and far
reaching.
The Commissioners in substance. recon-
mend that sentences 81 penal s-ryitu,le.
even penal servitudc for life. shall be either
wholly RENTED or reduced to short terms
Of imprisonment.
Most Of the case. more than 100. occurred
in Cape Colony and were charges of t-aa-
son. The usual sentence of thu cpurt-u:ar-
tial was death. but Lord Kitchener general
~ substituted penal servitude FOR life.
Many eminent lawyers ho3d that these
sentences when passed npoa civilians
were invalid. but the Indemnity act of the
Cape Parliament has removed that qIcs-
tion from the sphere of practical politics.
COMMISSIONERS WORK.
The first reflection which this report sug-
gests is the reckless and inliscriminate Sc
verify of martial law, which the Duke of
Wellington declared 10 be no law at all.
There is no reason To suppose that the Off
GERS who composed these tribunals in Cape
Colony during the war We're incompetent or
unjust. They were doubtless honorable and
intelligent men. hut the penalty of treas, II
is death. They were there to have traitors
shot. one Africauder in Malta was let off
with six years penal seTyitude. which IS
now reduced tn three. His ofense was de-
scrihed with charming simplicity as high
treason In possessing two soft-EoSed bull
let's"
The Commissioners appear to have done
they work in 4 careful and efficient man
ner. Two of them were Judges of the
high court, ~ being the Lord Chief Justice
of England. while the third, Mr.. John Ar
dagh, Is u soldier, formerly chief of the In
telligenCe Department at the War Office.
II would. however. have been more
~esmau to proclaim Il general am
nvSty at the coronation.
Almost all of these offenses were political,
and il would have been an act of high policy
10 remit them
To leave them as they were was oh
viOusiy impossible and to expect such as
were independent of the war would have
been easy. The pardon would then have
come by an act of pure grace from the
King, through the channel of his consti- !
tutional advisers. Judges are the proper
opponents Of law, bit the exposition uf the
law is a very different thing from the exrr-
else of the prerogativss of mercy which. 30
political criminals, implies no censure. d.
rect or Indirect, upon those who convicted
and sentenced them.
TRIUMPH OF CRITICS.
The report of the Commissioner will be
understood in Cape Colony 10 mean that the
highest English Judge not connected with Il
government coHS'uelS tht ADMINISTRATION OF
martial law was unduly severe ana OPP |
pressive.
The Lord Chief Justice could not take into !
account. as the Cabinet might, the desir-
ability of pacifying classes and races at the
Cape. He could only compar the crime
with the punishment and say by how much
the latter was excessive.
The result Is certainly a triumph for those !
who denounced martial law. while it was
being administered InasmuCh. however. !
as more than a hundred prisoners have al
ready been released by the recommendation
of the commissioners and as the sentences
reduced To two years will very soon expire. ,
the influence OF the commission is likely 10
lie pacific. 1t has at least relieved the Gov !
eminent from the responsibility which they
were strangely unwilling to face.