The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-09-27
SECRETARY TO BRITISH
 EMBASSY IS FINED $50
REFUSED TO PLEA IN POLICE
 COURT AT LEE, MASS.

Declares That Under International Law
 He Could Not be Either Arrested or
 FIned--Judge Said He Did Not Rec
 osnine That in His Court and con-
 sequentIy Imposed Fine for con-
 tempt and One for speeding His Auto
 State Department Informed.
 Pittsfield, Mass, Sept 26.-Hugh Cur ney, third secretary to Sir Mortimer Durand, the British ambassador. who has been spending the summer in Len OK, was this morning fined in the police court at Lee on two charges. For con- tempt of court he was fined S25. A sim liar fine was imposed in case charg- ing him with speeding his automobile in Stockbridge Sunday. Mir. Gurneys when arraigned in court, positively r4- fused to plead, claiming that as The was the third secretary to his Britannia majesty he could not under internation- al law be arrested or held for any crime. Special Justice Phelps said he did not recognize international law in his. court, and informed the defendant that he must enter a plea
 Despite this statement, MT. Gurney continued in his refusal Then fine was imposed for contempt of court.
 Mir. Gurney did not have in his pos- lsession sufficient money to pay the fine and he was committed in charge of the policeman. Deputy Sheriff Noble. Of lStockbridge, who had made the arrest. The officer accompanied MT. Gurney to Lenox, where the money was secured
 Washington, Sept. 26.-Notice of the action of a special justice at Lee. Mass. in fining Hugh Gurney, third secretary of the British embassy, was received at lthe state department in a telegram from MT. Raikes, first secretary of the embassy, who is at Lenox The de- Ipartment immediately transmitted this telegram in substance to the governor lof Massachusetts, with the suggestion that he do whatever might be neoes- sary to secure the diplomatic immunity of MT. Gurney. It is believed at the de- Ipartment that the matter may be far Emore serious than the local officials at Lee seem to regard it. In the first place, by constitutional and statutory flaw, the persons attached to an embas- lsy are expressly relieved from any le-l gal responsibility, and the exemption Ieven extends to domestic servants Section 4O63 of the Revised Statutes de- clares that any writ prosecuted in any court of the United States or of state, or by any judge of justice, intended to T cause the arrest and Imprisonment of lany public minister, or his servant, shall be void. The succeeding section, 4664, of the Revised Statutes, provides that every person by whom any such protest is obtained or prosecuted, whether as party or attorney, and every officer concerned in it's execution, s.shal be deemed a violator of the law Of the nations and a disturber of the public re- pose, and shall be imprisoned for not more than three years and fined at the discretion of the court"
 It will remain for the governor of Massachusetts to take initial action in this case which will require prompt res dress. The last important precedent occurred in 1892 at the picnic resort of Bay Ridge, near Baltimore, when Dr. George, an attache of the Swiss lega- ton in Washington, was arrested by a deputy sheriff on the charge of being a pickpocket and was sarched and other . wise treated in humiliating manner by the local authorities. The state de- partment secured his release at an ear- : ly moment through the governor of s Maryland, who also caused the dismiss sal of the offending deputy and extend ed an apology for the incident. Though { the Swiss minister might have pressed further punishment, he accepted what had been done as sufficient, but the matter was deemed of such importance that he could not give this notice to , other governments until the Swiss fed eral council had formally considered the lease and expressed itself satisfied. Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the
 British ambassador expressed conf. tdence tonight that the state depart, Iment will take whatever action is prop. Ter. He expects to leave Washington lto-morrow morning to return to Lenox las he had originally planned