The Washington herald., 1908-06-07
BY Ex-ATTAcHE.

press Of every shade OF political opinion.
has dropped his so-called Official secrets
bin" On the face OF it IL was merely an
amendment of the official secrets law Of
1SS9-a law designed for the purpose OF
Furnishing with penal servitude for life. or
for a term of not less than FIVE years.
with or without hard labor. persons act
ing as spies on behalf Of foreign govern
ments. or communicating with them. the
plans and sketches OF fortresses. dock
yards. &c. and with a penalty of two
years Imprisonment. the communication
OF official secrets TO others than foreign
state or their agents.
This statute was so unsatisfactory, had
been so careleSsiy drawn up. and the
leading jurists and judges pronounced II
so clumsy, intricate, and altogether i'm
practicable that neither the bench nor the
government has ever ventured to invoke
it-not even in the most fragrant cases. !
In fact when some time ago a subject
OF King Edward and servant OF the state
Yves caught red handed in the act OF ne
gotiaung with & foreign government for
the sale of plans OF the elaborate secret
defenses OF Gibraltar, and was found toy
have already disposed Of TO the same gov
eminent the complete plans Of the de-
lenses OF Malta, the law officers Of the
crown, after consulting with the judges,
came to the conclusion that it was I'M
possible to convict the man under the
official secrets law OF 1882 and were
obliged TO content themselves with mere
charge Of petit larceny carrying with IL
not more than a twelve months SEN
tence.
The case was tried before the late
Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, who, in
giving Judgment, administered to the
prisoner verbal chastisement of the ut
most severity. and expressed his profound
regret that the law did not permit him
TO punish the culprit according to his
deserts
In another instance, where a discharged
member OF the consular stan was found
10 have retained I'm his possession the
foreign office cipher books. and to be en-
gagged in their sale 20 foreign govern
ment. the only penalty that the courts
were able TO infict upon him was that OF
unlawfully applying to his own use gov
eminent property. In fact, there Is at
the present moment no adequate ma
Chnery in England for furnishing or in
according 10 the admission Of the gov
eminent. have been infesting for a num-
her OF years past the United Kingdom.
India. and other portions Of the British
empire for the purpose OF securing Off
Cial secrets Nor Is there any means OF
melting out a deterrent penalty to British
officials who through carelessness or dis /
honesty allow secret documents and IN
formation 20 get into the hands Of stran-
gers.
The authorities virtually acknowledge
themselves powerless 10 put a stop TO the
theft and betrayal Of official secrets I'M
der the existing conditions Of the law.
and admit that in one instance. where an
extremely confidential document, describ
ing the whole Of the submarine defenses
of the empire In detail, was stolen from
the desk OF one OF the highest officials Of
the admiralty: and in another case, where
a batch OF secret papers relating 70 the
interests OF imperial defense, was lost
from the room OF a cabinet minister.
nothing whatsoever was or could be done
IN the matter.
II is universally acknowledged that
some very radical amendment TO the de-
fective official secrets law OF 1889 is need
ed for the proper protection OF official
secrets IN England, since the existing
condition OF affairs there constitutes by
the assurance OF immunity, a virtual in
vitation to foreign spies and native dis
honest officials to pilfer the secrets OF the
state. Had Lord Loreburn's bill restrict
ed itself. therefore. TO remedying this, no
possible objection would have been offer
ed by the newspapers. Indeed. they
would have given TO Lord Loreburn their
unanimous support
What they did object 10, however, was
the clause which prohibited the pubnca-
ton OF all kinds OF documents and in
formation of a confidential character re-
lating 10 the reigning family and to the
government or its dignitaries; in particu-
lar communications to and from the
reignng sovereign or regent or Of his
predecessor. the date Of which is less
than forty-two years previous TO the date
Of publication. without the consent Of the
monarch. And this clause applied not
only 90 royal correspondence but also to
any document or information which ought
not. in the interests OF the state or crown,
10 have been so published or communi-
Gated
Lord LoreDurn's bill went even still
further, since il stipulated that II a
court OF summary jurisdiction was salts
fed by information on oath that there
was reasonable ground for suspecting the
presence in any premises Of documents or
secrets the disposal or publication OF
which would be prejudicial 10 the crown,
a search warrant and authority for the
seizure of the documents in question
might be granted and enforced OF
course. this would have placed the press
completely at the mercy of the govern
fnent. since the latter would have been
empowered by means of the act TO de-
scend at any time upon any newspaper
Office for the purpose of conhscating in
formation the publication OF which might
be prejudicial TO its interests and to those
OF the reigning house.
Newspaper criticism OF the government
would have become absolutely impossible:
and had, Cor instance, any such law ex-
isted az the time of the Crimean war. not
Il limo of Sir William Howard RusseITs
memorable letters from the front which
brought about the dispatch OF Florence
Nlghtingale-the Lady of the Jamp-to
line East, the foundation Of an efficient
ambulance service, and the reorganiza-
ton Of tho entire War Department. would
have ever seen the light OF day In the
columns of the London Times; and. in
ono word. the press would have been pre-
vented, under penalties Of confscation.
line and imprisonment from the publi-
cation of any news. not alone in times OF
war, but also in times Of peace, the n
Vulgation of which the government Of the
day considered Instantaneous to itself
OF to tho crown.
That was why there was so much op-
position TO Lord Loreburns bill that it
had to be withdrawn; and amazement has
been expressed that so able and broad
minded a jurist as the present lord high