Mr. Churchill's small effort in the way of reprisals earlier
in the war was an absolute failure. It should never be forgotten that one of our greatest assets—a fact that will immeasurably support our authority and our prestige in the world—will be to emerge from this war with dean hands. We would state this advantage on purely material grounds for the benefit of those who are unable to appre- ciate it on moral grounds. Our best line of action is to keep careful notes about the offenders in Germany and to bring them to the sternest justice, as we have pledged ourselves to do. That we not only can do but ought to do. It is very right to punish the guilty, but it is very wrong to punish those who are not proved guilty for the sins of others. Finally, we are glad to notice that Lord Newton spoke of the non-employment of German prisoners in our ooal-mines as " a ridiculous anomaly." As we pointed out recently, German prisoners work freely in the French ooal-mines.
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