Last Saturday evening the Judges of the Supreme Court at
Leipzig gave judgment in the case of Mr. Stewart, who was accused of espionage. In spite of the evidence for the prosecution being meagre in quantity and tainted in quality—they relied upon the evidence of an agent -provocateur of the worst character—the Judges sentenced Mr. Stewart to three and a half years' imprisonment in a fortress. Though we hold the sentence to be in fact a mis- carriage of justice, and though we are convinced of the absolute sincerity of Mr. Stewart's statement that he was innocent of the specific charge made against him—that is, the charge of seeking to obtain information which he was debarred by the law'of Germany from attempting to obtain—we do not desire to challenge in any way the bona Mee of the Judges. They no doubt share in the absurd panic in regard to the
intentions of our Government which for the moment possesses so large a part of the German people. It is only men of very exceptional character and training, whether on the Bench or off it, who are unaffected by moral epidemics of this sort. The admitted fact that Mr. Stewart was making certain inquiries was accepted as evidence that they were illegal inquiries. But the law of Germany does not forbid either foreigners or other people to inquire as to German arma- ments, but only as to matters of secrecy. Otherwise there could be no such thing as a foreign newspaper correspondent in Berlin.
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