Our Government has not yet expressed its own opinion on
the construction to be put on the Extradition Act, but our correspond- ent, Mr. Ludlow, is certainly mistaken in assuming, as he does in his letter, that Lord Enfield declared that the Communists are not to be treated by England as ordinary political refugees. On Thursday week Lord Enfield said, in answer to Mr. Whalley, "Her Majesty's Government acknowledge the attention shown by the Commune to the unofficial representations made on behalf of British subjects, but they decline any interference between the Government of France and the insurgents when subdued,"—i. e., of course they decline intervention, or friendly offices on behalf of a policy of clemency,—an answer which did not touch at all the question of our duty to Communist refugees here. On the fol- lowing night, Friday week, Mr. Bruce, in answer to Lord Elcho, expressly declared, as we understand him, that there was no possibility of refusing to allow Communist refugees to enter our dominions, as the Belgian Government has declared its purpose to do, and that in the case of demands for extradition being made, " ordinary " criminals would be surrendered, but "political" criminals would not. How the Government intend to define ' political ' and ordinary ' Mr. Bruce evidently had not considered, and therefore very wisely did not explain.
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