The Imprisonment of Dr. Cornelias Herz. existence of political motive in the prosecu tion must inevitably occur. What the Herz case has conclusively established, apart from the difficulty of proving political motive in a case in which it notoriously exists, is the presence of two serious defects in the Extra dition Acts and in the whole series of ex tradition treaties. The defect in the Acts is due to the alto gether indefensible restriction of the prelim inary magisterial inquiry to the not very dignified precincts of Bow Street Police Court; even where the dangerous illness of the accused prevents his being brought with in miles of London. The remedy for this obviously would be to allow the case to be investigated, with his consent, in his absence. The still more glaring defect in the extra dition treaties is the absence of a provision requiring the foreign Government to with draw its requisition when the dangerous ill ness of the accused has been proved to the satisfaction of the British Government. The invidious task should not be imposed on the Secretary of State of refusing to allow extra dition in such cases : the foreign Government should be required to refrain from demand ing it. A bare enumeration of the facts of the case will show the absurdities and inconven iences, to say the least of it, of the working of the present system. It is now two years and a half since Dr. Cornelius Herz was arrested at Bournemouth by the Scotland Yard authorities, at the in stance of the French Government. He was accused of complicity in frauds, said to have been committed in connection with the Pan ama Canal enterprise. It now seems toler ably clear that, while much of the disaster which covered with grief the closing days of Ferdinand de Lesseps might fairly be attrib utable to mismanagement on the part of some one, the allegation of actual fraud has never been supported; nevertheless, such was the accusation. What followed? The arrest was effected early in 1893. Since
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then Dr. Cornelius Herz has been usually confined to his bed, and always to his room. The reality and the serious nature of his ill ness has been attested by Sir Richard Quain and other eminent British physicians. It is hardly credible, but it is true, that in the face of these well attested facts, and in the face of the repeated demands of this prisoner of British justice to have his case tried, it has not been tried, and he has not been re leased. A technical defect in a British Act of Parliament, and a most marvelous delicacy of feeling for the susceptibilities of French administrators — which would be hurt if our Foreign Office asked them to withdraw their requisition for surrender — has kept an in valid under arrest for the greater part of three years. But it may be said, and with truth, " The French Government is a civilized Govern ment. Why would they seek to persecute an innocent man?" This question is sim ple enough, but so is the answer. In the first place, no police, even the English, likes to give up its quarry. A case means, or may mean, promotion. French tribunals, it is whispered by French lawyers, are not anxious to surrender a case of which they have once been " saisis." Much more are policemen, inferior mortals to judges, touched here with the ardor of the chase. But more than this, a purely political motive comes into operation. None of the fleeting French ministries would like to face the odium of relinquishing the demand for the surrender of a " Panamaist" — or to incur the certain ty of being accused of winking at the escape of a " chequard." Votes are the object in view. Enemies of a given minister, who themselves have no reason for believing Dr. Cornelius Herz more guilty than his ac quitted companions, would jump very quickly at such a convenient stick with which to beat a minister. His acquitted companions, be it noted, for here a startling fact confronts us : all the other persons accused along with Dr. Cor
