ESPIONAGE

(from the french word espion, aspy) is the acquirement of information by secret methods and by special agents, as opposed to _ its acquirement openly by combatants in the ordinary course of military operations. Espionage is recognized by international law under the Hague Convention, Article 24 of the Annexe to which reads as follows: ‘‘ Ruses of war and the employment of measures nece ary for obtaining information about the enemy and the country are considered permi ible.” The right given by this rule does not, however, extend to the employment of force to extract information from enemy subjects as te ' their own armies, so that it follows that methods of espionage must be of a persuasive, and, so to speak, peaceful nature. P Espionage is carried on both in peace and war, but the conditions under which secret service agents work differ to a very marked extent according to the state of affairs between the two countries. In peace-time, though many countries maintain secret service agents in other states, yet these same agents can expect no a istance from their Governments in the event of their being detected. In this case it is a diplomatic fiction that nothing is known of them or of the reasons for their activities. The agent, therefore, in consideration of a sufficient allowance, takes the risk of a lengthy term of imprisonment if hei o unfortunate as to be found out. Tn time of war the condition of noninterference naturally exists as a matter of course, and the secret service agent or spy is liable to the death penalty if discovered, and the fact that he has or has not obtained and transmitted information does not affect the case. In time of peace every nation of any importance maintains representatives in other states. Among the recognized duties of these representatives is the obtaining and transmitting of information about naval and military matters which may be of interest to their Governments. This is not regarded as espionage provided the information is obtained by the representative in his ofiicial capacity; it becomes so when resort is had to disguise or di imulation, and, in fact, di imulation is the e ence of the offence. It follows, therefore, that a spy—one who practises espionage—must act in a clandestine manner in order to bring himself within the technical definition of the offence (by international law). The characteristics of the act of spying are laid down in Article 29 of the Hague Convention, and the definition there given is as follows: ‘“‘A person can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely or on false pretences, he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in the zone of operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating it to the hostile party....” From this definition it appears that action in the ‘zone of operations’ is a nece ary concomitant of the offence, and that, therefore, persons operating outside that zone cannot} technically be charged with espionage; and to a certain extent this is so. A person may be domiciled in a _ belligerent country, and may, while pursuing his ordinary vocation, collect and trans i it openly information of value to his 222 ESPIONAGE own country; in the absence of di imulation, such a person could not be charged with espionage, though he could be with war-treason. As, by international law, war-treason is punishable by death, the result is the same as if all the characteristics of spying had been present. Hspionage has been brought to a fine art in many countries, and complex organizations for its practice exist. nformation may conceivably be collected with comparative ease by trained agents, but it is when it comes to disposing of that information that the troubles of the secret service agent begin. A poison requires an antidote, and the system of counter-espionage to a great extent provides this antidote. In a cor dance with this system, steps are taken to mark down and know all secret-service agents engaged in espionage work in the country concerned; their operations are then followed and, to a certain extent, controlled till such time as the psychological moment arrives when all, including the master-brain, are drawn into the net and disposed of. In a military sense a spy means a man, whether soldier or civilian, who penetrates in disguise behind the enemy lines and brings back information about his dispositions. By the customs of war the penalty inflicted on a@spy caught in the act is death after trial; but should a man known to have acted as a spy on some former occasion be subsequently captured in the course of military operations, he cannot be punished for his former act, and must be treated as a prisoner of war. The following examples may serve to show what can be considered spying and what cannot. ‘A’, a soldier, in presence of the enemy, volunteers to obtain exact information as to the strength of a certain hostile post. To this end he, wearing his uniform and carrying a weapon of some kind, approaches the post by stealth, and secretes himself in a convenient place for seeing and hearing. If he is discovered, and attempts to escape, he may be shot in the proce ; but if he is captured, he must be treated as a prisoner of war and not asa spy. ‘B’, another soldier, speaking the enemy language, disguises himself as an officer of the enemy forces, and in this disguise penetrates behind the lines and mixes with the enemy troops. On discovery and capture he may be tried as a spy and shot.; In the first case ‘A’ was acting as a cumbatant in the ordinary course of military operations, and no disguise was present; in the second case ‘B’ was acting clandestinely and under false pretences, i.e. was masquerading as an officer of the enemy forces, and the nece ary di imulation was present. IMG:fig223_1.jpg: