GERMAN brutality has almost surpassed itself in the execution of Miss Edith Cavell on the charge of helping British, French and Belgian soldiers to escape from Belgium. As Lord Desart said in the House of Lords on Wednesday, this gallant lady and devoted nurse ‘‘appears to have been tried in cold blood, convicted in cold blood, and executed in cold blood”. It is not denied that she committed acts in violation of the kind of law that prevails in war-time, but the death sentence was monstrous and the manner of her execution was revolting. In marked contrast with her treatment is the reprieve of several French and Belgian ladies who were guilty of like offences. At the instance of the Pope and the King of Spain they are remanded while their cases are being reconsidered. Miss Cavell, being an Englishwoman, found no mercy, though up to the very last moment the representatives of the United States and of Spain were unremitting in their efforts on her behalf. Her name, however, will long be honoured among the heroines of history.
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