Chapter XVIII: Section XVII: 65. Persian Disorders

The following telegrams, dated from Bushire, appeared in the papers on April 12th, 1909:

"_April 10th._

"In view of the sense of insecurity caused by the looting of the Tangistani tribesmen, who will not submit to any control, his Majesty's cruiser _Fox_ to-day landed a party of bluejackets who are guarding the place. The Tangistanis are now leaving the district."

"_April 11th._

"Before the bluejackets landed from the cruiser _Fox_ yesterday, the British Resident in the Persian Gulf issued a proclamation informing the public that the measure had been forced upon the British authorities in the absence of any authority able to control the Tangistanis or guarantee the safety of British and other foreign subjects. The proclamation added that the bluejackets were being landed solely for the purpose of protecting foreigners and would be withdrawn as soon as security was assured."

On April 27th the following appeared in the _Times_ from Teheran:

"The advance guard of the Russian expedition to Tabriz left the frontier yesterday. The main body marched this morning. The force numbers 2,600, and consists of four squadrons of Cossacks, two batteries of horse artillery, three battalions of infantry, and a company of pioneers, escorting a large train of provisions.

"The commander of the troops has stringent orders to preserve a pacific attitude, and it is expected that he will halt some distance outside Tabriz, which he will not enter except in case of necessity.

"The Russian and British Legations will to-morrow jointly notify the Persian Government of the action taken and of the motives which prompted the despatch of an armed force into Persian territory."

66. _The Expulsion of Monsieur de Reus._

The following appeared in the papers of July 22nd, 1908, dated Caracas, July 21st:

"President Castro has expelled M. J. H. de Reus, the Dutch Minister Resident here. Dr. Paul, Minister for Foreign Affairs, sent his passports to M. de Reus with a note informing him that, in view of the opinions expressed by M. de Reus in a letter written on April 9th, President Castro declares him to be incompetent to serve as a friendly medium in the relations between Venezuela and the Netherlands.

"The letter referred to is probably M. de Reus's reply to President Castro's demand that Holland should exercise more effectual vigilance over Dutch vessels plying between La Guaira and Curacao, in which Venezuelan revolutionaries frequently effect their escape under assumed names. This preceded the trouble caused by the closing of the port of Curacao to Venezuelan shipping on account of plague at La Guaira."

67. _The Case of McLeod._

Alexander McLeod was a member of the British force sent by the Canadian government in 1837 into the territory of the United States for the purpose of capturing the _Caroline_, which vessel had been equipped for crossing into Canadian territory and taking help to the Canadian insurgents. In 1841 McLeod came on business into the State of New York, and was arrested and indicted for the killing of one Amos Durfee, a citizen of the United States, on the occasion of the capture of the _Caroline_.

68. _A Thwarted Suicide._

While the _Frau Elizabeth_, a German tramp steamer, is on the high seas during a voyage between New York and Hamburg, a sailor, Heinrich Kalke, jumps overboard with the intention of drowning himself. Another sailor leaps into the sea after him in the hope of saving Kalke's life. He succeeds in getting hold of the man, but Kalke struggles and, being unable to free himself, draws a knife and stabs the sailor, who thereupon sinks. While the struggle is in progress the vessel slackens speed, a boat is lowered, and its occupants succeed in securing Kalke. He is taken on board, conveyed to Hamburg, and there put on his trial for murder. Counsel for defence asserts that Germany does not possess jurisdiction, as the act was committed, not on a vessel sailing under the German flag, but in the sea itself, and as, according to Sec. 4, No. 3 of the German criminal code, a German can only be punished in Germany for an act committed abroad, if the act concerned is punishable both by the law of Germany and by that of the country where the act was committed.