In time of war the condition of non-interference 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 official capacity; it becomes so when resort is had to disguise or dissimulation, and, in fact, dissimulation is the essence 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 necessary 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 transmit openly information of value to his own country; in the absence of dissimulation, 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.
Espionage has been brought to a fine art in many countries, and complex organizations for its practice exist. Information 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 accordance 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 process; but if he is captured, he must be treated as a prisoner of war and not as a 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 combatant 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 necessary dissimulation was present.
Espir´ito-Santo ('Holy Spirit'), one of the maritime states of Brazil, bounded north by Bahia, south by Rio-de-Janeiro; length, about 260 miles; breadth, about 120 miles; area, 17,310 sq. miles. Pop. 434,500.
Espir´itu-Santo, an island of the Pacific, the largest of the New Hebrides, with some 20,000 inhabitants.