His position with regard to the original charge and sentence of deportation is worthy of note. For sixteen years he had been in business in Caledonian Road; that is to say, he had resided in his place for such a length of time that there were no grounds for suspicion against him on the part of the inhabitants of the district. He was a part of the life of the place, almost an old inhabitant, when his doings rendered him worthy of the notice of the police. This is characteristic of the fixed agent in French centres, as already stated here. On September 28, 1914, the present case was opened against Ernst by Mr Bodkin, who appeared for the Director of Public Prosecutions at Bow Street Police-Court. The charge was to the effect that Ernst had "obtained and communicated, and attempted to obtain and communicate to one Steinhauer, certain information calculated to be useful to an enemy." Mr Bodkin stated that the prisoner first came under the suspicion of the authorities in October of 1911, and it was evident that from then until January of 1914 he had been a spy in the pay of the German secret service. The man who was practically Ernst's master was one Steinhauer, a member and organiser of the German secret service, whose name had figured in practically every espionage case investigated in this country for the past three or four years. Acting under Steinhauer's orders, the prisoner was alleged to have been deputed to accomplish certain duties which fell under two heads. In the first place, it was alleged that he was to receive from Steinhauer, who was located in Germany, letters enclosed in envelopes which gave them the appearance of ordinary business communications, and to post them in England to various members of the organisation. In the second place, it was alleged that he was to make inquiries on his own account with regard to persons and places which, in the opinion of Steinhauer, would be useful to the German secret service. His salary consisted of out-of-pocket expenses and a retaining fee of one pound a month, which, when Ernst pointed out the risk attaching to what he was doing, and the importance of his work, was increased to one pound ten shillings a month. Mr Bodkin stated that "the system was perfectly well-known from the commencement in 1911, and the hairdresser's shop in Caledonian Road was accordingly kept under observation."