SINN FEIN PLOTTERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 259, 20 July 1918, Page 7

SINN FEIN PLOTTERS

' ——<i> STORY OF A TREACHEROUS CONSPIRACY ' . THE TRICKERY OF COUNT BERNSTORFF . Some weeks .ago-.a condensed summary of the Press Bureau's.statement covering the history of the Sinn Fein, plots in Ireland was cabled out.. From newspaper files which arrived yesterday.we aro new able to publish the statement in full, a» follows:— ■■■''' . ' ; ■ Tho revolutionary movement in Ireland which culminated in the recent, arrest of a considerable number of persons consisted of two closely related series of activities:—" • •••'!■. • •■• . ; (a) The attempts of the German . Government' to foment rebellion,- in Ireland; - (b) The preparations made in Ireland to carry these attempts into action.' . ■'',■:. The story of tho active connection between the leaders of tho Sinn- Fein movement and the Germans, as disclosed by documents in tho possession of tho BritisU Government, falls into two parts— the period prior to, and the period 6ince, the abortive Irish Rebellion of -Easter; 1916.. ■•-. ~• -. ,

■ The events of the. first period, can. bo told with -some detail, but. the second period, which concerns recent events, permits of. no. more than a summary, as a full statement of the facts and documents in possession of. the Government would disclose, the names of persons who stood by the Government, and also the channels of communication, through which the German. Government was acting, and which it' would not' bo jn the public interest to reveal at present.'

The story begins as early in the waras November 6, 191-4, wlien Herr Zimmer-' mann-transmitted through Count Bernstorff a messago from Casement, asking that a messenger, if possible a nativeborn American, be sent to Ireland with the word that everything was favourable. He was to carry no letter, for fear of nr.rest. Casement also asked that an Irish 'priest should be sent to Germany with the' assistance of- the German Legation in' Norway, to wprk.in prison camps and corrupt Irish prisoners of war.. ' This priest was a certain' Father John 7. Nicholson, au American citizen of Irish birth.' He reached German safe-, ly, and we find him in January, 1915, transmitting messages to America. According to a report of Captain von Papen dated December 5, 191-1/.the verbal assurances sent in response .to Casement's request had- produced an excellent:impression in Ireland.. .''.... , ' '." ;.' -,

In the beginning of 1916 the: plot ripened. Oa February 10 Count Bernstorff sent to ,'a covering address in Rotterdam a' dispatch signed with tho name of Skal, one of his principal American agents. This dispatch included an extract' from l a report' of John Devoy, the herid of the Clan-na-Gael; to the effect'that action in Ireland could not be'postponed much longer since he feared' the arrest' of- tho ; loaders. . ■ •■. ■ .■•'■ ;■■ :;*•.■.;■>• .'.

It has been decided, he said, to begin action on Easter Saturday, and .he urged that-the arms , and munitions must be in Limerick by that date.. . Later, in the same month Count Bernstorff, following his usual practice, surreptitiously attached to a message to Berlin passed by the American Government a note fixing Easter Saturday for the. rising and urging the dispatch of. munitions in time._ Bernstbrff's Code. On March 1 von Jagow, replied that the arms would be, landed in Tralee Bay, and asked, that the necessary arrangements should be made in Ireland through Devoy.,. On March W Bernstorff ' replied that the, Irish agreed; and that full details were being sent to Ireland by messenger. ■ ■■'. Next day Bernstorff telegraphed a code to be used between the Germane and the rebels while the arms wero in trap-, eit, and explained that a submarine might safely enter Dublin Bay and go as far. a's'the Pigeon House-without encounteringl" nets;'- jK'.H'-'V -i;..;. ,!:,(.'!.,... : V "On ila'rch'2G von- , Jagow replied that the arnis ; would be sent and that a special code word would-.be . used every night as an introduction ;to the German Wireless Press Service. In a message from'Bernstorif to Berlin the Germans were assured that there were numerous private wireless receiving stations in Ireland. •■:..'

On April 18 arid 1!) urgent messages •were sent froni America to Berlin, fixing the delivery of tho arms for the evening of Easter Sunday, pressing for the land-

ing of German troops, arid asking for an air raid on England and.a naval at-' tack on.tho English coast. These attacks actually took nlace between April 24 and 2G. It was the declared iiope of the rebels and their Germnn and American friends to blockade the Irish ports against England and establish bnses in Ireland for German submarines. The rebellion broke out a day. later than the schedule on Easter Monday,

. April 24, but, as the'world is aware, the German support had. miscarried and it i ended in complete .failure. Tho report of the Royal Commission on tho rebellion in Ireland stated:—"lt is now a matter'of common notoriety .that the Irish' Volunteers have been in communication with the authorities in Germany, and wero for a long time known to'be supplied by money through IrishAmerican societies. This was so stated

in public by Mr..,Tohn it'Neill on November B,' 1914. It was suspected long before the outbreak that some of the money came from German sources." The evidence on' this subject in the possession of the British Government provides the clearest.proof of these suspicions. •■••,

It'became'clear very soon after the rising that the Sinn Fein leaders- were again' asking;. Germany for help. . On June 17" there was a message from Berlin to Washington referring to "A 259 of May 6" (a inessago which is missing), and saying that Germany was perfectly ready to give further help if tho Irish would only say what sort of help they required. '■ •' On June 16 Bernstorff had already sent 'a dispatch giving an account of (he re-' liellioii as : far' aa his information went, and stating that had been provided , for the defence, of Casement. On July 2a he sent a long message giving further news from Ireland, and explaining that the work of reorganising -the rebels was :tasking' good progress, and that their lack of money had been remedied by him. Second-rising Plans. On September 8, in a dispatch to Berlin, he enclosed a'menioranduni from a person .called "Irish Revolution DirectorResident in America," which contained detailed proposals for a fresh rising. Any rising, says tho Irish Revolution Director, must be contingent upon the 6ending by Germany of "an expedition with a sufficient military force to cover the landing." : On this new occasion the German Government was .to.lix the time, and as an inducement the advantage of having submarine and., Zeppelin bases in the west of Ireland was insisted upou. Count Bernstorff was ovidently having difficulty with his tools, for on October 24 he warned his Government'not to allow a certain Captain Boehm, then resident in Rotterdam, to write to Irishmen in America, since his letters wero tipt to go to.the wrong people. Later, Captain Boehm was arrested by us in British waters. . On December 4tvo find Count Bern•etorff again attaching surreptitiously a note to a message passed by tho American Government,.in which ho mentioned that the Irish leaders in America were pressing for an answer to their proposal of September 8. Ho seems to have followed this on Christmas Day wfth a message which is missing, for on the hist day of 191G Herr Ziminermann informed him of the cjiinntities of munitions which it was pro- ' posed to land between February 21 and 25. 1917. He added that it was impossible to send German troops. On January 18, 1917. Bernstorff Teplied that his Irish committee declined the proposal, us without German troops a rising would be useless, , .

After America's entrance into the war on .An.ril ■!•.. 1!)1". the line of communication between the German Government and the leaders.of,.the Sinn Fein Party was teniDoriirily broken, though thero is no.reason.to bejkye j,hat the messenger

service devised by John Devoy between America and Ireland, was affected.

■ A duo to tin; now 'line of communication \vii3 subsequently obtained mid has been actively l'ullowijd up. The effect of this now line in Ireland is visible iu the speeches ot the Sinn Feiu lenders during tins period. I'or example, do Valera, addressing the Convention of Irish Volunteer;; on Octobur -i', 1917, said.

"Jiy prolyl , organisation , ,, recruiting, they could havp 500,000 lightiiii; volunteers in Ireland. That would be a big army,'but without the opportunity ami tiie menus 01' fighting it could only be used as ii menace. There had already been too much bloodshed without success, and he would never advocate 'another rebellion witiiout liopelul chances of eucct'ss. They'cou id see ]io hope ot that in the near future except through a (.•ierniau invasion of England and the landing of troops and niuuitions in Ireland. They should be prepared to leave nothing undone towards that end." On another occasion in January this year'do Valera said: "So long as Germany is the enemy of England and England the enemy of Ireland,'so long trill Ireland be the friend of Germany."

I'or some considerable time it was difficult to obtain accurate information as to the German-Sinn Fein plans, but about April, 1918, it was definitely ascertained that the plan for landing arms in Ireland was ripe for execution and that the Germans, only awaited definite information from Ireland as to the time, place, and date. The' British authorities were able to warn the Irish Command regarding , the probable landing of an agent from Germany from a submarine. The agent actually landed on April 12, and was arrested. ■ The new rising depended, largely upon tho landing of munitions from submarines, and there is evidence to showthat it was planned to follow a successful German offensive in the West and to take place at a timo when Grout Britain would be presumably stripped of troops. .Accordiin? to documents found on his person, <lci Valera had- workwf out in great detail Hie constitution' of his rebel army, ana hoped to be able to muster half a million trained men;

There is evidence that German munitions were actually' shipped in_ submarines at Cuxhaven at tho begining of May, and that for some time German submn fines had been busy off tho west Coast of Ireland on • other errands than the destruction of Allied shipping.

It will thus be seen that negotiation? between the executive of- th<! Sinn Fein; organisation and Germany have been virtually continuous for three and a half years. At first a section of tlio. IrishAmericans was the intermediary for.most of the discussions, .but since America's entrance into the war communication? teith the enemy have tended to be more direct.-. . ■ ■■

A second rising in Ireland was planned for last year, and the;scheme broke down only because Germany was unablo to send- troops. This-year plane for another rising in' connection with the German offensive on :the western front wero maturing and a' ,'new shipment of arms from Germany was - imminent. An important feature in every plan was the establishment of submarine. bases in Ireland to menace, the shipping of all nations. -.In.these.circumstances no otW course was open to the Government, if useless bloodshed was to be avoided- and its cfuty :to the Alike fulfilled, but to intern-the authors acd abettors of this criminal intrigue. • .. -. -