IRISH POLICY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 197, 15 May 1920, Page 7

IRISH POLICY

• , ; -i—— • EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH NORMAL LIFE ADMIRATION FOR GALLANT POLICE STATEMENT BY CHIEF SECRETARY . - — : By Telecr'apli—Preßß Association—Copyright . London, llay 13.! In an interview in Dublin; the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Sir Hamar Greenwood, said: "Since my appointment' I have fiigned no orders'for deportation, and I. have released -many- persons arrested on suspicion, after personally examining the grounds on which the suspicion was based. I have, personally ordered the release of 'Alderman O'Brien • these things show that l am parrying out my' intention to try to establish' normal life in Ireland, including, normal proceedings in tho Courts of Justice; am expressing the; views of. my couulrymen and of tho.world, when .I say that, the gallant Irish' 1 police deserve the admiration of all. The Government will not fail in its duty to them:"—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. •■. NEW .SERIES OF OUTRAGES, WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION OP ' POLICE BARRACKS. Dublin, May 13. A new series of outrages, in which. many parts of Ireland apparently aio .concerned, includes the destruction of tho' police barracks at Ballyrack, Bessborough, Killograige,. Carrickbeg, Carrignn, . and.Cnnilough. It is noteworthy that the. Bessborongh . barracks are i«nly linlf-ii.-mila from, the Vice-Regal Lodge. Tho attackers cut the telegraph lines and pre-, .vented communication with. Dublin andtlie provincial centres. Other parties burned down tlio - Customs' offices at Bantry. Armed and. masked men held up the KilcommonNenagli mail, .and'.seized .police correspondence. " Another party,. seized and tarred Air.. P.. Shoeliy,' ;ari editor, at Skibbereen. Th« income Tax Office, housed in the- : Scottish' Provident Building, in Belfast, was raided by masked' men, and clerks who were ; working .overtime were .overpowered and "bound. Thp raiders emptied ;the shelves and desks, and, piled'tho income documents on tho floo"?,-. .where they were saturated with petrol and set on fire. The raiders then" decamped. .No. arrests.have been made!—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. . GOVERNMENtIffFcES RAIDED DESTRUCTION OF BOOKS AND • DOCUMENTS. . (Rcc. May 1 14, 7.20 p.m.) London, May',l3. The police barracks'at Carrigard; in" Donegal, arid" Kollcter,'- in Tyrone, have been destroyed. ' ' '" Masked'raiders wlio held up the.clerks in the' Belfast Income Tax office de-; stroyed all papers, but the fire 'brigade' saved the' building. The ■ Customs offico .at Bantry-was- completely destroyed af-ter-books and documents had; been piled in,a-bonfire. Similar outages |were_ perpetrated at the Old-age Pensions Office at Newton Stewart, the Income Tax Office at .Londonderry, and ' the Inland Revenue Office at Enniskillen. ■•■-.■ . Eight .masked men raided the Downpatrick Exciso Office and stole a'quail*, ■tity of documents.. A.clergyman living '.next door was, shot in the thigh while, assisting the caretaker, Cablo Assii V. . : ■ . ,-' (Rec. May li, .7.55 pjir.). . . London,. May . 13.. , Tlio Rev. Mr,. Wilkinson, canon of ■ Down Cathedral, was the; clergyman shot in the thigh while endeavouring to stop .the raid on the Downpntrick Excise Office. '. . : • :. . ; : .TKo Irish" outrages' .inblude tho burn-. ;ing of.the ,police barracks',ih ! the sub'urba.qf Cork. Explosives "we re "used .to; completo the destruction.—Uiiited Service., ' 'MAILS CAPTURED; •' - . (ftee,. May .'l4, 8.45 p.'ni.) ■ • London, May 13. Masked meii captured the. "mail between Nenagh and Thurles, seizing a number of' police' documents. The mail train was raided at Midlcton, and thri constabulary mail was captured.—Aus.-' N.Z. Cablo Assn.- , ■ A TOUCHING STORY. . WATER REFUSED TO DYING BOY. (Rec, Mny 14, 11.40 p.m.) London,. May. 13., A touching story was told at a Belfast inquest on a boy shot in a field. His father stated that he found the boy lying beside two horses which had also been shot dead. The boy said neigh— j bours, .whose names ho' would not (lis-. close, committed the outrage.) The father' went to a neighbour's house, and asked 1 for water,"which was' refused. Two men , in. a field, when asked for assistance, turned their, backs upon him. Othors declined to'fetch a'priest. The father later-: procured help,'and carried the boy to tho house, w'here he died. A verdict of murder by persons unknown was return-ed.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable A6sn. GIMILUJVARFARE RECALLING EASTER OUTRAGES. (Rcc, May 1-1, 11.10 p.m.) • , ' London, May 11. Yestorday's outbreak of guerilla warfaie in Ireland recalls tho Easier outraged. Bombs were used in a number of cases. A human baud watf found near one raid, and apparently hud been accidentally blown ofl a Sinn I'einer. Most of tho police barracks were unoccupied, and their destruction was quite wanton. 'The cost 'will fall on tho local ratepayers,' many of whom are Sinn Feiners. Where the baracks were occupied by sergeants their families were bundled out in the small hours of the morning by armed masked men. Children were terrified to see their homes , burning.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. REINFORCING TMNSTABULARY (Rec. May 14, -11.10 p.m.) London, May. Lord Birkenhead, speaking ?'■ a newspaper Press fund meeting, said: "The Government has just taken special and wholly nceptioual steps to reinforce the Irish constabulary. The force, whose ill oral has never faltered, will know that vheh.men go upon the most dangerous task to-night, that the Government is adding to their number men: who had aleracly fought fur the Empire, and aro' now going to devote themselves to the task of deleriiiining whether the murderers in Ireland arc strong enough to destroy the Empire."—Aus.-N.Z.' Cable. Assn. ..... : . (Rec. May IS, 0.15 a.m.)' • London, May 1.1. . It is understood that the Government linx decided. upon a military guard of ouc or two soldicr,4 for every policeman, in order to eijd the campaign of anarchy • and murder in'lreland.—Aus.-N.Z;'CMIo. Assn. ■ .. criminaTringleaders When accounts are squared (says'.Mr'.' Joseph Fisher, writing in tho "Nine-, tcerith Century," of organised murders in Ireland at various periods),,it is alwnys. evident that '.lie criminal ringleaders arb lew in .number, and that'the bulk of the "village .ruffians" act. from fear rather than "from inclination. To repress overt lawlessness., to afford protection to the timid and' wavering who would lie lawabiding if they thought it safer' than to be lawle'ss, rind above all'to search'out and to punish mercilessly the real "Thugs" who arc the contrivers and plot-, tei's of. these outrages—that surely ought not to be a task beyoiid of an Irish Government whose officers; high .and tow, tvero "tuned up"'"to -this utmost pitch .of-: efficiency. If .they pursue that" course firmly,and consistently, and'without regard to the by-play of party'politics or. the interests of party politicians, l.jiev. can. rr>ly on the support and the gratitude or nil men', of good will, iipt only "in Great .Britain, but in' Ireland al6o, and throughout' tho Empire.