SPY'S DARING COUP.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 1776, 16 January 1923, Page 6

SPY'S DARING COUP.

ULSTER. STATE DOCUMENTS. >iews comes from Belfast of the daring theft of many of the Ulster State documents. It is certainly the greatest coup ever made by Sinn Fein, and the spy implicated has made good his escape. The papers taken include some high|ly important memoranda by the late Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, with liis suggestions for dealing with th<' defence of Ulsters and attacks on its border.

The spy worked with the utmost caution. For two years he wormed his way into the confidence of his superiors at the northern police headquarters. His parents live in Belfast, and he is a. Roman Catholic. Although a.) unknown civilian, he was able to obtain an appointment as clerk in an office where many secret papers are kept. 'Hie Sinn Fein emissary first of ail! secured a post in the Military Adviser's Office in Victoria. Barracks, where he obtained first-hand information of the movement of troops and all proposed raids on Sinn Fein. The spy played to perfection his part as a harmless clerk. His superiors soon came to regard him as a most discreet servant. He apparently took not the slightest notice of the conversation that went on around him, and professed himself disinterested in the matters discussed by the Secret Service men who were constantly in and out of the office. When General Solly Flood was appointed Chief of the Ulster Forces a. special Secret Service Department was set up. There was difficulty in securing a. staff, and. believing that the spy was a. reliable man tbe authorities transferred him to Oenera<! Flood's office. It was just what the man wanted. Sir Henry Wilson's plans and various police files were kept in the office, and the "confidential clerk" had access to them. When all arrangements were complete, the spy. who had also been sworn in as an Ulster "special," asked for a day's .leave, which was granted. He immediately bolted with the plans, leaving by steamer for England. There was some comment when he did not turn up after his leave, and later it was discovered that all the plans had vanished.