THE STATE OF IRELAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11950, 26 April 1902, Page 5

THE STATE OF IRELAND.

A BLOW FOR LIBERTY. By Telegraph.— Association.—Copyright. London, April 24. Mr. WYNDHAM, Chief Secretary for Ireland, speaking at Brighton, said the Government, in reviving in certain parts of Ireland the Crimes Act were striking a blow for liberty.

Lord Justice Fitzgibbon, addressing (lie grand jury at Longford Assize:! lost month, said intimidation appeared to have been used for the purpose of controlling people in a free country, or what ought to be a free country, in almost every operation of their live* — not merely in public matters, but in the selection of their servants and the selection of those who should teach their children; not merely in the controlling of the land, but in the controlling of the way in which people should let the land, on which these people had no historical claim. Tlie other relations of life also seemed to be in the same position. Whenever a person thought he had a grievance ho tried to intimidate those against whom ho had the grievance; and the result was that that national existence was very far from being what cue would like to see in any free country. Mr. Justice Kenny, in addressing the grand jury at the opening of tbe spring assizes for County Roscommon, said that the official reports that were customarily laid before the Judge of Assize for the purpose of informing him of the true state of things, and enabling him, in tho discharge of his duty, to call attention to any matters of an abnormal or exceptional nature affecting the peace of the country, showed that the state cf Roscommon was the reverse of satisfactory. Those reports came from the officials responsible for the peace of their district, and they stated that in Roscommon, more especially in tho north-western portion of the county, a system of organised intimidation now existed for the purpose of compelling people in some cases to break contracts into which they had entered, and in other eases to refrain from exercising the right of free contract, which every member of the community is entitled to enjoy. The foreman of the grand jury subsequently handed to His Lordship the following resolution," which was adopted at the conclusion of their ordinary business; — " Having regard to Your Lordship's observations, with which we fully concur, we, the grand jury of th;> Comity Roscommon, beg you to bring under the notice of His Majesty's Government the state of lawlessness at present existing in a portion of this country. In our opinion the criminal conspiracy which notoriously exists to compel persons not to fulfil their legal obligations can only be effectively dealt with by the exercise by the Executive of the exceptional powers conferred upon them bv Parliament under the Criminal Law Procedure (Ireland) Act, 1887."