THE DUBLIN RIOT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16214, 27 April 1916, Page 6

THE DUBLIN RIOT.

It is evident that the Germans still cling to the hope that they will be able to raise a revolution in Ireland. This fantastic idea has been in the minds of the Kaiser and his advisers since the beginning of the war. Loyal Irish soldiers . have shown beyond doubt that strong inducements were held out to Irish prisoners of war in Germany to form an Irish Brigade with the object of "winning independence for Ireland." The attempt failed miserably, for the Irish prisoners refused even the concessions of food and treatment which were offered to them obviously in anticipation of favours to come. Sir Roger Casement, who was the Kaiser's chief instrument in this petty scheme,, tried a bolder and more risky experiment when he endeavoured to land arms and ammunition in Ireland. The renegade Irishman is now safe under lock and key, his German ship has been sunk, but the result of the adventure has been a serious riot in Dublin, of which much will, no doubt, be made in Germany. Happily thero is no question of the loyalty of the great majority of Irishmen, but it is well known that an organisation under the name of the " Irish Volunteers," which has been developed under the guidance of the Sinn Fein party, has recently come into dangerous prominence by ostentatiously endeavouring to obstruct recruiting and to foment disloyalty. The rallying cry of this party is that the war is not Ireland's war. A few of the leaders are, no doubt, in close touch with Germany, but the strength of the organisation lies more, in a political quarrel with Mr. John Redmond than in any affinity with the Kaiser; its membership is said to have been more dependent on the excellence of the excuse its watchword provides, to eligibly shirkers than on any belief in the genuineness of German overtures. The strength of this disloyal party has not been definitely ascertained, but it is known to be well represented in Dublin. Steps were taken months

' ago to stop the import of arms and i ammunition, but the possession of . secret supplies has always been sus- . pected. The ill-fated expedition of i Sir Roger Casement was evidently . the signal for the rising. It is a : regrettable incident, but it is clear ! from the cablegrams, as from all the information available, that the , rioters were not representative of the Ireland which has sent 150,000 men to the'fighting line, but of the discreditable Sinn Fein which the Germans mistakenly believe to be synonymous with Ireland.