TERRORISED IRELAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17347, 19 December 1919, Page 9

TERRORISED IRELAND.

COWED BY SINN FEIN.

RELENTLESS VENDETTA.

APPROACHING A CLIMAX. By Telegraph—Press Association— United Service. LONDON. Dec. 17. The strife in Ireland is reaching a culminating point. English and American newspapers have sent special correspondents to Ireland.. The gravest violence would not surprise the British public. A feeling of horror is raised by the latest manifestations of the Sinn Fein vendetta. The Times special correspondent states that this is relentlessly pursued, not merely against the police ! but everyone judging or giving evidence against Sinn Feiners or assisting the Government. He instances a women in Adare county, Limerick, who because she milked cows diiiing a strike was dragged from her bed, pulled with a rope along the road, j kicked and beaten and left for dead. She screamed for assistance at a \ farmer's door, but none d'yed stir. j The Sinn Fein has more terror and moral power over the country than the Government. As a result it is a terrible spectacle of a country on strike against the Government. The j police are compelled to move in parties of at least three, and sometimes four or five policemen are doing one beat. Alone a policeman would not last a night. Hundreds of police barracks have been closed in order to concentrate the men for their protection. The re-opening of the barracks is urgently demanded by loyal people for the community's protection, but it is only possible by the use of soldiers. General Sir Frederick Shaw, the Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, - refuses to disperse his troops in small parties. He has his large army so disposed as to deal quickly and drastically with any open outbreak without heavy casualties among the troops. Irish Unionists appeal for a cessation of repressive measures, especially the prohibition of fairs and markets, but the vicious circle operates, every increase of violence leading Lord French further to display the Government's strength. The Times says that the Government is daily driven to use more force,- because it cannot get support from the community. It is pushed into the sheer absurdity of repression in order to combat claims which impeach its authority. Every policeman carries his life in his hands. Many are known and marked by a secret violence gang which, trained as a military force, dogs their footsteps, waiting always until they get their victim alone, when -he is shot from so close quarters that in many cases the clothing is 'singed. The authorities were surprised today by the publication of the Freeman's Journal as an evening special edition. It is announced that the proprietors are testing the legality of the suppression, and have appealed to all the newspapers to protest against the outrage.