KIDNAPPED IRISH LADY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17895, 24 September 1921, Page 11

KIDNAPPED IRISH LADY.

EXECUTION AS A SPY.

QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT.

"MARTYR IN EMPIRE'S EYES." [FBOM OUE OWN cobkespondent.] LONDON. Aug. 5. On February 17 a lady named Mrs. Lindsay was kidnapped from her home in the south of Ireland, and last week her sister, Mrs. E. Benson, of Dublin, received the following letter, headed Dail Eireann Department of Defence, and signed " Cathal Sruga, Minister for Defence ":— " In accordance with instructions from the President, I have made inquiries from our local commanders into the case of Mrs. Lindsay. The information sent us is that she was executed as a spy some months ago. The charge against her was that she was directly responsible for conveying to the enemy information which led to the execution of five of our men by British authorities, to the death of a sixth from wounds received in action, and to a sentence of 25 years' penal servitude passed upon a seventh. Mrs. Lindsay wrote a letter to General Strickland, pointing out the consequences to herself should our men be executed. Five days after their execution in Cork Barracks, the sentence which had been passed on Mrs. Lindsay and suspended pending General Strickland's reply, was duly carried out. We regret the circumstances and the stern necessity to protect our forces which necessitated this drastic action by our local commanders." Mrs. Lindsay's butler also, apparently, was murdered by Sinn Feiners. Yesterday questions regarding the subject were addressed in the House of Commons to the Government, and indignation was expressed that no action had been taken to bring the persons responsible to justice, while in the House of Lords, too, Lord Selborne brought up the matter, and asked whether Mrs. Lindsay " had done anything more than any loyal citizen was bound to do—viz., give such information to the police against criminals as was acquired by her in the normal experience of her daily life."

Lord Selborne's Questions. Lord Selborne said:—" Some of the facts about this terrible crime are only too well known, but there are other facts not so well known, and the motive of my question is to elicit' further information. What is known is that Mrs. Lindsay was foully murdered by a gang of cowardly assassins. There seems to be an attempt by some persons who took away her life to besmirch her reputation by attaching to it the stigma of a spy. lam not going to say anything detrimental to those brave men who take their lives in their hands when they join the Government service. It is obvious, however, that the word ' spy ' has been used deliberately to turn away from her the sympathy which would be felt for her throughout the British Empire.

I am told that it is alleged against her by her murderers that in the normal experiences of daily life she obtained some information which she passed on to the police — information against criminals which was likely to lead to the -apprehension of criminals. If that was what she did, she did nothing whatever but what every honourable citizen ought to do, and nothing that anybody would not wish to do who was too proud to be terrorised by the Sinn Fein organisation. If that is the story, as I am informed it is, then throughout the English-speaking world Mrs. Lindsay's name will run parallel with that of Nurse Cavell, and she will be nothing else than a martyr in the eves of the Empire." Describing the tragedy as one of the most painful of a long series of happenings in Ireland, the Earl of Crawford admitted that the Government of Ireland had very little information on this subject beyond what had appeared in the press. The report which had reached the Irish Government from police inspectors and others confirm what had appeared in the newspapers. " There is every reason to believe that the report that the lady had been shotr— slaughtered—is correct," he added. "I gather from Lord Selborne that he wants no more than an assurance that the Government repudiate in the warmest manner any allegation that this lady did anything which was inconsistent with her duty as a loyal subject of the Crown. That assurance is, of course, obviously given, and given wholeheartedly."

Justice and the Truce. In the Commons, Mr. T. W. Brown, the Solicitor-General for Ireland, said Mrs. Lindsay did warn Crown forces of a possible ambush in the hope of saving the lives of inomhers of the Crown forces. " In doing this she acted as every good citizen in Great Britain or Ireland is bound to act. (Cheers.) A letter purporting to come from Mrs. Lindsay after her disappearance was received by General Stricklana. In accordance with the settled policy of the authorities, it was decided not to pay any attention to it because it was a common practice of tho rebels to threaten to murder people if certain ,of their adherents who had been duly convicted were executed. At the time Mrs. Lindsay |[ave the information to the forces she neither asked for protection nor was there any reason to believe either that it would become known that she had given such information or that the rebels would murder this delicate old lady if the facts came to their knowledge. On somewhat similar occasions houses had been burned by the rebels, but this was the first occasion on which they murdered a woman in such circumstances simply because she had done her duty as a loyal citizen. Every effort was made to bring to justice those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Mrs. Lindsay. In view, however, of the agreement for the cessation of hostilities, it has clearly been impossible to carry the matter any further at the present time. I have no information regarding the fate of James Clark, her butler or groom, beyond that he was kidnapped at the same time as his employer, and probably suffered the same fate."