APPLICATION OF COMPULSION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17292, 18 April 1918, Page 4

APPLICATION OF COMPULSION.

MR DILLON APPREHENSIVE, THE GOVERNMENT PROMISE Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON, April 16. (Received April 17, at 8.20 p.m.) In the House of Commons, Sir Dillon moved tho omission of clause 2, enabling Order-in-Council to apply to man-power in Ireland. He said tUat no power on earth had the moral right to conscript a single resident in Ireland except a. body, representing the Irish nation. The attempt would have consequences as farreaching and serious as the attempt to tax the American colonies. He had been 40 years in. political life, and had never known anything approaching the feeling in Ireland to-day.. If conscription were applied, the chaos and confusion would be appalling. Already business was becoming paralysed. The Nationalists believed tluit Sir I\, Carson and the Orangemen had started compulsion for the purpose of raising such a passion that Home Rule settlement would be impossible. (Received April 17, at 10.20 p.m.) Mr Barnes, in reply to Mr Dillon, promised that tlie Government would bring in a Home Rule Bill immediately and use every pressure to pass it into law. He believed Home Rule might pass before the clause for national service became operative, but he refused to pledge tho Government to this effect. Answering Mr HeaJy's interjection, Mr Lloyd George said : The Government will .resign if it fails to carry Home Ride or if the Lords reject it. Sir S. Carson said'he would support the Man-power Bill even if tho Government put Ulster under the Nationalists, as was, now threatened. He would prefer anything to tho whole of civilisation being impeded by a victory by our enemies. Sir E. Carson continued : It was now clear that ho recruits in Ireland would be conscripted until the Home Rule Bill was passo.d. The Government was handing over Ulster as the price of compulsion! He asked if the Nationalists would withdraw their objection to compulsion when the Bill passed. Personally he believed that compulsion would be even more difficult then, as tho Irish Government would oppose it. ANOTHER SINN FEIN OUTRAGE. ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE. PRISONER RELEASED FROM BARRACKS. The Times. LONDON, April 16. (Received April 17, at 8.20 p.m.) At YVickenlow (? Wicklow) a crowd of Sinn Feiners attacked the police, who were removing a Sinri Feiner who had been sentenced to six months' imprisonment for illegally drilling. A baton charge followed, in which a county inspector' was injured. The crowd swept the station, damaged the engine, and later broke into the police barracks and removed tho prisoner.