AFTER THE REVOLT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 699, 8 May 1916, Page 8

AFTER THE REVOLT.

DUBLIN NORMAL. SOLDIERS* WIVES IN DISTRESS. (Received May 8. 8.15 a.m.) DUBLIN. May 7. Dublin is normal. The hotels will remain closed until Tuesday. There is considerable distress amongst soldiers' wives, who are unable to obtain their separation allowances, owing to the necessary 'documents having been burned in the barracks. It is expected that a 'grant of several thousand pounds will be made from the Prince of i Wales's Fund, in order to provide prompt relief. SENTENCES COMMUTED. SIXTEEN REBELS REPRIEVED. (Received May 8, 9.45 a.m.) LONDON, May 7. Death sentences passed on Irish rebels have been commuted as follows: —Henry Shahaghan, imprisonment for life; John Plunket, ten years' imprisonment; Philip Cosgrave, live years. Thirteen others have had their sentences commuted to three years. THE COURTS MARTIAL. DEATH SENTENCES COMMUTED. LONDON. May 6. Thirty-six rebels were court martialled on Thursday. John Mcßride', William Cosgrave, and Thomas Hunter were sentenced to death. McBride* was executed on Friday. The sentences on Ihe others were commuted lo penal servitude for life. A TYPICAL REBEL. McBRIDE'S DUBIOUS RECORD. (Received May 8, 8.15 a.m.) LONDON, May 7. John Mcßride, one of the rebel leaders who was executed on Friday, was known as Major Mcßride. He organised the Irish Corps which fought with the Boers. He has since been an inspector of water-works at Dublin, lie used his influence to nullify the recruiting campaign. His wife, who has Fenian sympathies, obtained a separation from him in Fiance in 1905, describing her husband as an incorrigible drunkard and rake. Mcßride habitually referred to his son as the future president of independent Ireland. EXECUTION OF PLUNKETT. j MARRIED BEFORE HIS DEATH. ' i LONDON, May G. Joseph Plunkett, one of the four; rebel leaders executed on Thursday, was a brilliant university graduate, and the son of Count George Plunkett, an hereditary Count of Rome, and director of the National Museum of Science and Art, Dublin. It is otlicially stated thai, a few hours before his execution, Plunkett wasj married to a prisoner named Grace j Clifford, a sister of the widow of the' rebel McDonagh, who had previously! been shot. THE PUNISHMENT QUESTION. PLEA FOR LENIENCY. LONDON, May 6. Ireland is relieved at the action of the Government in dealing sternly with the rebel leaders. The public' are insistent that steps shall be taken to end the menace for ever. It is clear that although many rebels were summoned to headquarters, they did not suspect any trouble. They were told that a republic had been proclaimed, rides j were thrust into their hands, andi they were ordered to tight, the penalty for disobedience being death. The "Daily News" says:—"ll is to be hoped that we have heard the last of Irish executions." The "Daily Chronicle" warns the Government not to carry the shooting of rebel leaders 100 far, as this will make (he rebels martyrs." The "Manchester Guardian"' says: "The death sentences ought to cease. Enough has been passed lo serve as an example. A warning is not needed nor another 'Bloody Assizes.' Mr Redmond and Sir Edward Carson have pleaded for clemency for the rank and file, but where is the line to be drawn? It is monstrous thai a military tribunal silling in. secret should be allowed to determine this great critical matter in hoi blood." IRISH IN THE TRENCHES. LOYAL TO THEIR TRUST. LONDON, May 5. Mi' William Redmond, who is serving at Ihe front, writes to his; brother, Mr J. E. Redmond, that the j Germans in the trenches opposite the Irishmen raised placards bearing the words:—"Revolution in Ireland. English firing on your families. Military Bill rejected. Casement being persecuted. Throw away your arms. We are Saxons; if you do not lire, we will not." The Irishmen replied by singing Irish airs and "Rule Britannia." GERMAN MONEY. PLOTTING IN AMERICA. NEW YORK, May (i. Mr Patrick Egan, formerly United Slates Minister lo Chili, ami a wellknown follower of Mr John Red-1 mond, states that John Devoy, editor of the "Gaelic-American," planned j the Dublin revolt, with the help of £IO,OOO from Germans in New York, and still larger sums from Germany. Devoy violated the neutrality of the United States by exporting arms and ammunition to Ireland.

"SHEER LUNACY." THE GALWAY OUTBREAK. LONDON, May 0. The special correspondent of the | "Daily Chronicle" says his tour of I the western districts of Ireland left | the impression that the action of the rebels was sheer lunacy. lie watched rebel prisoners being brought in from the Galway Hills, which parties of armed police in motor charabancs are scouring. Many of the prisoners j are peasant farmers, who, through the assistance of the Congested Dis- ! tricts Board, were beginning to taste j prosperity, and had been provided j with new homesteads, the latest agricultural appliances, and excellent breeds of cattle and sheep. Yet these men, by their desperate gambling throw, have been thrown back to the old days of crime. The rebel army was about 1000 strong, 200 being armed with firearms, and the rest with picks, pilchforks, and home-made bombs. The | rebels were commanded by Captain I Mellows, who was recently deport - ! ed to England as a dangerous conspirator, lie immediately purchased priest's clothes and returned to Ire(land in disguise. Directly the rebel scouts announced that the military were approaching, the rebels retreated and took refuge in the mountains. The prisoners include Professor Y. Steinberger, Professor of Modern Languages at the University College, Galway; Professor Thomas Walsh, Professor of Pathology at Galway College; and Coroner Nicholls. SITUATION IN DUBLIN. NARROW ESCAPE OF CASTLE. LONDON, May 5. The Dublin correspondent of "The Times" says:—"Life here is still: made uneasy by a few obdurate; i snipers. People quicken their steps when passing narrow streets and : lanes. The keenest watch is being kept for escaping rebels. "From to-day the shops are re- < opening, and normal life is being t recommenced." j Reviewing the events of the rebel- ! •lion, the correspondent says:—"The: j Dublin Castle was absolutely at the mercy of the rebels on Easter Mon- | day. Ten men could have taken the whole place and its occupants, including Sir Matthew' Nathan, UnderSecretary to the Lord Lieutenant. When a Sinn Feiner shot the policeman who was on duly, there were only three soldiers in the Castle. The rebels suspected a trap, and refused to go in till it was too late." The Dublin correspondent of the "Daily Mail" says that, despite the sniping, the townsfolk regard the rebellion as a thing of the past. Nobody expects good results from the attempts to disarm only the Sinn j Feineus and Larkinites. It is point-1 ed out that dangerous youngsters can j form associations under new names,' while retaining their arms. Thus, there is urgent need to rid the country completely of rifles and ammuni- J tion.