UNREST IN IRELAND

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14621, 28 January 1918, Page 2

UNREST IN IRELAND

ILLEGAL DRILLING

Dublin, Nov. 9. The Dublin Southern Police Court to : day was the scene of a remarkable Sinn Fein demonstration. Twelity of the thirty-seven young men who had failed to attend the court on Tuesday in response to a summons charging them with illegal drilling at Whitehall, Rathifarnham, Dublin,,- were arrested late i last night, and during the early hours of this morning au,d to-day the police brought them before Mr Swifte, K.C., in the Southern Court. The building was crowded, most of the public pre- j sent being girls and women. "When the caso was called the tramp of marching men was heard, and the twenty prisoners, with heads covered, approached the dock in military order, singing "The Soldiers' Song"—a Sinn Fein war song. —as they inarched. As the* prisoners! lined up in military order the public in the galleries of tho court cheered lustily and shouted, "Up, the rebels " The magistrate. at this point ordered 1 the police to clear, the court. This done, the prisoners were ordered to [ remove their hats and caps, but they ■■ declined to do so til! tl?e order was : given by one of their own number, when they bared their head,;. The young men were «ll residents of Dubi iin and its suburbs. Mr Reardon, who appeared for the Crown, said the defendants were charged with illegal drilling on October 14

last. The offence was a serious one, and he might say at once that assemblies of men for tho purpose of drilling' would not be tobratecl. , It would be idle to expect these men to give an undertaking under c, rule of bail not to repeat the yffence. If they did so, he had no doubt it would be reasonably considered by the authorities. Police evidence having been 'given, one of the prisoners, named Alexander, said they did not recognise the jurisdiction of the court. "We are guilty of no crime," he added; "we committed no act uf dishonesty; we have injui"c& no man. The charge is a political one, and we claim political treatment." Mr Swifte said he thought the view" and couduct of these young men was misguided. This drilling could only have one object, and that was to rise up ir. ai-ms at some time against the King. He would sentence them to two months imprisonment with hard labour, and u> find bail in £10, or undergo an additional month's imprisonment. One of the prisoners said they would not do hard labour or labour of aiiv hintl. Mr Swifte then said that except for drilling they had net done anything wrong. He was willing to take it that they were of good character, and therefore he wo'jld not say hard labour. Prisoners then left the dock singing "The Soldiers' Song. "—"Daily Tele^ graph."