The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1888-08-18
Or. SHAW'S IRISH LETTER
He Tells the Readers of the Minneapo
lis Tribune What He Knows
About Irish "Blue Coats"
THE WOODS ARE GULL OF EN-
The Irish People Appreciate the Impossi
biGty Of q Future apart FROM
England.

biGty Of 8, Future apart From
England.
Our objective point from Limerick
was the western part Of County Glare,
and our route lay down the broad Shan-
non estuary--a beautiful steamboat ride
of 50 miles to the old town of Ki]rnsh.
On our boat as fellow -passengesr were
several scores Of tbs ''RoYal Irish Con-
stabuiary," who wers Joining the forces,
constabulary and military, some mum
dreds of heavily armed men altogether
that were concentrating at Kilrush to
aid the sheriffs in the eyictions about to
take place on the Vandeleur estate.
These policemen have the character OF
soldiery quartered upon the country
rather than that of the local watchmen
and guardians of good order, that the
name "polceman" usually implies.
There are about 1900 or them in Ire
land-one to every 800 OF the people;
aad when 1t is remembered that Ire
lands is chiefly rural population. and
that squads of these big 'Ablue COATS"
with their side arms and rifles, are sta
toned at every cross roads and hamlet,
! il is not to be thought strange that the
Inhabitants are irritated. AS one rides
on the rough, backcountry railroads Of
the south and west Of Ireland he sees
these odious policemen on the plat
form at every station; and their ''bar-
racks'' or 'shuts' are dotted over the
face Of the country. They are wholly
independent Of control by the local au
thorities of cities or counties where
they are stationed, and the municipal
tiles are allowed to have no policemen
of their own. They are Manipulated Ii
by the lord lieutenant in d., lin castle;
and Dublin castle carries out the orders
of the Tory governmental Westminster.
Thus that fanatical and tyrannical CO.
ercionist, Mr.. Arthur Balfour, the
Irish secretary. uses the police force Of
! Ireland as a hostile army of conquest,
irritating the people and provoking dis
order.
| Not long ago the mayor Of Cork, dr.
John O'Brien, WAS imprisoned a month
as a common felon for the offence OF G.
technical assault on policeman. Mr..
UBrien explained to ME that he had
simply exercised his responsibility as
mayor by leading q policeman {w}o
was crazy or drunk) away from q place
where be was provoking disturbance
| in public gathering by his bad con-
duct. Things have come to very sad
! pass when the lord mayor OF Large city
may not, in the interest of public order,
and in the employment Of his authority
as a magistrate, command disorderlY
policeman to behave himself or else go
around the next corner.
| AT Fexmoy and Mitchelstown we
| found the police engaged in collecting
what the farmers call "blood tax"
| The brutal assault OF the police upon a
peaceable public meeting in the square
at Mitcha!stown some months ago and
their murder Of three citizens by shots
| fired frcm their barracks windows ex-
cited as much righteous indignation in
America as in Ireland. But perhaps it
is not generally known that police
man who was somewhat injured by the
]ostline and tramping Of the crowd has
since been awarded damages to the
amount Of 5000 by the Tory magis-
trates Of the county, and that the sum
is levied as special tax upon the ten
anu farmers and eccupiers of that por-
tion or "barony'' Of County Kerry in
which are the towns Of Fermoy and
Mitchelst. WI. The injured policeman
must have compensation; but there is
no compensation for the families of
three innocent men whom the policemen
shot down in cold blood. The farmers
are very excusably refusing to pay the
tax. On the walls Of the roadside here
and there one reads, in rudely shaped
letters of blood, Farmers, don't pay
the blood taxi" For number of weeks
the sheriffs and mounted constabularY
have been raiding the scattered farm.
yards and stealing cows and sheep
(theY have given up trying to drive off
the pigs) for the delinquent tax and
costs; and since they manage to make
the 'scosts'' come to Eve times the origi-
nal tax and further inasmuch as they
generally sell off the cattle by mock auc-
tion at mere fraction of their true
value, it will be seen what this in1quit-
GUS levy is costing the burdeDed and
poverty ystricken farmers of n orth Kerry.
It should also be borne in mind that
this great army of policemen, over
which the Irish people exercise no con-
troll, is maintained by taxes levied upon
the tenants.
We reached the bleak pasture lands