The Irish standard., 1905-11-18

),
Isympathy with the Repeal movement.
and not a few of them resigned in rs,
in the Fenian times and Land League
days, rather than act against the peo-
pie, but the majority obeyed their Or
ders, and those orders came from the
English government through Dublin
Castle. In the days we have referred
to the bulk of the Irish Constables
came from the people. 1t is hot SO to-
day. AS body, we are credibly in
formed, the men are drawn from the
Orange communities of the North and
from the dependents of the govern
ment, and the landlords in the Catholic
portions Of Ulster and the other
provinces. At all events, they have Of
late shown themselves in general
hostile, not alone to the National idea,
but to the people themselves. They
lose no opportunity to assault and
annoy them. They insult their speak,
ers, break up their public meetings,
and, in a word, ride roughshod over
| them. We are astonished that, even
overpowered and trampled upon as
they are, the Irish people have not
! made bloody retaliation. They would
have been justified in having done so
when peaceful meetings in Galway and
Mayo were wantonly attacked and
dispersed by the armed miscreants
! miscalled policemen or contables, They
are much more akin to the Cossacks
or Bashi-Bazouks.
We are glad to observe that the Irish
press is paying close attention to the
! matter Of unjust taxation in reference
| to the Metropolitan Police of Dublin-a
body controlled, like the Constabulary,
by the Castle Government. In an edi-
| torial in a recent issue the United
1rishman, published in Dublin, says:
The Dublin Corporation has decided
to refuse payment of the Dublin
Metropolitan Police tax. For years
we have urged the Corporation to do
so, but each time the Nationalist party
IN the Council raised the matter the
timid fled away, whilst the hackers of
the Council mustered sufficiently strong
to vote down the opponents of this
monstrous imposition. We announced
last year our intention of making the
question Of the payment of the police
tax test one at the Municipal and
Poor Law elections, and the result is
now evident No candidate who pre-
scented himself in January and March
last to the electors of Dublin dared to
proclaim himself in favor of paying
this tax, and the Municipal Council,
Wherein ten men could not be got two
years ago to vote against it, decided
on Saturday last, by 80 votes to 4-the
minority consisting of two Unionists,
refuse payment.
The position of the alleged police
Corporation nor the Council has an
iota of control over the force, which is
solely directed from Dublin Castle, and
responsible, not to the citizens, but to
that institution. Nevertheless, every
citizen of Dublin is taxed to keep it up,
and the fees and fines, which in cities
tSi1 Of
taxation, are in Dublin seized by the
Castle and handed over to the force.
The tax levied on the citizens to MAIN
tain the force is Sd. in the pound that
is, treble what it is in Glasgow, city
with twice the population of Dublin.
and more than double what it is in the
chief cities of Great Britain, In no
city of Europe is the police tax so
high as it is in Dublin and in no city
is there so little crime. That this is
not due to police efficiency no one who
knows the metropolis of Ireland needs
to be told. Its failure as a police force
was demonstrated by the Glasnevin
murder, the jewel robberies in Graf
ton street, and similar notorious cases
in which the criminals were never
brought to justice. Tracking down
ordinary criminals is not considered
dignified work in the Dublin police
force. Its primary duty is political
+, one, and it's detective department is
almost exclusively occupied in shadow
ing Irish Nationalist and watching
American visitors to Ireland The men
| in the force are taught to believe that
they are the masters not the servants,
| of the citizens, and, in order to in
| culcate this more thoroughly upon
| them, the Castle refuses to permit a
policeman to do ordinary police work,
without special payment for the Cor
poration or the County Council, which
collects and pays the police tax.
There are 1882 policemen in Dublin,
and the amount of money annually ex-
pended on them works out at e2 IS.
per week per head. Such a figure may
/. seem incredible to foreigners, but a
copy of the Local Taxation Account
and pencil are all that are necessary
to prove it. In Paris, with a popula-
| tiOr, rocr1itod fyo,,, oil