The Washington herald., 1916-06-18
IRISH MAY REPUDIATE LEADERS
If REDMOND AND CARSON AGREE

1
Sir John Maxwell wrote to DR.. O'Dwyer.
requesting him to remove from their posts
and segregate two priests in Limerick.
whose presence in that neighborhood l
consider to be a dangerous menace to
the peace and safety of the realm. Had
/ these priests been laymen they would al
ready have been placed under arrest" "
The bishop through his secretary, de-
manded evidence, to which Gen. Maxwell
gave details OF the activities of the two
priests among the Sim Feiners. One, he
said, had blessed their colors; the other
was president of a local branch of the
| Irish volunteers, the Sim Fein army.
1T should not be difficult for your lord
ship" the general concluded under such
disciplinary powers as you possess. to
prevent at any rate priests from mixing
up with and melting their flock to join
an organization such as the Irish volun-
teers have proved themselves to be-"
Bishop O'Dwyer returned the following
stinging answer, which was published
! here: II have read carefully your allie
cations, but do not see in them any jus
! tifcatiOn for disciplinary action on my
| part. You appealed to me TO help you
! IN your work as military dictator of Ire
land. Even IL action of this kind was
| not outside my province, the events OF
| the past few weeks would make 1t i'm
/ possible for me to have any part in pro-
ceedings which I regard as wantonly
, cruel and oppressive. You remember the
Jameson raid, when number of bucca-
| neers invaded friendly state and fought
, the forces of the lawful government. II
| ever men deserved the supreme punish
/ ment 1t was they. but officially and un-
officially the influence OF the British gov
ernment was used to save them, and II
| succeeded. You took care that no plea
for mercy should interpose on behalf of
! the poor fellows who surrendered to you
in Dublin. The first information which
We got OF their fate was the announce
ment that they had been shot in cold
| blood.
Regards Action with Horror.
Personally I regard your action with
| horror, and I believe that It has out
ragged the conscience of the country. The
| deporting by hundreds. and even thou
sands, Of poor fellows without trial OF
any kind, seems to me an abuse of power
| as fatuous as it is arbitrary, and alto
gether, your regime has been one of the
worst and blacklist chapters in the his
| tory of the government OF this country"
Dublin, to my knowledge, and I be-
| lieve the rest OF Nationalist ireland. is
deeply indignant at the continuance of
! martial law, which, in the opinion not
3
mier Asquith, is absolutely necessary at
/ present. The ramifiCations of the Sim
| Fein conspiracy are widespread, extend
| ing into every hamlet in the three south
ern provinces, and not one-tenth of the
! men involved in the plans for an up
! rising. to be aided by Germany and by
/ the Clan-na-Gael in America took part
| in the disturbances in Dublin. In the
| existing public temper, there would be
/ danger of trouble even in Dublin If the
! troops were withdrawn, and the situation
I am told remains delicate in many other
! sections. I am compelled to confne this
article in the main to political consid-
! erations, as the authorities do not desire
| publication OF information concerning
| the strength Of tie Irish volunteers In
! particular localities, or OF the measures
| taken to deal with them. Many leaders
everywhere have been arrested. many
q, others are sought, but as in the revolts
| Of old, are hidden by the peasants, passed
| on from cottage to cottage at night 4
| rich crop Of romantic stories from rural
| Ireland is being added to the store ot
revolutionary legend.
! Redmond's Hold shaken.
| Leaving Ulster for the moment out Of
! the question. the bitterness in Nationalist
/ Ireland as a result of the rebellIon the
| executions, and the arrests has shaken
! the hold of John Redmond on his party
and may even destroy the political con.
/ troll of the parliamentary party over the
| Irish people. A natural result of hatred
! of things British is a suspicion of the
! Irishmen who daily sit at Westminster
and negotiate with the leaders of the
| empire; Sim Fein. the days when It was
| an idealistlc and not a revolutionary or.
| ganization, won support by its doctrine
| of passive resistance to England, refusa
| to take any part in government under
English authority. 1t is already evident
that this doctrine Is spreading and un.
dermining the authority of the parlia.
mentary leaders
| The Nationalists in the house of com.
mons, realizing their perilous position
| are trying to conciliate their constituents
! In a recent manifesto they showed the
/ benefits that have been won for Irela nc
duriny forty years of agitation in Parllh.
ment. "Two-thirds OF the entire land Of
the country has passed into the hand:
! of the people" the document says. THE
remaining third Is in process of gradual
| transfer, and the soil of Ireland is now
more securely vested in the people of Ire.
land than at any period of our countryS
| history. Tens of thousands OF cottages
! have been built all over Ireland in which
| at a moderate rent and with portion
| of land, the Irish laborers have beer
! transformed from the wors st<housed
worst-clothed and worst-fed class in Eu
rope into the best-housed. the most com.
! Portable and the most independent body
| of laborers in the world. Old-age pen.
! sions have brought comfort and hopS t
tens Of thousands of old men and womer
who otherwise would have had an ole
| age Of poverty and despair"
| Fanaticism on Increase.
The fanaticism Of Ulster has been in.
creased by the revolt Belfast, am told.
buzzes with rumors of the atrocities OF
! the rebels and the determination of the
north never to be placed under the hee
of the priest-ridden and rebel south
| Is greater than ever. I have not beer
on the Ulster front" but Tory leaders
| in London believe there is a grave doubt
whether Sir Edward Carson. If he agree.
to disarm his volunteers as Lloyd George
wants him to, can deliver the goods.
In the Ulster army, Carson may have
| created a force he cannot control Ulster.
men declare that disarmament must be
! left until after the war, that thousands
of Orange volunteers went to fight in
France'because Of the government pledge
that the Irish question should slumber
until peace in Europe gave the signal
for conflict in Ireland. The arms of
these men are guarded in Ulster as a
| sacred trust"
| Redmond's position ~ he copsa,+, e.