The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-04-16

4. Dublin, April 16 - Major Bryan Eoopen a. former Unienist member of Parliament in a recent statement severely criticised the British gov- ernrnent for its attitude toward Ire- land. Major Cooper said:
 It seems to be one of the inevita- bIe disadvantages of Parliamentary government when an executive finds 1t extremely hard to admit that it has made a mistake. A despot may com init endless blunders, but when con- yinced of the fact nothing stands in the way of his redressing them. There is, however, a tremendous force com pounded half of inertia, half of amour propre, which prevents a Parliament tary Minister from acknowledging mistaken policy and retracing It's steps, so as to avert disastrous conse- quenceA- This force has been strik- ingly in evidence in the case of tho Sim Fe4h leaders wT1e have been in termed Tn English prisons, and whom the British government have at last begun 20 release.
 Alter the Dublin rebellion in April, 1916, tho most prominent of its lead CTS were executed, but others, among whom was De Valera, though con- denned to death, had their sentence computed to penal servitude-sone for a life term, others for five or ten years.
 Whatever the term was none of them served it, for.41s June, 1917, little more than a year after they had been fighting against the British govern ment, that government made an at tempt to reconcile Ireland by lem iency, and released all the prisoners internationally. The hope ~of recon cillation proved futile; the released prisoners SSt themselves at the head of A noETnidaore agitation, which by working for the establishment of an Irish Republic by force of arms tend ed Jo weaken Great Brfta.in's effort in the war. They also threatened fcrciDTy to oppose the enforcement of oonscript4on an Ireland, and, with the help of the Roman Catholic Church they raised q large sum of money and created a. formidable or gan1zatson Tor this purpose, Their activities were 50 embarrassing to tho Government that on May goth, 1918, 1t was announced that De Val era and many of his leading follow CTS had been arrested under the ~De- fence of the Realm Act Ga measure passed for war purposes to strength sen the hands of the Executive by giving them power to override the usual legal rights or andivtduals.)
 It was further announced that evidence had been discovered of a plot. between Germany and the Sinn F'ein party, and a summary of this was subsequently published. It did not carry much conviction In Ire land, though 1t was quite possible 
 communication with the Germans Cwhorn they had once described as ''our gallant Allies In Europe") and while 1t was obvious that their ac- tivitfeS tended to benefit Germany yet men of all parties agreed that the statement ass1eld by Government con tained nothing that gave legal proof of tho existence of a, plot, and very Gtt1e- that had not been known for six or eight months previously. It was felt that the Government was unable to publish much of Its evil dence, becaEao it ta1d not xvlsh to re- veal tho sources fren which 1t had been obtained, and this feeling was intensified by the fact that, instead of bringing his prisoners to trial, 1t ordered hem to De 1nterned for an indefinite period on the ground that A4Ao eSd1SAy O4 S24o EOLdlSS
 We'll Treated in Jail
 The prisoners were not treated as criminals: indeed. MT. D. M'Carthy, the SInn Eeln director of eIec1i6n has testified tO tho courtesy he re ceived from All the prison officials, but nOne the less they resented the restrictions placed on their liberty of movement and the censorship i'm posed on their Corespondence- From time to 4drne R few of them were re- leased on parole either because they were in nIheaAth or for family or business re8spns- Among those who gained conditional liberty in this manner were Count Plunkett. Oar rel F7gyis, the poet, Mrs. Clarke and Madame Gonna-TBride It Is well known that Dc Valera and two, con- panions succeeded in escaping from London jan early in February, but in spite of escapes and releases there were still nearly 70 Sim Feiners i'm prisoned In England at the begin ming of March, 1919-
 For the last six months of 1918 Sim F'eIn did not. to. outward ap- pearance, worry much about the prisonera The energy of all -thost still at liberty was devoted to organ. isation for tho General Election, sC as to prove the right of their party to speak for Ireland But once thr General Election was over, and th' Nationalist Party had been defeated (many of the imprisoned men beinl among the successful Sim E'ein can 7 dIdates), an agIeation for the releas . of the pr1soners-began in Ireland
 It Is believed that the Viceroy O Ireland, Viscount French, urged tn War Cabinet to accede to this de mand on the, ground that the Arm istdce had been signed. and that therefore, there was no longer an
 ai1itary necessity for holding men Ii