The Alaska daily empire., 1920-10-25


Swiney, were with him when dea
gained consciousness after falling
MacSwiney was unable to receive
communion but Father Dominic ad-
ministered extreme unction.
The Lord Mayors wife and his Two
sisters were not present at the end,
but entered the cell soon afterward.
They kissed his cheek knelt in pray
er for a few seconds and then left
without shedding a tear.
Following the inquest the family
probably will take the body to st.
Georges Cathedral where it will lie
in state until taken to Dublin. There
grand funeral will be held under
the direction of the Sim Fein or
ganization, in which MacSwiney was
prominent leader
The story of MacSwineys self
imposed starvation probably will be-
come one of the most moving chap
ters of the centuries-long history of
the Irish struggle. No other con-
troversy has stirred Great Britain
so deeply as this since the one that
centered upon Cecil Rhodes. when
the Jameson raid was baked by
Paul Kruger and the raiders i'm
prisoned
The campaign in England for
MacSwiney's release from prison
thas been apart 'frona all pefittraf
and party considerations and even
the King was drawn into it. The
movement in MacSwiney's behalf
was mainly humanitarian and en-
listed ten6er-hearted people of all
factions but was urged by others
with arguments of party strategy.
Opposing Arguments.
"MacSwiney dead and cannonized
! in the hearts of the Irish people
with Wolf Tone and the Manchester
martyrs would be more valuable
asset to the Sim Fein that Mac
Swiney alive and, even though a
| free pass to freedom for M2cSwiney
might weaken the governments
hand. why help the separatist cause
by giving it a martyr?" were the
arguments put forward even by Brit
ish unionists.
Stand by the law and do not
create a precedent which would
make the will of convicted rebel
| the decisive factor in determining
whether he shall be punished" was
ton A majority of the British
papers including the London Times
and the liberal press, the labor
unicnists, and many members of
both parties in Parliament Joined
! in the agitation for MacSwiney s
release.
Two notable controversies, one
constitutional and the other theo-
| logical, have arisen from the case.
| The first was whether King George
/ could properly exercise his pardon
! ing prerogative independently of or
against the advice of his ministers.
/ The second was whether the Cath
Ollie clergy, representing a church
which holds suicide to be a crime,
could consistently administer the
sacraments to hunger strikers. The
! KINGS reply through the Secretary
of State for War, to the petition OF
members of Parliament was gennr-
alyl interpreted to mean that the
/ Kings personal leaning was toward
/ granting a pardon. But. since Pre-
mier Llcyd George and the Foreign
! Minister, A. Bonar Law. were at
the same time issuing arguments
against clemency for the Lord
Mayor it was evident. that any
action in that direction by the King
would be against the advice of his
ministers.
Newspapers Divided.
d., The newspapers published many
editorials and letters setting forth
should not be embarrassed by direct
appeals to him and. on the other
hand. that he should and had the
right to exercise his nominal con-
stitutional power of pardon.
The Weekly Nation. which is one
Of the most advanced liberal organs
and not generally rated as a sup
porter OF monarchy. argued that
this was an occasion for tke King
TO vindicate his constitutional right
and protect the country against the
growing autocracy of the cabinet.
There were many other argu-
ments to the same effect. one his
torical writer. combating the theory
that the King always had been a