The Washington times., 1920-08-13
Priest Charges He Was
Locked Up and Treated
AS u. S. Spy BY England

NEW YORK, Aug. 13.-Encounters
with the British authorities similar
to those being experienced by Arch
bishop ManniX were described yester-
day by the Rev. Thomas J. ODonnell'
Catholic priest of Ballarat. Aus
| tralia. Father O'Donnell who Has
just returned from Ireland. declared
that after serving as a chaplain in
the war he was followed by British
spies and finally imprisoned in the
Tower OF London. His release was
obtained, nc said only after inter-
cession by the Australian authorities.
POLICE THOUGHT HIM SPY.
/ After being discharged last No
vember as chaplain in the Third
Brigade OF the First division Austria
/ liam troops, I thought / would like to
see how the movement for Irish free
dom was progressing" said Father
O'Donnell at the Hotel Biltmore. Il
happened to have with me pistol
which had been given me by John
Mitchell. the Irish patriot. 1t was
an old blunderbuss. and wouldn
shoot. determined to leave this
weapon in Ireland to be placed in a
museum among the relics associated
with Irish freedom.
"In a restaurant in Dublin | handed
| II to Arthur Griffith. the Irish lead
err. Some spies observed the transac-
ton, and concluded that | was an
emissary from America, bringing
arms to the Sim Feiners.
After that | travelled in various
parts of Ireland, but soon began to
notice that | was under surveillance,
I To my stonishment, ! was placed
under arrest in a hotel in Dublin, the
charge being that | had made sedi-
tious utteranccs against the King and
was using my Chaplain's uniform as a
disguise.
! The charge OF sedition was merely
a preteXt TO hold me while the au'
thorities Investigated the more seri-
Gus charge of smuggling arms into
the country. Preparations were made
by the British authorities to place me
aboard a ship and deport me to Aus
tralia. but steps were taken by an at
torney whom | retained which permit
ted me to go to London.
CASE or BRITISH COLLAPSES.
"I was taken in custody by the po-
| lice there and placed in the Tower
occupying the same room in which Sir
| Roger Easement had been confined
\ NV release was obtained on writ ot
habeas corpus and at the hearing the
government case collapsed.
1T was just such ridiculous atti-
! tude as now is assumed with regard
| to DR.. ManniX. Nothing could ad-
vcrtise the cause of Ireland to better
advantage throughout the world than
the treatment accorded to Or. Man
Xix. It is the blundering way of the
British.
MOT half the news concerning the
terrible conditions in Ireland reaches
America. For instance, the British
rlilitary police recently burned down
eight towns. and while / was there
the police set afire building in
which was woman who became
frightened and jumped out of a
window. She suffered "A broken neck.
The police refused to let the fire de-
partment fight the flames. The Brit
ish newspapers reported that Sim
'einers had set the place afire and
kept the fremen away.
IF the question were left to them
the English people would settle il in
the way the Irish people want IT set
tied, but the stupid government re-
fuses to sec II that way"
Father ODonnell said that II was
the English people, particularly the
working class. who had prevented the
British government from sending