New-York tribune., 1921-04-01
British Call Irish Report
Biased and Misleading
" ashington Embassy Denies
Country Is Devastated and
RepriSaiS Are ENCOURAGED

WASHINGTON, March s1.-General
conclusions of the unofficial commits
sion of the committee of ono hundred
investigating conditions in Ireland,
placing moral responsibility for dis
| orders there on the British government,
are characterized as biased and wholly
misleading in statement issued to-
day by the British Embassy in answer
to the commissions report
The report, the embassy statement
said, was "entitled to exactly the
amour. of weight which should be
given to any Judgment based entirely
upon the evidence of ex parte state
ments and put forward for the most
part by persons admittedly holding ex-
treme views"
The statement issued by the embassy
follows, in part:
"Ihe report is biased and
wholly misleading, both in its general
contains in matters of detail.
ireland, SO far from being a devas
tated country, is the most prosperous
part Of the United Kingdom, and prob
ably of the whole Of western Europe
Separate trade statistics for the vari-
Gus parts of the United Kingdom, form
ing, as they do, one fiscal unit. are not
readily available, but reliable index
to the general prosperity Of the coun-
try can be found in the returns of de-
posits in joint stock banks, which have
increased as follows: 1914, s147,0O0,-
600; 1919, 9166,0O0,O00; 1920, s2OO,0OO,-
900.
"The report of the committee lays
stress on so-called reprisals, and
ignores the fact that before even the
Irish propagandists suggested in Sep
tember, 1920, that reprisals were taking
place 90 policemen, IL soldiers and ec3
civilians had been murdered in cold
blood. and 159 policemen, Sc soldiers
and "a civilians wounded, in most cases
without a chance Of defending them
selves. BY the same date l 200 build
ings had been burned ard wholly or
partly destroyed.
"Sinn Fem has established it's posi-
tion by the terror Of the revolver,
which has silenced the moderate opin-
ion Of the vast majority of Irshmen.
1t desired to claim for the Irish repub-
lican army the status of bellgerents,
ignoring the fact that the members of
that force constantly, indeed invari-
ably, violate the laws of war as recog-
nized by every civilized community in
a manner which according to the same
laws justifies the penalty of death for
all offenders. Their methods are those
of the assassin. Expanding bullets are
frequently employed by these Sim
Feiners.
"That the crown forces, under almost
incredible provocation patiently borne
during many months, have on some
occasions broken the bonds of discip-
line and committed unjustihable acts
of violence is not denied, but to say
that such acts have been ordered en-
couraged or condoned by the British
government is absolutely false. The
interests which suffer most by acts of
indisciphne are those of the govern
ment itself.
"The actual facts with regard to
specifiGa.p points raised in the report
of the Committee are as follows:
"The total ration strength of the
crown forces is $1,000. The antece-
dents Of all recruits are carefully in
vestigated and no man of known bad
character is retained for moment.
Denies Indiscriminate Killing
"There has been no indiscr;voino+o