Evening star., 1921-03-31

the their empire. jealous of its integrity
ana anxious about its security
me report points out that the
Irish. as a result Of their resort to
arms in 1888, 1898. 1903. 1s4s and
1857. have won from the British par
against Roman Catholics. disestab-
lishment Of the Irish church. liberal
land laws and, finally, the. Irish
home-rule act. which was passed by
the house of lords and commons and
signed blythe king in 1914. cat the
Sir Edward Carson" the report
says. that act was suspended for
| tne duration of the war and was
iater rendered void by superseding
act. which partitioned Ireland"
The commission. in referring to
the Ulster rebellion of 1914. which,
! 1t says. was started by the tories
10 nght home, rule, charged that Car
| son and other leaders who had i'm
ported arms from Germany .and had
Belfast. were forgiven and promoted
| to high offices in the British gov
| ernment.
Rebel for Independence.
After this" the report says, Gin
1916. Irish poets. teachers and lead
| ers. with less than 1000 followers,
rose in rebellion and declared Ire
| lands independence. Confronted with
the Irish declaration of independ-
ment poured additional troops into
Ireland: The rebellion was crushed
in April. 1916. The imperial British
government then continued to pour
troops into Ireland. The Irish to
an Increasing degree were deprived
British rule lasted until December
IA. 1918, when, at the conclusion of
war. avowedly fought for the
rights of small nations. the Irish
people, in the general election held
under British auspices. gave the in
Irish republic. which was the cleo
tion issue in Ireland. In fulfillment
of their pledge, the elected repre-
sentatives of the Irish republic met
in congress (the Dali Eirann) at
Dublin, organized as q government.
function (January 21. 1919. and an
army. known as the Irish republican
army, was created, equipped with
distinctive uniforms and drilled
openly"
Two kinds Of killings" have char
acterized the Irish republican war
fare. according to the report. First.
the casualties resulting from the Sim
Feiners' attempts to obtain arms and
ammunition in attacking motor lor-
RES anu pOllCe DdTTdCkS, ana, second,
the secret execution" of spies. trail
tors and enemies of the Irish republic
who have been adjudeed guilty" by
its courts and sentenced to death. It
is admitted that the accused never
appear before these SinH Fein tribu-
nails, Minor offenses are punishable
by sentencing the guilty to enforced
absence from their home town and
residence for a stated period in ian
unknown locality" The commission
condemns the so-called legaIized kill
ings.
Black and Tans Denounced.
Many instances of alleged atrocities
and wanton destruction of property
by the British troops are presented in
the report but all Of these were tes-
titled to and publicly reported at the
time of the hearings last winter. De-
nunciation of the methods Of the aux
iliary cadets and the black and tans,
two forces of "irregulars" that sup
plement the royal Irish constabulary
and the regular British troops. is ex-
pressed On the findings. Evidence Of
witnesses and depositions from VIC
Tins, according to the report, estab-
lished the fact that these troops in
cluded in their ranks burglars and
highwaymen. gunner and petty
thieves"
Regarding casualties, the commits
sion says that 1t Is justified in con-
cluding that mot more than 500 of
the British have been killed in Ire
land from May. 1916. to December,
1920" These 900 casualties would
seem to have occurred in force Of
7s, 900 during a period of four and one
half years. it is pointed out. or at
the rate Of not more than .26 Of / per
cent per annum.
On the other hand, according to lists
compiled by the Irish republican gov
ernment and submitted to the COM
mission. moro than 200 unarmed Irish,
civilians were killed by the military
and police during 1920 alone. This
number. 1t was said. included six wom-
en-. twelve children. ten old men and
two priests. but did not include per-
sons killed in the fighting. The COM
mission says 1t does not vouch for
the exactness Of the figures. but "di-
rect testimony" it says, showed the
killings Of civilians in 1920 ran into
many hundreds."
5000 British Raids.
The testimony attributed to the
British forces approximately $4,000
raids. entailing "wreckage Of prop
brutality to priests and women and
children, and indiscriminate fog
ging." Many Of the raids, it was
said, were made at night by ''mem-
bers of the British forces dressed
in civilian clothing.
Stress was laid upon "the moral
In'1qe ish forces Of the British govern
ment's military policy in Ireland"
License instead Of discipline, the
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