The Easter "Rising"

Chapter XLII

The 1916 “Rising”

On Easter Monday, 24th April, 1916, a bolt from the blue fell on Dublin. Pearse and Burgess (latter styled Cahal Bru) led a minority of the minority opposed to Redmond’s control of the Volunteers, into revolt. John MacNeill tried to stay them, without effect. Yet his effort was rewarded with penal servitude.

Pearse had appeared on Redmond’s platforms in favour of Home Rule, but, being disgusted by disappointments, he called his men to arms and occupied the principal buildings in Dublin. They hardly mustered a thousand, and their resistance did not last a week. They were tried by a “Field General Court-Martial” after the “field” was bare of combatants. Fifteen leaders were shot, and many hundreds were sent to penal servitude or interned.

After their surrender, no arrangements for decent custody were at first possible. This led to conditions which left a memory as bitter as that enkindled by the executions. In the Rotunda Gardens there were herded together in the open, hundreds of men and women from Saturday till Monday without any sanitary or other provision. Men gnashed their teeth at the shame to which both sexes were exposed. No British soldier or officer was responsible. The person blamed was an Irish Inspector of Constabulary.

The horror may have been inevitable before decent arrangements could be improvised, but it made a seed-bed of hatred. The police inspector was killed at the first opportunity. Feeling favourable to the Allies in the War swung round after the executions.

I called upon a Scotch colonel in charge of the prisoners to try to recover some Gaelic MSS. posted by Canon O’Leary. He thought the manuscript was burnt in the G.P.O., and as for the prisoners, he owned their treatment was rough, but chirruped:

“You know, they failed to give us notice that they would require our hospitality, and we were taken by surprise.” It was a good answer.

On Sunday, 30th April, 1916, William Murphy called at my house as I was about to leave for London on the first day when communication with England was restored after the rising.

I warned him that opinion had veered round against the Government owing to the executions. He admitted this, and promised that his newspaper would be guarded. Yet, without his knowledge or approval, a leader was printed by it four days later, which haunted him till his death. When I returned from the House of Commons I wrote my brother:

Chapelizod,

*May, *1916.

“William Murphy spoke very feelingly when I told him to advocate amnesty in his paper, and to bring out John Redmond’s acquiescence in the sentences, while blame was showered only on himself.

He said he did not know of the articles in the *Independent *recommending “vigour” until his attention was called to them afterwards.

He was greatly affected by the thought that he had been accused of advising the shooting of Connolly, and said that, so far from its being true, he used to pray for Connolly owing to the antagonism he showed him. He admitted that at first he felt bitter against the insurgents, owing to the burning of Clery’s and the Imperial Hotel, but finding the Tories gloating over the executions and imprisonments “every drop of Catholic blood in my veins” surged up, and he began like others to pity them.”

In addition to the executions by Courts-Martial, news of the slaying of four persons by lawless methods intensified feeling. On the second night of the rising, Captain Bowen Colthurst wrongfully arrested three pressmen who had no connection whatever with the outbreak and lodged them in Portobello Barracks.

He then headed a raiding squad, in which one of them, Sheehy Skeffington, was led captive into the danger zone. At the Catholic Church near by, Colthurst met a boy named Coade leaving after evening devotions. Asking Coade if he didn’t know martial law was proclaimed (it was not), he drew his revolver and killed him, as the lad lit a cigarette. On returning to barracks, Colthurst ordered the three pressmen, two of whom were editors of papers not unfavourable to the Government, to be shot. He was not in command of the barracks, and acted “on his own.” General Maxwell was at first blamed for this, but he did not arrive in Dublin until the following day. Still, in the bloodshot vision of the time, Maxwell was held responsible by the populace. On 26th April, Colthurst was court-martialled, and charged with three of the murders; but Coade’s death was not brought forward.

I attended the trial to watch the case for Mrs. S. Skeffington. Lord Cheylesmore presided, and as regards the defence of insanity raised on behalf of the prisoner two things impressed me; First: that Colthurst was proved to have become a “Bible convert” in India after a wild life. Second: that in 1914, in the retreat from Mons, he refused to go back, and led his men towards the Germans. He sat throughout the trial with clouded brow, gazing downwards. I do not think he was shamming madness, although I at first suspected it.

The tribunal convicted, but declared him insane, and he was sent to Broadmoor Asylum, from which few emerge. Yet he was soon discharged, and it is believed was given half-pay. Compensation to the relatives of the slaughtered men was paid, save to Mrs. Skeffington, who refused to accept it.

On 16th October, 1917, an inquiry by Sir John Simon, K.C., Lord Justice Molony, and Denis Henry, K.C., took place at the Four Courts) Dublin, into the murders. I appeared for Mrs. Skeffington, and, as 18 months had elapsed, I thought it fair to Sir John Maxwell to mention, in opening the case, that the crimes were perpetrated the day before his arrival. For this the evening edition of the *Freeman, *in type an inch square, headed its report, “Mr. Healy’s defence of the Government.”

On this the late Archbishop of Dublin commented:

Archbishop’s House, Dublin.

*16th October, *1917.

Dear Mr. Healy,

“Have you seen the infamous misrepresentation in the *Evening Telegraph *across the front page in big type, “Mr. Healy’s defence of the Government”?

I feared you might miss it.”

Faithfully yours,

William J. Walsh,

Archbishop of Dublin.”

I thanked His Grace, and ignored the slander.

Members of the Courts-Martial in 1916 which tried the insurgents were affected by their bearing. Colonel Blackadder, who presided, soon resigned his commission. He and his fellow-officers were anxious to save the lives of several prisoners, especially Major McBride, but the accused wished to die. McBride’s speech was repeated to me by the Crown Prosecutor somewhat as follows:

“I was never a Sinn Feiner. I knew nothing of the plan to start an insurrection. I came into Dublin on Easter Monday from Kingstown to attend the wedding of a relative. Finding a rebellion on, I decided to take part in it, as I always detested British rule. I thank the officers of the Court for the fair trial I have had, and the Crown counsel for the way he met every application I made. I have looked down the muzzles of too many guns in the South African War to fear death, and now please carry out your sentence.”

Had he remained silent his life would have been spared. The officers of the Courts-Martial hated their task.

Amongst the prisoners was an acrobat named Con Colbert. He had insisted on taking the place of his “Commandant” when surrender was resolved on, saying to him, “You’re a married man. I’m single, and you’ll be shot. Resign.” “Never,” said the Commandant. “Then,” said Colbert, “we’ll depose you.” So it was done, and Colbert gave the surrender, and was sentenced to death. On the morning of his execution a soldier pinned on his coat a patch of white cloth, intended to indicate his heart, but on the wrong side. “My heart isn’t there, you fool!” laughed Colbert. While the change was being made his Franciscan confessor said to him, “Colbert, it’s unfair to disturb a man going to die, but for years I have begged God for a favour which He has not granted me.” “Well, Father Moysius,” said Colbert, “when I meet Almighty God, what you want is the first thing I’ll ax Him for.”

The last message of Kent, the Irish piper who played before the Pope at the Vatican, was only made known after 10 years. On the 9th July, 1926, this appeared as written by him from the condemned cell:

“I bear no ill-will towards those against whom I fought. I found the common soldiers and the higher officers human and companionable, even the English who were actually in the fight against us. Thank God, soldiering. for Ireland has opened my heart and made me see poor humanity where I expected to see only scorn and reproach.

I have met the man who escaped from me by a ruse under the Red Cross. But I do not regret having withheld my fire. He gave me cakes!”

When the internees of Easter Week were consigned to London jails, they were visited by the late Laurence Ginnell, M.P., who told them that the news of the executions was cheered in the House of Commons by the Irish Party. This had a profound effect on them, and the story was persisted in by Ginnell for the remainder of his life. He was so sincere that he was incapable of invention.

Yet I am satisfied he was wrong. William O’Brien and Maurice Healy were in the House at the time, having been marooned in London by the cutting off of communication with Ireland. Neither loved the Redmond Party, and each separately assured me that although there was slight cheering in other parts of the House, none came from the Irish benches. Most of the Irish members, indeed, were absent for the Easter holidays. Still, Ginnell’s persistence would not down, and his war-cry became a factor in the hatred aroused against Redmond’s followers. So Ginnell, an uncouth man, yet learned and industrious, became a force. When Lord Morley was preparing the *Life of Gladstone, *he employed him, on the recommendation of Dillon, to assist in researches in the British Museum for details of the career of the Liberal statesman. Ginnell maintained later that Gladstone’s unfavourable opinions of Catholics were shrouded by Morley. A barrister without briefs, Ginnell wrote a book on the Brehon Laws, and another on the alleged Bull of Adrian IV (purporting to give Henry II dominion over Ireland). Afflicted with a harsh voice he had an unsympathetic manner, and was not “good to look upon.” His invention of “cattle-driving,” had it been thought of in 1881-2 (before legislation tempered the heat of agrarian fever), would have shortened the reign of landlordism. The Wyndham Act had in his day made half the peasants owners of their farms and the rest expectants. So there was only a narrow scope for his tactics. He styled his plan “the hazel”

a sceptre used on beasts’ backs.

Ginnell was originally an upholder of Dillon, but his uncompromising methods led to his expulsion from the Party, and therefore he was allowed by the Sinn Feiners to retain his seat for West Meath in 1918. Being hardly a workable colleague, he was dispatched on missions to Argentina and the United States. Imprisoned often, his sufferings led to his early death. I defended him on appeal at Clerkenwell Sessions for giving a Gaelic version of his name to secure admission to a jail where insurgents lay. When convicted, he refused to allow a “case stated” to be taken from the decision, although I told him we had an unanswerable point. The Crown counsel, Sir Archibald Bodkin, appreciated his appetite for martyrdom, and consented to let him off costs on the assurance that he would not appeal. Ginnell then sat in court to await arrest, and was crestfallen at hearing that it would take days before the busy Clerk of Arraigns could make ready the warrant for his detention. So he returned sadly to his lodgings.

I wrote my brother:

House of Commons,

2*nd May, *1916.

“I had a long talk with Bonar Law and arranged for him to meet O’Brien to-morrow. He says there is no chance of a settlement except on the basis of the exclusion of Ulster. The exclusion he spoke of was for “five or six years.” I don’t think O’Brien will yield. There is no doubt the Redmondites have agreed.

Come over for Thursday. The Redmondites are crushed and broken-looking. Sir Mark Sykes, a Tory Catholic, says if Ireland is not settled with “we shall lose the War.” The heroic deaths of the Munsters in France were confirmed to me by Ben Tillett, M.P., who was there.

The action in Ireland of the military has aroused bitterness, and I am beginning to feel some myself. Bonar Law has undertaken, if I send him a statement as to Alderman Kelly’s treatment, to have his claim settled. I will not, therefore, raise it in the House. The officer who stole Kelly’s clothes has been sent back under arrest.

I had a note from your son at the front saying that Bowen Colthurst, who shot the three prisoners in Portobello, is a religious maniac.”

Asquith went to Dublin in May, 1916, to stop the further execution of Sinn Fein prisoners. All the Commandants of the Rising, save one, had then been shot under decrees of courts-martial. His intervention, however, saved many lives, and I felt grateful to him for putting an end to bloodshed. When he returned to the House of Commons I went to his room behind the Speaker’s Chair to thank him. That room had been Gladstone’s and Balfour’s, and was not unknown to me. I was ushered in, ahead of waiting generals and admirals, and mentally craved their pardon. Next day I received this note from the Prime Minister:

10 Downing Street,

London, S. W.

23*rd May, *1916.

“My Dear Healy

“Before I go to bed I must tell you how much touched I was by your kind words this afternoon. You know well that I am a true friend of Ireland, that now for 30 years I have done what I can for her welfare and her future, and that nothing afflicts me so much as the agony of recent events. I will do *all I can. *And may I now appeal to you, whom I regard as an old and most valued friend, to contribute all you can (and it is much) to a final appeasement?

You cannot doubt that such an appeal comes from the heart.

May I add that through all these trying years I have appreciated and shall always remember the consideration - might I almost say personal affection - which you have never failed to show me.”

Yours always,

H. H. Asquith”

The Home Rule Act had then been hung up for nearly two years, and on the 25th May, 1916, the Prime Minister announced Lloyd George’s appointment as mediator in the Irish difficulty. I had the day before, at the request of Bonar Law, accepted Lloyd George’s invitation to see him. The meeting came to naught, as did also one I held with Carson, arranged by Lloyd George.

Redmond, foreseeing impending doom, accepted the principle of the partition of Ireland. Dillon would not yield Tyrone or Fermanagh to Orange sway. I commented to Maurice:

Chapelizod

7*th June, *1916.

“If Party hacks are any indication, the “partition settlement” is cut and dried, All the place-hunters in the Four Courts are for sacrificing the six counties. Redmond does not care about anything except himself. Devlin is touring Ulster, as he did before, in the interests of a “settlement.”

William Murphy went again, to London last week on a telegram from Lord Northcliffe, and has seen Lloyd George, thinks the conversations are merely *pro forma, *and that the Government will present a Bill omitting the six counties, and then it will be “take it or leave it” for us - with the Party conniving, and throwing the blame of rejecting the scheme on its critics.

Murphy stayed in London at Lloyd George’s request until Thursday, but Kitchener’s death may change matters, as L.G. may wish to go to the War Office straightway, and the Irish cause then will sink into small significance in his eyes.

The mode of crushing the rebellion by Maxwell has inflamed opinion in America, and the Cabinet have had representations from Washington on the necessity of a settlement with Ireland.

O’Brien was of opinion we should have swallowed Anthony MacDonnell’s old Bill, which I opposed, and in the events which have happened he may have been right, but it seemed otherwise at the time. Now another offer is to be made.”

The *Irish Times *printed an account of a Convention in Belfast of the “Covenanters” addressed by Sir Edward Carson on the 7th June, 1916. It announced that he spoke to the delegates for over an hour, and devoted another hour to hearing their views:

“Sir Edward Carson related the history of his leadership from 1911 to the abortive Buckingham Palace Conference. He pointed out how the whole situation had been altered by the outbreak of war. It was Ulster’s duty to give her undivided support to the Empire in carving out victory. He had given that support, and would continue to do so until the end. With the rebellion in Ireland most people had said this was the end of Home Rule, but this had not been the case. Mr. Asquith had come to Ireland for the purpose obviously of gaining time. He came back to the Cabinet and the Cabinet had decided that the Home Rule question should be settled. He, as the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, was asked would he confer with Mr. Lloyd George, and he conceived it to be his duty to do so, but he made it plain that, whatever might be suggested, the decision must be given by the people of Ulster, and whatever might be the decision, he would abide by it and convey it.

The proposal which Sir Edward was asked to place before the delegates was, that six of the Ulster counties should be excluded from the operation of the Home Rule Act during the pleasure of the Imperial Parliament, but there was to be no county option, and there would probably be a branch of the Home Office in Belfast, which would administer the six counties. Statistics were given of the loyalist and Nationalist populations of the entire province, and also of the six counties. The delegates were asked to consider carefully whether, in view of the fact that the Home Rule Act is on the Statute Book and that there might be no Unionist leaders to move its repeal, it might not be advisable to accept the offer made…

It is the feeling amongst Unionists in Belfast to-night that the Cabinet intend to settle the Irish question on the basis of the exclusion of six Ulster counties, if necessary without the consent of the Irish Unionist and Nationalist parties.”

This shows that the original Partition plan of the Government was not to set up a Belfast Parliament, but to keep the Six Counties under the control of the Home Office in London, with a branch office in Belfast. I informed my brother:

Chapelizod

*10th June, *1916.

“Devlin has swallowed partition, and so did the entire band. The *Independent *attacked them. Lloyd George and Herbert Samuel complained to Murphy about it. They were coached to do so, but Murphy will not take the slightest notice.

The only reason the Government want to do anything is fear of America, and not love of Ireland or us. The longshoremen in New York refused to handle munitions, and the “funerals” got up for the Dublin dead in April were attended by millions in U.S.A.

No settlement is possible with the Orangemen, who are as much responsible for the European War as the students of Sarajevo.

While delay would have been in Redmond’s favour in abating feeling, fresh bitterness will be aroused by the failure to produce a settlement.

I don’t know if the Dublin view has spread to Cork, but amongst moderate Catholics who were intensely loyal, I find nothing but Sinn Fein sentiment. I don’t care to mention names, as letters are opened, but one man whose son was burnt alive at Suvla Bay said he would rather now the Germans won.

I never knew such a transformation of opinion as that caused by the executions. Besides, the looting by the soldiers and ruffianism against innocent people - the ill-treatment of the prisoners, the insolence of the military in the streets, the foul language used to women, and the incompetence shown by officers, have aroused a contempt and dislike for which there is no parallel in our day. The small boys are singing, “Who fears to speak of Easter week!!

Lately the military have changed their tune, and the wind that blew north three weeks ago is blowing south to-day. All to no purpose. They have lost the hearts of the people beyond all hope of retrieving their mistakes. Clerics have discovered that” the probable hope of success “needed to justify rebellion does not necessarily mean military success, and that Pearse achieved his object, and “builded better than he knew,” His executioners would now give a good deal to have him and his brother back in jail alive.

The prospect is appalling, and the Cabinet are searching for a solution. It is no use trying to apply the laws of arithmetic or cold reason here. It is comic to see Dublin City Hall occupied by soldiers in fear of a new rebellion on Monday, and the planting of artillery on points of vantage. Every one is laughing. A current joke is that the temperature is “98” in the shade!”

When Kitchener perished, Lloyd George denounced the folly of the War Office in dealing with Irish recruiting and Irish regiments. After the war broke out Dillon called on Kitchener, who told him that “he knew all about Ireland.” Kitchener was born in Kerry, and a letter of his was published showing that his love for France had been enkindled by stories heard from Irish peasants, so that he enlisted as a private in the French Foreign Legion in 1870. To confirm Lloyd George’s censure of the military, the case of the Tyneside Irish Volunteers may be cited. Although they joined up in large numbers, they were refused the title of “Tyneside Irish.” Major Cowen, son of the eloquent Joseph Cowen, M.P. (then owner of the *Newcastle Chronicle), *presented them with harps for their caps and Gaelic badges, but the sages of Whitehall refused to allow these to be worn. Major Cowen also gave them Celtic bagpipes, but these were “contrary to regulations.” Their band might play “Over the Garden Wall,” or “Sally in our Alley,” but “God save Ireland,” or” The Wearing of the Green” were taboo.

At the front the corps got no recognition in dispatches, save under some unintelligible number, and was finally so shattered that, without any record of its gallantry or achievements, the survivors were scattered amongst Labour battalions. As “Tyneside Irish,” its fame would have won recruits, but this did not strike the Authorities. In Ireland when a green flag was presented to a newly-recruited regiment at Mallow by a Conservative lady, its display was forbidden.

Knowing that Partition was in the offing, I suggested every expedient I could think of to avert it. Frequent conferences were then common between opposing leaders. I believed that economic questions in spite of religious bogies would ultimately govern the result, yet that for some time there must be a recognition of Orange prejudice. I wrote Maurice:

House of Commons

15*th June, *1916.

“I am going to try a new experiment to-night. I have agreed to see Lloyd George at seven at his request, and shall propose the following alternative to “partition.” When he brings in his Bill to exclude the six counties I shall propose to give the counties a plebiscite between its acceptance as a whole, or the acceptance of Home Rule for all Ireland, under the following system: Two registers of voters to be prepared - divided into those over £30 and all other valuations, each section to return one member for the Irish Parliament, plus the same right to return one member for every county council, district or local ward in corporations or towns. This would give the Catholics of Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry the advantage, in being in the excluded enclave, but being able to vote for a united Ireland: and the Protestants would have the inducements of securing their co-religionists throughout all Ireland a substantial representation, and in some areas almost a majority in local institutions.

If this* *became acceptable to Irish Unionists (when debated in the House of Commons), the part creating the separate enclave might be dropped and the Bill passed for all Ireland without an excluded area.

The figures of voters above and below £30 valuation are:

Above Below

Ulster 21,890 57,498

Leinster 25,013 89,114

Munster 24,500 101,748

Connacht 6,175 115,912

I would make the lower franchise “manhood suffrage” with six months’ residence. “Manhood” to include woman suffrage. I shall let you know result of the interview.”

London,

*16th June, *1916.

“The Wizard liked my plan, and afterwards Rufus Isaacs [Lord Chief Justice) came in. He explained it to him, and suggested I should see Carson on Monday. He will be away until then. I have written Carson. He may be in town for a moment to-morrow, and if he asks me to stay in London I will do so.

Men like John Barry are keen for a settlement, and I gather that Bishop O’Donnell has affected Cardinal Logue.”

The war created a revulsion in opinion as to Ireland, owing to the necessity of coaxing the United States to join in. In the House of Commons there was much questioning of the Government regarding the rebellion. Dillon was constantly in conference with Ministers in London, and when in Dublin the Under-Secretary, Nathan, visited his residence. I wrote Maurice:

London,

18th *June, *1916.

“Gavan Duffy yesterday brought to me an American lawyer, Boyle, who has been sent over to help in the Casement trial. He has come with the approval of the British Ambassador, Spring Rice, as a friend of President Wilson. He was given an interview by Sir E. Grey at the Foreign Office, and told Grey that, in consequence of the Dublin executions, the Irish in America had turned pro-German, that the three Cardinals there signed the appeal for help for the rebel families, and that a Requiem Mass was said in every church in America, by order of the bishops, for the men shot.

I have had a long talk with John Boon, the old “tapeworm” of the Exchange Co. He has been to Spain to stem German propaganda, and said the effect of the rebellion on the Spanish was disastrous to the Allied cause. They had, however, been more or less pro-German before.

A funny thing he told me was that a speech of Birrell to his constituents denouncing Philip II as a tyrant, was made great use of by the Germans, as the Spanish regard Philip “Segundo” as their greatest king! Birrell, unconscious of his lapse, has selected Spain as the place for his vacation. Rum world!

Redmond is completely dished. I don’t suppose Carson will agree to more than he has done, and he is being criticized in Orangeland for an infraction of the “Covenant” in making a compromise. Now that Lloyd George is at the War Office his interests in a settlement will slacken, and then there will be no one to pull the Irish cart… .

Unless Carson agrees to some such scheme as mine the Redmondites will swallow whatever is brought forward. The defect in my plan is that such a system of voting could not justly be applied to the counties proposed to be excluded, as there the Protestants have adequate representation, and it would be unfair to increase it, or deprive Catholics in Tyrone or Fermanagh of their weight. The Catholics now control Enniskillen Urban, and Fermanagh County Council, also Tyrone County Council.

William O’Brien has also met Carson.”

When I went to see Carson, he was the same friendly fellow that he had always been, but would not budge an inch. The only thing gained by my visit was tea with Lady Carson, whose father and uncle I knew well. Her father, Colonel Frewen, when soldiering in Ireland, occupied my house at Chapelizod, and I thought she had been born there. She said it was not herself, but her sister, who came to light at that spot. Colonel Frewen told me that he daily whipped 50 trout out of the Liffey on my stretch of the river. He still visits Ireland every summer to fish in the West. I wrote my brother:

London

19th June, 1916.

“I saw Carson, who was friendly, but doubtful. He will submit the plan to his friends to-morrow, but meanwhile, I have heard from a different source that the Tories in the Cabinet, led by Long and Lansdowne, will resign if anything is done. They deny that they consented to give Lloyd George powers.”

I returned home to gauge opinion when Redmond determined to swallow the Partition proposals, and wrote Maurice:

Dublin,

23*rd June, *1916.

“Feeling amongst the Tories in the Four Courts is that Redmond will “pack” his convention in Belfast, and that he will carry a” rigged “verdict. This will create a new situation, as it will show the Southern Conservatives that they are in a bad way, and will open their minds to alternative settlements.

In that view I opened up my plan to Denis Henry and Arthur Samuels, and they took kindly to it. Samuels said it would be practically to Repeal the Union if we gave them such a franchise as I outlined, and that we should pay no taxes to England.

The fact is that if Redmond carries the day in Belfast it will only open up a new phase in the struggle. It will embarrass him and dissatisfy the people, and make him more likely to entertain such a solution as I have projected.

I saw Asquith on Tuesday. He was very nice, and said I “was always helpful.” Carson, however, seemed entirely in the hands of his sternest friends, and not disposed to initiate anything.

The Long-Lansdowne position has been squared, although Long’s letter was threatening. The moment the Redmondites accept Partition officially we can propose no alternative scheme, as the lesser of two evils.”

Redmond called a “Convention” in Belfast to accept partition on the basis that it would be for a limited period. Bargainers who yield “an inch” forget that opponents will graft “an ell” on their proposals. By threats of resignation, he, Dillon, and Devlin carried their way for partition in a meeting which had been carefully “hand-picked.” The result proved that the political machine can go everywhere and do anything” except go straight. I wrote my brother:

Chapelizod

30th *June, *1916.

“Lord Lansdowne’s statement yesterday in the Lords shows the poor judgment exercised by “the boys” in packing their Belfast Convention. They have got the Government into a difficulty, and I am told by Unionists that Carson and the Northerners will do nothing to help them.”

House of Commons,

*5th July, *1916.

“The Ulster regiments at the front have been badly cut up. A settlement, if proposed, may go through, but I should not like to be in Redmond’s shoes… .”

The Ulster Forces raised by Carson were delayed for training at Ballykinlar, Co. Down, nearly a year, in the hope that the War would be ended without their having to go to the front. Some Nationalists argued that this delay was the result of an arrangement between Carson and the War Office, and that no such long training was necessary. When they were ultimately dispatched to France, they behaved gallantly and suffered heavy losses. So great was the wailing in Belfast that Carson for the moment lost popularity there. I wrote Maurice:

House of Commons,

6*th July, *1916.

“Partition will go through. The Tories to-morrow will kick a little, but their meeting will pass the scheme.

Ronald MacNeill told me he would support it and, of course, Carson and all the Orangemen will do so. Walter Long sent Lord Robert Cecil to Devlin yesterday, and Joe is said to have surrendered “Police, Post Office and Customs.” Cecil said he would have given up more if he knew what to ask for!

What then will be left for the Irish Parliament to do? There is to be no election to the Irish House, but members are to be co-opted by the Government to represent the Southern Unionists, and the Irish members are to retain their seats and their salaries here as usual during the War… .

Arthur Balfour has passively accepted Partition, and said it will be “an interesting experiment”! It is a strange ending (if it be the end) of the Home Rule struggle.”

The shepherds of the Irish Cause had to run the gauntlet of powerful enemies in Lords and Commons. Although Partition was not passed until 1920, its enactment was discernible four years earlier. I wrote my brother:

London,

7*th July, *1916.

“It is the support of Lord Northcliffe that has carried the thing.

If it be true that it is Herbert Samuel who is drafting the Bill, it will be as narrow as it can be made. In the chequered history of Ireland this is the most extraordinary phase that has arisen.”

Chapelizod,

14*th July, *1916.

“The Government art trying to mark time to see can they beat the Germans.

Bonar Law has lost control of the Tories on the Irish issue, and there is a fissure in the Conservative ranks thereon.”

Bonar Law, although half an Irishman, was bitterly against Home Rule. His honesty, simplicity, and old-world detachment from selfish considerations, were transparent. Chamberlain pushed him forward to a seat in Parliament because of his acquaintance with the problems of free trade and protection learned in Canada. I often wrangled with him about Ireland almost to quarrelling point. Indeed, I once told the host at whose house we met that I would never speak to Bonar again - so fierce was he against my arguments for Home Rule. I wrote Maurice:

House of Commons,

25th July, 1916.

“Redmond has left the Irish Cause in a worse position than it was ever placed in, by his concession of the six counties, as it can’t be obliterated.

I hear a rumour that Kitchener’s ship went down, or was wrecked by mines.”

The first account of the drowning of Kitchener was conveyed to me while I was defending Sinn Feiners before a court-martial at Richmond Barracks presided over by Lord Cheylesmore. He had condemned Lodi, the German spy, to death in the Tower of London, and severity was expected from him. Yet he gave great weight to the remorse of John McEntee for his part in the rising of Easter week.

By this time Redmond had not only become unpopular, but hateful to the populace. Yet, beyond trying to steer the Irish barque to shore according to the best of his judgment, he had not sinned. He was merely a weak man shouldering a burthen beyond his bearing.

Amidst these uncertainties I visited Lord Devonport in Wales in order to go to see the Irish prisoners in Frongoch. Father Stafford, P.P., who behaved so bravely with an Irish Regiment against the Bulgarians, was in spiritual charge there. He told me that the French generals thanked him for the gallantry of his regiment, which had served as a rear-guard in the French retreat. I wrote my brother:

Denbigh,

11*th August, *1916.

“I came here to visit the Internment Camp at Frongoch to see how the Irish prisoners are treated, and hear their story. I expect to see them to-day.”

My experience at the Frongoch camp, although brief was not without its lessons. I did not know the prisoners, but wished that any alleviation of their condition which my visit could induce should come into force. I first asked for a Mayo editor named Doris. A censor was present, drawn, I think, from Belfast. The denunciations of Doris of his arrest were pungent. He said his paper had condemned the 1916 insurrection, and that his imprisonment was caused by his brother - a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party.

Here the censor declined to allow the interview to continue. Then I was asked whom I further wished to see? I replied that one of my constituents was in jail, and requested that he should be produced. In he came in his shirt-sleeves, a splendid actor. Lord Devonport inquired why he was there. Doris, the poor innocent victim, attributed his imprisonment to domestic causes, but this Mitchelstown (Co. Cork) internee said sweetly: “I was arrested owing to the fact that I was always a supporter of the protection policy of the late Joseph Chamberlain.” I knew, of course, that he was there because of an intercepted letter to America declaring that Redmond could never again pass through Ireland except in an armoured can I wrote Maurice:

London,

18th August, 1916.

“I applied for a permit to visit the Sinns in Reading Prison to-day, but got no reply. I then called at the War Office and saw Brade over one of the War restrictions. They prohibit the export of linoleum to Holland on the ground that the Germans make boots of it! I told him I wish they did, and that if so, they should be encouraged, as such foot-wear would not stand a day. The fact is that the Germans are exporting linoleum to Holland, and that both Holland and Sweden manufacture the stuff themselves. There seems to be little practical sense on the soldier-side of the Government.

Lord Derby came in while I stood storming at Brade and met me with the funny thrust, “You are failing, Tim!” We laughed heartily. He could take in a business point, but not his wiseacres. May not the German pundits be as bad?”

Soon I was in the middle of the inquiry which Asquith ordered into the murder of the four civilians in Dublin during the rebellion. It was presided over by Sir John Simon, who made an admirable chairman. The heads of the Army there were nervous lest additional scandals should be probed, but Sir John’s rulings were firm against anything of the kind. It is due, however, to the memory of a Protestant Irish officer who was killed in France soon after, to say that he privately gave me the utmost assistance as to what went on in Portobello Barracks before the prisoners were shot by Colthurst’s command. The son of Lord FitzGerald, the late Lord of Appeal, also added valuable hints on military points.

Dublin,

28th August, 1916.

“The Commission in the Colthurst case has adjourned until Thursday. Sir John Simon was fair. The terms of reference restricted him, and he had a colleague in Denis Henry to cope with!

Every one is satisfied that we have done better than we had a fight to expect. Bringing Lieutenant Dobbin back is a humiliation to the military. We have thrown new light on events. The Tories are mad over the disclosures, and the *Spectator *on Saturday had an attack on the holding of the Commission.

The Government are in a difficulty as to the King Street murders. Of course, the military will allege sniping, and the evidence would be contradictory, whereas here they have no excuse. The giving of half-pay to Colthurst, and the transportation of the doctor to Africa because he would not certify his insanity, impress the public.

Feeling rises against the Party. It is hard to see how Redmond can be rehabilitated. We have been vindicated in a most unexpected manner. Half the Redmondites would not be re-elected, and none will be returned for Dublin. Ulster is certainly lost to them, and where will they gain a foothold?

The *Dundalk Examiner *on Saturday printed AE.’s poem on the insurgents, which shows that the censorship is weakening. There will be little esteem for Martial law or for soldiers’ decisions after the Skeffington disclosures.”

The Asquith Government would not allow the evidence or the findings of the Commission to be officially published, but as the newspapers were given free rein during the sittings this was not felt. Redmond avoided all questions which might give trouble to the Government, but Dillon took a more Irish stand. The Rebellion and its sequels ended both their careers.

The Redmondite surrender to Lloyd George in accepting Partition was sorely felt by the Ulster Catholics. Their leaders descended on Dublin to hold a protest meeting in the Phoenix Park, and of it I told Maurice:

Chapelizod,

17th September, 1916.

“Tyrone and Derry priests were here last Sunday, and are in great fettle. The Redmondite organizers are working like commercial travellers through their districts. The kick against Dillon in Swinford seems to me the most remarkable of all. The Independent cold-waters the business. The Herald did not even mention the Park meeting against Partition, much less report it…

Duke [Chief Secretary] asked me to lunch on Wednesday, and I did not like refusing, but when U knocked at his Lodge door I was told he was not in, and went home. Perhaps he thinks he named another day. Chalmers has retired as Under-Secretary, very honestly.

The Government have dismissed, via the recently appointed Committee, several postal officials because they were Volunteers. They are trying to shift MacDonagh’s brother and other Excisemen to England because they are Gaelic Leaguers. Sir Henry Bellingham wrote me a protest in one case, and I have written R. McKenna.

Everything that could stir up bad blood is being done by the Castle, and there will be the inevitable “reprisals” some same - a pleasant outlook!”

Chalmers’s sudden retirement struck us as very odd, because up to that every Englishman or Canadian sent to Dublin was cocksure that he was entirely competent to deal with Ireland. Chalmers, however, declared that he knew nothing about Irish affairs, and retired. This was for me an inexplicable miracle! For why should any official confess that he could not understand the country he was to govern? Strange to say, there is no statue anywhere to Chalmers.

Chapelizod,

29th September, 1916.

“I met Duke last night at Dartry [William Murphy’s house]. The others present were Sir A. Chance, Waldron M.P., Erskine Childers, and Father Finlay. Duke was not in favour of Irish conscription, nor is General Maxwell. I said it could only be organized by a native Parliament, and he did not dissent. Plainly, it will not be originated by Irish officials, whatever the Government may be driven to by Carson and the London papers. I pressed for the release of the Sinn prisoners, but could see there was no chance of it.

I understand from an outside source that all the men in Reading Jail who were leaders were offered release if they agreed not to take part in politics, and they all refused. They are not ill-treated in Reading, but it is very cold there. It is one of the coldest prisons in England… .

Duke seems nervous about Co. Cork. He referred to the tone of O’Brien’s paper, saying it was giving him concern. He is honestly trying to find some way of settling the Home Rule problem, and Partition will not be revived as far as he is concerned. He evidently met Irish Tories who complained to him that England had swindled us. He asked, “Are we English then a nation of thimble-riggers? How can you complain of being swindled and denounce the project which was offered you?” I replied, “The fact that the offer was only made to 26 counties, and that it was not carried out (added to the bad faith previously shown), entitled men to say we are swindled.” He is an honest man, and I should be sorry if O’Brien did anything to “queer his pitch” until he gets an opportunity to show his mettle. He was at first very “black” with me, until I explained that I tried to keep the appointment for luncheon, which he said was for Thursday. I thought it was for Wednesday, and am sure that was the day fixed.

I asked Erskine Childers how he came to write a book on Home Rule finance, being an Englishman, and he laughed, saying he was hardly that. His figures captured Murphy. I did not read the book.

I had with me to-day a solicitor with his client, a Dublin publican named Phil Shanahan, whose licence is being opposed, and whose house was closed by the military because he was in Jacob’s during Easter week. I was astonished at the type of man - about 40 years of age, jolly and respectable. He said he “rose out” to have a “crack at the English” and seemed not at all concerned at the question of success or failure. He was a Tipperary hurler in the old days. For such a man to join the Rebellion and sacrifice the splendid trade he enjoyed makes one think there are disinterested Nationalists to be found. I thought a publican was the last man in the world to join a rising! Alfred Byrne, M. P., was with him, and is bitter against the Party. I think I can save Shanahan’s property.”

The botch-work of the Generals in France, of which every Irish household seemed to know, coupled with the methods adopted to suppress the Dublin revolt, had a profound effect. I write my brother:

Chapelizod,

6th October, 1916.

“The Daily Telegraph and Express have joined in the cry for Conscription. The Expres sent a man to me yesterday for my views privately. As this is Bonar Law’s organ I infer that the Tory section of the Cabinet will press it, in order to kill Home Rule. No parliamentary opposition from Redmond could stop them, and nothing but the fear that Irish conscripts might refuse to serve could prevent its application. It could not be possible to enforce it in Ireland if the priests backed the people.”

Chapelizod,

29th October, 1916.

In the West Cork election the Party, while not officially appearing, will do their best to provoke a contest.

Bishop Kelly, of Ross [a Dillonite], was the leader of the Partition settlement among the Hierarchy.

A released prisoner told me when the new Freeman building was complete they would attack it! The chickens of the Insurance Act have come home to roost. Ours in an interesting country.”

William O’Brien’s candidate was beaten in West Cork, which until then supported his policy. I commented:

Chapelizod

18th November, 1916

“The West Cork election in its way is as decisive as the Kilkenny election of ‘890. The Redmond Party will be encouraged, and I have told Father O’Doherty, P.P., that it signed the death warrant of Catholic Ulster.”

The Party, however, thought the event a splendid portent unwitting that it was brought about by the Sinn Feiners who abstained. The death of James O’Kelly, M.P., led to an election in Roscommon. I told Maurice:

London**

**1st *February, *1917.

“Redmond is so poorly that he will be unable to attend the opening of the session. Roscommon is snowed up, and all the West has six feet of snow on the roads, so the election will be a town affair.

The Government recently were afraid of America cutting off supplies, but that is no longer apprehended.”

House of Commons

7*th February, *1917.

“Never was there such a winter. The coughing in the House to-day was extraordinary. I was about to finish that sentence in another way when Asquith came up and shook hands. The odd thing was that he had passed me a minute before. He must have remembered, and supposed I thought he had cut me!

So far not a word has been said by the leaders as to the Speaker’s Franchise Report. Lloyd George has not come to the House. Asquith’s role seems to be to give assurances of co-operation, but to adumbrate the possibility of pinpricks from others. You should publish that note the Speaker sent you as to the Franchise Committee, unless it is marked “private.” Who else, having received such a compliment, would allow his light to remain under a bushel?

The Roscommon election result was greatly helped by Count Plunkett’s expulsion from the Royal Dublin Society. Father O’Flanagan was such a Redmondite hitherto that he vehemently supported Partition last summer, and wrote publicly in its favour.

The “Ancient Order “supported Plunkett against Devine, their President.

Sinn Fein sentiment will be resisted less strongly in places where there was no “anti-Party” organization.When the Irish take sides they stay on that side.

There is no sign of peace in the talk of politicians about the War. Nevertheless, Max thinks it will come.

I suppose you got a leaflet from Mrs. Meynell showing that her son Francis is in jail as a “conscientious objector.” Extraordinary for an English lad.”

At this time my brother had a Cork Improvement Bill which he was anxious the Ulster Tories should not object to. I wrote him:

House of Commons,

8th February, 1917.

“**I have seen Sir John Lonsdale and Colonel Craig, and the latter said to me, “Tell Maurice it is absolutely settled that Sharman Crawford will back the Bill.” I have not seen Crawford as I have only just come down.”

House of Commons,

15*th February, *1917.

“This fool-Party are throwing away the chance of their lives to abolish the Grand Jury and the harangues of judges, by not insisting on the extension of the English Suspensory Bill to Ireland. I stopped it last night to insist that the Government should reconsider the exclusion of Ireland. I went to Scanlon [M.P.] to-day. and told him how important it would be to deprive the Judges of a platform for their attacks next month. He went to Dillon, and I offered to leave the whole management of the debate to them, without effect. The message I got was that they “were not interfering.” I told Scanlon I would avail of this as a characteristic proof of their incompetence.

The Government are uneasy about the state of Ireland. Dillon has been telling them there will be another insurrection.”

London,

18th *February, *1917.

“I lunched with Sir John Simon yesterday, and he had been seeing Asquith. I could see that they will strive to advance the Franchise report of the Speaker. I dined with Neil Primrose, who told me a day had been promised for the debate, and that the Prime Minister was not in the least averse from proceeding with the Bill. I told Neil they should place the Government draftsman at the Speaker’s service, and let the Speaker be responsible for the Bill. F. E. Smith is in favour of the scheme, and went so far as to say that the Speaker should make a speech and introduce it.

I would go home but I want to see if I can amend the Grand Jury Amendment Bill. Smith told me that James O’Connor (Attorney-General) wired that nobody wished the Bill to extend to Ireland. I spoke to Swift MacNeill and he confessed O’Connor was wrong, and saw the importance of doing away with such a platform for the judges as the Grand Juries biannually afford.”

House of Commons,

20th *February, *1917.

“The Party is discredited in the House, and every one thinks Redmond is done for. Dillon has made a speech against the Government on Salonika, loudly cheered by the “pacifists,” but perfectly loyal in tone. He spoke of “our troops” and “our army,” and was anxious for the Allied success.

I did not know the Chamber of Commerce had passed a resolution in favour of the English Grand Jury Bill applying to Ireland. James O’Connor prevented the Government accepting my amendment. F. E. Smith openly said so, and it disgusted even Swift MacNeill, whom I had got to see the folly of O’Connor’s attitude. Scanlon seconded me, to save the Party’s face, but they were evidently under instructions not to support me, as only four or five were in the Chamber, and the rest did not come in.

With the slightest pressure from the Party F. E. Smith would have agreed to the amendment, but in face of the opposition from the Attorney-General for Ireland how could he have yielded to me alone, and I said so. When I see James O’Connor I will give him some chunks of my mind.

House of Commons,

27*th February, *1917.

“The *Daily News *says that conversations about Home Rule have been re-opened. It also says James Chambers has been appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland.”

House of Commons**

***6th March, *1917.

“There is great interest in the T.P. debate to-morrow, but most of it will evaporate when they know that Lloyd George has been seized with a diplomatic chill. He has arranged this ailment, and T.P. is quite cheerful at the calamity which has befallen his country and his Prime Minister.”

House of Commons,**

**23*rd March, *1917.

“Bonar Law sent for me on Wednesday night to say that he had heard from William O’Brien, who said he was coming over to see him, and that he wished me to tell O’Brien there was no necessity, although he would be glad to talk with him if he came. There had been delay in his acknowledging the letter, so I telegraphed this to O’Brien, and that Bonar Law was writing. I hope he did so. Next day Bonar Law announced in his speech that they would make another effort to settle the Irish question, so I hope O’Brien did not think I was putting him off, as Bonar Law did not advise me of his intention to make this announcement.

I don’t suppose the Tory Party will give him any encouragement, as they are playing the Asquith game to “down” Lloyd George. There is an article in the *Daily Express *to-day recommending a Dissolution on the ground of the Asquith intrigue, and that otherwise Lloyd George will be smothered. Asquith has given notice to thank the Speaker for the Franchise Committee Report and his resolution urges on the Government the necessity of legislation on the lines of your Committee.

House of Commons,

18th April, 1917.

“Bonar Law said to me to-day he didn’t think anything would come of their Irish proposals, and that the case was hopeless. I asked him if he could tell me what they were, and he said no, as they had not yet been submitted to the Cabinet. Now that they have got over the Parliament Act trouble, I suppose they will look forward to the Franchise Bill to give them an excuse to dissolve.

Balfour has gone to America, and so have Joffre and Viviani.”

House of Commons,

2*nd May, *1917.

“Cork Improvement Bill passed the Report stage to-day, and it is for the Agent to fix third reading. Colonel Gretton spoke to me bitterly though good-humouredly about it chaffing about Ford’s Works.

I am staying on until next week for the Lloyd George statement. It has been postponed because of the Longford election. The Government know Redmond’s nominee will be beaten. All the young generation are against the Party.

The Irish mail did not sail from Kingstown this morning, and the submarine peril is increasing.”

House of Commons,

14*th May, *1917.

“I had enclosed from O’Brien, and replied that I understood from Bonar Law privately that the statement would be on Thursday. Dalziel says they don’t know what to say, and that no definite announcement will be made. They hope to win the War without settling with Ireland.

I have not been allowed to see the draft Franchise Bill, nor have I done anything further about it. I don’t see why there should be a Local Government Register, distinct from the Parliamentary; nor why, if women are to have the Parliamentary vote, they should not enjoy the Municipal vote on the same terms.

Since I wrote above, I have seen Bonar Law, and told him not to make the Ministry ridiculous by postponing the statement until after Thursday. I believe it will be then made. I think all that will be said will be that they can do nothing, because the Nationalists will not take” county option for Ulster, and if it was granted by a bare majority the Protestants would be so infuriated that they would drive out the Catholics from employment in Belfast.

The Government at one time had the idea, which Lloyd George mentioned, of a Commission, but I told them not to make themselves a laughing-stock. It is a miserable state of things.”

House of Commons,

15*th May, *1917.

“I was afraid that the Franchise Bill was not going to be applied to Ireland, but understand it will be. There must have been some doubt about it, as the Redmondites are hostile to an extended franchise.

Every one will know to-morrow what the Home Rule proposals will be. I understand they are the same as the *Manchester Guardian *suggested yesterday - the exclusion of the six counties, but some joint board between them and the twenty-six, for certain purposes. The thing is repugnant, but the Party will take it rather than be diddled altogether.

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