Pioneer

I Death of Durham Miner C.O. J. G. Winter, of 196 High-street, (ornsay, was a miner, combed out in the re<-ent ballot, and is described as being a big,strong man." He was arrested at Cornsay on Thursday, Juno 2< til, 1918, and taken the same day to the New- castle g-uanlrooll1, Fen ham, where he remained until the evening of Tuesday, July 9th. With him in the guardroom were Croebv Hall, of Jfchwinning, and a C.O. from Seaharn Harbour, at present unidentified. The Newcastle guard- room is a very dark, badly ventilated room, with an open urinal built out of the guardroom, from which the smell is always poisoning the air. On Sunday, July < th. Winter appeared to be suffering from something like a mild attack of intlueny-a, and on Monday, July Sth, when Mrs. W inter saw him in the guardroom, although pale, he appeared pretty well. His companion, Crosby Hall, fainted in the guardroom both on Sunday and Monday night. Both Crosby Hall and "inter had refused medical examination on being taken into the barracks originally. On Tuesday, Winter was lying in the guardroom all day Ion. with two coats npon him. He was removed from Newcastle on Tuesday night, July I travelling to London by the mid- night train, and arriving at Wormwood Scrubbs early in the morning. He was not strong enough to carry a small-pa reel that he had with him, and was evidently in a very weak condi- tion. For some time the escort refused to help limi with this parcel, but eventually did sü. On arriving at, Wormwood Scrubbs. lie was placed in a reception cell where probably he remained froni earh morning until late on in the after- noon, and during a 1! the time he wa." in the cell I Cro.,hy Hall says that, he was moaning with pain. the cell also probably had a stone floor, and it would be unlikely that there would hp any mat- » tress or blankets therein. Mrs. Winter received a telegram at dinner- nme on Fnday, July l?th, saving that her hrs- ?and was senousjy ill. but s he W&? not able to ?trai-ol the next day and arrived in Lon- d<m at .-).15 p.m. ? find that. her hus- band had died at dinner-tinw. It, appears that on tk(ln.esda\ <vv«*Din £ wlion leaving the recep- tion cell he was sent, to the hospital suffering troni Spanish flu," which was afterwards diag- nosed as double pneumonia. It is perhaps unfair to blame anyone in this case until tull enquiries have been made, but it. certainly appears on the fact of the evidence that Winter was made to travel from Newcastle wdien he was not ;n a fit state to do so. and that- there was great negligence on the part of the authorities w hen he arrived at WormwoocJ Scrubbe. W e hope that the matter will be very carefully- enquired into at the inquest, which will probably take Llar-c on Tuesday next.

Merthyr Gas Workers. STRIKE FOR NATIONAL WAGES AWARD. Bollo,.rTi)t,n, and Iabourrs at the Merthyr (ias Works went on strike on friday with a d{"mand for claimed to bo duo to them since. March Hist last and affecting various grades, thus: men receiv- itig bonuses (exclusive of wages advances) of 16/- and less than 20 a week to be paid 20/ aoove pre-war* rates: those given less than 16,1 a week to bo paid an additional 4/- a week and lads under 18 years of age to be granted 2/- per week increase, subject to a maximum advance of 101. a week on -r,b (- pre-war startlard. hour weeks ago the men. who are members of the Workers Union, tendered notices, but sub- sequently withdrew them on the assumption that a settlement, had been arrived at within a fortnight. Nothing, however, having been ar- rarvgod, the management were waited upon and their intimation too the workmen's representa- tives w as that a further decision was being- ex- pected from the arbitrators. The company's contention was that the award made following arbitration between the Na- tional Gas Council and the National Federation of Wor kers (which included the Workers' L iiion) was not binding upon them a.,7, in conse- quence of their employees insisting upon a. pri vate award previously made, they were not re- presented at the proceedings which gave rise to the national award. They stated, also, that the pro\ is ion* oi that private award were being carried out and chi.iiu that, the requ<"st of the workmen is to be paid under both the I ( 1 1 tho pr N?at,(,.in, l work in that pia-ce. The coroner pointed out ierence led to the Workers' Union applying: for further arbitration, the result of which, accord- ing to the Gas Company who assented to that course, was pending on the declaration of a st-rike. SITUATION TO DATE. II The hearing by the Committee OIl Production of the case was fixed for yesterday (Thursday) but the men wing on strike these arrangements tell through, the employers intimating that they could not attend the proceedings. The men, supported in their at.tit.ude by their union, were, however, perfectly a.greeable to return to work on W ednesday in readiness for Thursday's arbitration. At a. meeting held on Wednesday they again stated their willingness to resume, Ol the fixing or another date for the arbitration..Meanwhile there is, as a result of the strike a jx^sibiIity of the town?s supply of gas being cut off.

I The Electric Theatre Mary Pick ford's acting in Madame Baiter • fly," the star picture for Monday next, and tha two following days at the Merthyr Electric Theatre is redolent with charm and an appeal- ing pathos portraying, not. the transient moods of a. child as is her vvont. hut the agonised soul of a wronged wife. Nothing this greatest of the film stars has ever done equals her achieve- ment ns MaHainc Butterfly. In the programme, too, is a Triangle-Keystone farce. Courtt-t and Cabarets," with lots of trouble tor a. judge- v?r?' much married- and his a.?injty. A j?c- rously conc?i\<?d story admirably pictunsed. In j addition ther? will be ttjt u?uaUy r.hr?lmg in- at?ment of the gripping Keria.? "Lags ? the LuTn?rlands, the current parts of th? Build- ?Litml)orl.in,ds," the euitent par-sof tiio Build- in?, of t-be British FAmpli-c, a.ii< i 'nie bilLt?pp?:- for Thursday onwatds H ? Marta of rho Lu?ands. a costume drama i | lecturing that gifted emotional actress. Bertha K?lK'h, who, in it, scores b?'r ??pr?m<- dmma.t'c triumph in the role of Marta, the beggar (-bild, adopted by a wealthy landowner, which will live for ever as one of the greatest demonstrations of pantomimic art evesr Recorded on the screen. The play is written by Angel Guinera, the dis- tinguished Spanish author and, besides 1 t powerful qualities, is full of poetry and colour, which permeate the emotions and the very exist- ence of mountain people. The play is mounted down to the smallest, detail with such illusion of reality as to be life itself. Other features III clude, The Red Act" serial and a comedy^ "The Basi Deceivers."

IRELAND TO THE UNITED STATES. Full Text of Letter to President Wilson. An Indictment of English Tyranny in Restrained, bnt Powerful Language, f [We make no excuse in offering to Socialist. ;and Labour readers the l'iubjoinro reprint, of a ioomnent that will become historic. It is the -address of an Irish Conference to the Prudent, of the United States. Originally it was in- tended to present it through the medium of an ■envoy and with all the dignity that such a ■mission from one nation to the leader of a sis- ter state demands, but the passports needed for that purpose were, made stibject to conditions that were repugnant to the Irishmen, and no mission was sent. Instead, the document was printed for transmission with a covering letter -of apology for the failure to observe the <-onvoli- tion in such cases and an explanation. As a bird's-ove view of Ireland's oppression by the English Parliament, the document is unequalled, whilst in its restrained tone and literary merit nt holds an unique place amongst such docu- ments.-Ed. ] l l Sir.—When, a century and a. half ago. the AmeTican Colonies dared T? assert, the anciem principle that the subject should not be taxed without the consent of his representatives, .g- land stro?? to cTU?h them. To-day En?tan? threatens to crush the people of Ireland if thev do not accept a tax. not in money but in blocs], against the protest, of their representatives. During the American Revolution, the cam- pions of your .liberties appealed to the hi" h Parliament, against British aggression, and asked for a sympathetic, judgment, on their action. What the verdict was, history records. To-day it is our toirn to appeal to the i*-opto -of America. We seek no more fitting prelude bo that appeal titan the U-rnis in which your forefathers greeted ours: — We are desirous of possessing the good opinion of the virtuous and humane. We are peculiarly desirous of furnishing you with the true state of our motives n.nd objects, the better to enable you to judge of our -on(iii(-t, with accuracy, and determine the merits of the controversy with impartiality and pre- cision. If the Irish race had been conscriptable by England in the war against the Cnited Colonies, is it oartain that your Republic would to-day flourish in the .*ijoyment 01 its noble Constitu- tion? UNHEARD-OF DECREE. I Sin>e then the Irish Parliament, has been de- ?troYtd, bv methods de?crib?d by' the ?r????t of British SitA?sn?a as those of b?k?-ar<J- ism and baseness." Ireland, deprived o: its protection and overborne by n ior< ■ than six. to •one in the British Lower House, and by more than a hundred to one in the Upper House, summoned by England to submit w» a hithcrfco- unheard-ot decree against her liberties. In the fourth year ot a war ostensibly begun for tho defence of small nations, a law inscrib- in th? manhood ot Ireland has been parsed, ;n Ing tlio "Liih(x)< t)f Irf-iaiid has be*,n ;n of tfi(, r); )tir Ti),- Bl;- run its course, beinc in the t?Khth year 01 an 'xistence constitutionally limited to five. To warrant ton coercive statute, no recourse was had to the electorate of Brita in, mueh less to that of Ireland. Yet the measure was forced through within a week. despite the votes of Irish representatives and under a system ot closure never applied to the debates w hicri es- tablished conscription ror Great Britain on a milder "oasis. To repel the calumnio invented to becloud our action. we venture to address the successors of the belligerents who oive appealed to Ire- land. The leelings which inspire America deep- 1y concern olnl* ra/x so, in the forefront of our remonstrance, we toel bound to «et forth that this Conscription Act involves for Irishmen questions far larger than any affec ting men:* Jr)- ternal polities. They rause a sovereign principle between a n3,on that has never altandoned her independent rights, and an adjacent nation that iias persistently sought to strangle them. Were Ireland to jrrender that, principle, she 1I;11st submit 1o usurped power, condone the fraudu- lent prostration of her Parliament, in 1^00, and abandon all olaim to distinct, nationality. J)e<*p- -sseated and far-rea<filing are t rie problems re. morsely arpused by the unthinking and violent courses taken at Westminster. < A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE. _II .L_ I "» 1 1.. I I I T]llLv tthr <ud"(K-iIl ;VTia aufjari/urc of Brm.h no}ili?a? from their ?st. miliMfy prooednrv- toward this island provoke acutely tb?! fundamental hUt' of S<'ll De?n?non. Tha.t. H?u., will J..eido wh<?cr our whok- econo- mic, x1ial, ?nd poli?ca.: r.le must 1? "? the un- Tn -Lrid 'L,112 nitu?t. lic, ,i*,? t-1 whose -(x)ntr(i l l(- d ?l L.?y,-(isition oi ;in,-Yt.htr ra(- wh(-)?,t, t!t? M legislate ;oi us re>ts on tor« e and 1f:1,U..l! title. T'Ll ;of, 11.?? ]-(',T.S On Ireland ? a nation more ancient, than. EH.- iand, and one of oldest in Cluistcndom. its geographical boundaries a.re clearly defined. It cherishes, its own traditions, history, lan- irnage, music, and (nocture. It throbs with a national consciousness sharpened, not. only by religious persecution, but by the -violation of its territorial, juristic, and legislative rights. The authority, of which its invaders boast* xl, rests .??y on ?n .T.U<??1 Papal Bull. The symbols »f .attempted conquest are rooil castles, rnÜw.d Abb??s, a.ucr.?n?-a.tcd .?t.hedra-ls. Th? th.I? of K?ng 01 Iceland W3& hr?i. '?n. ??rt?d on ?h? English monarch by a Ntatute of the Parliament held in Ireland in l- >42. when only Úrur of our counties lay under English sway. Thit titile originated in nH English enactment. Neither did the Irish Pat Lament so originate. Every military aid granted by that Parliament to English Kings was purely voluntary, Even when the Penal Code denie-d representation to the majority ot the Irish population, military ?en ice was never < nforced against them. A SOLEMN DECLARATION. 1 For generations England elamied control over ooth legislative and judicial functions in Ire- land, but in 1783 theSe pretensions were alto gather renoune d and the sovereignty of t he Irish Legislature was solemnly recognised. A memorable British StatirDe declare<l it: — established and ascertained for over, and chilli at no time hereafter be questioned or questionable." For this, the spirit evoked by the successful revolt of the United States of America is to be thanked, and Ireland won no mean return for the sympathy invited by your Congress. Yet sc?TT?Iy had G?or?c III. si?nHipd his Royal as- sent to that scrap of paper" when his Minis- ters began to ddflHWh the Irish l?rbam?'at. No 'Ca'tholic had, for "?'cr a century, he?n alloT?d l to &!t within its waJ!s and on?.v ? hn))dM of the population enjoyed the franchise. In 1800, by shameless bribery, a majority of corrupt Colon- ists was procured to embrace the London subju- gation and vote away the existence of their Legislature for pensions, pelf, and titles. The authors of the Act of Union, however, sought to soften its shackles by limiting the future jurisdiction of the British Parliament. lmpœed on "a reluctant and protesting n&- tion," it was tempered by articles g-uariinteeirig? Ireland against the coarser and more obvious forms of injustice. To guard against undue taxation, ''exemptions and abatements'' were stipulated for; but the predominant partner has long since dishonoured that part of the con- tract, and the weaker side has no power to en- force it. No military burdens were provided for, although Britain framed the terms of the treaty to her own liking. Titat an obligation to yield enforced service was thereby under- taken has never hitherto been asserted. We, therefore, cannot neglect to support this protest by citing a main proviso of the Twaty of Union. Before the destruction of the Irish Parliament no standing army or navy was raised, nor was any contribution made, except by way of prift, to the British army or navy. No Irish law for the levying of drafts existed; and such a pro- posal was deemed unconstitutional. Hence the Stii Article oi the Treaty provides that: — All laws iri tone, at the time of the Union shall remain as now by law established, sub- j j»«ct only to such alterations and regulations from time to time as ci r-ciimstances may ap- p"ar to the Parliament of the United King- (loriii to require." A QUERY. Where thcr? was no !<m ?sta.Mi?hin? military —.Mvic? for Ireland, whoL "aJt?ration or n?jta.- tion respecting swh a !?w <?.n ?.i?aliy hind? iC.m an enactment such as C?'n?r-nption, ASoct.- ing the legal and moral rights of an entire people, be describe as an or re- gulation springing rrom H. pre-existing law ? Is the Treaty to be construed as Britain pleases, and always to the prejudice of the weaker -,ide. British military statecraft hiS hitherto ri- gidly held by a separate tradition for Ireland. The Territorial military Tstpm. ("reatoo in 1907 for (Treat, Britain, was not set up in Ireland. The Irish Militia was then actually disbanded, and the War Office insisted that no Territorial force to' r(-pla.(-o it should 00 embodied. Stranger s?t)!. the Volunt<?r A'-t? t\?v:? or MHit&ry) from 3>s04 t? HOO (some twenty in aJI) w?rf ra ver extended to Ireland. In 18S0, when a Conservative House of Commons agreed to tolerate Volunteering, the measure was thrown cr.it by the House of on the Tioa that Irishmen must, not, be allowed to learn the use of arms. A PROSCRIPTION. For, despite the Bill of Rights, tJbe privilege of free i-itizens to bear arms in «olf-defeiioo has ibeen refused to us. The Constitution of Ameriea affirms that right as appertaining to the common people, but the men of Ireland are forbidden to bear arms in their own defence. Where, then, lies the basis of the ••.iaim that, th v ran be forced to take them up for the dc. fence oi others? It. will suffieD to present such 'v>nsidieration- in outline, without disinterring the detail* of tii, past misgovernnient of our country. Mr. Gladstone avowed that these were marked hy every horror and every shame that, exyu ld dis. graeo the relations between a strong country and a weak one." After an orgie of Martial Law the Scottish General, Abercromby, Com- mander-in-Chief in. Ireland, wrote: Ylverv crime, every cruelty that could be committed by Cossacks or Calnvucks, has been, transacted here. The abuses, of all ktints I found can scarcely be believed or enumerated." Lord Hol- land remrds that many jx-ople wf%r*l sottd at so much a. head to the Prussians." WV shall, therefore, pass by the story of the, destruction of our manufactures, of artificial famines, of the fomentation of uprisings, of a hundred Coercion Actis, culminating in the per- petual Ant, of R-epression. obtained by forgery, which graced Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year in 16-Q7. In our island the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the repression of free i-peeoh, gibbetings, shootings, and bayonetings, are commonplace events. The effects of forced emigration and famine American generosity hap sottened; and we do not. seek a, verdict on the general merits of a svstem which enjoys the commendation of no foreigner except Albert, Prinee Consort, who declared tihat tho Irish were no more worthv of svmpatbv than the Poles." AfDED EMIGRATION. I h. is known to yon how our population hra.nk "U> its present fallen state. Grants or money for eniLgration, especially of families," were* pro- vided even by fhe Land A< t of 1881. Prtwoiu Poor Law hacf stiniulated this r(,riicdy S0 late as 1891 a Congested District" Board was empowered to aid emigration," although millions of Irishmen La.<l in the Nineteenth Cen- turv evicted from their homes or driven abroad. S*vvyoiixs ago our jfopuIaTvon stood at eight millions, and, in the normal ratio of in- crease. it should to-day amount to sixteen mil- lions. Instead it has dwindled to iour-a.nd-o-half millions; and it is from this residuum that our manhood between the ages of 19 and ol is to be delivered up in such measure as the strategists of the English War Cabinet may demand. To-dav, "as in the, days of Ge'orge Washington, nearly half the American forces ha ve been fur-1 nishod from the descendants of our banislud tace. If England could not. during your Revo- lution, regard that enrolment with satisfaction, nllht. she not set something now to Ireland's credit^ from the racial composition of your Army and avy ? No. other small nation has been so bereft, hy law of her children, bnt in vain for Ireland has the bread of exile been thrown upon the waters. [ IN EVERY LAND SAVE IRELAND. J Ye-t whlle Solf-Dtnormir.m.ti<>n is rdU84:'c1,'¡¡;-i' are required by law to bleed to make the world safe for demowacy "—in every country except our own. Surely this eannot he the meaning of America's message to maonkind golow- itig from the pen of her illustrious President? In the 750 years during which a stranger sway lias blighted Ireland, her people have never had occasion to welcome an unselfish or generous deed at the h nids of their rulers. Every -0' called concession was but the loosening of a fetter. Every benefit sprang from a manipula- tion of our own money by a foreign Treasury denying us an honest audit of accounts. Is one was yielded as an act of grace. All were the offspring of constraint, tumult, or political necessity. Reason and argument fell on deaf ears. To England the Union has brought en- hanced wealth, population, power, and import- ance; to Ireland increased taxation, stunted in- dustries, swollen emigration, and callous official- ism. I NEITHER INTELLECT NOR MORAL I PRE-EMINENCE. Possessing in this land neither moral nor in- tellectual preeminence, nor any prestige deri ved from past. merit or present esteem, the British I^xecutive claims to restrain niir liberties, con- trol our fortunes, and exercise over our people the power of life and death. To obstruct the re- cent Home Rule Bill it allowed its favourites to defy its Parlia.ment without punishment, to im- port arms from suspect regions with impunity, to threaten to break every law" to effectuate their designs, to infect the Army with mutiny, and set up a rival Executive backed by military arrav to enforce the rule of a. caste against the vast rnajority of the people. The highest oiffces of State became the guerdon of the organisers of rebellion, boastful of aid from Germany. To- day they are the pillars of the Constitution, 3.nd the chief instruments of law. The only laurels lacking to the leaders of the Mutineers are those transplanted from the field of battlel Are we to tight to maintain a system so re- pugnant, and must Irishmen be content to re- main slaves themselves after freedom for dis- tant lands has been purchased by their blood? Heretofore in every clime, whenever the weak called for a defender, wherever the flag of Liberty was unfurled, that blood freely flowed. Profiting by Irish sympathy with righteous causes. Britain, at, the outbreak of the war, at- tracted to her armies tens of thousands of our youth, ere even the Western Hemisphere had awakened ro the wail of lismall nations." IRELAND'S ALTRUISM. I Irishmen, in thsir chivalrous eagerness, laid themselves op>n to the reproaeh from t-onie of their brethren of forgetting the woes of their own land which had suffered from its rulers, at. one time or another, almost, every inhumanity for which Germany is impeached. It was hard to bear the taunt that the army they were join- ing was that, which held Ireland in subjection, but, fresh bitterness has been added to such re- proaches by what has since taken place. Nevertheless, in the face of persistent discour- agements, Irish chivalry remained ardent and aflame in the tirst years of the war. Ten of thousands of the children of rhe Gael have per ished in the conflict. Their bones bleach upon the. soil of .Flanders, or moulder beneath the waves of uda Bay. The slopes of Gallipoli. the sands of Egy]rt, Mesopotamia, and Judea afford them sepulture. Mons and Ypres provide their monuments. W herever the battle line ex- tends, from the English Channel to the Persian Gulf, their ghostly voices whisper a response to the roll-call of the guardian-spirits of Liberty. What is their reward ? THE REWARD. I The spot on earth t.hey loved best, the land to which they owed their first duty, and which they hoped their sacrifics might help to freedom, lies, unredeemed under an age-long thraldom. So. too, would it forever lie, were every man and every youth within the shores of Irela.nd to immolate himself in Knglapd'fs service, unless the clamour of a. dominant caste be rebuked and stilled. YeT, proof after proof accumulates that Bri- tish Cabinet* continue to be towards our coun.try as conscienceless as ever. They deceive friendly nations throughout the world as to their Irish policy, while withholding from us even the Act of Home Rule w hich tin 1914 was placed on the Statute Book. The recent" Convention which they composed to initiate reform was brought to confusion by a letter from the Prime Minister diminishing his original engagements. Such insincere manoeuvres have left an in- delible sense of wrong rankling, in the heart of Ireland. Capitulations are observed with French Cana- dians, with the Maltese, with the Hindoos, with the Mohammedan Ara.bs or the African Boers; but never has rhe word of England, in any capital case, b*<en kept towards the sister island. THE LAST ACT. I Lhe Parliaments of Australia and ot Souta Africa—both of which (unlike our ancient Legis- lature) were founded by British enactments— refused to aclopt Conscription. This, was well, known w hen the law against Ireland was re- solved 011. For opposing the application of that law to Irishmen, and while this appeal to yon, Sir, was being penned, members of our Confer- ence have been arrested and deported without trial. It was even sought to poison the wells of American sympathy by levelling against them and others an allegation which its authors have failed to submit t.d the investigation of any tribunal. To overlay malpractice by imputing to its victims perverse or criminal c-onduct is the stale but never-failing device of tyranny. A claim had also been put forward by the British Foreign C?nic? to prevent you, Mr. President, as the head of a great allied Repub- lic, from acquiring nr?t-hand information of the reasons why Ireland has '")«*ted and will resist ?(7oi-L,;c.ription, except in so far aa the Military Governor of Ireland, FikL[arhal Lord French, may be pleased to allow you to peruse his ver- sion of our opinions. A COMMON GOAL. Ameriœ:s present oonfher, with Germany Ob-¡' SÜUCb no argumpm thai. we advance.. Li- berty and ordered pef<?e" we, too strive for; and confidently do we look to you, Sir, and to America—whose freedom Irishmen risked some, thing to establish—to lend ear and weight to the prayer that another unprovoked wrong against the defenceless may not stain this sorry century. We know that America entered the war be- cause her rights as a. neutral, in respect of ocean navigation, were interfered with, and only then. Yet America in her strength had a guar- antR-ü that in victory she would not be cheated of that for which she joined in the struggle. Ireland, having no such strength, has no such guarantee; and experience has taught us that, utice (much less gratitude) is not to be wrong from a hostile Government. What Ireland is to ive, a free Ireland must determine. We are sadly aware, from recent proclama- tions and deportations, of the efforts of Britisn authorities to inflame prejudice against our country. We therefore crave allowance briefly to notice the insinuation that the Irish coasts. with native connivance, could be made a base for the destruction of American shipping. An official statement asserts that:- "An unique feature in every plan was the establishment, of .submarine bases in Ireland to menace the shipping of all nations." On this it is enough to say that every creek, inlet, or estuary that indents our shores, and every harbour, mole, or jetty, is watchfully pa- trolled by British authority. Moreover, Irish vessels, with their cargoes, crews, and pas- sengers, have suffered in this war proportion- ately to titose of Britain. A SOLITARY INVADER. Another State Paper palliates the deporta- tions by blazoning the descent of a solitary in- vader upon a remote island on April 12th, her- alded by mysterious warnings from the Admir- alty to the Irish Command. No discussion is permitted of the tryst of this British soldier with the local coastguards, of his speedy bent toward s a police barrack, and his subsequent conifdences with the London authorities. Only one instance exists in history of a pro- ject to profane our coasts by making them. a base to launch attacks on international shipping. That plot was framed, not by native wickedness but by an English Viceroy, and the proofs are piled up under his hand in British State Papers. For huge bribes were proffered by Lord Falk- land. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to both the Royal Secretary and the Prince of Wales, to obtain consent for the use of lrriih harbours t.o convenience Turkish and Algerine pirates in raiding sea-going commerce. The plot is old, but the plea of increasing his Majesty's re venues by which it was commended is ever- lasting. Nor will age lessen its significance for the citizens of that Republic which, amidst the tremors and greed of European diplomacy, ex- tirpated the traffic of Algerine corsairs ninety years ago. British experts cherish Lord Falk- land's fame as the sire 01 their most knightly cavalier, and in their eyes its lustre shines un- dimmed, though his Excellency foiled of marine booty, enriched himself by seizing the lands of his untried prisoners in Dublin Castle. THE SLANDERS OF THE HOUR. Movinsr are other retrospects evoked by the present outbreak of malignity against our na- tion. The slanders of the hour recall those let loose to cloak previous deportations in days of panic less ignoble. Then it was the Primate of All-Ireland, Archbishop Oliver Plunkett, who was dragged to London and arraigned for high treason. Poignant memories quicken at every incident which accompanied his degradation be- fore the Lord Chief Justice of England. A troop of witnesses was suborned to swear that his Grace endeavoured and corn-passed the King's death," sought to levy war in Ireland and introduce a foreign Power," and conspired to take a view of all the several ports and places in Ireland where it would be convenient to land from France." An open trial, indeed, was not denied him; tJ"t with hssty rites he « is branded a base and false traitor and doomed to be banged, drawn, and quartered at. Tyburn. That desperate felon, alter prolonged investiga- tions by the Holy See, has lately been declared a martyr worthy of universal veneration. The fathers of the American Revolution were likewise pursued in turn by the venom of Gov- ernments. Could they have been snatched from their homes and haled to London, what fate would have befallen them? There your noblest patriots might also have perished amidst scenes of shame, and their effigies would now bedeck a British chamber of horrors. Nor would death itself have shielded their reputations from the hatchments of dishonour. For the greatest of Englishmen reviled even the sacred name of Joan of Arc, the stainless Maid of France, to belittle a fallen foe and s a ribald stage- play. A RECENT WRONG. I It is hardly thirty years since every Irish leader wac made the victim of a special Statute of Proscription, and was cited to answer charges before London judges. During 1888 and 1889 a malignant and unprecedented inquisi- tion was maintained to vilify1 them, backed by all the resources of British power. No war then raged to breed alarms, yet no weapon that per- jury or forgery could fashion was left unem- ployed to destroy the characters of more than eighty National representatives—some of whom survive to join in this Address. That plot came to an end amidst the con fusion of their perse- cutors, but fresh acc isa tions may as easily be contrived and buttressed by the enginery of State. v In every generation the Irish nation is chal- lenged to plead to a new indictment, and to the present summons answer is maae nrore no nar- row fornm. hut to the tribunal of the world. So answering, we- commit our cause, as did America, to "the. virtuous and hiinia.ii(- and also more humbly to the providence of God. Well assured are we that you. Mr. President, whose exhortations have inspired the small na- tions of thp world with fortitude to defend to the last their liberties against oppressors, will not be found among those who would condemn Ireland for a determination, which is llTO,O- cable, to continue steadfastly in the course mapp'H! out for her, no matter what the odds, by an unexampled unity of Xational judgment, and National right. Given at the Mansion House. Dublin, this 11th day of .Tune, 1918, LAURENCE O'NEILL, (Lord Mayor of Dublin), Chairman of a Conference of representative Irishmen whose names t.nd hereunder:- JOSEPH DFALIN, JOHN DI i.r.ox, MICHAEL FA.a:s. THOMAS JOHNSON, WILLIAM: O'BHIEN (Labour), T. M. HKAI-Y, WILLIAM O'BHIEN, THOMAS KELLY, J'OH MVCNEIL (acting in the place- of E. DE VALER.V and A. GRIFFITH, deported 18th May, 1918. to separate prisons in England, without trial or acou.sation—communication with whom has been cut off).