§ Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR (by Private Notice)asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the statements in several newspapers that on Saturday night last two lorries of uniformed men seized Thomas and Martin Feeney at the village of Corbally and flogged them with a rope, and assaulted one of them in addition with a rifle; whether on the same night at the town of Corofin Patrick Raferty was also flogged; whether on Sunday evening a number of young men were stripped and were whipped and otherwise assaulted on the road; whether a young man named Michael Welby and a young woman named Miss Glynn were shot and wounded at the village of Cummer by 1058 the police on the same occasion; and whether an inquiry will be immediately instituted and the persons guilty of these floggings and other assaults will be brought to justice?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODThis question did not reach me till ten minutes to two, and I have not been able to obtain the information, but inquiry is being made, and I will inform the hon. Member of the result. Meantime I do not accept as true, or as anything approaching the truth, the allegations in this question or any allegations made in the papers in which this appeared.
§ Mr. O'CONNORMay I ask whether these allegations have not appeared in two of the most responsible and respectable papers of this country, the "Daily News" and the "Manchester Guardian," and I may add the "Times" newspaper? I have not read the "Morning Post."
Mr. KELLYWill the right hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that his inquiries will not be confined solely to the individuals against whom these accusations are made?
§ Mr. DONALDIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that Sinn Feiners have been caught in Ireland dressed in soldiers' uniforms, and that they are carrying out in large numbers of these cases—[Interruption].
§ Sir H. GREENWOODWith reference to the question put by my hon. Friend, it is unfortunately true that many military uniforms and many police uniforms have been stolen, and in several cases murderers disguised in the uniform of the police or of the soldiers have committed outrages. I have not the slightest doubt myself but that we shall have many outrages attributed, as they have often been attributed in the past in Irish history, to servants of the Crown by men disguised: in the stolen uniform of those servants.
§ Mr. HOGGEMay I ask my right hon. Friend, if, as he says so frequently, he refuses to believe this allegation or that allegation, and then, as he frequently asserts, that he believes the other, if he is so sure of the information that he is given, why does he avoid an inquiry so that we may all know?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODThat question was settled yesterday by the House.
Mr. KELLYWill the right hon. Gentleman answer the question which I put, namely, are his inquiries going to be confined to the individuals against whom these allegations are made?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODI want to be perfectly frank with the House in these answers. The inquiries which I make are made through the police and through the military. They are not made through anyone in whom I have no confidence and for whose conduct I am not responsible. I will gladly make inquiries through any responsible individual, and I have done so in certain cases, who is not a member of either of His Majesty's Forces, but a Minister is bound, and I am very glad and very proud to be bound, to rely upon the servants of the Crown for information, which in my experience is given impartially with the sole desire to get the truth.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he is not aware that these allegations of floggings in particular are substantiated by persons in Ireland of standing, who have no connection with Sinn Fein and who declare they are well-founded, and are we to understand that the inquiries are made through the persons who themselves are accused of these brutal assaults on civilians?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODInquiries are made through the high officers of the British Army and the high officers of the Royal Irish Constabulary. [HON. MEMBERS: "The accused people."] They are not the accused people. I hope nobody accuses Generals or Inspectors of the Royal Irish Constabulary of flogging anybody in Ireland. I have seen all these high officers to get at the facts, and I promise the hon. Gentleman who raised this that I shall make the fullest inquiry into these different allegations, but I am bound to repeat that I cannot accept allegations of this kind against the servants of the Crown.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYMight I ask the right hon. Gentleman if there is anything in these cases of flogging—
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. and gallant Gentleman had better put his question down.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYIt is a matter of very great urgency.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. and gallant Member had better give notice of it.