§ THE EARL OF SELBORNEhad given Notice to draw the attention of the First Commissioner of Works to the account of the murder of Mrs. Lindsay, published in theDaily Telegraphand other papers of July 30, and to ask whether Mrs. Lindsay had done anything more than any loyal citizen is bound to do, namely, give such information to the- police against criminals as was acquired by her in the normal experience of her daily life.
§ The noble Earl said: My Lords, sonic of the facts in connection with this terrible crime are only too well known, but there are others which are not so well known. The object of Inv Question—it is only Question that I an: going to put to the noble Earl—is to elicit some further information. What is known is that Mrs. Lindsay was 321 foully, murdered by a gang of vile and cowardly assassins. But there seems to be an attempt by the persons who took away her to besmirch her reputation by attaching to it the stigma of a spy I am not going to say anything detrimental to those brave men who take their lives in their hands when they join the Secret Service of their country. I do not want anything that I say to be taken as reflecting upon them But it is obvious that the word "spy" has been deliberately introduced in connection with Mrs. Lindsay in order to turn away from her and from her case that sympathy which otherwise would be felt for her and her relatives throughout the length and breadth of the British Empire.
§ I tome cow to the information for which I ask I am told that all that can be alleged against Mrs Lindsay by her murderers is that in the normal experience of daily life she obtained sonic information which she passed on to the police—information against criminals or likely to lead to the apprehension of criminals. If that is what she did, she did nothing but that which every honourable and loyal citizen ought to do, and nothing more than everybody would wish to do who was too proud to be terrorised by the Sinn Fein organisation. If that is the story, as I am informed it is, then throughout the whole of the English-speaking world Mrs. Lindsay's case will run on parallel lines with that of Nurse Cavell, and she will be nothing less than a martyr in the eves of the whole Empire. What I ask my noble friend is to tell me, in effect, whether there is any kind of information in the possession of the Government which will lend any- countenance to the aspersions that are cast on the reputation and the name of Mrs. Lindsay.
THE EARL OF CRAWFORDMy Lords, I suppose that this case is the most painful of the long series of horrible tragedies which have occurred in Ireland. The Government of Ireland has very little information on this subject beyond what appears in theDaily Telegraphand in other organs of the Press. Reports which have reached the Irish Office from police inspectors and others confirm the main outline of what Lord Selborne and the newspapers have reported. I have the reports before me, but on the main subject they convey nothing in addition to what has been said, and what is already public property.
322 The only question that Lord Selborne has really put is whether this lady did anything more than any loyal citizen of the Crown would do. The answer is, of course, that this lady—an aged lady in very delicate health—heard that attempts were to be made to assassinate certain of the Crown forces, not in open fight, but by concealed methods, and, in the hope of saving these men from assassination, she gave information to the police. She was then apprehended her house was burned down; silo was removed somewhere—the place has not yet been identified—and, four or five months afterwards, a person styling himself, I think, "Minister for Defence" published in the Irish newspapers a letter announcing that this lady had been executed. I am not sure the word "actually Occurs in the letter, but that is the implication. If the word "spy" does not occur in the letter, it is clearly an implication of the whole letter" directly responsible for conveying to the enemy information which led to the execution of oar nun by British authorities,'' and so on. There is every reason to believe that the report that this lady has been shot or slaughtered in this manner is correct.
I gather that Lord Selborne wants no more than an assurance that the Government repudiate in the warmest fashion any allegation that is made that this lady did anything which was inconsistent with her duty as a loyal subject of the Crown. That assurance is, of course, given, and whole-heartedly given. I can only express my own personal regret that a namesake and clanswoman of rug own should have met her death in such a manner, through her attempt to save the servants of the Crown from brutal assassination.