Murders and Reprisals.

Part of Orders of the Day — Ireland. – in the House of Commons at on 24 November 1920.

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Photo of Mr Hamar Greenwood Mr Hamar Greenwood , Sunderland

Yes, in the interests of the people of Ireland. I do not want to delay the House, but I should like to go into certain other matters in order to bring before the House and the country the real issue—not the debating issue, not the propaganda issue, but the real issue—namely, the organisation of this conspiracy in Ireland, subsidised by foreign money, which has as its object the smashing of the British Empire. Recently we captured some of the intimate dispatches of a man who calls himself the Commander-in-Chief, and another who calls himself the Chief of the Staff of the Irish Republican Army. We found from these dispatches that over £7,500 had been spent in wages in organising the headquarters staff of the Irish Republican Army between 10th July and 30th September last. That is the centre of the murder gang; that is where the money comes from to pay for assassination.

If I might use the hideous language of a police report, some of that money is used in paying "£100 a skull" for policemen or soldiers. The Sinn Fein movement, in its Irish Republican Army stage, is spreading to this country. It has its own areas, its own commandants, its own soldiers in this country. We have discovered transfer forms which transfer volunteers from Ireland to Scotland, from Ireland to Wales, from Ireland to England, and track is kept of them. A sum of £3,500 was spent recently in Scotland, principally in Glasgow, for buying arms for assassins in Ireland, and for paying the wages of those men. We have discovered specific instructions issued to brigades for the manufacture of certain high explosives to be used in bombs and for destructive work. I have here—and I shall give quotations from them, though I cannot read them in detail—two plans which we have discovered for the destruction of certain power houses in Manchester and for the destruction of docks in Liverpool. Here is a memorandum "re Stuart Street Power House, Manchester": This place is worked by three shifts. …. The best day for an operation would be Sunday. … as there is a minimum number of men working in the station. This place is undoubtedly of great importance, not only in connection with the tramways, but also with the coal mines in the vicinity. I attach herewith a sketch plan showing the lay-out of the place. The principal points to be attacked are 10 turbines in the engine room, 10 balancers, the switchboard and the large marine-type engine. Then follow the most meticulous details of how they are to go to work. Later on the plan of operations is given as follows: An officer would be appointed to take charge of 30 men who would be used as a guard to prevent anyone leaving or signalling from the building.Engine Room.—Two men with sledges, paraffin oil and waste, will make their way to each turbine. Ten men will make their way to the balancers in front of the switchboard. Each man will have a sledge. Some men will have to bring in oil and waste. This will be prepared beforehand in petrol tins, so that it will not be difficult for the men to carry. Pour men will make for the switchboard with 47-lb. hammers. … Other men will do something else, and so on. It is a very carefully prepared plan for the smashing of that power house. I am going to issue the whole of these documents to the Press this evening, and the House will, therefore, excuse me from reading them in further detail. I should like, however, to read a paragraph or two of the Liverpool plan: …. It will of course be impossible to make a clean sweep of the whole line of docks. If men and material are available a large amount of work can be done, but the amount to be done must be regulated by these conditions. I submit a scheme for dealing with 21 points. This scheme involves the use of 800 lbs. of 'g'"—that is to say, gelignite—"23 engineers, 75 rank and file and about 20 others, 98 revolvers. Then follows a most careful plan, with maps and arrangements for tackling the different dock gates, the number of men with sledge hammers, explosives and revolvers. I consider this to be much more important than the destruction of a creamery.