In the House of Commons on Wednesday Mr. Hogan moved
a Resolution condemning the retention of the Crimes Act in Ireland. Both the Attorney-General for Ireland and Mr. Birrell spoke on behalf of the Government, but we need only refer to the important announcement made by Mr. Bine11 Amid loud Nationalist cheers, he announced that the Government would support the Motion. They were pledged by their speeches to strike this tyrannical code off the statute-book. Of course, everybody admitted that serious boycotting was' most oppressive and cruel, but the Govern- ment did not believe that it was best put down by the Crimes Act. They maintained that a righteous administration of the ordinary laws was better. But as to repealing the Act, the Government could not undertake anything yet. They had too much Irish business already on their hands. They were determined, however, that for all practical purposes the Act should be dead and buried. Mr. Long said that the Govern- ment had ignored the definite cases of serious boycotting mentioned in Judges' charges, and held that it was unwise to renounce the powers for all emergencies which the Crimes Act gave them..
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