On Monday in the House of Commons Lord Robert Cecil
described the appalling state of Ireland on a motion for the adjournment. The maintenance of the law, he said, was what distinguished the imperfect civilization of the Middle Ages from the civilization in which we live. The law was "the great guarantee of liberty," and he regarded it as the most sacred and important thing committed to the charge of any Government. The long catalogue of crime in Ireland, however, showed that the Government had failed to keep their trust. The murders committed for political reasons worked out at something like 250 a year, and the rate was apparently still rising. Lord Robert Cecil read letters to show that innocent people who were In deadly peril could not count upon receiving any kind of protection or assistance.
