The Chief Secretary read to the House of Commons on
Monday the official account of the cold-blooded murders of officers in Dublin the day before. The House was deeply moved by the recital. The Prime Minister, in reply to a question, said that the Government would ask for additional power if they found it necessary for their task of breaking up the Sinn Fein murder conspiracy. He was convinced, he said, that the Irish authorities were gradually succeeding, though it must take time to stamp out such a "carefully organized and highly subsidized" plot. Mr. Devlin, a Nationalist who professes not to be a Shin Feiner, deliberately chose this moment to put a provocative question about the "indiscriminate shooting" at the football ground in Dublin. The angry House shouted "Sit down I" Major Nielson tried to force Mr. Devlin back into his seat, and Mr. Devlin struck another member. There was an rmseently scuffle, as the result of which the Speaker suspended the sitting. When the House resumed, Major Molson apologized for his conduct, and Mr. Devlin put his question and received an answer. It was noticeable that Mr. Devlin abstained from condemning the foul murders of the fourteen officers, but tried to divert attention from them to the affray at the football ground and to the murder of a priest—the act of Sinn Feiners—in Galway.
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