On Thursday, June 8th, the LR.A. rebel forces were driven
out of the town of Belleek. When the first shell fired by the artillery with the British troops burst outside Belleek fort the I.R.A. garrison hastily retreated. It was announced by the Colonial Office the same night that unless the troops were attacked in their present positions they would make no further advance. The special correspondent of the Morning Post described the affair as "a charming battle." The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful and nobody was killed. The opportunity provided by recent incidents on the boundary would certainly have been wasted if the Sinn Feiners, whether pro-Treaty or anti-Treaty, had not raised a violent outcry against the capture of Pettigo, which, as we reoorded last week, was occupied by British troops before Belleek was dealt with. For Pettigo is partly—to be strictly accurate, mainly—in Free State territory. Mr. Collins still professes to take a "very grave view" of the occupation, and he incessantly demands an inquiry.
