When the late Lord Mayor of Cork declared his hunger-strike
in Brixton prison there was a tremendous outburst of emo- tionalism, and there was a real danger that the Government might give way. Such a concession would have meant that in future it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any Government to insist that a criminal should really Buffer the penalty of his crime. A criminal would only have had to go on
a hunger-strike to secure his release if by any shadowy argument it could be pretended that the crime was somehow related to publics affairs. Fortunately, the Government braved the storm and were handsomely rewarded. They have put an end to the danger for ever. The hunger-strike weapon has fallen from the hands of those who saw no limit to the uses to which it might be put. And, as we predicted all along, there were not even passing inconveniences as a result of the Government's firmness, People still very naturally express admiration for the peer courage of the late Lord Mayor.of Cork, but We venture to think that most of those who hoped that the Government would give way see now that they were wrong and that the Government were right.
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