* * * * The Answer to I.R.A.
The real defence of the Bill introduced by the Home Secretary on Wednesday to strengthen his hands in dealing with I.R.A. terrorists is that when a body of lawless men declares what is in effect war on the community measures designed to maintain peace and order in normal circum- stances are inadequate. The situation, moreover, is aggra- vated by the fact—for there seems little doubt that it is an established fact—that the I.R.A. agitators are being sup- ported by foreign money ; it is obvious enough from what source. Repugnant as any departure is from the principle that in Great Britain there shall be no punishment without trial, punishment in this case takes the form not of imprisonment or fine but of deportation or exclusion from the country. In other words, persons who can reasonably be suspected of contemplating or conniving at acts of violence with a view to influencing public opinion or public policy in regard to Irish affairs will be denied the right of residence in the United Kingdom as undesirable aliens habitually are. The inevitable objection to the measure is that it virtually places rightly or wrongly suspected persons at the mercy of the police, since the Home Secretary is bound to act on police advice, and it gives the police ex- tended powers of search. But if the evil is to be coped with effectively there is no way out of that. Drastic measures are called for in an emergency like the present, and while the House of Commons will rightly scrutinise every clause in the Bill vigilantly the mere fact that it is drastic will not tell against it.
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