The Lord Mayor of Dublin stated that when he was
summoned to the Viceregal Lodge Lord French agreed that the prisoners should be released on parole. Afterwards a hitch occurred at the prison, where the Governorunderstood that he was instructed to require every prisoner to sign a paper. The Lord Mayor then returned to the Viceregal Lodge, and Lord French sent for the prison Governor, with the result that the demand for signatures was abandoned. A document was read to the men as they left the gaol, but they did not sign it, and apparently they gave no undertaking of any kind. We do not understand how these facts can be squared with the statement issued on behalf of the Executive, and we must leave it at that—except that we have still to add that, by a superfluous and crowning piece of bungling, some criminals were released by mistake from the 'prison whose oase had never come into the controversy at all !
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