On Friday week the Commission heard the evidence of Mr.
Birrell. He made some remarkable statements. After tracing the development of the Sinn Fein organization from a literary to a seditious body, he declared that the outbreak was caused by growing doubts about the application of Home Rule, by the Ulster- men's gun-running—the Sinn Feiners said : " What they have done, we can do "—and finally by the entrance of Sir Edward Carson into the Coalition Cabinet. [We wonder why Sir Edward Carson's retirement from the Cabinet produced no equivalent reaction.] He said that a month before the rebellion he requested the War Office in vain to send more soldiers to Dublin. Owing to the different police systems, he knew more about the situation in the country than in " the cellars " of Dublin. He was, however, exceedingly nervous as to what might happen. On March 20th and 23rd he called at both the War Office and the Horse Guards. The answer to his appeal for troops was that the men could no be spared ; every one was busy with the training of soldiers ; and in the event of trouble in Ireland troops could be sent over quickly from Liverpool. As for the allegation that he stayed too much in London, he had to be present at Cabinet discussions to represent Ireland—to " cry out ' Ireland L ' like a jackdaw "- and he had also to answer questions in Parliament, which had sat almost continuously.
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