2 OCTOBER 1920, Page 2

After all, this is an old habit of the so-called

Liberal mind. When a foreigner eommits an act of aggression against us, excuses are found for the aggressor rather than for us who wish to defend ourselves. When an individual commits a crime against a person or against the community, excuses are found for the criminal on the ground that he is a victim of conditions imposed upon him by unimaginative superiors, and no word of mercy is expressed for helpless citizens who are exposed to the violence of such criminals and who sorely need protection from it. So it goes on. The conditions in Ireland provide a splendid opportunity for the exercise of this kind of thinking with its indirect encouragement to rogues and murderers.