Mr. MacSwiney, the Lord Mayor of Cork, committed suicide In
Brixton Prison on Monday. He had—or is said to have— refused food since August 12th last, when he was arrested with other conspirators. He was tried by district court-martial on August 16th and sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labour for having in his possession the secret police oode and some seditious documents. There is no reason to doubt that Mr. MacSwiney, who held high rank in the Republican "army," was privy to the cruel murders of policemen for which Cork has acquired an evil reputation. With the obstinacy of a fanatic, he proceeded to punish himself for seventy-four days. The blame rests not with the Government, but with the Sinn Fein leaders, and especially the Roman Catholic clergy who encouraged the wretched man to take his own life. It would need a skilful casuist to reconcile their action with their Church's denunciation of suicide as a mortal sin. We comment on the case elsewhere.
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