ELCOLLIN
MICHAEL COLLINS' OWN STORY
MICHAEL COLLINS.
MICHAEL COLLINS'
OWN STORY Tou to
HAYDEN TALBOT
LONDON: HUTCHINSON * CO
PATERNOSTER ROW
" Multitudinous is their gathering . . .
a great host with whom it is not fortunate to
contend . . . the battle-trooped host of the
O'Coileain." — The ancient slogan of Collins'
ancestors, chieftains of the tribes of Mimster
450 years ago.
To
ESTHER TALBOT
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PACK
I. HOW IT HAPPENED - - II
II. INTRODUCING MICHAEL COLLINS - 21
III. EOIN MACNEILL — ULSTERMAN - 2Q
iv. COLLINS' OWN STORY OF " EASTER WEEK " - 40
v. ARTHUR GRIFFITH'S LAST STATEMENT - 48
VI. THE AFTERMATH OF " EASTER WEEK " 58
vii. COLLINS' ESTIMATE OF ERSKINE CHILDERS - 67
viii. COLLINS' PLAN OF TERRORISING TERRORISTS - -73
IX. OUTWITTING THE BLACK AND TANS - 79
X. UNDER THE TERROR - 86
XI. THE MURDER OF FRANCIS SHEEHY SKEFFINGTON 95
xii. CHILDERS' OPINION OF AMERICANS - - 115
XIII. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUCE - 123
XIV. THE INVITATION TO NEGOTIATE - 134
XV. THE TREATY NEGOTIATIONS - - 145
XVI. THE MISGUIDED ONES - - 153
XVII. DISHONEST TACTICS - - l62
XVIII. THE ULSTER PROBLEM - 170
XIX. THE REBELLION — ITS CAUSE AND COST - l8l
XX. THE FUTURE OF IRELAND - igi
XXI. WHAT THE TREATY MEANS — A SYMPOSIUM - 202
XXII. ADDENDUM * - - 249
Michael Collins' Own Story
CHAPTER I
HOW IT HAPPENED
IT began belligerently. It grew into a friendship I valued
more than any other I ever made. The reference is
to my relationship with Michael Collins. I tell it not because
these two facts matter to anyone except me, but because
they are in themselves proof of the greatness of this
Irishman. And, inasmuch as I found him, in nine months
of intimate association, the finest character it has ever been
my good fortune to know, I mean to adduce such proof as I
can as will tend to justify my opinion.
My job as a newspaper correspondent took me to Dublin
early in December, 1921. I made the trip from London
aboard the train that carried the five plenipotentiaries and
the Treaty they had signed the night before. But it was
not until several days later that I met Collins.
Of the no correspondents representing newspapers
in all parts of the world at that first public session of
Dail Eireann, none could have been more unconversant
with the Irish situation than I was. But that did not
prevent my quickly discovering that Collins was far and
away the most interesting figure in all that remarkable
parliament. An interview with him was patently what news-
paper readers most wanted. So I made it my business, dur-
ing a lull in the proceedings, to follow him into the lobby
and introduce myself to him. He made an appointment
to see me at ten o'clock that evening at the Gresham Hotel.
A quarter of an hour before time, I arrived at the Gresham
and sent my card upstairs. Ten minutes later — boiling
12 Michael Collins* Own Story
with rage, all the more maddening because I realised that
the interview would be regarded in newspaper circles as a
rare " beat," and at the same time in the depths of my
ignorance counting these inexperienced, untried statesmen
as distinctly small fry — I sat down at a desk in the lounge
and wrote the following note :
" DEAR MR. COLLINS,
" You invited me to visit you here at ten o'clock
this evening. Word is now brought me you are ' too
busy ' to see me. Is this the answer you wish me to
send to my fifteen million readers in America ?
" Sincerely,
" HAYDEN TALBOT."
Further to express my outraged feelings I scorned to
put the impudent note in an envelope. I folded the sheet
of paper once and addressed it merely, " Michael Collins."
In three minutes by the clock the note was returned
to me with the following reply written hi one corner :
" I thought I said 10.30 and will be down at 10.30.
Please wait and oblige, " M. C."
It was not only a case of the " soft answer " ; it was
evidence sufficiently striking to convince me that here was
a big man. Even before I knew more about him than
what these few words told me, he had made me ashamed of
myself for my arrogance.
He kept me waiting only half as long as I had expected,
and as soon as our eyes met it was apparent he intended
to go more than half-way to be friendly.
" This is no place to talk," he said hurriedly. " Come
upstairs with me."
Now that I look back on it I am sure Collins had quite
forgotten who I was. Many times since he has proved
possession of a marvellous memory, but with the desperately
urgent matters then weighing on his mind it would have
been impossible for him to have visualised me from my
How It Happened 13
card. Seeing me was different. And a sense of this, even
while my earlier hostility was still uppermost, had place in
my consciousness.
He sprang up the stairs two at a time — physically, as well
as mentally, Collins was the embodiment of speed — and
swiftly showed the way down a corridor that led to the rear
portion of the hotel. Later, I was to learn that this whole
wing was occupied by the organisation that since has come
into official being as the Free State Government. As we
passed quickly along I caught sight of one room stripped of
its bedroom fittings and literally packed with men for the
most part wearing trench coats and caps.
Almost at the end of the passage Collins stopped and
pushed open a door, nodding to me to follow. As I stepped
over the threshold I saw Arthur Griffith seated at a table
busily writing. He glanced at Collins and then immediately
resumed his labours. Collins strode across the room and
opened the door of the adjoining room, again nodding to me
to follow him. So finally we came face to face in the last
of ten communicating rooms. I noted that the door open-
ing into the passage was fitted with two heavy bolts.
" Have a drink ? " asked my host, for the first time his
eyes showing the glint of a smile.
Almost before he had removed his thumb from the push-
button, a youngster in the inevitable trench coat and cap
opened the door of the adjoining room, took Collins' order
and disappeared. In ten seconds he was back again with a
tall glass containing my wish.
" Sorry," apologised Collins, " but I am not drinking
myself."
In the next quarter of an hour, while I explained at
length the importance, from his viewpoint, of taking the
public into his confidence (that public which my newspapers
reached ! ! !), I had abundant evidence that I was present
at a secret conclave of the Treaty leaders, the first one, as I
later learned, to be held after the signing of the Treaty.
A dozen times while I was closeted with Collins, young,
eager, serious-visaged chaps stuck their heads into the room
14 Michael Collins' Own Story
and brought their chief close to them with a peremptory
nod. A swift whispered word or two and they would be
gone. Without knowing it at the time, I was witnessing
the working out of a scheme to force an early adjournment of
the Dail to give these leaders time to undertake a campaign of
education that woukhresult in a crystallisation of public senti-
ment that would compel Dail Eireann to accept the Treaty.
When I had finished stating my case I asked Collins
what he wished to say for publication. For a space he sat
looking at me soberly as if weighing the consequences of
departing from his long established policy of silence. Then he
sprang from his seat and crossed the room in three strides.
" Do you mind if I bring Mr. Griffith in ? " he asked.
A moment later I discovered another quality of this
man that stamped him truly big. In his attitude towards
Griffith — and be it remembered that Griffith himself went
on record in the Dail as being prouder of his association
with Collins than of any other incident in his life — there was
the limit of respectful yielding. I subsequently discovered
that Collins maintained this attitude towards the lowliest
of his supporters. He listened to advice from his chauffeur.
But while we three were together that first night, Collins
made it evident, even to me, a stranger, that his was in no
sense the yielding of an inferior to a superior ; it was rather
the well-mannered deference of a junior to a senior equal.
Followed fifteen minutes of staccato interchange of
opinions — Colh'ns doing most of the questioning and Griffith
furnishing for the most part monosyllabic replies. The
discussion revolved around the advisability of making any
statement for publication at that time. They talked freely,
seeming to ignore the fact of my presence. Finally, Collins
tore a few pages from his notebook and wrote the following :
" At a late hour I talked with Michael Collins. He
was reticent, had little to say and was reluctant
to say it. He supported the Treaty and stood for
it. He was not very concerned with oaths. He was
concerned about getting the English out of Ireland
How It Happened 15
and having a chance of going ahead to rebuild the
Irish nation. He is full of hope and buoyancy, and
although he is well aware that the Treaty does not
mean full freedom he states emphatically that it
does give freedom to show the Irish capable of
making their national status secure and strong.
He says he is the practical man, and he looks forward
with hope to the future with confidence in the will
and strength of the Irish people to make themselves
a nation among the nations. He thinks of Ireland
as a home of freedom for the individual — a place
where men and women shall be really free."
It was not as much as I had hoped for, but it was all
he would volunteer that night. There was a great deal
more I might have sent off from the cable office — and it
would have been infinitely more worth while in a news sense.
So far as any direct prohibition was concerned I could have
done so. Neither Collins nor Griffith had asked me to treat
their conversation as confidential. But experience in
interviewing English and European statesmen had taught
me their viewpoint in the matter. Whereas in America
anything that is said to a newspaper man is properly part
of an interview and so to be published, a different rule of
conduct prevails on this side of the Atlantic. Frequently
the so-called " interview " is written by the person inter-
viewed. Invariably the article is edited and signed by him
before publication. Fortunately for me, on this occasion
I took no liberties. If up to that evening I had held the
mistaken view that Irishmen were relatively as undeveloped
and unimportant in statesmanship as, say, Filipinos under
Spanish rule, that half-hour had quite undeceived me.
Here was another George Washington — another Thomas
Jefferson. And only 150 years ago an ignorant world made
the error of holding them cheap !
I never did discover whether Collins granted me the
interview and made his statement purposely incomplete
merely to test my trustworthiness. In any event, he gave
1 6 Michael Collins' Own Story
no other interview during that period until, a second time,
he yielded to my persuasions.
It was the night of March 4, 1922, the night following
the day of bitterest recriminations the stormy sessions of
Bail Eireann had yet produced. Hour after hour, Brugha
and Stack, MacEntee and Childers, Markievicz and Mac-
Swiney had hurled their charges of treason at Collins and
Griffith. President De Valera — ever the conciliator but
more than ever this day the misunderstood, misrepresented,
maligned idealist — had hotly denounced references to his
Document No. 2. Having been discussed in secret session
as a confidential document, he insisted it must not be re-
ferred to in public sessions of An Dail. After Griffith had
disgustedly declared against this tying of his hands, but had
bowed to the wishes of the Republican leader, a surprise
was sprung on the Dail by Cosgrave, ablest of Collins'
lieutenants. By as cunning a bit of parliamentary manoeuvr-
ing as any national assembly ever saw, Cosgrave managed to
read into the record the oath of allegiance to the British
Crown which was contained in De Valera's Document No. 2.
The trick stung De Valera into a violent rage. In the
midst of a denunciation of the methods of his opponents
he suddenly sprang a surprise on his own account. Since
the Treaty supporters were trying to make political capital
out of his desire to keep Document No. 2 a secret, he would
take the wind out of their sails by agreeing to publish it —
at the close of the day's session !
True to his word, De Valera had mimeographed copies of
the mysterious document distributed to the Dail and the
newspaper men just before adjournment. Almost immedi-
ately Griffith was on his feet charging that De Valera had
omitted parts of the original text. The uproar that fol-
lowed was abruptly squelched by an adjournment. Im-
mediately afterwards, Desmond FitzGerald — then Minister
of Publicity of Dail Eireann, and generally regarded at that
time as De Valera's personal Press agent — called the news-
paper men together in the lobby and handed out a " Procla-
mation " signed by the President of the Irish Republic.
How It Happened 17
The first sentence showed me that it was a virulent
attack on the Treaty supporters and an apologia as regards
Document No. 2. I was sure Collins and Griffith knew
nothing about it. Without waiting to read further, I made
for the private room reserved for the Treaty leaders. Un-
ceremoniously I burst in upon them and handed the Pro-
clamation to Collins. I waited while they read it together.
Their half-smothered comments as they scanned the vitriolic
lines were unprintable — if human.
" Has he given this to the Press ? " asked Collins.
When I told him this was the case, he dropped into a
chair and began to write feverishly. At the same time
Griffith started hunting through his attach^ case.
" Here is Document No. 2," said Griffith a moment later,
pulling out a much-worn sheaf of papers on which were many
marginal notes in lead pencil. " I will show you how it
compares with the one he made public to-night."
For the next ten minutes he pointed out the paragraphs
that had been deleted from the document brought forward
at the session. What Griffith had charged in the Dail was
amply justified. The omissions were there for anyone to see.
Collins interrupted us to ask Griffith to listen to what
he had written. Immediately Griffith had approved it,
Collins handed the statement to me.
" Do what you like with it," he said.
A few moments later I put the following despatch on
the cable :
"It is likely that the Treaty may be beaten x but
that does not in any way indicate that I am without
1 When Collins wrote this, his best information indicated a total
of 63 votes for the Treaty — enough to give a majority of two if
every eligible member of the Dail voted. But as he later explained
to me, there were not a few members who intended to vote against
the Treaty while secretly glad that it was sure to be accepted. To
frighten these members into voting honestly Collins at all times
before the vote expressed grave doubts as to the result. The
wisdom of this policy of pessimism was reflected in the final majority
of seven for the Treaty.
i8 Michael Collins' Own Story
hope. Ireland is not going to be deprived of her
right to live her life in her own way no matter who
tries to deny or to defer that right. The Irish people
have already decided that the Treaty meets with
their approval as being the practical course to adopt
at the present time. The Treaty has been signed by
England, and surely it cannot be advanced that
England is going to keep a treaty that she has not
signed but is going to break a treaty that she has
signed. This Treaty does give us a chance and does
give Ireland a chance to work out its own future on
something like fair terms. If the Treaty is beaten
I have already stated that I as one of the pleni-
potentiaries am absolved from further responsibility.
The Treaty is then dead, and those who have killed
it have, of course, the position in their hands to follow
their policy, and their policy is unknown to me. If
the opposition throws the Treaty away they ought
first to have the alternative Treaty duly signed
to put against it. So far as I am aware there is
not an alternative Treaty. A document has been
produced as an amendment, but before that can be
honestly put as a real amendment the president
ought to secure the signatures of the English dele-
gates and secure ratification of the new document by
the English Parliament. Then it would be a Treaty.
This course will make the new document equal to the
Treaty, and even when the new document is signed
and ratified by the English I am certain that plain
people will scarcely see any material difference
between it and the Treaty. One important thing
must not be forgotten. If we offer this new document
as our proposal for final settlement it commits us
morally to finality. It puts a definite boundary to
the march of our nation, and that must not be done,
and I as one Irishman and a public representative of
this country cannot agree to that.
"MlCEAL O'COILEAIN."
How It Happened 19
If I had known as much about the part Document No. 2
had played in the Treaty negotiations as I know now, I
could have marvelled as much as I now marvel at Collins'
gallant refusal to let the people know the truth about De
Valera's duplicity. In its proper place I shall tell the whole
story of those long months of negotiations in London —
and of the part De Valera, in Dublin, played in them.
Meantime, Collins had been engaged in writing a series
of ten articles for publication in the newspapers I represented
—a series intended to deal with the hitherto untold incidents
leading up to the Treaty negotiations as well as the inside
story of the negotiations themselves. As a matter of fact
the series contained no revelations, but dealt with facts
that were chiefly encyclopaedic. The situation as it then
existed prohibited Collins from divulging the truth. So it
came about that I addressed a note to him from London
reading in part as follows :
" Demands from both American and English sources
have been made on me :
" (a) To persuade you to write your own story
for publication in book form, or
" (b) to write a book about you myself,
and in the event of my failing to do the former, it
looks as if I must do the latter ! !
" No one better than I knows how criminal it is to
ask you to add a jot to the sum total of your days'
labours, but also no one better than I appreciates
your tremendous capacity for work and your dis-
regard of personal considerations where the good of
your country is concerned. I am sure, moreover,
you keenly appreciate the vital importance of
sparing no pains to acquaint the plain people of
America and England with the truth about Ireland,
and to this end nothing could compare — in point of
widespread circulation — with a book ' By Michael
Collins.'
20 Michael Collins' Own Story
' Then — in order to put within its covers facts
which you have made plain to me you are loath
to touch upon, but which readers of both countries are
hungering to have — perhaps you would not object
to my adding certain biographical data about you by
way of an addendum."
In a day or two came Collins' answer, reading in part
as follows :
" I have thought carefully over the proposal you
make, and although I should like to meet your wishes
I really cannot possibly find the time to do anything
that would be up to standard, and I must, therefore,
ask that you do not press me in this regard.
" In my own opinion a book about me would be of
little value except it was written by somebody who
was closely associated with me in the troublous times.
I really don't think it could be done by anybody but
myself.
" Perhaps we could talk it over when we meet again."
I went immediately to Dublin and, after several con-
ferences with Collins, succeeded in gaining his assent to my
undertaking the telling of his story. In order to give him
an idea of the kind of information English and American
readers wanted from him, I prepared a series of written
questions covering as comprehensively as I could the whole
story of Ireland's fight for freedom. These I submitted to
Collins. A few days later he sent for me.
"I'm going to answer every one of your questions," he
began. " What's more, I'm going to tell you things you
haven't asked about. You're undertaking a big job, and it
is worth while doing it thoroughlv. I'll help you to do just
that."
And that is how it happened.
CHAPTER II
INTRODUCING MICHAEL COLLINS
IT was typical of the man that he should have postponed
answering those of my questions dealing with his biography
until the last. Whilst, like Theodore Roosevelt and other
truly great men whom I have known, Collins was an egoist,
there was a side of his character that made him as modest
and almost diffident as a schoolboy.
One of the last subjects we discussed together was the
matter of a proper portrait to be used as a frontispiece
in this book. I asked him if there were any especial photo-
graph which he liked.
" Not one," he replied. " It may be that my opinion
is biassed, but I have never yet seen a camera's handiwork —
when I have been in front of the lens — that I have not been
disappointed with. But so long as a man's alive, I do not
see the use of photographs of him. It's surely not what
he looks like but what he does that matters."
Arguing from my publisher's viewpoint, I ventured as
delicately as possible to hint that perhaps even he might
fail to achieve eternal life on earth, and in the event of his
failure to do so the condition which he insisted alone
warranted the use of his portrait would come into being.
" In other words," he said, with a characteristic smile,
" you mean I may be done in at any moment — and you
want me preserved. Is that it ? "
" Well," I replied, " that may not be it, but if it is, I
have your word for it that there'll be several headaches
spread around."
" You may be easy about that," said Collins, slipping
22 Michael Collins' Own Story
into his army greatcoat and extending a hand for a farewell
shake. " If they get me I'll have no complaints to make :
or, if that is too much of a ' bull/ at least you can be sure
that if I could speak, I'd blame nobody but myself."
And so I left the man who, in the time I had had the
privilege of knowing him, had already proved himself the
finest character, the most astoundingly efficient worker and
the greatest natural leader of men I have ever known.
Earlier that evening I had finally wrung from Collins the
story of his early life. I have his word for it that I am the
only person to whom he ever confided these details. Here
is the story in his own words :
" I was born in 1890 on a farm in Woodfield, Clonakilty,
Co. Cork. The Irish name of the place and the name it is
still known by is pronounced Paulveug. I was the youngest
of eight children — with two brothers and five sisters in the
home.
" My father was Michael Collins, a farmer. He was born
in 1815 and lived the life of a bachelor until he was in his
sixty-third year. Then, at sixty-two years of age, he married
my mother — and she was forty years younger than he.
When I was born my father was seventy-five years of age.
My mother's maiden name was Mary O'Brien. Her native
town was Tullineasky, Clonakilty. She outlived my father
by ten years. He died in 1897.
" All my early life I lived in childish wonder of my
father. Although I was a lad of seven when he died, he
had already inspired me with implicit faith in his goodness,
his strength, his infallibility. I remember as if it were yester-
day an instance of my faith. It proved that I could not
conceive anything of his doing that was not altogether right.
" I was out in the fields with him one day, watching
him at work — a rare privilege in my kid's eyes. He M^as on
top of a wall of bog stones, and I was on the turf below him.
One of the stones, a good sized one, was dislodged under his
feet and came rolling down straight at me. There was
plenty of time for me to dodge it, but it never occurred to
me to move. 'Twas my father's foot had done the business.
Introducing Michael Collins 23
Surely the stone could do me no harm. To this day I
carry the mark on my instep where it crushed my foot.
It was not for many a year afterwards that I was ever able
to understand my father's great laughter as he told and
retold the tale.
" ' Would you believe it ? ' he would say. ' There he
was, barefooted, the stone rolling down on him, and him never
so much as looking at it ! And when I got the thing off his
foot and asked him why he had stood there and let it hit
him, what do you think he replied ? He told me 'twas I
who sent it down ! '
" And after his great laughter had subsided he would
grow serious, and the pride of family that was in him would
show itself. For he always finished by saying, ' It's a true
Collins he is ! '
" On my father's side there are records of ancestors back
450 years, when they were chieftains of the tribes of Munster.
Part of their slogan runs like this :
' Multitudinous is their gathering — a great host
with whom it is not fortunate to contend — the battle-
trooped host of the O'Coileain.'
" I was a reverential kid. Reverence was not only in-
stilled into me by my father ; it seemed a natural trait.
Great age held something for me that was awesome. I was
much fonder of the old people in the darkness than I was of
young people in the daytime. It's at night you're able to
get the value of old people. And it was listening to the old
people that I got my ideas of Irish nationality.
" In the matter of schooling I had the education of the
ordinary farmer's son in Ireland — a kind of teaching im-
possible to compare with American or English systems.
But at least I had the advantage of having good tutors —
and of a tremendous appetite for knowledge. But it was
not even a secondary-school education, as that term is under-
stood in England. It was about as much and about as
good as Irish boys generally got in those days.
24 Michael Collins* Own Story
"A far more valuable education was at hand in the
never-ceasing talk of Ireland's destiny, the injustices from
which she had suffered in the past, and was still suffering.
As I grew up to young manhood the Parnell speech was the
one great topic of discussion. Those were the days when
every person in Ireland was thinking in terms of Home
Rule. Home Rule at the early morning breakfast-table,
Home Rule all the day, Home Rule by every hearthside in
the evening — on such fare did the young Ireland of my
generation feed and grow to manhood. It was this sort
of thing that made one part of the atmosphere of
nationalism.
" In our own home forgathered of an evening the people
who were leaders of thought in the community. Others
might have dismissed them as ' local politicians ' — for one
reason or another a contemptuous term — but, as a matter
of fact, they were very intelligent as regards the doctrine
of nationalism. And as for localism, in the sense that it is
narrow and petty, one must regard the circumstances of an
Irish family in that time. What was local to us in Clona-
kilty was in nowise different from the immediate environ-
ment of a Galway or a Connaught village.
" The early settlers of America, from New England to
Virginia, thought along identical lines, even though they
did so unwittingly and without realisation of their common
purpose. From what I hear to-day it would seem that
then there was in America more of common purpose, and
in that sense of a distinctively national spirit, than there
is to-day. But then their motive was a simple one — self-
preservation. So with us in Ireland at the beginning of
the century. A cause, an inheritance, and a need common
to us all inspired us. It wasn't a thing that any man or
set of men could govern. It was different from that.
" When an Irish boy in those days feasted on real bacon
— to the accompaniment of his father's reminiscent com-
ments— the spirit of nationalism was breathed into him.
For the father was saying that in his youth the pigs were
raised exclusively for the landlords !
Introducing Michael Collins 25
" With my sixteenth birthday behind me I took the Civil
Service examinations — like thousands of other Irish lads
of my station. For many years the British Civil Service
had appeared to be the only worthwhile alternative to in-
dependent emigration. Both meant emigration, of course.
Successful candidates were seldom, if ever, put in Irish
posts. Theoretically, the candidate might be sent to any
part of the British Empire. But experience had taught us
that almost invariably our berth would be in England.
Whether to keep an eye on us or to take advantage of our
native ability, the powers that be staffed their London posts
almost entirely with Irishmen. And I — at seventeen —
wanted to live in the world's biggest city.
" Quickly, however, I discovered I was in a blind alley in
the Civil Service. To be sure, it was to London I went —
with a clerkship in the Post Office — a junior position that
paid £70 a year. At the end of two years I resigned.
" Followed several years of other jobs, none of which
satisfied my ideas of opportunity. First I took a minor post
in a stockbroker's office, then a clerkship in the Guarantee
Trust Company of New York at its branch in the city.
But with each passing year I felt more and more convinced
that* London for me held as little real opportunity as did
Ireland.
" Of course, I had Irish friends in London before I
arrived, and in the intervening years I had made many
more friends among Irishmen resident in London. For the
most part we lived lives apart. We chose to consider our-
selves outposts of our nation. We were a distinct com-
munity— a tiny eddy, if you like, in the great metropolis.
But we were proud of our isolation, and we maintained it
to the end.
" When wonder is expressed, as it often is, that I could
have lived eight years in London and still have been so
little known that 120,000 British troops and Black and
Tans could not find me in four years of hunting me in Ire-
land, I can only attribute it to that policy of voluntary
isolation we all observed in London. And, after all, Michael
26 Michael Collins' Own Story
Collins, junior clerk, could hardly be expected to have
attracted any notice — especially in an English business
house. It was just that fact that had convinced me there
was every chance, if I remained in England, to continue
to be a clerk the rest of my life.
" And then came a real opportunity !
" Queerly enough, it was preceded by another — an offer
to go to America.
" It was in 1914, just before the declaration of war, that
the chance came to take passage to New York. I could have
gone under the most advantageous conditions, and with
the one thing I had been looking for — a fair chance to get
ahead. But when I laid the scheme before Tom Clarke
(the Thomas J. Clarke of Easter Week) he advised me not to
go. His reason satisfied me. He said there was going to
be something doing in Ireland within a year. That was good
enough for me. I changed my mind about going to America,
and plodded along in my uncongenial job.
" It was in May 1915 — after Sean McDermott had been
arrested and lodged in prison to serve a four months' sen-
tence for making a seditious speech — that I realised the
climax was swiftly approaching. The British Secret Ser-
vice was turning in reports from Ireland that must have
been disquieting to a Government then at death-grips with
the German military machine. With all the impetuosity
of twenty-five I went to Tom Clarke and told him I was ready
to go home and do whatever he wanted me to do. But he
was not ready for me to go. The time was close at hand, he
told me, but for the present I was to remain in London. I
obeyed. I had good reason to obey.
" I had not forgotten what he had said to me almost a
year earlier, when he had led me to turn down the offer from
America. ' You should wait/ he had said then, ' for the
time when we are going to do something to bring the Irish
case to international notice.'
" Before the summer of 1915 was ended, however, I got
the summons and hurried to Dublin. With me went fifteen
of my pals — all of us with years of London living behind us.
Introducing Michael Collins 27
Out of that little group six were killed in the rising of Easter
Week, 1916. One of these was my brother-in-law.
" It may be worth the telling at this time to point out
a somewhat unusual fact of a purely personal nature. It
is unusual, certainly, when one stops to consider that in
forty years Ireland has lost almost half her population through
emigration. Out of my family of eight, only one, my brother
Patrick, voluntarily left Ireland. My sister Helen, now forty
years of age, became a nun and is in a convent in Yorkshire.
And there is my stay in London. But otherwise we have
all elected to remain in our own country. I recall how
interested Richard Croker was in this. He, himself an
emigrant who eventually came back to his native land, be-
lieved the day would come when Ireland would attract
immigrants. However that may be, at least I think it is
just as well for the world to know that all Irishmen are not
eager for the opportunity of leaving their own shores.
" As for my brother Patrick, all I know about him —
and this information reached me indirectly — is that he is a
member of the police-force in Chicago. Whether he is a
policeman or not I have no idea. In all the years since he
went to America he has never let us hear from him."
Several months prior to this — my last meeting with
Collins — he had urged me to interview Eoin MacNeill, then
Speaker of Dail Eireann and Professor of Ancient Gaelic
History in the National University.
' You will find Professor MacNeill one of the most
learned men in Ireland," Collins told me. " Also, there is
no doubt that he is a fine patriot. As Kincola (the Gaelic
name for Speaker of the House) MacNeill has held the
respect of every member of the Dail ; and yet his order
countermanding the 1916 rising — issued by him as Presi-
dent of the Irish Volunteers less than twenty-four hours
before the time set for the rebellion to begin — undoubtedly
had a great deal to do with its speedy failure.
" So far as I know, Professor MacNeill has never ex-
plained the reason for his action. I think most of us are
so sure of his staunch patriotism that we could not bring
28 Michael Collins* Own Story
ourselves to cast the slightest aspersion on him by asking for
an explanation. I for one, at any rate, however, should like
very much to have it — and I suggest that for the purposes
of making this tale of yours as complete as possible, you put
the question to him."
And so it was a few days later that I took a jaunting-
car and set out from my hotel in Dublin on a six-mile drive
to the MacNeill home in Blackrock, through the lovely
Irish countryside.
CHAPTER III
EOIN MACNEILL — ULSTERMAN
" THERE needs be no doubt about it whatever. I did
everything in my power to prevent the Easter Week rising."
This was Professor Eoin MacNeilTs answer to the ques-
tion Collins had suggested I put to him. And the Speaker
of Dail Eireann gave it with a degree of patent sincerity that
made doubt indeed impossible. It was as if he were glad
of the opportunity to go on record in a matter which he
knows has been discussed in every home in Ireland for
eight years. Incidentally, Lieut. -Col. Sir Matthew Nathan,
Under-Secretary for Ireland at the time of the rising, and
Sir Mackenzie Dalzell Chalmers, K.C.B., one of the three
members of the Hardinge Commission which enquired into
the causes of the rebellion, have at last their answer.
(During the enquiry Sir Mackenzie Chalmers asked Sir
Matthew Nathan in the witness-box if MacNeill's order
countermanding the rising was a " blind." " I should very
much like to know," replied the witness).
" Why I did what I did," Professor MacNeill continued,
" has never been told. I have remained silent because
those of my colleagues entitled to an explanation have chosen
to ask for none. It has been my preference to believe they
wished in this fashion to show their unquestioning faith in
me. But now the opportunity has come to make all the facts
known, I am glad to take advantage of it.
" As President and Chief of Staff of the Irish Volunteers
I was dedicated, heart and soul, to the one great aim of that
body — the achieving of real independence by the Irish nation.
29
30 Michael Collins' Own Story
As one of the founders of the Gaelic League I had done all
in my power to awaken the people to a consciousness of
nationality, the necessary preliminary to a successful issue
of our prime ambition by force of arms. When in 1914 the
Sinn Fein section broke away from the general body of the
Volunteers I became leader of the seceding body. For the
next two years I made recruiting speeches hi all parts of
Ireland and saw our forces growing by leaps and bounds.
At the same time I took over the editorship of the Irish
Volunteer, the official organ of the army.
" It must be borne in mind that conditions in Ireland in
the spring of 1916 made conferences exceedingly difficult
for those of us on the Black List at Dublin Castle. In my
case it was exceptionally difficult, living as I was out in the
country and away from my colleagues. Much was going
forward that I knew nothing of— determined upon at secret
meetings at which I was not present. Not until after it was
all over did I come to learn the momentous decision reached
by the seven men who signed and published the declaration
of the Irish Republic.
" HAD I KNOWN THEIR GRIM PURPOSE I MIGHT HAVE
ACTED DIFFERENTLY. I MIGHT HAVE SUBSCRIBED TO IT. AND
YET I AM NOT SURE. NOT EVEN THEY COULD HAVE DREAMED
THAT ENGLISH STUPIDITY WOULD TRANSFORM THEIR FORLORN
HOPE FROM IGNOMINIOUS FAILURE INTO BRILLIANT SUCCESS !
" But not to anticipate myself — the Irish Volunteers
had been formed and trained with a definite object known
to all of us, the eventual driving out of Ireland of the English
armed forces. I shared that aim with the rest. I believed
it could be done. The Carson volunteers in Ulster gave us
a perfect reason for being. But that anyone should be so
gullible, so utterly ignorant of the facts, as to imagine for a
moment that we should ever commit the senseless folly of
playing England's game by armed attack against our fellow-
countrymen in Ulster surprised even the most sanguine
among us. The ridiculous assumption was of inestimable
value to us.
"England saw us drilling, knew of our continuous
Eoin MacNeill— Ulster man 31
recruiting, had definite information as to our constantly in-
creasing numbers — and let us do it without real interference.
England wanted us to commit the blunder ! Thus should
we ourselves have settled the Irish question, from England's
viewpoint, for generations to come. We should have been
soundly trounced in the field by Carson's army — backed up
by whatever British support might be necessary — and at the
same time have ruined all hopes of a united Ireland. Because
England believed we were planning to do the one thing that
would vindicate her Ulster policy, our army was allowed
to grow.
" In the spring of 1916 we had the men and we had the
discipline in plenty for our purpose. It is true that some
of us were hoping that Sir Roger Casement would succeed
in inducing German officers to come to Ireland to give us the
benefit of their experience, but all that was actually counted
upon was shipments of sufficient arms and ammunition.
" This obviously was a vital need. Without equipment
we could do nothing. But when at last word came that the
shipments were on their way, Easter Sunday was fixed as
the date for the beginning of hostilities — always conditional
on the safe arrival of the arms and ammunition. At least
this was my understanding. And that was where I was in
error ! I did not know that a little coterie among our
leaders was inspired with an idea of the intrinsic value of
martyrdom for martyrdom's sake ! But I will come to that
presently.
" The world knows of Casement's arrest. It happened
on Good Friday. It is not so generally known that the same
day a German ship carrying 20,000 rifles and 1,000,000 rounds
of ammunition was scuttled and sunk by her commander in
Tralee Bay to escape capture by the British. Word of
both disasters reached me on the Saturday afternoon.
I wasted no time in trying to prevent what seemed certain
must be a ludicrous fiasco.
" By word of mouth, in hastily written despatches, and
in a formal order which I inserted in the Sunday Inde-
pendent, I forbade any movement of the Volunteers to take
32 Michael Collins* Own Story
place. I sent a letter to De Valera among others. He was
then a commandant in charge of troops at Boland's Mill.
It read :
Easter Sunday,
1.20 p.m.
"Comm't Eamon de Vaileara,
" As Comm't MacDonagh is not accessible, I have
to give you this order direct. Comm't MacDonagh
left me last night with the understanding that he
would return or send me a message. He has done
neither.
" As Chief of Staff, I have ordered and hereby order
that no movement whatsoever of Irish Volunteers
is to be made to-day. You will carry out this order
in your own command and make it known to other
commands.
"EOIN MACNEILL."
" I had just despatched this letter when word came that
my order published in the Sunday Independent was being
questioned in various quarters as spurious. I promptly
authenticated it, and added that ' every influence should be
used immediately and throughout the day to secure faithful
executing of this order, as any failure to obey it may result
in a very grave catastrophe.'
" And all this I did without the slightest knowledge of
the real plans of my colleagues. Easter Monday came as a
more terrible shock to me than perhaps to any other Irishman
in Ireland. Seven of our finest and our bravest leaders had
put their names to the declaration of the Irish Republic,
had seized the Post Office, had fired the first shots of the
rebellion ! Of course, without those German arms and
ammunition they must have failed in any event — had I not
issued the countermanding orders — but in the resultant
confusion, with our forces in all parts of the country, notably
in Cork, remaining passive, it seemed that this mad act of
Eoin MacNeill— Ulster man 33
desperation by a mere handful of men — poorly equipped and
with no support to depend upon — would constitute the most
lamentable, futile gesture in the annals of Ireland's strug-
gling centuries. Undoubtedly this would have been the
case had it not been for England's stupidity !
" The truth, as I afterwards learned it, was that Clarke
and Pearse and MacDonagh and the others had deliberately
planned to go down to certain defeat and death. If ever
seven men were animated by pure martyrdom it was these
patriots. They were willing to give their lives to move their
countrymen to work together in the cause they would thus
ennoble. And yet how easily instead they might have
found themselves a laughing stock !
" If England had only used the Dublin police force in-
stead of high explosive shells and all the paraphernalia of
war, arrested the leaders on a charge of disturbing the peace
— or, perhaps trespass — and regarded the feint in its true
light, the prank of irresponsible idealists not to be taken
seriously, she could have led a world to join in ironic
laughter ! In that fashion the cause of Irish freedom could
have been set back a generation. Every Irishman must
thank God that England made the mistake of treating it
seriously, thereby giving it a dignity with which nothing else
could have invested it.
' The seven martyrs went to martyrs' deaths. Their
fondest dreams were exceeded. Ireland's freedom was at
last in sight 1
" If it is urged that the event proves that their prevision
was good and mine bad — I have no excuse to offer. Had I
known their plan I am afraid I should still have disapproved
it on the grounds that not a Government on earth could be
so stupid as to make the ridiculous mistake of treating them
seriously.
' This explanation, I trust, will establish for once and
all my motive in issuing those orders."
(It may be interesting to interrupt Professor MacNeill's
narrative at this point with the statement that Collins
whole-heartedly supported the former in his ascribing the
C
34 Michael Collins' Own Story
ultimate success of the rising to England's mistaken policy
of severity in handling it. Also Collins was convinced of the
sincerity of Professor MacNeilTs motive in countermanding
the orders for the rising.)
" I referred to the reason England permitted us to
build up the Irish Volunteers," Professor MacNeill continued.
" She hoped we would use that body to make war upon
Ulster. Now six years have come and gone — and the truth
about Ulster seems still to be as little understood as it was
then. It is time the truth was told. I feel peculiarly well
fitted to tell it, for I am a native of County Antrim, and was
educated at St. Malachy's College in Belfast.
" I speak as an Ulsterman, if you please, but that makes
me no less an Irishman. There are those who do not agree
with me. In more than one section of Ireland they still
talk about ' the Outlanders of Ulster.' There are folk who
look upon the Black North as a diseased limb which should
be cut off from the Irish social body. But the actual method
proposed is as illogical as the wearing of a spiked bracelet
in the case of a diseased hand. A mere artificial barrier —
the most the proposed Boundary Commission could accom-
plish— would be no remedy if the limb were actually
diseased. But, heart and soul, I am opposed to this theory
of a diseased limb.
" Let an Ulster Outlander speak for that part of Ireland
from which he comes. Here in Dublin there appears to be
no question that I am an Irishman. Am I then an Out-
lander when I am among my kith and kin in the North-East ?
Or if my own claim to be Irish is graciously conceded, must I
believe that my father and mother, my brothers and sisters
down in" the* North, are not of my nationality ?
" It is significant to note that the Boundary Commission
was proposed by the English Government ! Its significance
will appear before I have finished. Incidentally, the Ulster
Government — in one of its rare moments of proving its real
devotion" (?) to England — has flatly announced it will pay
no attention to~ the Commission's findings. Once again
history repeats itself. It was not so long ago — in 1886 —
Eoin MacNeill — Ulsterman 35
that Lord Randolph Churchill, father of the man to whom
Lloyd George entrusted Irish affairs for the most part,
made a special expedition to Ulster to assure the stalwarts
of high State sympathy in England. It was then he pro-
duced the memorable phrase, ' Ulster will fight, and Ulster
will be right ' — IN RESISTING THE CONTEMPLATED LAW LAID
DOWN BY THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT !
" But let me assure Sir James Craig that Southern Ireland
has no intention of cutting the country in two. We don't
intend to do it, even if England believes it to be the one sure
way of preventing a united Ireland ! This is the spirit of the
people of Southern Ireland. What of the people of Ulster ?
" Why, the glens of Antrim from Glanarm to Ballycastle,
and the whole mountainous district at their back, are more
Nationalist than county Dublin ! The Ulster Unionist,
even, is not the demon incarnate of anti-Nationalism that
some raw Southerners imagine. It is a pity I am not at
liberty to name business men and farmers whose confidences
I have shared in trips through Ulster. Their reason for
insisting I spare them publicity is self-evident. The rule of
the revolver under Sir James Craig's Government has suc-
ceeded infamously well in keeping true opinion squelched.
But these men have told me — and I know them to be honest
men — that they pray for a united Ireland. But prayer
alone is not enough. The time has come for the truth to
be told. It needs only to be known — and the problem,
WHICH IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN A REAL PROBLEM, will
solve itself !
" The truth is simple. England has done her utmost to
keep flaming the hatred conceived by bigotry and falsehood
at the time of the Plantation of three centuries ago. To
Irishmen in the South, England's emissaries have preached
the lie that Ulster Unionists are aliens. How many cen-
turies, one may ask, does it take to make an Irishman of an
alien ? What special force is at work in Ulster to prevent
the immigrant there from ever absorbing the characteristics
of Irish nationalism ?
" In Ulster England has spared no pains to foster the
36 Michael Collins* Own Story
feeling that the Ulster Unionist is a full-blooded Teuton and
his Catholic neighbour a full-blooded Celt. She has taught
both to adopt the notion that Celt and Teuton are as oil
and water. But if we take the Celt to mean the race in-
habiting Britain and Ireland before the Saxon and Norse
invasions, and Teuton to mean the subsequent immigrants,
it is absolutely certain that the descendants of the Ulster
Planters are vastly more Celt than Teuton, more Celt than
the Catholic Nationalists of a great part of Leinster — for the
thoroughbred Englishmen is a purer Celt than almost any
of the Irish people themselves.
" It is not a fact of race, but an illusion of race, that makes
Ulster Unionists pro-British and anti-Irish. But it is an
illusion that England has craftily created and carefully
fostered.
" It is a common delusion in the South of Ireland that
the Planters were all English. The fact is they were mainly
Scotch. The Old-Irish Ulsterman is hardly less grave,
sedate, unresponsive, taciturn, laconic, keen at a bargain,
tenacious of his own, critical towards others, than the
typical Ulster Presbyterian. Nor is either variety a whit
more un-Irish in qualities of this kind than the Catholic
Nationalist, the ' absorbed ' semi-Norseman of Fine Gall.
Is it not ridiculous to exact uniformity of type from all parts
of a nation ?
" There are not two Irish nations. A foreign faction
— it is the happy phrase of an Ulster Presbyterian, John
Mitchell — is a familiar feature in many a national history.
We have in the Irish nation to-day a foreign faction. But
after the Williamite settlement we were in reality two
nations, and a century later only one. The fusion would
have been more rapid but for the fact that during all that
period, and for a generation longer, the descendants of each
element adhered rigidly to their respective languages.
With equal chances we should have seen all over Ireland the
condition of things reported to Queen Elizabeth — ' The
English in Dublin do now all speak Irish, for the most part
with great delight.'
Eoin MacNeill— Ulsterman 37
" The Nationalist trend in Protestant Ulster reached its
extreme point of intensity in the period of the United Irish-
men. This organisation did much to bring about the ulti-
mate division between the nation and the faction. The
English Government became greatly alarmed at the rapid
growth of a national bond of union between the Old-Irish
Catholics and the Protestants of British descent. Catho-
lics and Protestants alike enrolled themselves in great
numbers in the United Irishmen. England accordingly
took steps to work up religious animosities in Ulster, and
with great success among the adherents of the ascendant
religion, the Episcopalians. At the same time, England
practised on the Catholics, and with no less success. It
must be admitted that the lower order of Catholics in the
North have at all times been prone to mere party antagonism,
to meeting the silly cry of ' To hell with the Pope ' with
the no less degrading cry of ' To hell with the King.'
" England was not satisfied with pitting mob against
mob in Ulster. She flew at higher game on the Catholic
side. It was when the Catholic world was on the verge of
panic — after the French Revolution. The virtuous govern-
ment of Pitt — through its pillar of Church and State, Castle-
reagh — had little difficulty in bringing that thorough ecclesi-
astic, Archbishop Troy, to believe in an alliance with the
Holy British Empire in preference to the slightest sympathy
with the aims of a Protestant-led and French-tainted Nation-
alist movement. AND WE ARE NOT THROUGH EVEN YET
WITH THE FRENCH PANIC IN CATHOLIC IRELAND !
" This policy of England's has been continued with short
interruptions ever since. In 1886 the English Government
withdrew the whole authority of the Empire and all the
forces of law and order for a period of many weeks from a
riotous quarter of Belfast — establishing then the precedent
which Sir James Craig adopted in 1920 — on a vastly larger
scale ! And down through the years, England has pro-
mised concession after concession to Catholic prelates, and
never f ulfilled one of them so long as the promise alone served
her purpose.
38 Michael Collins' Own Story
" But slowly some of us were learning how far an English
Government would go in playing upon Irish Catholics. We
were beginning, for instance, to see through the man-against-
man device of so administering education as to keep the idea
of hopeless religious division ever before us. We began to
see that the cause of our division was not any ingrained
' common hatred for centuries/ but was operated from
above and without for the deliberate purpose of preventing
good feeling between the two sections of the nation. Eng-
land's policy has been immensely helped by the delusion
held by most Irishmen that the anti-Irish position of the
majority of Ulster Protestants is the natural and spon-
taneous expression of their racial and religious spirit. It
is the general, unquestioning opinion. People never care to
admit, even to themselves, that their prejudices are the
product of deliberate manipulation by others.
" The fostering of religious feuds in Ireland by England
is so much a part of the solid and irrefragable facts of his-
tory that it is surprising to find it not universally recognised.
The Catholics, as a rule, have been too ready to walk into
the snare, the Catholic mob habitually ready to play into
the hands of these skilful manipulators. I wish I could say
only the mob was responsible for the creation of the
Ulster difficulty. Unfortunately, representative Catholics and
Nationalists have been largely contributory to the inten-
sity of anti-Nationalism in parts of Ulster. They have
furnished precisely the evidences required to prove that
Ireland is a hopelessly divided country.
" But is there no other policy towards the Ulster Unionists
except to revile and disown them ? Suppose we Nationalists
begin by putting our house in order, by calling off our dog ?
Suppose we declare every man who uses anti-Protestant
cries to be the worst enemy of his country's cause ? Suppose
that in view of our own share in aggravating their fanaticism
in the past we resolve to abstain from all acts and words of
an exasperating kind in the future ? What if we perform
these preliminary ablutions ?
" It must interest fiiends of Ireland the world over to
Eoin MacNeill— Ulsterman 39
know that every one of these questions has been asked —
AND ANSWERED THE RIGHT WAY BY THE NEW GOVERNMENT
OF SOUTHERN IRELAND.
" Under normal conditions there are ten commercial
travellers from Belfast houses going through Ireland for
one going through Great Britain. On Ireland and not on
Great Britain does Belfast depend for the use of her vast
credit resources. The Ulster Bank, the Northern Bank,
the Belfast Bank know where their business is done. And
Ulster is a land of business men ! Once the truth is known
by Irishmen — once England's snares are recognised and so
avoided — once Belfast and Dublin together see the light —
that our whole problem is in fact an economic problem —
when this, the real issue, is knit, I am confident that the
kindly Southerners will be glad to have by their shoulders
the cold and harsh-tongued men of the North."
Much more than this Professor MacNeill told me before
I finally took my leave of him and started back to Dublin
aboard the jaunting-car. Some of it will appear in'a later
chapter. Some of it cannot be told at this time. But,
perhaps, in what I have set down here, he has proved himself
to be what I unreservedly consider him — not only a pro-
found thinker and a scholar, but that rarest type of Irish-
man— a man of moderation.
CHAPTER IV
COLLINS' OWN STORY OF " EASTER WEEK "
"Sm ROGER CASEMENT was absolutely opposed to the
Easter Week rising. Of this I have abundant proof. I
know that he made the trip from Germany to Ireland for the
sole purpose of stopping the rebellion. I have his own
statement to this effect."
So Michael Collins corroborated that part of Eoin Mac-
Neill's story in which the Speaker of Dail Eireann told of
Casement's having advised against the use of armed force
at that time. This unequivocal declaration is of peculiar
significance in that it is a flat contradiction of an official
statement issued by the British Government following Case-
ment's execution. Part of that statement was as follows :
" . . He was convicted and punished for treachery
of the worst kind to the Empire he had served, and
as a willing agent of Germany. ... In addition,
though himself for many years a British official,
he undertook the task of trying to induce soldiers of
the British Army, prisoners in the hands of Germany,
to forswear their oaths of allegiance and join their
country's enemies. . . . The suggestion that Case-
ment left Germany for the purpose of trying to stop
the Irish rising was not raised at the trial, and is
conclusively disproved, not only by the facts there
disclosed, but by further evidence which has since
become available."
Obviously a matter of fact of this nature cannot be a
matter of opinion. The record shows that it was Casement
Collins* Own Story of " Easter Week " 41
who was responsible for the attempted landing by a disguised
German merchantman of 20,000 rifles and 1,000,000 rounds
of ammunition in Tralee Bay. It is not denied by any
Irish leaders that Casement did his utmost to persuade
German officers to lead the rebeDion. But listen to Collins'
story.
" Casement's opposition to the rising meant nothing to
the leaders in Dublin," Colh'ns continued. " They looked
upon it — and in a sense rightly — that this was simply one
man's biassed view, formed as a consequence of his experi-
ences in Germany. His outlook on the rising, or indeed
on any rising, was naturally different from the outlook of
men like Sean McDermott and Tom Clarke. My own opinion
is that Casement had acquired a world outlook, and his mind
was consequently influenced by world conditions.
" German assistance appealed to him as vital for a suc-
cessful issue of Ireland's rebellion against the might of the
British Empire. It is a fact — to be told now without harm
to anyone — that his disappointment over his failure to in-
duce Germany to send men to aid in Ireland's fight brought on
a serious illness that kept him many weeks in bed in Munich.
And let it be remembered that in this opinion he was by no
means alone. I can quite understand Professor MacNeill's
having shared this view. He knew — as, indeed, did most of
us — that we were literally a corporal's guard planning to
attack the armed forces of an Empire.
" But Sean McDermott and Tom Clarke were not wait-
ing for German aid in the shape of MEN. Lacking them meant
little or nothing to these inspired leaders. Irishmen were
good enough for them. They were content to rely upon the
strength of the forces at home, and their calculations were
based practically entirely on home considerations. Of
course, they wanted German arms and ammunition, but
lacking them, they still were prepared to fight.
" If Professor MacNeill's theory that these leaders had
resolved upon launching a forlorn hope to awaken the
Irish people is correct, no further explanation is necessary.
On the other hand, it must be obvious that to men like
42 Michael Collins* Own Story
Casement, the adventure appeared to be sheer madness.
I am convinced that Casement's opposition would have been
no less strenuous had the German arms been successfully
landed at Tralee. He was under the spell of the super-
efficiency of the German military machine, and could not
imagine our under-trained, inexperienced amateur army
being able to stand up for a moment against the English
professional soldier. A few of us felt differently about it —
but I think I understate it when I say that a vast majority
of the Irish people at that time would have agreed with
Casement.
"It is, therefore, not at all difficult for me to accept
Professor MacNeill's explanation of his issuing the order
countermanding the rising. Far from Casement and Mac-
Neill being in a minority in this matter, it was we who were
in the minority. With the German arms at the bottom of
Tralee Bay, it must indeed have seemed an act of madness.
" The actual number of Irishmen employed in the
fighting was very small. In only three places — Dublin,
Galway and Enniscorthy — was there what could be called
a conflict. I have always put the entire number engaged on
our side at about 2,000. Of course, the countermanding
order and the non-arrival of the German arms had a great
deal to do with deciding the number actually engaged. It
must be understood also that when I say 2,000, I refer to
the number definitely under arms. There were men stand-
ing by awaiting orders in many parts of the country who
would have leaped into action if the circumstances had been
favourable instead of the reverse. In County Cork, for
instance, if they had had arms, 2,000 men would probably
have turned out.
" The British had an ordinary strength in Ireland at
the tune of some 30,000 to 40,000 regular troops, and, of
course, they had 10,000 Royal Irish Constabulary scattered
all over the country. It is difficult to say how many British
troops came into action during Easter week.
" In Dublin, the British garrison numbered about 10,000.
Probably all of these were actively engaged. So far as I
Collins' Own Story of " Easter Week " 43
know, we have never definitely ascertained the numbers on
our side actually mobilised in Dublin on Easter Monday
morning. It could not have exceeded 700, and at no time
during the week through which the fighting continued could
the number have exceeded 900.
"As for heroism — I saw many instances. All of our
men were full of pluck and daring. Only that breed of men
would have engaged in a contest where the odds were worse
than ten to one against ! But the incident that touched me
most was an effort made to rescue a wounded comrade.
Everything considered, I think it was the finest example of
pure heroism I ever saw.
" There were two of them — snipers — posted under the
lee of the Nelson pillar, out in the middle of O'Connell
Street. The rescuer had been mortally wounded himself —
unable to stand on his legs — but in spite of it, when his
comrade was slightly wounded he managed to drag him
across the cobblestones and into the safety of the Post
Office. It was evident that the rescuer had but a short
time to live, and he must have known it, for he waved the
doctor aside and told him to look after his comrade. To
everyone's surprise, he did not die immediately, but for
several days suffered the most awful agony. Never once
did he complain, and at all times he was deeply grateful for
any little service rendered him. He turned out to have
been a waiter in a Dublin hotel. He was not an Irishman ;
his nationality seemed to be Franco-Italian.
" I cannot say that I myself saw any case of specific
brutality on the part of the British. I did, however, see
many cases of what may be called ill-usage. For instance,
a British officer abused and jostled Sean McDermott after
Sean had submitted quietly to capture. Sean was a cripple.
I also saw an English officer prevent one of his private
soldiers from supplying water to a few of our men who had
been standing some hours in the sun. But for the most
part instances of physical brutality indulged in by the British
were conspicuous by their absence.
" There is a form of wounding, however, that is worse
44 Michael Collins' Own Story
than mere physical brutality. Following our surrender
and being taken prisoners we made our acquaintance with
English contempt. Our captors made no effort to disguise
their feeling that we were wretched inferiors, not worthy
of being accorded treatment given a respected enemy. That
was a pitiful thing. They honestly felt us to be almost
beneath their contempt, and let us thoroughly understand
it. In the batch of several hundred prisoners in which I
found myself were some of our finest and bravest. The
English officer in charge of us was especially abusive and
insulting. He told us we were Irish swine whose place was
in the pig-sty — and more of a like kind. A year- or so
afterwards this officer met his death in a distant part of
Ireland under mysterious circumstances. The mystery was
never solved.
" Not unnaturally — considering how few we were, how
hopeless the contest, and how pitiful our lack of equipment
and experience — there was much of a distinctly humorous
nature in the incidents of Easter Week,
" Desmond Fitzgerald, for instance, was living out in
Bray, to which the British had sent him the better to keep
him under surveillance. His wife had gone to England on an
urgent mission, leaving him and a young girl of the village,
employed as a nurse, to take care of their two children.
In due course Fitzgerald got word that the rising was to
take place on Easter Sunday. He was in honour bound to
do his bit. But there were his babies— and a mother
he had no way of communicating with. The nurse, hardly
more than a child herself, was no safe person to whom to
entrust his children. But just the same, he risked the for-
bidden journey into Dublin on the Saturday night and
managed to reach The O'Rahilly and explain his predicament.
He wanted to do his duty, but he found himself mother as
well as father to two infants ! From his viewpoint, anyway,
the time set for the rebellion was distinctly inopportune.
" To his credit, be it said, he managed to overcome the
difficulty, and he was in the Post Office throughout the week.
" One of the most laughable things that happened was
Collins' Own Story of "Easter Week* 45
typical of a certain order of Irish mentality — that type
which through the centuries has been responsible for our
world reputation as makers of ' bulls.'
" On the Tuesday two Irish lads who had been caught
red-handed by one of our patrols in the act of looting a shop
were brought into the Post Office and before Tom Clarke.
The old man was furious.
" ' Shame on you both ! ' he thundered. ' To desecrate
the name of Ireland in this fashion ! You should be shot
where you stand ! Sure, shooting is too good for a looter ! '
" And while the two wretched prisoners trembled under
his tongue-lashing, our leader seemed to be on the point
of ordering their instant execution. A minute went by and
then, disgustedly and scornfully, he ordered them to be led
away to the kitchen to peel potatoes.
" When Friday came, and our surrender was only a matter
of hours, Clarke suddenly remembered the two looters and
ordered them to be brought before him. By this time high
explosive shells had smashed our stronghold into a shapeless
ruin. Outside, from every quarter, machine-guns were
sweeping the streets with a constant rain of fire. The
looters were in a pitiable state.
" ' Now then, you two/ Clarke began. ' To-morrow,
maybe sooner, we're going to surrender. We're going out
and give ourselves up. Every one of us may be shot.
You can wait and go out with us — or you can go now.
Choose ! '
" Both of them spoke at the same instant. They would
go then and there ! And so we swung open a door and let
them go. We watched them as they ran across O'Connell
Street, the bullets striking all about them. To our amaze-
ment, they escaped without being hit, finally reaching the
comparative safety of Abbey Street. It seemed to us that
we had been witnessing a double miracle. And then one
of them turned round and came dashing straight towards
us ! Again a thousand guns were trained on him, and again
he managed to come through unscathed. We opened the
door for him and he dived through it.
46 Michael Collins* Own Story
" ' Don't you know your own mind ? ' demanded Clarke.
' Is it inside or outside you want to be ? '
" ' Oh, sir/ came the deadly serious reply, ' I had to come
back, sir. I left my insurance card in the kitchen ! '
" Important as the rising finally proved — and history
will certainly give it place as being the determining factor
in Ireland's fight for freedom — its importance was not
immediately recognised even by those of us to whom it
meant most. In many ways the experiences of that week,
as well as of the preceding years of preparation, were in-
valuable. As a testing measure of men, it could not have
been more conclusive.
" Among other lessons that I learned during this period
was one it would be well if more Irishmen would take to
heart. I discovered that personal bravery alone is of hardly
any more use than its opposite. I hesitate to inflict hurt
on any man, especially one whose only fault is one for which
he cannot properly be blamed. Lack of judgment is not a
thing to blame a man for. And yet it must be said that
one man's lack of judgment was responsible for the hanging
of Sir Roger Casement, the execution of the seven signers of
the declaration of the Irish Republic, and the ingloriously
speedy termination of the rebellion. The whole story must
be told, but I must not tell it now. Perhaps, later on, the
facts can be made known without undue emphasis on their
consequences."
There was only one man in Ireland that I knew of who
might merit this description. I had long had my doubts
about him, and, thus prejudiced, leaped to the conclusion
that it must be to him that Collins was referring. I asked
Collins if this were the man. He assured me he was not.
Several months later Collins named the man and told
me the whole story. The man was Austin Stack. The story
in which he figured as a stupid blunderer will be told in a
later chapter. But at the interview with Collins which I
have just described he made it plain that he did not wish
to pursue the subject then, and patently by way of changing
the subject, he suggested that I next interview Arthur
Collins* Own Story of " Easter Week ' 47
Griffith, at that time the newly elected President of Dail
Eireann.
' There are a few men you must know, if you are to
write the whole story of Ireland's fight for freedom," said
Collins. " And Griffith is one of these. I know you have
talked with him, and I know you think you have sized him
up— but I can assure you that you don't know him nor his
measure. He is the kind that takes a lot of knowing. And
if he will talk you will learn things about Ireland that no
other man could tell you. It may be that Irish people and
the world in general may never appreciate Arthur Griffith
until he is dead and gone, but mark my words, it will come."
An odd prediction, surely. For as I write — from notes
made months ago — all Ireland is paying respectful homage
to Griffith lying in state in Dublin's City Hall, and a world
Press is extolling his greatness in eulogistic editorials. It
took his death to earn Irish appreciation and a world's
encomiums. He was not the kind of man who wins applause.
A thick-set, grave, monosyllabic, unapproachable type — he
was not of the stuff of which popular heroes are made.
But his tenacity of purpose, his indomitable will, his
absolute honesty, and his love of the land to which he had
dedicated himself heart and soul — these qualities at the
same time enabled him to do more for Ireland than any
other one man ever accomplished ; they also killed him.
There was nothing to suggest, however, that he was not
in the very pink of condition the night I came upon him in
a private dining-room in Bailey's chop-house in Dublin,
just before the new rebellion against the Free State Govern-
ment began.
CHAPTER V
ARTHUR GRIFFITH'S LAST STATEMENT
" SINN FEIN was not my exclusive creation. It is unfair to
the memory of a great Irishman that this false impression
should be allowed to exist. Sinn Fein was conceived by two
of us — and the other man was William Rooney."
Arthur Griffith made this statement to me — so far as I
am aware it was the last statement he ever made for publica-
tion— after I had asked him to tell the story of his winning
his countrymen to the Sinn Fein policy of " ourselves alone."
As every newspaper man who ever attempted the task knows,
Griffith was by far the most difficult of all the Irish leaders
to persuade to grant an interview. Only because I had sent
by a waiter a message that Collins wished him to see me did
Griffith consent — and presently I found myself with him
in a private dining-room tucked high up under the eaves of
Bailey's chop-house in Dublin, a favourite haunt of his.
But at the conclusion of our talk he dashed my hopes to
the ground by insisting that I delay publication of the inter-
view— " until the facts can be told without doing damage."
At that time — it was late June — Rory O'Connor and his
gunmen were in possession of the Four Courts, and every
attempt to establish unity between the two sections of the
Irish Republican Army had failed. Still, Griffith had high
hopes of reaching a peaceful settlement with De Valera, and
through him with the more radical of the Die-Hard element.
In any event he insisted that there must be no publication
of unpalatable facts that might jeopardise all chances of
peace. There was nothing for it except compliance —
obviously.
Arthur Griffith's Last Statement 49
Now, however, that Griffith has gone, now that Collins'
death had made it certain that the war will be carried on
until law and order shall have been established throughout
all the country — the story can be told " without doing
damage." And in what follows I trust there will appear
ample justification for my characterising Griffith as a fact
merchant. In all my newspaper career I have never met a
man who held facts in such superlatively high estimation.
' The Sinn Fein movement," Griffith explained, " was
both economic and national. Rooney's idea — and mine —
was to make Sinn Fein in this way meet the two evils
produced by the Union. Primarily Ireland's need was
education. Sinn Fein grew to wield enormous educational
power. More than that, we saw the fruits of our labours
in the growth of spiritual power among those who came
into the ranks of Sinn Fein.
" Unquestionably the organisation went far in unifying
Ireland. The people had been waiting for an ' Irish Ire-
land ' policy. Sinn Fein promoted that policy. Every-
where we preached the recreation of Ireland built upon the
Gael. We penetrated into Belfast and North-East Ulster,
where encouraging educational work was making the
national revival a living reality. And then the world war
broke out.
" I do not indulge in prophecies, but the facts make
clear that if Sinn Fein's work in Ulster had not been inter-
rupted in 1914 — if that work could have been completed —
the freedom which the Treaty gives us would have been
complete freedom. We who went to London as the nation's
plenipotentiaries did not go as representatives of a united
Ireland — as we should have been had our work in Ulster
gone on even a short time longer. And until Ireland can
speak as a united people we shall not earn and we shall not
get that full freedom deserved and possessed by nations that
are nations.
' Too much stress has been laid on two phases of Sinn
Fein — neither of which was its chief characteristic. It has
been repeatedly said that the Sinn Fein movement was not
D
50 Michael Collins* Own Story
militant, and that I was wedded to the theory of non-
resistance. I have no excuses nor apologies to make for my
support of the abstention policy. For Irish representatives
to sit in the Westminster Parliament had been abundantly
proved to be the worst thing that could happen to Ireland.
But Sinn Fein was not pacifistic. The militant movement
existed within it, and by its side. Those who have a mere
smattering of knowledge of Irish events of the past few
years must realise that this is so when they learn that two
of Sinn Fein's most ardent advocates were Tom Clarke and
Sean McDermott ! No one will call these two mighty
figures of Easter Week pacifists ! Moreover, within the
organisation the two movements worked in perfect harmony.
" The second over-stressed feature of Sinn Fein has been
that it is a purely political machine — with the accompanying
suggestion of belittlement that this charge for some inex-
plicable reason seems to carry. The admittedly large major-
ity in the Ard Fheis against the Treat}7 was instanced as a
proof of this — the fact being used to show that Sinn Fein was
as narrowly partisan as the ordinary party machine — and
as little concerned with the actual welfare of the nation.
This is a gross libel.
"It is a fact that Rooney had little use for formulae.
He preached language and liberty. But he also inspired
all whom he met with national pride and courage. ' Tell
the world bravely what we seek ! ' he said. ' We must be
men if we mean to win.' He believed that liberty could not
be won unless we were fit and willing to win it — ready to
suffer and die for it. He interpreted the national ideal as
' an Irish State governed by Irishmen for the benefit of the
Irish people.' He sought to impregnate the whole people
with ' a Gaelic-speaking nationality.' ' Only then,' he
pleaded, ' could we win freedom and be worthy of it — free-
dom— individual and national freedom of the fullest and
broadest character — freedom to think and act as it best
beseems — national freedom to stand equally with the rest
of the world/
" He aimed at weaving Gaelicism into the whole fabric
Arthur Griffith's Last Statement 51
of our national life. He wished to have Gaelic songs sung
by the children in the schools. He advocated the boy-
cotting of English goods, always with an eye to the spiritual
effect. ' We shall need/ he said, ' to turn our towns into
something more than mere huxters' shops, and, as a natural
consequence, wells of anglicisation poisoning every section
of otir people.'
" Such was our policy. It differed not at all from that
policy enunciated during the world war by many publicists
in America. Just as it was urged there that Americans
should be neither pro-British nor anti-British, but, on the
contrary, should concentrate on being pro-American — so
Sinn Fein aimed at making Irishmen pro-Irish. Only by
developing our own resources, by linking up our life with
the past and adopting the civilisation which was stopped
by the Union could we become Gaels again and help win
our nation back. As long as we were Gaels we knew the in-
fluence of the foreigner was negligible. Unless we were
Gaels we had no claim to occupy a definite and distinct place
in the world's life.
' We most decidedly do believe,' said Rooney, ' that
this nation has a right to direct its own destinies. We do
most heartily concede that men bred and native of the soil
are the best judges of what is good for this land. We are
believers in an Irish nation using its own tongue, flying its
own flag, defending its own coasts, and using its own dis-
cretion when dealing with the outside world. But this we
most certainly believe can never come as the gift of any
parliament, British or otherwise. It can only be won by
the strong right arm and grim resolve of men. Neglect
no weapon which the necessities and difficulties of the enemy
force him to abandon to us, and make each concession a
stepping-stone to further things.'
" Perhaps that is a sufficient answer to the charge that
Sinn Fein was a pacifist organisation !
" Rooney spoke as a prophet. He prepared the way and
foresaw the victory, and he helped his nation to rise and, by
developing its soul, to get ready for victory."
52 Michael Collins' Own Story
" And you feel that the Treaty is, then, such a victory ? "
I asked.
" Yes," came the instant answer. " It is just that.
Ireland's victory is a fact ! In spite of Englishmen and sons
of Englishmen — men who dare to pose as Irishmen and
leaders of Irishmen — the Irish people are at last masters in
their own house. And they will know how to deal with
Erskine Childers and the others of his ilk.
" But let me attempt to state the bare facts of the case.
" Dail Eireann sent us to London to make a bargain
with England. We made a bargain. We brought it back.
The Irish people accepted it. Those are the indisputable facts.
" Our job in London was to ' reconcile Irish national
aspirations with the association of Ireland with the commun-
ity of nations known as the British Empire.' That job was
as hard a one as was ever placed on the shoulders of men.
We did not seek the job. When other men refused to go —
we went. AND OUR CRITICS SHOULD REMEMBER THAT THE
VERY FACT OF OUR GOING WAS ACKNOWLEDGMENT IN ITSELF
THAT WE WERE PREPARED TO ACCEPT LESS THAN THE
COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE OF AN ISOLATED REPUBLIC. NONE
BETTER THAN DE VALERA KNEW THAT THIS WAS THE FACT.
" I signed the Treaty — not as an ideal thing — but fully
believing what I believe now : that it safeguards the interests
of Ireland and is everlasting proof of our right to recognition
as a distinct nationality. By that Treaty I am going to
stand, and every man with a scrap of honour who signed it
will do the same. The suggestion that patriotism justifies
or excuses a man in putting his signature to a bond of this
kind — with his tongue in his cheek — is abominable. If any
of the signatories to the Treaty adopts such a course he will
write himself down a blackguard. The Irish people have
declared emphatically that the Treaty is good enough for
them, and the Irish people are our masters and not our
slaves as some think. We are not dictators of the Irish
people, but their representatives, and if we misrepresent
them our moral authority and the strength behind us are gone,
and gone for ever.
Arthur Griffith's Last Statement 53
" Now as to the efforts that have been made to show
that certain men have stood uncompromisingly on the
rock of the Republic and nothing but the Rep iblic — the
time has not yet arrived to prove that such statements
are downright lies, but the time may not be far distant
when the facts of the matter may safely be t old. The men
who have tried to make the Irish people believe this lie are
the same men who have done their utmost to vilify the one
man who made the negotiations possible — the man who won
the war — Michael Collins. They have charged him with
having compromised Ireland's rights. That is a lie.
" Every one of these detractors of Michael Collins — De
Valera, Stack, Brugha, Childers — they deserve to be named —
knows that Ireland's rights have never been in better hands
in all Irish history. They know that in the letters that
preceded the negotiations not once was a demand made for
recognition of the Irish Republic. They know that if such
a demand had been made there would have been no negotia-
tions ! And that is not all.
" WHILE THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE IN PROGRESS — DURING
ONE OF THE MANY ADJOURNMENTS, WHILE WE WERE TEM-
PORARILY IN DUBLIN — DE VALERA BEGGED ME TO DEVISE
A WAY TO GET HIM OUT OF THE REPUBLICAN STRAIT JACKET.
I use his words.
" He was in an uncomfortable position. Nominally
the leader of that section of the Dail styling themselves
' uncompromising Republicans,' he was actually the least
radical of them all. Brugha and Stack — not to mention the
women members of Dail Eireann — were determined that we
should obtain nothing less than recognition of the Republic,
even though the two men named well knew that it needed
only the making of the demand for the negotiations to end
abruptly. As President of the Republic De Valera felt he
could not show less zeal than that of his followers. And yet
he was faced with the fact that the course was worse than
futile. He wanted to extricate himself from his predica-
ment. He tried to do so — with the mysterious Document
No, 3,
54 Michael Collins' Own Story
" That document was not written by De Valera ; it was
the product of Erskine Childers' brain. Three times this
man who has spent most of the years of his life in the employ
of his native country, England, drafted and redrafted Docu-
ment No. 2. Three times we submitted it to Lloyd George.
Three times he turned it down. There was nothing of a
Republic in that document ; it included an oath of allegiance
to King George ; it was not altogether unnatural — in view
of its authorship — that it was decidedly more English than
the Treaty itself ! But let it not be forgotten that the man
who now poses as an uncompromising Republican did
everything in his power to saddle Ireland with an obligation
very much more difficult to have met than is contained in
the Treaty.
" For the same reasons that at this time I cannot allow
these facts to be made public, and while they must not be
made public so long as there is a chance of our settling our
differences, I permitted my hands to be tied in the Dail.
There I called the differences between Document No. 2
and the Treaty a quibble of words. For the purpose of
the point I want to make it is enough to repeat this state-
ment. Over this quibble of words De Valera and his fol-
lowers are preparing to force the Irish people to go back to
war with England. So far as my power can accomplish it,
not one Irish life shall be lost over such a quibble.
" They put us in the dock — these uncompromising Re-
publicans of the Dail. They tried us and found us guilty
of treason to the Republic — THE REPUBLIC WHICH THEIR
PRESIDENT HIMSELF HAD SECRETLY ABANDONED ! The day
will come when we shall be put on trial by the Irish people.
It will be their verdict that will matter.
" We did our best for Ireland. If the Irish people had
said — having got everything else but the name Republic —
they would fight to get the name, I should have told them
that they were fools — and then joined their ranks. But
the Irish people did not do that. The Irish people are
not fools !
" If a misguided, unrepresentative minority can stig-
Arthur Griffith's Last Statement 55
matise a whole people, if these uncompromising Republi-
cans— whose actual and brainiest leader, Erskine Childers,
is a renegade Englishman — can make it appear that the
Irish people sponsor and share their madness, the world will
not be fooled for long. The Irish people want peace. They
want peace even to the extent of accepting alliance with
England. For they see that in such an alliance Ireland can
develop her own life, carry out her own way of existence,
and rebuild her Gaelic civilisation. They want to end the
bitter conflict of centuries — to end it for ever. If they wanted
anything else they would be fools.
" Cathal Brugha said I might be immortalised by dis-
honouring my signature — by repudiating the Treaty.
Whether I become an immortal or not is of no concern to me,
and certainly to no one else. But no man who signed that
Treaty could dishonour his signature without dishonouring
the Irish nation. And that is a vital concern.
" Cathal Brugha also attempted to belittle Michael
Collins — as a subordinate of no importance who had used
the newspapers to make himself a national hero. I have
gone on record that Michael Collins won the war. I said
it in the Dail and I say it again. He is the man — and no
one knows it better than I do— whose matchless energy and
indomitable will carried Ireland through the years of the
terror. If I had any ambition as a politician, if I would
have immortal fame, if I longed to have my name go down
in history, I should choose to have my name associated with
the name of Michael Collins. Michael Collins beat the Black
and Tan terror until England was forced to offer terms of
peace.
" If I seem to dwell too long on the methods used by our
opponents, it seems to me the facts justify me. During the
long sessions of the Dail I wondered often at my very
small imagination that had never visualised the heights of
my own villainy. The abuse we listened to there had had
no parallel since the days of Biddy Moriarity. The}' told
us we were guilty of treason against the Republic. De
Valera allowed that charge to be made — without protest.
56 Michael Collins' Own Story
Yet he knew, as I knew, that in one of his letters to Lloyd
George he wrote this sentence :
" ' We have no conditions to impose and no claim
to advance but one, that we be free from aggression.'
" He knew — because Lloyd George told him so at their
meeting in July — that there would have been no negotia-
tions had we insisted as a condition of the bargaining that
England recognise the Republic. And still he made no
move to stem the flood of abuse to which we were subjected
by his followers.
" As for the attacks made upon me because of my atti-
tude towards the Southern Unionists and the anti-National-
ists of Ulster, I hold that they are all my countrymen, and
that if we are to have an Irish nation there must be fair
play for all sections, and understanding between all sections.
I met the Southern Unionists and promised them fair play.
So far as I can control it, they shall have fair play. I hope
to live to meet the Ulster Unionists upon the same basis.
They are all members of the Irish nation, and their lives and
fortunes are as much at stake as our own.
" THE MAN WHO THINKS WE CAN BUILD AN IRISH NATION
AND MAKE IT FUNCTION SUCCESSFULLY WITH 8oO,OOO OF
OUR COUNTRYMEN IN THE NORTH-EAST AGAINST US, AND
400,000 OF OUR COUNTRYMEN IN THE SOUTH OPPOSED TO
US, IS LIVING IN A FOOL'S PARADISE.
" I live in a world of realities, but that does not mean I
have no dreams. I have dreamed. And I should like to
make my dreams come true. But I have to face facts, and
one fact is that Ireland is not equal in physical strength to
England. The Treaty makes Ireland a sovereign State
co-equal with the other States of the British Commonwealth.
It gives Ireland essential unity because it recognises Ireland
as a unit. It is for us to make that unity a fact !
" When I was a boy I was taught that the aim of Irish
Nationalists was to get the British forces out of Ireland, to
restore the Parliament of Ireland, and to make the Irish
Arthur Griffith's Last Statement 57
people sovereign in their own country. Under the Treaty
these three aims have become accomplished facts. But
here to-day a minority comprising Englishmen and sons
of Englishmen tells the Irish people that the evacuation of
Ireland by British troops is an injury to their soul, and the
best way to save the soul of Ireland is to lacerate its body !
That doctrine has been preached in Ireland before. I re-
member when I was young often hearing foolish people
saying that the poorer the Irish people were the better their
national spirit would be. If this were true — and De Valera
has his way — we should be approaching the zenith of national
spirit. But it is an absolute fallacy. In Ireland — as in
any other land — the poorer the people are, the more
dispirited they become.
' The men who in the name of idealism are doing their
best to ruin their own country insist that we who signed the
Treaty set a boundary to the march of our nation. That is
a lie. By the Treaty we ended armed conflict between Ire-
land and England and made it possible to dwell beside her
in peace and amity. As years pass it may be that changes
in the relationship will come, but the Treaty insures that
such changes will come by friendly agreement and not by
force. No man can answer for the next generation.
Meantime, we who accept the Treaty will work it honour-
ably.
" And now one final fact : let no Irishman doubt for a
moment that in signing the Treaty every one of the plenipoten-
tiaries knew that we had got the last ounce it was possible
to get out of England."
CHAPTER VI
THE AFTERMATH OF " EASTER WEEK "
" REBELLION — like any other potent remedy indulged in
too often — can become a habit, a body and soul-destroying
habit. It is not inaccurate to say that the senseless cam-
paign of destruction now being waged by the madmen who
have chosen to follow De Valera and the other ' uncom-
promising Republicans ' is a direct consequence of the rising
of Easter Week. It is an old story in Irish history — the
story of misguided men mistaking the means for the end."
Collins thus approached the subject of the outstanding
consequences of the 1916 rebellion.
" The immediate consequences," he continued, " maybe
divided into two parts — the consequences at home and the
consequences abroad.
" The result at home was that — although not only did
the British have in custody the men who had actually taken
part in the fighting, but also the political activists from
nearly every part of the country — nevertheless, the national
spirit reawakened with marvellous promptitude. Popu-
lar feeling went entirely in favour of the insurgents, and it
was thus possible for reorganisation to begin at an early
date. Large and ever increasing numbers gave their
adherence to the cause that was espoused in Easter Week,
and more and more Irish eyes turned from the futility of
representation in the British Parliament at Westminster,
and of agitation there, to the utility of organisation at
home and reliance on their own effort at home.
" Abroad the insurrection made it clear before people's
minds that the Irish question had still to be settled, and
58
The Aftermath of " Easter Week " 59
had the effect of showing up Britain's claim to be the incor-
ruptible champion of small nations. In my own estimation
the rising and the subsequent revival in Ireland, and the im-
portance of the rising in its international character, were all
inseparable from the thought and hope of a German victory.
Ireland's position at that time was to look to the Peace
Conference for a settlement of the age-long dispute between
Britain and herself."
" Is it your opinion," I asked, " that a German victory
would have been better for Ireland than the Allied victory ? "
" We thought so — then," Collins replied. " Our aim
was to win our freedom. We believed that the worse Eng-
land's plight was the better was our chance to compel her
to grant our demand. I doubt if any of us looked so far
ahead as to consider whether — our freedom once won — we
could function most successfully with a triumphant Germany
in the European saddle, and an England economically
smashed. I think our only concern then was to win our
freedom first, and let what followed take care of itself.
" We were not pro-German during the war — any more
than we were pro-Bulgarian, pro-Turk, or anti-French.
We were anti-British, pursuing our age-long policy against
the common enemy. We were a weak nation kept in sub-
jection by a stronger one, and we formed and adopted our
policy in light of this fact. We remembered that England's
difficulty was Ireland's opportunity, and we took advantage
of her engagement elsewhere to make a bid for freedom.
The odds between us were for the moment a little less
unequal. Our hostility to England was the common factor
between Germany and ourselves. We made common cause
with France when France was fighting England. We made
common cause with Spain when Spain was fighting England.
We made common cause with the Dutch when the Dutch
were fighting England.
" BASES IN IRELAND FOR GERMAN SUBMARINES ? "
Collins repeated my interjected question with an uplifting
of his eyebrows, and a smile creeping into his eyes. For a
space it seemed as if he were seeking a discreet answer. Then,
60 Michael Collins' Own Story
the smile widening, he said, " OF COURSE NOT ! WHO
COULD IMAGINE SUCH A THING ? "
SUBSEQUENTLY I LEARNED FROM AN INDISPUTABLY
AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE THAT ON ONE OCCASION — DURING
THE TREATY NEGOTIATIONS IN LONDON — WINSTON CHURCHILL
AND ADMIRAL BEATTY PRODUCED AN ADMIRALTY MAP OF
THE BRITISH ISLES AND SHOWED IT TO COLLINS. A RED-
HEADED PIN INDICATED THE POSITION OF EVERY SHIP
SUNK IN THOSE WATERS BY GERMAN SUBMARINES. BY FAR
THE GREATEST NUMBER DOTTED THE IRISH COAST !
" The general mental attitude of a greater part of the
Irish people," Collins continued, " was aptly described by a
member of Dail Eireann, who declared — with fervent sin-
cerity— that the day he had ceased to fight for the Irish
Republic was the day he had ceased to be interested in it !
I think this mental distortion goes a long way towards
explaining the otherwise inexplicable madness of these
irregulars now laying waste their own country. Under
the leadership of men who are either fanatics or scoundrels,
the Irregulars cherish the delusion that in destroying Ire-
land they are sanctifying her. But to return to the im-
mediate aftermath of the rising.
" On the whole, it would, I think, be difficult to name any
incident between April and December, 1916, as a ' high spot.'
The one eventful thing that happened in this period was
scarcely a high spot, but rather a low spot. It was the
agreement of the Northern Convention of Nationalists to
Partition. Aside from this one isolated incident, the Irish
people responded well. A certain amount of reorganisa-
tion was effected throughout the country, and the revival of
the national spirit was very marked. Just before Christmas
of that year occurred probably the most important event of
the whole period. It was the release of all the interned
prisoners. Their release enabled us to make a really long
stride in reorganisation.
" De Valera has been fond of citing the apathy of the
American colonists as analogous to the lack of fervid sup-
port accorded us in those first months following the rising.
The Aftermath of " Easter Week ' 61
I have heard Erskine Childers liken De Valera to George
Washington — and I have long suspected that De Valera
does not dislike the parallel. It is a fact, of course, that
only in garbled versions of history are a whole people
shown to be as keenly determined in any cause as their
leaders. Undoubtedly those of us who had had the wonder-
ful inspiration that came from intimate association with such
mighty Fenians as Tom Clarke and Sean McDermott were
more grimly determined to win the fight they had died to
win than peaceably inclined folk who lacked that inspiriting
association. Yet the results of the first eight months follow-
ing the rising were all that could have been expected.
" The first important event of 1917 was the Parliamen-
tary election for the North Roscommon Division. Here was
an opportunity to measure the extent to which the national
spirit had been revived. We seized the opportunity — and
contested this election against the old Irish Parliamentary
party. But let no present-day stalwart — above all, let De
Valera not attempt to — forget one curious and instructive
feature of that election campaign ! It was fought only five
years ago — but our candidate on that occasion did not even
make abstention from Westminster part of his pre-election
platform. The prominent workers studiously avoided
mention of this subject. As for the Irish Republic — so
far as that campaign was concerned, it had ceased to
exist !
" It is well to face the facts in matters of this kind and
to tell the truth, however unpalatable the truth may now
be to those who call themselves uncompromising Republi-
cans. Therefore, let it be recorded that the greatest amount
of support for our candidate in that election came from the
Irish National League — which did not approve of abstention
from Westminster ! For the rest, our supporters were
chiefly persons who had become entirely dissatisfied with
the policy of the Irish Parliamentary party.
" SO MUCH HAD THE REPUBLIC OF EASTER WEEK BEEN
FORGOTTEN, AND SO LITTLE HAD THE TEACHINGS YET PENE-
TRATED INTO THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE, THAT ALTHOUGH
62 Michael Collins' Own Story
OUR CANDIDATE WAS COUNT PLUNKETT — WHOSE SON HAD
BEEN MARTYRED AFTER THE RISING — HE WAS RETURNED
ONLY ON THE GROUND OF HIS OPPOSITION TO THE IRISH
PARTY CANDIDATES ! IT WAS ONLY AFTER HIS ELECTION
THAT HE DECLARED HIS INTENTION NOT TO GO TO WEST-
MINSTER, AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS NOT RECEIVED
VERY ENTHUSIASTICALLY BY SOME OF THE MOST ENERGETIC
OF HIS SUPPORTERS. THEY HAD ELECTED A MAN, THEY SAID,
' WHO DID NOT INTEND TO REPRESENT THEM ANYWHERE.'
" The next event of importance in 1917 was the arrest of
Sinn Feiners in Dublin and throughout the country. More
than forty men of influence in their communities, important
local figures aside from their Sinn Fein affiliations, were
deported to England. They were not actually imprisoned
— and both their activities and their prestige increased rather
than diminished as a result of their temporary banishment.
It was but one of many similar instances of English Govern-
mental stupidity — of England's unwitting aid in arousing
the Irish people to that national unity which finally forced
the ancient enemy to give us freedom. The deported forty,
relieved of the necessity of pursuing their usual, personal
occupations, were able to devote all of their time to further-
ing the aims of Sinn Fein. Their presence in England lent
to their work an especial significance ! But that is a story
to be told elsewhere.
" Meantime, we at home were not idle. Following our
victory in North Roscommon, reorganisation proceeded more
rapidly than before. Two committees were now actively
working — the old Sinn Fein committee and the new com-
mittee formed of members of the original committee and
others who had been prominent workers in the North Ros-
common campaign. As part of the reorganisation scheme a
proposal was made that we should send a circular to all the
public bodies in Ireland asking them to appoint delegates to
a conference to be held in Dublin. Many of these public
bodies did not even respond, and many of them carried the
resolution to send delegates only by a bare majority. The
greatest proportion of support came from the South. The
The Aftermath of " Easter Week ' 63
conference was held, and it was decided to organise the
country on the basis of abstention from the Westminster
Parliament and a general policy of virile opposition against
British rule in Ireland.
" While arrangements were proceeding for this conference,
a vacancy arose for the Parliamentary Division of South
Longford. Feeling in South Longford was not advanced
politically, and the wisdom of putting forward a candidate
from our side was questioned by many. However, we
decided to adopt the bold course, and we put forward the
name of Joe McGuinness, who was then serving a penal
servitude sentence in Lewes. The election was warmly
contested. Our principal appeal to the electorate was
evidenced by two of our slogans — ' The man in jail for Ire-
land ' and ' Put him in to get him out.' All of us worked
hard for the felon candidate, and he was returned a winner
by a majority of 27 votes.
" Once again let me emphasize a fact that cannot be
gainsaid. At that election the Irish Republic was not an
issue. Our uncompromising Republicans were yet to
announce themselves. Joe McGuinness triumphed only
because the people remembered Easter Week, and the men
who died for it.
" And then followed — almost immediately — complete
corroboration of our election slogan. The British Govern-
ment released all of the penal servitude prisoners from
Lewes ! These releases gave the final fillip to the reorganisa-
tion scheme, and were, of course, acclaimed a great triumph
for our cause.
" Among these prisoners were three men who had served
in the rising as commandants. One of them was De Valera.
Then, as always afterwards, De Valera exercised an ascen-
dancy over Harry Boland that amounted almost to hypnotic
control. Boland's devotion to De Valera was the kind that
is born of hero-worship. I am convinced Boland believed
that Ireland's salvation was inseparably bound up in the
person of De Valera. I have every reason to believe that
Boland was absolutely sincere in this. But out of this
64 Michael Collins' Own Story
situation arose a remarkable sequence of closely related
consequences.
" Some time prior to their release De Valera and Boland
and several others were being transferred from Dartmoor to
Lewes. On the journey Boland managed to write a note,
unobserved by the guards, and dropped it out of the window
of the railway coach. He had addressed the envelope to a
friend in Dublin. Curiously enough, it was picked up by an
Irish girl walking along the tracks. She posted it, and in
due course Boland's eulogy of De Valera — for that was
what he had written — reached its destination. According
to the note (and it must be borne in mind that at that time
nobody in Ireland had any idea of the truth about their
fellow-countrymen imprisoned in England), De Valera had
been unanimously proclaimed their leader, and eventually
would prove himself worthy of being leader of the whole
Irish nation. The news spread like wildfire. In a week De
Valera leaped from relative obscurity into first place in the
hearts of the Irish people. It was exactly what had been
lacking until then — a romantic figure, persecuted by the
hereditary enemy — a martyred, living hero !
" Just before the releases, and while the new De Valera
hero-legend was spreading throughout the country, a
vacancy occurred in Clare, the constituency in which De
Valera belonged. Here was another golden opportunity*
With De Valera as our candidate we scored an impressive
victory, winning for him a majority of almost 3,000 out of
an electorate of 8,000. This victory sounded the death
knell of the Irish Parliamentary part}7. But that was not
its chief distinctive feature. It marked the beginning oi
public agitation in favour of the Irish Republic.
" De Valera in an English prison had obviously nothing
to do with the injection of this new note in the election cam-
paign. The talk in favour of the Irish Republic was spon-
taneous. At last our teachings, the lesson of Easter Week,
the ultimate ideals of the men who had died for Ireland were
beginning to be understood. But it is as well to bear
in mind that in Clare — where the political spirit was strong
The Aftermath of " Easter Week " 65
and ardent — it was felt quite safe to talk about the Irish
Republic. Elsewhere, however, it was not yet a topic of
discussion or, where it was bruited, the talk was done in
whispers !
" With the Longford victory behind us the Sinn Fein
organisation had been growing very powerful, and now the
Clare triumph enabled us to go ahead with such vigour that
practically every other political organisation in the country
was put out of existence.
" Close on the heels of these successes we determined to
contest the Kilkenny election — the first borough constitu-
ency we had contested. Business interests being strong in
Kilkenny, we selected as our candidate a business man —
Alderman W. T. Cosgrave, a member of the Dublin Corpora-
tion. He won the election by a vote of practically two to
one. Sinn Fein began to feel itself secure. It seemed as
if it held political sway over almost all of Ireland.
" Our complaisance received a rude shock, however, in
the Waterford election. Here the Sinn Fein nominee was
defeated — the first defeat we had suffered. There were,
of course, explanatory causes, but it was none the less a
reverse in our fortunes.
" Finally, the outstanding event of 1917 was the Sinn
Fein Convention in Dublin in October. To that first Ard
Fheis there came from all parts of the country delegates
from 1,500 Sinn Fein clubs. A standing committee was
elected, and the machinery of Ireland's first practical
national organisation was perfected. Here for the first
time in Irish history was union of all the various sects and
leagues — every dissentient view put aside in the interest of
the common cause. But again let me emphasize the fact
that that cause was not the Irish Republic. The one
national policy Sinn Fein then defined was that of definite
abstention from the Westminster Parliament.
' The Republic of Easter Week had not lived on, as is
supposed. The real importance of the rising did not begin
to become apparent until 1918. The men who are now
wrecking their country — visiting insensate vengeance upon
E
66 Michael Collins' Own Story
their own people for ' letting down the Republic ' — know
that their accusation is false. The declaration of a Republic
by the leaders of the rising was far in advance of national
thought. It was only after two years of propaganda that
we were able to get solidity on the idea. Our real want was
so simple, so old, so urgent — liberation from English occu-
pation— it is not surprising that doctrinaire Republicanism
made little appeal to the Irish people.
" The truth is best served by plain speaking. The Irish
people at this moment are not wedded to the theory of a
Republican form of government. There is only one reason
why the Irish people have ever wanted a Republic — it is
because the British form of government is monarchical !
To express as emphatically as possible our desire to be
different from England we declared a Republic ! We
repudiated the British form of government not because it
was monarchical, but because it was British ! If England
were a Republic we undoubtedly would find a descendant
of an Irish king — and establish a monarchy ! So much for
the inherent virtue of a Republic — as Irish eyes see it ! "
Collins made it plain that the interview had lasted as
long as he could afford to have it. As always, he disguised
his dismissal of me with characteristic tact.
" And now I'll be getting on with the affairs of the Irish
Free State," he announced. As he spoke there was that
suspicion of a chuckle in his voice that always preceded his
making a joke. " I suppose," he added, " I'd have no time
for you at all if this were a Republic ! "
" To-morrow night," he continued seriously, "I'm
going to have you meet the one man who was closer in the
confidence of the leaders of the rising than any other man
alive to-day — Sean McGarry. There are many things he
can tell you of the days before the rising, and, of them all, I
am myself most anxious to hear the real story of the gun-
running at Howth, and just what part Erskine Childers
played in it."
CHAPTER VII
COLLINS' ESTIMATE OF ERSKINE CHILDERS
As so frequently happened during the feverish nine months
of my association with Collins, his plan to have me meet
Sean McGarry the following evening miscarried.
At that time McGarry was in charge of the detachment
of National troops guarding the Amiens Street railway
station. When I arrived at the place appointed for the
meeting, I found Collins with his ear to a telephone receiver
and a broad grin on his face. He motioned me towards
another telephone instrument and with a gesture invited
me to listen.
The amusing part of it was McGarry's deadly seriousness.
For he was explaining in as technically correct military
language as he knew how to use — addressing himself to
the Commander-in-Chief of his army — that Irregular
snipers were at the moment making exit from the station
" inadvisable." Only to one who appreciated that for
ten years or more Collins had been " Mick " to Sean
McGarry could the humour of the conversation become
fully apparent.
Eventually Collins had me meet McGarry — and it proved
one of the most interesting and informative sessions of any
at which I was present. And it was not until afterwards that
Collins determined to go on record himself regarding the
chief figure of McGarry's tale — Erskine Childers.
When Collins finally decided to expose Childers, whom he
regarded as the evil genius of Ireland, he imposed the con-
dition that it was not to be made public until every effort
to effect a truce had been exhausted. He was planning then
68 Michael Coffins' Own Story
a last attempt to induce De Valera to end the senseless
campaign — an effort which, it will be recalled, he announced
officially the day that Griffith died.
To the very end he clung to the hope that De Valera
would have the moral courage to call a halt, to disperse
the brigands and turn over their arms to the Provisional
Government ; but the night he took me into his confidence
regarding Childers he promised that it would be a short
time only before either peace came or I should be free to
let the world know the truth about the man Collins held
primarily responsible for Ireland's tragic plight.
Collins' murder has removed that restriction — as I see
it — and more than justifies my setting down here his denun-
ciation of the man who, Collins believed, cared for no country
and served none, but was consumed with a maniacal lust for
destruction.
" Of all the many men who for hundreds of years have
done Ireland grievous harm," Collins began, " none has
managed to deal the Irish people such an overwhelming blow
as Erskine Childers. This Englishman may be sincere in
all that he professes, and so far as I am concerned it makes
little difference what his actual motives are. The fact
remains that he has worked steadily since 1912 inflicting
damage on the Irish cause. The pity of it is that those of
us who have known the facts have felt that it was inadvisable
to make them public. The time has come when the truth
must be told.
" It may be recalled that Brugha in the last session of
the Dail eulogised Childers and declared he had done more
for Ireland than any other living man — the eulogy accom-
panying his motion calling on the Dail to pass a vote of
censure on President Griffith for having called Childers
a ' damned Englishman.' Brugha is dead, but Childers is
very much alive. My own feeling is that Childers not only
never worked any good to Ireland ; he consistently and
continuously has done Ireland harm. Ten years ago,
Childers — then in the English Civil Service, and with more
or less influence among a certain coterie in the House of
Collins' Estimate of Erskine Childers 69
Commons — was urging in every way at his command that
the British Government should grant the Irish people a
measure of freedom that was as unthinkable from an
English view as it was greater and more radical than the
most advanced Irishman dreamed of getting.
" Then, as at all times since, this Englishman was
damning any chance Ireland might have had of winning
reasonable concessions from England — by advocating an
extreme course of action which must inevitably heighten
English hostility against us.
" Down through the years, Childers' record shows he
never once deviated from his set purpose always to be more
extreme than the most extreme of the Irish Radicals. I
have said it makes little difference whether he is sincere —
the fact that every proposal of his has been impracticable
when it has not been positively damaging being enough in
itself ; but that does not mean that I have not a very definite
opinion as to his sincerity. Twenty years ago Childers wrote
a book in which he made out a perfect case for an astounding
kind of super spy — the agent provocateur. His ingenious
scheme was nothing less than having the spy join the extreme
faction in an enemy country, and lead them to excesses that
would eventually bring about the desired war. That was the
Childers of twenty years ago. Let us look into his activities
as a champion of the cause of Irish freedom, keeping in mind
this scheme he sponsored.
" Darrell Figgis went to Belgium in June 1914, and bought
two thousand rifles and ammunition at Li£ge A Belgian
sea-going tug carried the purchase to an agreed rendezvous
in the North Sea, where the cargo was transhipped to
Childers' yacht. Eventually we got possession of the guns
and ammunition — and the whole world presently learned
of the gun-running at Howth. Would anyone suggest that
Childers' part in this exploit is inconsistent with his
professed belief in the efficacy of his super-spy sysrem ?
What practical good could be realised from our getting
possession of a relative handful of weapons ?
" On the other hand, the widespread publicity given to
70 Michael Collins' Own Story
£•'--
the exploit furnished England with a new and substantial
ground for dealing sternly with the impossible Irish mal-
contents. But even more than this Childers may have had
in mind.
" At that time Carson's armed forces in Ulster were
drilling and preparing to wage war upon us — at least, that
is what many Irishmen honestly believed. What could suit
England's wishes better than such a war ? How could it
be precipitated more surely than by furnishing arms in dis-
creetly inadequate quantities to the side which, unarmed,
had no choice except passive acceptance of the Ulster
menace ? Fortunately, for once we avoided making the
error of doing what Ireland's enemies fully expected. It
was for Easter Week those guns were intended, and it was
in Easter Week only that they were used.
" The English zealot in Ireland's cause — what do we
find him doing next ? Within less than a month after the
Howth gun-running, Childers was enlisting in the English
Secret Service in the world war, repeating the services he
had rendered his Empire in the South African war. Many
times in the past few years Childers has attempted to explain
in conversations with me his reasons for voluntarily aiding
the nation he swore he loathed — always emphasising the
fact that he had done no more than tens of thousands of
born Irishmen had done, and, as he tried to put it, for the
same reason — his natural love of a fight and adventure.
Always he finished by saying that he was sorry, but better
men than he had made mistakes.
" Then in 1917 Childers met De Valera.
" It was an unhappy moment for Ireland when this
illogical, incompetent, inexperienced school-teacher came
under the spell of Childers — a genius as brilliant as De Valera
is guileless. It was Childers who wrote the famous Document
No. 2. It is Childers who has guided practically every
action of De Valera the past five years. I was strongly
opposed to Childers' presence in the delegation of treaty
plenipotentiaries, even as a secretary, but De Valera would
not listen to my objections. There was no room for doubt
Collins* Estimate of Erskine Childers 71
that De Valera firmly believed that Childers was the only man
upon whom he could depend.
" And what did Childers do in London ? I risk the
charge of being indiscreet in revealing what I am about to
reveal — but considerations of that kind cannot weigh with
me when the fate of the Irish people depends, as it does,
on their knowing the truth about this man. He had told
De Valera, Brugha, Stack and others in Dublin that he had a
great scheme by which he could argue the British Govern-
ment into recognising that there was no danger in her grant-
ing Ireland's demand for a republic. Griffith and the rest
of us plenipotentiaries had no such scheme, wherefore, in
due course, it was decided that Childers should have a
chance of putting his scheme into execution.
" He had been most secretive about it all along, and I
had no idea what it was when we went together by appoint-
ment to the Colonial Office one day last November, and there
met Winston Churchill and Lord Beatty. The latter had
a huge map brought over from the Admiralty at Childers'
request. It showed Britain, Ireland and the European coast.
' Now, gentlemen,' began Childers, ' I mean to demon-
strate that Ireland is not only no source of danger to Eng-
land, but, from a military standpoint, is virtually useless.'
This announcement staggered me probably more than it
did the other two. It was such ridiculous balderdash, I
felt like wanting to get out of the room, but I naturally
realised that I must make a pretence of standing by my
colleague. Churchill and Beatty exchanged glances, and
then gave Childers their attention again. ' Take the matter
of Irish bases for English submarine chasers/ the latter
continued. ' From the viewpoint of naval expediency
Plymouth is a far better base than any port on the Irish
coast.'
' You really think so ? ' asked Beatty.
" Childers insisted he did, adding, ' For instance, sup-
posing Ireland were not there at all ? '
1 Ah/ said Beatty, with a smile, ' but Ireland is
there/
72 Michael Collins' Own Story
" ' And how many times,' interjected Churchill, ' have
we wished she were not ! '
" And that was Childers' great idea, and it was all of it !
The argument with which he was going to persuade the
British Government to recognise the Irish Republic got
no further. I never felt more a fool in my whole life. Yet
to this day De Valera and others believe that Childers'
scheme failed only because we of the delegation did not back
him whole-heartedly.
" From my own experience in dealing with British Minis-
ters I am' convinced that nothing could more surely weaken
any cause in their eyes than ridiculously stupid espousal of
the cause. Lloyd George, Mr. Churchill — all of them — were
responsive and reasonable so long as we put forward our
points with rational argument, but Childers was a member
of the secretariat, and well known by Lloyd George to be
De Valera's personal representative.
" Was this merely another instance of Childers' doing
Ireland grievous damage unwittingly ? For my part, I
find it difficult to believe that Childers ever did one unwitting
act in his life, but, having said this, I repeat that it makes little
difference. The only important fact that the Irish people
must fully appreciate is that Erskine Childers — wittingly
or unwittingly — has already done, and is now doing, his
utmost to effect Ireland's ruin."
Had Collins lived he might have extended the prohibition
regarding the release of this interview, but now that he is
dead — and who will say that it was not Childers' brain which
conceived and organised the Bandon ambush ? — I take upon
myself the responsibility of showing up the man Michael
Collins counted worse than despicable.
CHAPTER VIII
COLLINS' PLAN OF TERRORISING TERRORISTS
" CONSIDERATION of the events in Ireland in 1918, in
order to be comprehensive, must embrace two entirely dis-
tinct and different developments — one entirely political,
the other wholely militant. But before I begin this part of
my story I want to take this opportunity of correcting a
misapprehension that exists widely regarding the part
Lloyd George was playing in Irish affairs at that time. It
is generally supposed that the English Premier was respon-
sible for instituting the Black and Tan reign of terror, as
well as the provocative acts of terrorisation which preceded
the coming of the Black and Tans. This is untrue.
" In those days Lloyd George did not have time for
Ireland — his whole attention being absorbed by the world
war. The British Government's Irish policy, so far as
military operations were concerned, was conceived and
executed by Cabinet Ministers to whom Lloyd George had
given a free hand.
" Unhappily, during the years that followed the Armis-
tice he could not take the time to attempt to find a solution
of the Irish question, counting it of less importance to Eng-
land than a settlement of the European problem. For
what happened then, in the period 1918 to 1921, Lloyd
George had only nominal responsibility. I emphasise this
fact because it seems to me high time that we who know the
truth should disseminate it, and by so doing help to remove
the causes of hatred and bitterness which are largely based
on ignorance."
Collins made this statement to me at the outset of one
74 Michael Collins* Own Story
of our last meetings in Dublin — again evidencing what had
come to be his greatest driving ambition — ending fratri-
cidal strife by ending venomous and deliberate distortion
of the truth.
" Taking the political events of 1918," Collins continued,
" the most important incident was the South Armagh elec-
tion. In this election we were at the outset confident of
success, and we put up as our candidate Dr. MacCarton, who
was the representative of the Irish Republic in Washing-
ton. For the second time we were defeated. Unquestion-
ably the result of that election was a serious setback for our
policy.
" Secondly, at this time, February and March, there
was much talk of applying the British Conscription Act to
Ireland, and arrangements were being made by us to resist
it in every possible way. The Volunteers came to the
decision at their Executive Council that conscription was
to be resisted to the fullest extent of our military strength.
" Thirdly, the arrest of the chief leaders of Sinn Fein.
There were just some half-dozen in Dublin and some few
dozen throughout the country marked down for arrest who
escaped the net. This, however, must not be taken as
meaning that the backbone of the movement was gone.
Political organisation was continued always without inter-
ference. The enemy activity up to this period had really
not been very serious, and enemy activity after what are
now called ' the German plot arrests ' was mainly directed
towards preventing public meetings, tracking down and
arresting public suspects, and stopping parades, drills,
training, etc., of Volunteers.
" Fourthly, towards the end of the year came the
Armistice in the world war, and with it a General Election.
Sinn Fein selected candidates to fight in almost every con-
stituency in the whole of Ireland and won a decided victory
at the polls. Our political machinery was altogether too
efficient for the Irish Parliamentary party organisation,
and the election started by our having 25 unopposed returns.
Many of the Sinn Fein candidates were men who were in
Collins' Plan of Terrorising Terrorists 75
gaol or interned, and it must be admitted that the names of
these candidates made an appeal in addition to the political
appeal. It will be remembered that Sinn Fein immediately
after the election sent representatives to London at the time
of President Wilson's visit to lay a memorial of the Irish
case before him.
" Paralleling our political victories were the ever increas-
ing acts of repression practised by the British Government,
although at first neither England's aggression nor oppression
were more than suggestions of what was to come. During
the year England had pronounced Dail Eireann, the Irish
Republican Party, Sinn Fein, Cumman na m'Bann, the
Gaelic League and the Gaelic Athletic Association illegal
bodies. The Civil Courts were for the most part dispensed
with and replaced by Courts Martial. For trivial offences
severe sentences were inflicted. Possession of a card of
membership in Sinn Fein earned a penalty of from six
months' to two years' imprisonment. Raids by armed bands
of police and soldiers began to become frequent. Gradually
it was becoming apparent that England had given up trying
to rule Ireland with anything less than force.
' ' The inevitable result of this policy — as indeed must
have been anticipated by the British Government — was to
drive the Irish people to meet desperate methods by des-
perate reprisals. The more extreme the British methods
became, the more united our people grew.
" From time immemorial England had always main-
tained in Ireland one of the greatest and most efficient
Secret Services in the world — a Secret Service which had for
its corner-stone a historical and unhappy fact about the
Irish people, the presence in every generation of a small
minority ready to sell their country for English gold. With-
out the aid of these traitors, who were almost entirely corner
boys, ne'er-do-wells and rogues — ragged, penniless and
mentally dwarfed — England's Secret Service in Ireland
would have been a far less potent factor.
" As it was, there were spies in every street bent on ob-
taining information that would damn their brother Irishmen.
76 Michael Collins' Own Story
In those days there were few public-houses in Dublin that
did not shelter after nightfall a British Secret Service opera-
tive in the midst of a group of corner boys, for whom he was
buying quantities of strong liquor. By the payment of a
few shillings in cash and liberally plying them with drink,
the operative never failed to obtain from these miserable
outcasts the information desired.
" In this way the total number of English operatives
represented, probably, one-tenth of the actual total of the
spy organisation. Every street in every city was an open
book to the English agents.
" The efforts of Dublin Castle to make the spy organisa-
tion as complete as possible did not end with these under-
world ragamuffins : Irishmen in high positions were reached.
Instances of this, however, were rare. But, after all, human
nature is human nature, and £1,000 is £1,000 — and £1,000 is
very much more to an Irishman than to an Englishman
or an American. A man in this country who possesses such
a sum is relatively well-to-do."
Collins did not have to stress the point. I knew that
hardly one member of the Provisional Government had ever
been worth £1,000 at any stage of his life. The temptation
that a £1,000 bribe would exert on an average Irishman —
and this is true only because of the difference in his financial
status — is equal to the effect of a bribe ten times as big on
an Englishman or an American.
" The English Secret Service in Ireland," Collins con-
tinued, " with its unlimited supplies of money, had been
unquestionably able to reach men of influence and position
within our organisation. Most of these traitors met their
just deserts down through all the years.
" When the Fenian leader who betrayed his comrades —
the men who committed the Phoenix Park assassinations —
had thought himself for all time safe from Irish vengeance,
he suddenly found that the long arm of the Irish Republican
Brotherhood could reach out to the farthest ends of the
earth and, in the name of Ireland, mete out justice. It was
only when the English ship that had carried him away with
Collins' Plan of Terrorising Terrorists 77
£10,000 of English money, his reward for delivering up his
colleagues, was steaming into a South African port that he
was shot dead by an emissary of the Brotherhood travelling
on the same ship.
" Thus every Irish youth for many generations had known
in a general way of the English spy system, and how it had
been always tremendously strengthened by the help of
renegade Irishmen. But up to the end of 1918 we had done
little to combat it.
" Griffith had won a vast majority of the best elements
in all parts of Ireland to his way of thinking and to the Sinn
Fein policy of moderation — urged by him for thirteen years
with little success until then. But gradually he had led
public opinion to believe that his was the best course for
Ireland to pursue.
" The words ' Sinn Fein ' have been generally misunder-
stood to mean ' ourselves alone ' — a mistake which even
Griffith never took occasion to correct. While that is the
literal translation of the Gaelic, it is not the real meaning of
the phrase. To one conversant with the ancient Irish language,
Sinn Fein means ' self-reliance ' — obviously a very different
thing. Unhappily the Irish people even yet have learned
little of self-reliance. To-day they depend too much on a
few leaders. What else can be expected after 700 years of
subjection ? But the Irish people must acquire self-
reliance and put an end for all time to their present custom
of waiting for a superman to lead them into possession of
full freedom.
" Other nations must understand the state of mind of the
average Irishman which makes this a land where public
opinion is privately expressed. For many hundreds of years
this was the only way opinion could be expressed. It was
still the case in 1918 — with the important difference that
people were beginning at last to awaken to the truth.
' The triumph of the Sinn Fein candidates was proof
positive that the people were prepared to accept the responsi-
bility involved in self-reliance. We so interpreted the over-
whelming support the people gave Griffith's policy — but,
78 Michael Collins' Own Story
unfortunately, we did not fully appreciate their inability
to know how to translate their willingness into practical
terms. We firmly believed that we had at the most only to
point the way in order to range a united people on our side.
This mistake must be borne in mind as the events of the
succeeding years are recorded.
" We leaders committed the Irish people to a definite
course of action. As little by little some of us began to
realise that we had to depend upon ourselves in winning
through to the final success of our new policy, we found it
necessary to adopt more extreme measures than would
have been the case had we had the active, united support
of the whole people. I am making no apology for what we
did in these succeeding years — I hope merely to explain
the necessity which drove us.
" What we accomplished is the Treaty — a hundredfold
greater result than many of us at the end of 1918 would have
dared to prophesy our new policy would win for us.
" That policy was based on a recognition of the two most
urgent problems with which we were faced at that time —
beating the English Secret Service until it was powerless, and
cleaning our own house until the last traitor Irishman had
been identified and fittingly dealt with. It was a job of
Herculean proportions, and until and unless it was done
thoroughly, freedom could never come to Ireland. Within
the inner circle of the Irish Republican Army there was no
unanimity of opinion that the new policy was wise—men
like Brugha and Stack, who cherished the delusion that we
could by the use of force alone drive the English army out
of Ireland, having no faith in Irishmen's ability to outwit
English brains. Perhaps, because I, more than anyone
else, disputed this admission of inferiority, it was upon my
shoulders that the heavy task of solving this twofold problem
was laid."
The following afternoon, in a private dining-room in the
Shelbourne Hotel, where I was his luncheon guest, Collins
told me the inside story of his striking terror into the hearts
of the Black and Tans.
CHAPTER IX
OUTWITTING THE BLACK AND TANS
" THE English Secret Service in Ireland for centuries had
broken every movement ever attempted by Irishmen to
make Ireland an independent nation. The espionage stall
of the British forces of control in Ireland, operating from
their headquarters in Dublin Castle, was a body to which
England had every right to point with pride. It was a costly
organisation to maintain, but it was maintained regardless
of cost — the annual total in pre-war tunes having been
approximately £250,000. This was the expenditure when
there was little or no talk of an Irish revolutionary movement.
Following the outbreak of the world war, even^ before the
Easter Week rising, the cost of administrating the spy
system has been reckoned to have totalled a million pounds
a year.
" From 1916 on, countless millions were spent. Secret
Service money was to be had almost for the raising of an
eyebrow. I always find satisfaction in the thought that
much of this reckless buying of information brought cold
comfort to Dublin Castle — when it was discovered that the
information was nothing more than the figment of a patriotic
Irishman's imagination. But with the coming of the Black
and Tans in 1919, this hitherto safe and profitable form of
romancing was quickly robbed of its appeal — the Black and
Tans evidencing then: dislike of being victimised by the
torture and often the murder of their victimisers.
' The coming of the Black and Tans was England's
immediate and direct answer to our establishing our own
Intelligence Staff, of which I had been appointed chief."
Aware as I was of Collins' disinclination to cite instance!
79
8o Michael Collins' Own Story
of cruelty on the part ^f the English forces, this reference
to torture and murder, with u hich he had btg:m his story
on this occasion, led me to anticipate that he was about to
depart from his former policy of silence in this respect.
But it was not to be. He refrained from citing any specific
instances of Black' and Tan cruelty. He made it sufficiently
plain to me that it was his wish that this phase of the story
be not told, to impel me, now that he is gone, to say only that
I have seen photographic evidence of hideous brutah'ty of
which the Black and Tans were guilty — not to mention
trustworthy eyewitness testimony of outrages committed
by the army whcse prime reason for being was to strike
terror to Ireland.
" Before we could turn our attention to the Flack and
Tans," Collins continued, "we had to create our own
organisation and first use it to cl.;an English spies out of the
Irish Republican Army. This alone was no easy task, but
before it was finished there were left within the Irish Republi-
can Army only men who were whole-heartedly prepared to
give their lives for Ireland.
" Opposition of no mean character met our determined
drive against weather-cock politicians, irresponsibles and
others of similar ilk, whose presence in the Irish Republican
Army, while perhaps not dangerous, was distinctly detri-
mental to its morale. At all stages during the process of
cleaning up our own forces we had constantly to fight the
unreasoning antagonism of Cathal Brugha. Poor Brugha !
As Cosgrave truly said, he was a great fighter — ' but not worth
a damn for anything else ! ' I was never antagonistic to
Brugha — he was fortunately not important enough to make
it necessary for me to notice his hostility. However, to be
just to De Valera, it is a fact that more than once he pre-
vented Brugha's tremendous disapproval of me and my
methods from leading his Minister of Defence to attempt any
deed of rashness.
" Finally this part of the job was finished. Every man
had been tested — tested thoroughly. First I did it myself
and thus satisfied myself regarding the trustworthiness of
Outwitting the Black and Tans 81
my chief aids. Then, gradually, the finding of the true
measure of each new man became automatic and in turn the
cleaning out of the ranks of the Irish Republican Army of
undesirables became easier and faster. Now the time had
come to turn our attention to the most important part of
our job — the smashing of the English Secret Service. My
final goal was not to be reached merely by beating it out of
existence— I wanted to replace it with a better, and an Irish
Secret Service. The way to do this was obvious, and it
fell naturally into two main parts — making it unhealthy for
Irishmen to betray their fellows, and making it deadly for
Englishmen to exploit them. It took several months to
accomplish the first job — actually the most important part
— and hardly more than a month to disrupt the morale of
the English Secret Service, to a point at which its efficiency
ceased to be the proud thing that it always had been.
" To Englishmen who knew the meaning of the appella-
tion, the Political Section of the ' G ' Division of the Secret
Service meant everything that was finest and most admirable
in the whole range of the British Empire's detective organisa-
tions. To gain admission into the ' G ' Division was the
dream of all Secret Service operatives. For the most
part the personnel of this undeniably brave outfit commanded
my admiration. But, as I shall have occasion to point out
more than once before I finish this tale, their bravery fre-
quently outdistanced their judgment. My own experience
leads me to hold that it is wiser for those who have the
selecting of men for positions in which bravery and judg-
ment are equal requirements to choose clever cowards rather
than stupid heroes.
" Within a short time after we had convinced the Irish
traitors that it was best that they sever their connection
with Dublin Castle, our own operatives identified six of the
highest placed and most efficient English spies. It was my
policy to acquaint this sextette with the fact that we knew
them and had them under constant surveillance. In order
to remove any doubt from their minds, I saw to it that they
were furnished with typewritten reports of their own activities
82 Michael Collins' Own Story
during the preceding twenty-four hours — several days in
succession. The terror with which they hoped to reduce
Irishmen to the stage of abject surrender now began to
creep into their own ranks. Gradually, English operatives,
who had been working night and day against us, began to
see the practical wisdom of shifting their allegiance and
joining our forces — to save their own skins ! Thus gradually
we built up a counter spy system, operating within Dublin
Castle itself.
" From this point onward, I had reliable advance infor-
mation of virtually all impending events contemplated by
the British. It was testing the reliability of this advance
information that was largely responsible for the reputation
I began to acquire as a dare-devil. For instance, one day
it was told me that the Black and Tans had discovered the
house at which I was in the habit of lunching every other
Thursday. My information was that the Black and Tans
were planning to watch the house the following Thursday,
and to have a large force ready to raid it one minute after
noon — the hour when I always entered it. I was not too
sure of the reliability of this information, and it was abso-
lutely necessary forme to make sure. Therefore, exactly at
noon on the Thursday I rode my bicycle down the street
and stopped in front of the watched house. I entered it
through the basement, carrying my bicycle with me. Within
one minute the Black and Tans came rushing from all directions
and burst into the house. Thus I discovered that the infor-
mation had been accurate and my informant trustworthy !
" It was not quite so foolhardy as it sounds, because a
perfect means of escape had been previously arranged — a
tunnel having been dug under the backyard into the cellar
of an abutting house, through which I was able to run with
my bicycle. Actually, I was on my way through the heart
of Dublin a few moments later.
" But of course, in order to make this test, I had come
under the scrutiny of, perhaps, two score of Black and Tans.
In this connection let me refute the rumour that I resorted
to disguises. I never did. I carried convincing papers, it
Outwitting the Black and Tans 83
is true, that established my identity as another man — and
more than once was held up and searched by Black and Tans.
But disguise was unnecessary and foolish.
" The occasion which received, perhaps, greater publicity
than any other — when British soldiers surrounded the entire
square in which is situated the Mansion House in Dublin,
into which I had been seen to go — has been distorted in every
way imaginable. A secret meeting of the leaders of the
Irish Republican Army had been arranged and was being
held in an inner room of the Mansion House at 3 o'clock in
the afternoon. The dozen of us present all believed we had
managed to get into the building unobserved. In this we
were mistaken.
" Joe O'Reilly, my closest confidant, walking with two
girl friends in Graf ton Street that afternoon happened to
overhear a British soldier just ahead of him telling a comrade
that there was going to be ' a big show ' at the Mansion House
in an hour or so. Joe waited to hear no more, but left the
girls abruptly and took it on the run for the Mansion House.
He burst in on us like a cyclone and announced the impending
raid. All the others rushed out a back way and made good
their escape, but I had to remain behind to safeguard in-
valuable documents which we had been studying, and which
we could not afford just then to destroy.
" Two minutes later, the soldiers in armoured cars and
afoot came rushing from all directions and quickly formed a
cordon that completely encircled the Mansion House. The
Lord Mayor hurried in and demanded to know what I could
hope to do to avoid capture. It was easy enough — re-
quiring only the sheets from two beds in an upper part of
the Mansion House !
" With these sheets I made a rope which O'Reilty lowered
down through the chimney from the roof of the Round Room
and up which I climbed.
" When the British officers came swaggering in, the Lord
Mayor met them and denounced their intrusion as unwar-
rantable. Meantime, Joe had got busy with a big germicide
sprayer which he, inadvertently, most of the time pointed
84 Michael Collins* Own Story
straight at the immaculate intruders. The Lord Mayor
established Joe's identity as a cleaner, dutifully attending
to the business of fumigating the Mansion House.
" For four hours they searched the Mansion House —
and everything in it except the chimney in the Round Room.
They were hardly to be blamed for overlooking that hiding-
place — it must have seemed a waste of time, inasmuch as
a blazing fire was burning in the fireplace !
" O'Reilly had lit that fire at my order. Before he had
done so I had climbed the sheet rope half-way up the chimney.
At this point I knew that there was a flue from a fireplace on
the second floor. Climbing just above this flue I managed
to get out of my clothes which I used to stuff up the chimney
beneath me. The smoke did not reach me but passed
out through the flue into the room to which O'Reilly had
gone and opened the windows and created a draught.
" Although there was no smoke that amounted to any-
thing my position was hardly comfortable, and as night came
on it was a bit chilly for a man completely nude.
" Meantime, the British officers showed no intention of
leaving the Mansion House until they had found me. But
they were not counting on the resourcefulness of Joe
O'Reilly. His cleaning operations finished, off he went on his
bicycle to supper. He was allowed to pass through the
cordon on the strength of the Lord Mayor's word.
" Within an hour he returned and re-entered the Mansion
House — apparently to resume the fumigation of the Lord
Mayor's residence. Half an hour later, when it was quite
dark, a British officer hurried down the steps of the front
entrance of the Mansion House and made his way quickly
past the British troops stationed three feet apart.
" It was the only occasion on which I ever wore a
British uniform, and the only time I ever resorted to even
partial disguise. Probably no British uniform ever covered
as coal-black a body !
" Where and how O'Reilly procured that uniform, I
never asked. It was enough that he had had the presence
of mind to go and get it, put it on under his own clothes
and get it to me. Realising that he might have disobeyed
Outwitting the Black and Tans 85
one of our cardinal rules — under no circumstances to com-
mit an act of violence except under especial orders — I
deemed it wisest not to question him.
" The cordon was maintained around the Square all
night and only withdrawn when the hunters became finally
convinced that their information had been false.
" Meantime, Irishmen who were anxious to sell informa-
tion to Dublin Castle learned that whenever they did so it
became known to us immediately. Gradually, they began
to realise that the very Black and Tan to whom they sold
the information was one of our own agents within the
Castle. If they had doubts about it, we saw to it that these
were dissipated — our freeing them after their capture and
after proving the truth to them, being quite sufficient to
accomplish our purpose. From then on, they took the
pains to acquaint others who were considering betraying
us that in all probability they would offer their information
to one of our men.
" Another of our more successful methods of dealing
with Irish traitors was the raiding of mails. Most of the
information offered to Dublin Castle was sent by post —
but always with the name and address of the sender stated for
purposes of reward. We had an unofficial censor who
returned all except the Government mails and the would-
be informers' letters. These latter we also returned to the
senders, and generally a wholesome lecture was sufficient to
persuade them that repetition of the offence was inadvisable.
" Almost fifty per cent, of the telegraphists in Ireland
were either active members of the Irish Republican Army
or employed as operatives in our Intelligence Department.
From the telegraphists we got the code which was changed
twice a day by Dublin Castle — immensely simplifying the
work of our censor in his handling of Government messages.
According to admissions made freely by Dublin Castle at
this time, not one telephone message was sent or received
that was not tapped by the Irish Republican Army. This
mrw be an exaggeration — although I am inclined to think
it is not. Our corps of telephone line men would certainly
have resented any doubt as to the accuracy of this statement."
CHAPTER X
UNDER THE TERROR
" THE one great lesson which the Irish people undoubtedly
learned from the results of our fight in the three years from
1919 to 1921, seems to be forgotten to-day. That lesson
was the unbeatable essence of unity. Under the Terror we
were a united people, and we smashed the Black and Tans.
To-day, De Valera is doing his utmost to smash the Treaty —
and if he succeeds in doing that, he will also smash the Irish
nation. Are we so blind we will not see the truth ? Must
we have the enemy on our backs before we will work together
in the common cause of Ireland ? "
Collins thus began the continuation of his narrative of the
gradual approach of Irish victory over the British Secret
Service.
" One of our great concerns during the earlier stages of
our fight against the Black and Tans," Collins continued,
" was to keep the national spirit at the highest possible
pitch. The Irish Republican Army by this time had grown
to be a national body. There was not a village in Southern
Ireland without its contingent of troops. Maintaining a
high morale among these young soldiers helped in a large
measure to ensure good morale among the civilian popula-
tion. Best of all, the well disciplined army served to keep
before the whole country the thought that we were at last
a united people.
" Among the instruments used for this purpose, was
An i'Oglac — a miniature newspaper published every week
during the Terror by the Irish Republican Army. An
t'Oglac — Gaelic for Th* Volunteer — was devoted to the
M
Under the Terror 87
education of the young soldiers in military matters and
to strengthening their moral fibre.
" While a British army of 80,000 and half as many more
Black and Tans and police left no stone unturned in their
determined efforts to crush the publication — the little four-
page sheet was in the hands of each soldier of the Republic
every week as regularly as clockwork. It has been said that
the British exerted their greatest endeavours to effect my
capture, but I am sure no less gratification would have
followed the destruction of our national organ. To my way
of thinking, the fact that not once in three years was a
single consignment of the papers ever found by the British
is one of the most striking proofs of the efficiency of the
Intelligence Staff of the Irish Republican Army.
"An t'Oglac was printed in a building less than a
hundred yards distant from O'Connell Street, Dublin's
main thoroughfare. In this building Pearce Beazley, editor
of the paper, had his offices. The Black and Tans knew, or if
they did not know, at least they had reason to believe, that
Beazley was chiefly responsible for the publication of Aw
t'Oglac. Furthermore, they knew that his headquarters
were in the buildings mentioned. Sometimes his office
was raided twice in a single day — but nothing was ever
found of type or of any of the other usual equipment of a
newspaper office. And without evidence of any kind, even
the Black and Tans found it imprudent to arrest Beazley.
" A remarkable character — Beazley ! His pluck in
covering a rearguard action in the Easter Week rebellion
had earned him the rank of commandant-general. A jour-
nalist by profession and an able writer in both English and
Gaelic, he is to-day one of the most dependable men work-
ing in Ireland's cause. His recent journey to America
resulted in a great deal of good for Ireland. Beazley was one
of the men who escaped from Manchester Gaol when Austin
Stack and two others also got away."
I had heard a great deal about this escape and pressed
Collins for the whole story, but he firmly refused to say more
about it,
88 Michael Collins' Own Story
" There would be no way," he protested, " of keeping it
from sounding too much like self-glorification. It's for
others to tell."
Wherefore I learned the details from another source.
It is a story well worth the telling. Everything considered,
it seems to me it must have been the most remarkable of
all the hair-raising exploits which Collins engineered. Cer-
tainly it justified Mulcahy's recent tribute to Collins' " gay
bravery."
Manchester Gaol is situated in the heart of the great
English cotton town. On all four sides are well-lighted
streets. Police patrol these streets day and night. With
important Irish leaders in the gaol, the guard was unusually
alert.
These were the conditions one Saturday evening — with
Manchester at its busiest — when Collins arrived on the
scene. At a pre-arranged moment the gaol was surrounded
by men anred with revolvers, a whistle was blown, and
in less than sixty seconds Beazley and his comrades were at
liberty. The escape had been planned with all of Collins'
usual skill. From start to finish there was not a single
hitch.
A master key of the cell doors had been smuggled into
the prison in a cake, and word got to Beazley to be prepared
at a certain hour to release his comrades and go to a corner
of the prison yard where — on a moonless night — the shadows
were deepest. Those were the only instructions sent to
Beazley. The other prisoners concerned in the escape were
each notified separately. And so it was the quartette of
Irishmen found themselves at the appointed place inside the
prison wall. And then a rope ladder was suddenly thrown
over to them. Up this they climbed and down another, at
the bottom of which were Collins and his aids. Ten seconds
later, a high power motor-car was speeding them away to
Irish friends in various parts of Manchester.
Their escape was especially exasperating to the British
Government, because they were all much wanted men.
Their descriptions were published broadcast, and for weeks
Under the Terror 89
every port and every ship leaving for Ireland were closely
watched by English detectives.
AND YET ALL OF THEM WERE BACK IN DUBLIN WITHIN
FOUR DAYS OF THEIR ESCAPE !
" Beazley went back to his work of editing An t'Oglac,
and for a long time was unmolested," Collins continued.
" The fact that he was in Ireland was scouted by Dublin
Castle. It was impossible for him to have slipped by the
watchers at every English port ! Therefore — so argued the
logic of British officialdom — he must still be in England. It
was not difficult, under these conditions, for Beazley to help
to keep this delusion alive. He took the precaution of
keeping out of sight whenever his office was raided — infor-
mation of impending raids always reaching him in ample
time for him to get away.
'The reason the Black and Tans could not believe that
the paper was published on these premises was, as I have
said, that they could never find any of the machinery neces-
sary for the production of a newspaper. The truth did not
occur to them. Yet it was simple enough. Every night
of the week a few Dublin printers devoted their time to
hand-setting ' copy.' They came singly, unostentatiously
and set a few ' sticks ' of type which they had brought with
them. Immediately a page was thus set and locked in the
' form ' it was carried away to the basement of a near-by
building. Here, on a little hand-press, between 70,000 and
80,000 copies of An t'Oglac were turned off every week.
" Circulation of the paper began each Tuesday night*
This was obviously the most difficult part of the whole under-
taking. The Black and Tans knew that it was being sent
to every town and village in Ireland, and they were bent
on finding out how it was done. Discovery of the method
would bring a substantial reward. But so secure did Beazley
feel that he even risked meeting certain journalists every
day, to inform them of the progress of the war in all parts
of the country. Some of the newspaper men Beazley thus
entrusted with his personal safety were Englishmen — but
not once was his confidence abused,
90 Michael Collins* Own Story
" Many and ingenious were the methods of distribution.
At one time a consignment destined for a distant part of
Galway would be concealed in a sofa from which the stuffing
had been removed. As often as not several hundred copies
of An t'Oglac would be hidden in a bag of flour. The con-
signees of these camouflaged receptacles all knew their
business. Under them were girls of the Cumman na m'
Bann and boy Scouts of the Irish Republican Army. These
did the actual house-to-house distributing, and thus every
man of the rank and file had a copy of the paper in his
possession by Friday of each week.
" For the success of the distribution of A n t'Oglac a great
deal of credit is due to the railway workers of Ireland —
and not only for this does Ireland owe them much. At all
times they were ready to take any personal risk and incur
personal loss if it helped the Sinn Fein organisation. Fre-
quently they went out on strike and sometimes remained out
for months at a time — rather than handle munitions
intended for the British forces. Time after time drivers
refused to run trains in which were Black and Tans. By close
co-operation with these railwaymen we were frequently
able to organise a successful ambush when the foe, forced
to reach their destination by road, were bound to pass a
known point.
" If this citing of our ability to outwit our enemies seems
to place me in the category of those who imagine that in
tune we could have routed them out of the country, let me
dissipate that idea quickly. I hold no such opinion. Eng-
lish power rests on military might and economic control.
Such military resistance as we were able to offer was un-
important, had England chosen to go at the task of conquer-
ing us in real earnestness. There were good reasons for her
not doing so. About them I shall presently have something
to say.
" At the General Election of 1918 the British Govern-
ment had been repudiated by the Irish people by a majority
of more than seventy per cent. The national Government
was set up in a quiet, orderly and unaggressive fashion.
Under the Terror 91
Dail Eireann came into being. British law was gradually
superseded. A loan of £400,000 was raised. At last the
issue was knit. The struggle was definitely seen to be as
between our determination to govern ourselves and get rid
of English rule, and the British determination to prevent us
from doing either.
" It was all this — this slow building up of an orderly
self-government, this ignoring of English civil power —
which was becoming an intolerable provocation to the
British Government. Whitehall was coming to realise that
ordinary methods would no longer meet the situation.
Violence alone seemed to be the remedy. But England as
yet thought it unwise to make these facts known.
" At first the British had been content to ridicule us.
Then, growing alarmed at the increasing authority of our
new Government, attempts were made to check our activities
by wholesale political arrests. But neither ridicule nor
arrests accomplished their purpose. The final phase of the
struggle was at hand.
" For two years such violence as the British armed forces
had been guilty of in their efforts at suppression, had
resulted in the murder of 15 Irishmen and the wounding
of nearly 400 men, women and children. Let it be remem-
bered that in this same period there was not an instance of
reprisals hi kind by the Irish Republican Army.
" In this period — in the British records — there is not
one authenticated case of violence used against the English
military forces in Ireland.
" The only bloodshed was the work of the British.
The Black and Tans had been sent to Ireland by the British
Government for the express purpose of goading the people
into armed resistance. This would give them the excuse
they wanted. Once we arose in righteous wrath and gave
back blow for blow, they could come down upon us in real
earnest and swiftly beat us into impotency. That was the
cherished hope of those who sent the Black and Tans to
Ireland. But it was not to be realised.
" Finally, in January, 1920, and again in May and June
92 Michael Collins1 Own Story
of that year, the people emphatically renewed their approval
of our fight, in several elections. Our policy now had the
virtually unanimous support of all classes. Britain felt
that the moment had come for a final, desperate campaign of
terrorisation.
" If there are people who doubt this, let them turn to
the files of the Times published in London on November i,
1920, and there read that it was ' now generally admitted '
that a deliberate policy of violence had been ' conceived
and sanctioned by an influential section of the Cabinet.'
Of course this admission did not have the official sanction
of Whitehall. Excuses, evasions and lies were still considered
necessary to conceal the real object of the reign of terror
which was about to begin. In August, 1920, a measure was
passed in the English House of Commons, ' To restore law
and order in Ireland ' — which, in fact, meant the abolishing
of all law in Ireland. It was preparing the ground for un-
bridled licence on the part of the Black and Tans.
" There can be no doubt that England went at this task
with full knowledge of its brutality. This is proved by the
kind of men chosen to do the work. Again, see what the
Times had to say in this connection. In one of its leading
editorials it is stated :
' It is common knowledge that the Black and Tans
are recruited from ex-soldiers for a rough and
dangerous task.'
" And just what was this ' rough and dangerous task ? '
To begin with, there was the planned murder of certain lead-
ing Irishmen and officers of the Irish Republican Army. The
names of these men were entered on a list ' for definite
clearance.' Next, all who worked for us or supported the
national movement were to be imprisoned. Finally, the
general population was to be terrorised to whatever extent
and by whatever means might be necessary to ensure their
being kept in submission.
" To do these things England concluded that it was
Under the Terror 93
wisest to pretend to have justifying causes. So we find
Lloyd George in a speech at Carnarvon in October, 1920,
talking about the Irish Republican Army as ' a real murder
gang.' It had become ' necessary to put down a murderous
conspiracy ' — to ' get murder by the throat.'
' The ' murders ' that we committed were legitimate acts
of self-defence forced upon us by English oppression. After
two years of forbearance we had begun to defend ourselves
and the life of our nation. Let it be remembered that we
did not initiate the war, nor were we allowed to choose the
lines along which the war developed. Let the facts speak
for themselves. England made it a criminal — in large areas
a capital — offence to carry arms. At the same time she
inaugurated a brutal and murderous campaign against us.
By so doing England forfeited any right to complain against
the Irish people whatever means they took for their pro-
tection.
" Our only way to carry on the fight was by organised
and bold guerilla warfare. But this in itself was not enough.
However successful our ambushes — however many ' murders'
we committed — England could always reinforce her army.
She could always replace every soldier she lost. And that
was the real reason for the coming into being of our Intelli-
gence Staff.
' To paralyse the British machine it was necessary to
strike at individuals outside the ranks of the military.
Without her Secret Service working at the top of its effi-
ciency, England was helpless. It was only by means of the
accumulated and accumulating knowledge of these spies that
the British machine could operate. Robbed of the network
of this organisation throughout the country, it would be
impossible to find ' wanted ' men. Without their criminal
agents in the capital it would be hopeless to effect the removal
of those leaders marked down for murder. It was these men
we had to put out of the way.
" SPIES ARE NOT SO READY TO STEP INTO THE SHOES OF
THEIR DEPARTED CONFEDERATES AS ARE SOLDIERS TO FILL
UP THE FRONT LINE IN HONOURABLE BATTLE. AND EVEN
94 Michael Collins' Own Story
WHEN THE NEW SPY STEPPED INTO THE SHOES OF THE OLD
ONE HE COULD NOT STEP INTO THE OLD ONE'S KNOWLEDGE !
" I know that the English spies who came to their deaths
at our hands deserved their deaths. I know also that a
world Press reported those murders to be the limit of cold-
blooded villainy. But it is not true. We had to shake the
morale of the organisation which meant to crush out the
life of the Irish nation. We went at the grim business,
difficult as it was, not because we relished it, but because
the enemy left us no other course. And so far as it was
possible we observed the rules of war. Only the armed
forces,the spies and the criminal agents of the British Govern-
ment were attacked. Prisoners of war we treated honour-
ably and considerately and released them unharmed after
they had been disarmed.
" Murders committed by the English forces were justi-
fied on the grounds that the perpetrators were but ' enforcing
the law ' — ' restoring law and order in Ireland.' Murders
committed by us were — murder !
" In the end the British Government awoke to realisa-
tion of the fact that its policy of violence was as futile as
it was conscienceless. Eventually the day arrived when the
British Prime Minister invited the Irish leaders — the
' murderers ' and ' heads of the murder gang ' — to discuss
with him the terms of peace.
" The fruits of that peace seemed to be within our reach
in the Treaty. Is it possible that the dawn of peace is
yet a long way off in the future ? Are the Irish people to
struggle through long years of new misery because a minor-
ity of destructive, unnatual, bitter extremists insist on
proving that we are unfit and unable to govern ourselves ?
" I cannot bring myself to believe that."
CHAPTER XI
THE MURDER OF FRANCIS SHEEHY SKEFFINGTON
COLLINS' disinclination to dwell on instances of cruelty prac-
tised by the British armed forces in Ireland led to my making
independent enquiries. Quickly I learned in a general way
of the murder of Francis Sheehy Skemngton at Portobello
Barracks, April 19, 1916, by a firing squad of seven men under
the command of Captain J. C. Bowen-Colthurst, Royal Irish
Rifles. It seemed to be the one instance that came to every
Irishman's mind when I asked for authentic cases of
brutality.
The murder and a British court -martial's finding Colt-
hurst " guilty, but insane," were extensively commented
upon by the world Press, but the real story has never been
published. I obtained the story from Skeffington's widow
— a unique figure in Ireland to-day in that she is the only
woman whose husband went to a martyr's grave who does
not wear mourning, and who never tried to be elected to
Dail Eireann. It seems to me to merit inclusion in these
pages — if only because it is indirectly another testimonial
to Collins' genius for helping others to outwit the British
Secret Service.
Behind Mrs. Skeffington's reticence regarding her
escape from Ireland and her trip to America by means of a
counterfeit passport there is the plain stamp of Collins'
handiwork. It was Collins who smuggled Mrs. Skeffington
out of the country — and back again — just as it was Collins
who enabled De Valera and Boland and the others to evade
the British watchers and cross and recross the Atlantic
without genuine passports.
95
g6 Michael Collins' Own Story
In great part the facts as told me by Mrs. Skeffington are
verified by the official records of the Royal Commission of
Enquiry set up by the command of the King in August,
1916, at the Four Courts in Dublin.
" My husband," Mrs. Skeffington began, " was an anti-
militarist, a fighting pacifist, a man gentle and kindly even
to his bitterest opponents, who always ranged himself on
the side of the weak against the strong whether the struggle
was one of class, sex or race domination. Together with his
strong fighting spirit he had a marvellous, an inextinguish-
able good humour, a keen joy of life, a great faith in humanity
and a hope in the progress towards good.
" Several months prior to the Easter week rising my hus-
band was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for making
a speech ' calculated to prejudice recruiting.' He went on
hunger strike, and was out after six days with a licence under
the Cat and Mouse Act. Shortly after his release he went to
the United States where, in February, 1916, Century Magazine
published his article entitled ' A Forgotten Small
Nationality.'
" Although as a socialist and a pacifist he was opposed
to all militarism — even Irish — his great sympathy for and
belief in the general movement for Irish freedom led him to
return to Ireland where he believed he was most needed.
He felt the British authorities realised perfectly — as of
course they did — that he was resolutely opposed to the use
of force, and therefore, in their eyes, a relatively unimportant
figure. His record as a publicist for many years — as special
correspondent of labour papers such as the London Herald,
New York Call, Manchester Guardian, and as author of the
" Life of Michael Davitt," and as editor and founder of
the Irish Citizen, a pacifist and feminist Dublin Weekly —
established him as a man to whom the thought of militarism
was abhorrent.
" Equally well-known was his opposition to Arthur
Griffith, whose ideals were anti-socialist. Altogether then,
although he was openly associated with James Connolly in
the revolutionary Irish labour movement and was one of
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 97
the founders of the Irish socialist party, he was not an un-
desirable in British eyes in the sense that rebel suspects
were.
" Of course, neither he nor I would have been surprised
had he been deported to England on his return from America.
But murder without trial we did not foresee.
" My brother, Eugene Sheehy, an attorney, volunteered
as a follower of Redmond for service in the British army
during the war. He became a lieutenant in the Dublin
Fusiliers, and later won a captaincy. My sister's husband,
Professor Tom Kettle, also was a lieutenant in the same
regiment and was killed in action in France in September,
1916. My father — then a member of Parliament for South
Meath — supported England in the alleged ' fight for small
nations.' Thus my husband and I were in a small minority
in our family.
" Finally, my husband was sympathetic to the idea of
an Irish Republic in so far as it made for a worker's common-
wealth, but he was distinctly opposed to the use of military
methods to achieve that end. I emphasise this point,
because it bears directly on the fact that his murder was so
completely without justification as to compel English
military chieftains to admit as much officially.
" And they knew his attitude. In March, a month
before his murder, my husband published an open letter
to Thomas MacDonagh — one of the signers of the Irish
Republic Proclamation — and made his position clear.
In the course of this letter he stated :
" ' As you know I am personally in full sympathy
with the fundamental objects of the Irish Volunteers.
When you shook off the Redmondite incubus last
September I was on the point of joining you. ... I
am glad now that I did not. For, as your infant
movement grows towards the stature of a full-grown
militarism its essence — preparation to kill — grows
more repellent to me.
' High ideals undoubtedly animate you. But has
G
98 Michael Collins' Own Story
not nearly every militarist system started with the
same high ideals ? You are not out to exploit or
to oppress ; you are out merely to prevent exploita-
tion and to defend. You justify no war except a
war to end oppression, to establish the right. What
militarism ever avowed other aims — in its begin-
nings ?
" ' I advocate no mere servile lazy acquiescence in
injustice ... but I want to see the age-long fight
against injustice clothe itself in new forms, suited
to a new age. I want to see the manhood of Ireland
no longer hypnotised by the glamour of ' the glory of
arms,' no longer blind to the horrors of organised
murder. . . . We are on the threshold of a new era
in human history. After this war nothing can be as
it was before. The foundations of all things must
be re-examined. . . . Formerly we could only imagine
the chaos to which we were being led by the military
spirit. Now we realise it. And we must never
fall into that abyss again.'
" Surely there was nothing hi this openly distributed
document to earn British censure. On the other hand there
was his arrest to prove that he was none the less offensive
to the British authorities. His article in the Century
was not calculated to improve his standing. In that
article he had referred to the sentence of a fortnight meted
out to a Dublin boy for kicking a recruiting poster ! As a
matter of fact, subsequent events proved that his description
was circulated to the military immediately after the Easter
Monday rising.
" So much for my husband, and his record.
" Captain Bowen-Colthurst had had sixteen years' ser-
vice in the British army. His family had settled in Ireland in
Cromwell's time and been given grants of land confiscated
from the Irish. At the court-martial held in Richmond
Barracks, Dublin, June 6, 1916, fellow officers of Colthurst's
testified to his cruelty to natives in India and to his having
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 99
tortured dumb animals while on service there. After the
battle of Mons, according to the'testimony of Major-General
Bird, Colthurst's ' eccentricity ' (which had expressed itself
in his recklessly sacrificing his men and practicing cruelty
on German prisoners) resulted in his being sent home from
the front.
" When the Easter Week rising took place Colthurst was
stationed with the 3rd Royal Irish Rifles hi Portobello
Barracks. The battalion's commanding officer, Colonel
McCammond, was absent on sick-leave. Captain Colthurst,
although not the equal in rank of Major Rosborough,
was the senior office in point of service and, according to all
the evidence, considered himself at liberty to ignore his
brother-officers.
" If this statement seems incredible to persons who have
implicit faith in the unvarying discipline enforced in all
units of the British army, let it be remembered that what I
have just said was stated by a British officer at Colthurst's
court martial. More, it is easy to prove that there was
open animosity between all the Irish regiments, as regards
those recruited in the north-east and in the south of Ireland.
Although they all wore the British uniform and served
the same king, they were bitterly hostile to one another.
Between the Royal Irish Rifles, for instance, and the Dublin
Fusiliers there was constant friction. The former was an
Orange regiment from Belfast.
' Through my family's connections with the British
military forces I had become acquainted with Captain T.
Wilson, then a despatch rider in the Dublin Fusiliers. I
appealed to him — after rumours had reached me that my
husband was being held prisoner in Portobello Barracks
—to go there and make enquiries. He refused point blank,
asking me if I wanted him to go to his death. When he
realised I didn't understand the situation, he explained.
He dared not go near the Royal Irish Rifles. He was a
Catholic ! *
" So much for Colthurst and the conditions affecting army
discipline in Dublin at the time of the Easter Week rising.
ioo Michael Collins' Own Story
" When the outbreak began on Easter Monday my hus-
band was near Dublin Castle. He learned that a British
officer had been gravely wounded and was bleeding to death
on the cobblestones outside the Castle gate. My husband
persuaded a bystander to go with him to the rescue. Together
they ran across the square under a hail of fire. Before they
reached the spot, however, some British troops rushed out
and dragged the wounded man to cover inside the gate.
" Throughout that day and the next my husband actively
interested himself in preventing looting. He was instru-
mental in saving several shops ; he posted civic guards, and
enlisted the help of many civilians and priests. He pleaded
with the crowds and persuaded them to return to their
homes. But by Tuesday evening the crowds were getting
out of hand. Everyone feared the worst. My husband
called a meeting for that evening to organise a civic police.
We met at 5.30 and had tea. I went home by a roundabout
route, for I was anxious about my seven-year-old boy. I
never saw my husband again.
" It was between 7 and 8 o'clock that evening that my
husband passed Portobello Bridge on his way home. At
this point Lieutenant M. C. Morris, nth East Surrey regi-
ment, was in charge of a picket. Recognising my husband
from the circulated description of him he ordered his arrest.
He was unarmed, carrying a walking-stick, and was walking
quite alone in the middle of the road. At Portobello Bar-
racks, wither two soldiers escorted him, he was searched and
questioned. No papers of an incriminating character were
found on him.
" Lieutenant S. V. Morgan, 3rd Royal Irish Rifles, the
adjutant at Portobello Barracks, reported the arrest to
headquarters, saying there was no charge against my hus-
band, and asking whether he should release him. Orders
were given to detain him. But the charge sheet — produced
at Colthurst's court martial — showed the entry against my
husband's name was ' no charge.'
" Told he was to be detained overnight, he asked that I
be informed, but the request was refused. No message was
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 101
ever allowed to reach me ; no notification of his death — no
announcement of his first or second burial was ever issued.
" At about midnight Captain Bowen-Colthurst came to
Lieutenant W. P. Dobbin, 3rd Royal Irish Fusiliers, captain
of the guard, and demanded that my husband be turned
over to him. This, of course, Dobbin had no right to do,
but he did it. Colthurst had my husband's hands tied
behind his back, and then led him out with a raiding party
along the Rathmines road, the raiders firing at houses as
they went along.
" Opposite Rathmines Catholic Church the column came
upon two boys who had been attending the service that
evening and were returning to their homes. Colthurst
stopped and asked them if they did not know that martial
law had been proclaimed, and that they could be ' shot like
dogs.' The elder of the boys, J. J. Coade, a lad of 17,
made no reply but started to walk away. ' Bash him/
Colthurst ordered, and a soldier broke the boy's jaw with the
butt end of his rifle, knocking him down. Colthurst whipped
out his revolver and shot him dead. The body was later
carried to the barracks.
" My husband protested against this wanton murder
and was told by Colthurst to say his prayers as he probably
would be the next.
" Evidence as to what happened next is conflicting,
although it is abundantly plain that Colthurst committed
another murder a few minutes later. The official enquiry
report on this subject had this to say :
" ' The evidence of the different witnesses can only
be reconciled by inferring that more than one case
of shooting occurred during the progress of Capt.
Colthurst's party. . . . None of the evidence offered
to us afforded any justification for the shooting of
Coade ; it is, of course, a delusion to suppose that
martial law confers upon an officer the right to take
human life, and this delusion had in the present case
tragic consequences.'
102 Michael Collins* Own Story
" All evidence of these atrocities was omitted at Colt-
hurst's court martial. It was only against the strongest
protest from the military that Sir John Simon insisted that
testimony in this matter be presented to the commission
holding the enquiry. But nothing was ever done about
two other murders which responsible eye-witnesses declared
Colthurst committed later in that week. The commission
ruled that they were ' not within their scope.'
" At Portobello Bridge, Colthurst posted part of his men
under Lieutenant Leslie Wilson to whom he turned over my
husband with instructions to shoot him ' forthwith ' if
there was any sniping at him and his raiders. Then Colt-
hurst led his party on over the bridge and to Alderman
James Kelly's tobacco shop. Before entering it they flung
live bombs into the place. Then they sacked the premises
and took prisoners the shopman and two editors — Thomas
Dickson and Patrick Maclntyre. Together with my hus-
band they were all marched back to the barracks.
" As it happened Dickson, a cripple, had published a
loyalist newspaper, the Eye Opener, and Maclntyre's paper,
the Searchlight, was also a loyalist publication. Alderman
Kelly had helped to recruit for the British army. But Colt-
hurst had mistaken the latter for Alderman Tom Kelly,
a Sinn Feiner, and their combined protests were unavailing.
" Shortly before 10 o'clock the next morning Colthurst
again demanded my husband from the guard, together with
the two other editors. Besides Wilson and Dobbin, Lieu-
tenant Tooley was in charge of the guard of 18 men. To them
he stated he was ' going to shoot Skeffington and the
other two.' According to their own testimony these subor-
dinate officers delivered the three prisoners to Colthurst
without protest. They also told off seven men with rifles
to accompany Colthurst to the barracks' yard.
" This yard was about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. As
the three prisoners walked away from the firing squad, and
when they had reached the end of the yard, Colthurst gave
the order to fire, and all three dropped in their tracks, dead.
" The British authorities prevented my ever seeing my
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 103
husband's body, and when I attempted to have an inquest
held, refused permission.
" Colthurst presently made a report of the triple murder
after Major Rosborough ordered him to do so, and it was
duly sent to headquarters at Dublin Castle. The report
was altogether a fabrication and, subsequently, he was
ordered to make a second report. Meantime, however,
he kept his command without even a reprimand.
" Later in the day of the murder of the three editors,
Colthurst was in charge of troops in Camden Street when
Councillor Richard O'Carroll — one of the labour leaders
in the Dublin City Council — surrendered. Marched to the
barracks' yard, his hands above his head, O'Carroll walked to
his death. Colthurst shot him in the chest. To a soldier who
expressed doubt as to the effect of Colthurst's bullet, the
latter replied, ' Never mind, he'll die later.' Then he
ordered the unconscious man to be dragged out into the
street and left there. The driver of a bread van picked him
up, but the military interfered, and took him back to Porto-
bello Barracks. Ten days later he died — in his wife's arms.
They had sent for her at the last, and she arrived in time to
hear him whisper a dying statement in her ear — a statement
she later repeated to me.
" Three weeks later Mrs. O'Carroll gave birth to a son.
" On the same day Colthurst arrested a boy whom he
suspected of having Sinn Fein information. When the boy
denied it, Colthurst ordered him to kneel in the street and,
as the boy raised his hand to cross himself, shot him in the
back.
" In both these cases the British authorities refused to
order an enquiry.
" Meanwhile, I was vainly seeking my husband. All
sorts of rumours reached me : that he had been wounded
and was in a hospital ; that he had been shot by a looter ;
arrested by the police. I also heard that he had been exe-
cuted, but this I refused to believe — it seemed incredible.
I clung to the belief that even if he had been condemned to
die, he would be tried before a jury, for martial law did not
104 Michael Collins' Own Story
apply to non-combatants, and that I would be notified. Of
course, the reason of the silence is now clear. It was hoped
my husband's case would be like that of so many others
who ' disappeared ' and whose whereabouts could never be
traced. Thirteen days after the murder of my husband and
the other two editors, Mr. Tennant stated in the House of
Commons in answer to a question that ' no prisoner has been
shot in Dublin without a trial.'
" All day Wednesday and Thursday I enquired in vain,
and Friday came without my having any positive informa-
tion of my husband's fate. On Friday I tried to see a physi-
cian connected with the Portobello Barracks, but the police
stopped me. I discovered I was under police supervision —
as I continually was for several years afterwards. Meantime,
houses were being raided and pillaged. Mme. Markievicz's
home was broken into on Wednesday and all her pictures
and other valuables stolen. Whole streets were ransacked
and the inhabitants terrified ; the soldiers ruining everything
within reach of their bayonets.
" Soldiers were everywhere selling their loot openly in
the streets. Officers were shamelessly displaying ' souvenirs. '
" To allay my terrible anxiety my two sisters, Mrs.
Kettle and Mrs. Culhane, agreed to try to get into Porto-
bello Barracks. On their arrival they were immediately
put under arrest and a drumhead court martial held upon
them. Colthurst presided. Their crime was that they had
been seen talking to Sinn Feiners. Colthurst refused to give
them any information, declaring he knew nothing whatever of
Sheehy Skeffington. Finally, they were marched off under
armed guard and admonished not to mention what had
taken place.
" That afternoon I managed to find the father of the
murdered boy Coade. He told me he had seen my husband's
body in the barracks' mortuary when he had gone for his
son's body. This a priest later confirmed, but he could
give me no other information.
" I went home shortly after 6 o'clock, and was putting
my little boy to bed when the maid noticed soldiers lining
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 105
up around the house. She became terrified and dashed out
the back door, carrying my son with her. I ran after them,
for I knew the house would be surrounded and feared they
might be shot down if seen running. As I ran down the
hall a volley was fired through the front door and windows.
The shots were fired without warning, and without any
demand having been made on us to open the door.
" They broke in the windows with their rifle butts and
swarmed all over the house, some going to the roof. Colt-
hurst was in command. He rushed upon us and ordered us
to throw up our hands. Behind him was a squad of men
with fixed bayonets. The raiders numbered about 40 and
included Colonel H. T. N. Allat, Royal Irish Rifles, who was
later killed in the vicinity of the South Dublin Union. On this
occasion, however, he exercised no command.
" Colthurst ordered us to be removed to the front room —
to be shot if we stirred. For three hours they searched the
house while we stood motionless, closely guarded by men
with drawn bayonets, with others outside the house with
levelled rifles pointed at us. The house was sacked, every-
thing of value being removed — books, pictures, toys, linen
and household goods. I could hear officers and men jeering
as they turned over my private possessions. One of the
soldiers (a Belfast man) seemed ashamed, and said, ' I didn't
enlist for this. They are taking the whole bloomin' house
with them.'
" All my private letters, including many from my hus-
band before our marriage, his articles, a manuscript play —
the labour of a lifetime — were taken. Colthurst had brought
my husband's keys, stolen from his body, and with them
opened his study which he always kept locked.
' Throughout the raid, Colthurst's demeanour was that
of a sane man. He addressed several questions to me, and
was coldly insolent in manner But he was quite self-
possessed. His men took his orders without question. My
sisters are certain he was sane when he questioned them at
the drumhead court martial. He was not the same man,
unquestionably, a friend would have found him on the golf
io6 Michael Collins* Own Story
links, for instance. But British officers are all like that.
It is only on occasions like this that one sees them as they
really are. Of insanity, there was no suggestion. Colthurst
was simply the Englishman with the veneer removed.
" It was during this raid that he came across some
papers which later he falsely endorsed as having been ' found
on Skeffington's person.' This was proved at the enquiry.
" A second raid was made May I, during my absence,
and this time a little temporary maid was taken under guard
to the barracks. She was held there a week, the charge
against her being that she was found in my house. On this
same day, Major Sir Francis Vane, the second in command
at Portobello, was relieved of his command by Lieut. -Col.
McCammond for his persistent efforts to have Colthurst
put under arrest. He was told to give up his post and hand
it over to Colthurst. Thus the latter was promoted six days
after the murders. Later he was sent in charge of a detach-
ment of troops to Newry, and not until May n was he put
under ' close arrest.' Are these facts consistent with the
theory of lunacy ?
" Sir Francis Vane made a genuine effort to see justice
done. Finding his superior officers at Portobello would do
nothing, he went to Dublin Castle and saw Colonel Kinnard
and General Friend as well as Major Price, head of the In-
telligence department. They all deprecated the ' fuss ' —
and refused to act.
" By order of Colonel McCammond, bricklayers were
brought to the barracks, Sunday, May 7. They removed the
blood-stained bricks in the wall and replaced them with
new bricks.
" Sir Francis Vane crossed to London early in May, inter-
viewed Lord Kitchener, before whom he laid the facts, and
I have reason to believe it was Kitchener who ordered Colt-
hurst's arrest. But the order was disregarded by General
Maxwell, then in command in Dublin. The net result of
Sir Francis Vane's efforts was that he was dismissed from
the service — by secret report of General Maxwell — deprived
of his rank of major and refused a hearing at the court
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 107
martial. Yet previously he had been mentioned in des-
patches by Brigadier-General McConochine for bravery.
" Without my knowledge my husband's body was ex-
humed and reburied in Glasnevin, May 8. Originally it had
been put in a sack and buried in the barracks' yard. The
remains were given to his father on condition that the funeral
would be at early morn and that I be not notified. My
husband's father consented unwillingly to do this on the
assurance of General Maxwell that obedience would result
in the trial and punishment of the murderer.
" On that day I managed to get to John Dillon and told
him my story. Three days later he read my statement in
the House of Commons in the course of his wonderful speech
describing the horror he had seen in Dublin. It was that
speech that compelled Mr. Asquith to cross at once to
Ireland. Regarding my statement, Mr. Asquith said :
" ' I confess I do not and cannot believe it. Does any-
one suppose that Sir John Maxwell has any object in shield-
ing officers and soldiers, if there be such, who have been
guilty of such ungentlemanlike, such inhuman, conduct ?
It is the last thing the British army would dream of.'
" He went to Ireland, and found every word of my state-
ment true, as verified at the enquiry. He found other
horrors — the North Kings Street atrocity, for instance —
surpassing mine. Yet the military shielded the murderers
and hushed all enquiries. The Royal Commission that
was appointed to enquire into the causes of the rebellion early
in May did its work thoroughly, but no enquiry was permitted
as to the atrocities committed by British troops in Dublin.
' The enquiry connected with Colthurst's murder of my
husband and the other editors was limited in scope to the
consideration of only these three murders — collateral evi-
dence of other murders of which he had been admittedly
guilty being ruled out. Witnesses were not sworn. Colt-
hurst himself — at that time committed to Broadmoor In-
sane Asylum — was not present.
" Colthurst had been found insane by the earlier
court martial, a wooden tribunal presided over by Lord
io8 Michael Collins' Own Story
Cheylesmore and twelve senior officers All the witnesses
were military. I was not allowed to present evidence. My
counsel, Mr. Healy, declared that, ' Never since the trial
of Christ was there a greater travesty of justice.'
" During the court martial Colthurst was under no
restraint. He stayed at the Kilworth hotel in Dawson
Street with his family, and for several weeks after he had been
found ' insane ' he continued at liberty. When Dublin
feeling began to run high, he was finally taken to Broadmoor
Asylum to be ' detained during the King's pleasure ' — but
he still held his rank as captain and drew half-pay for several
months. Eventually he was ' retired,' but was not dismissed
from the service !
"In an attempt to force the British Government to
administer justice, I went to London in July to interview
editors and members of Parliament. My efforts resulted in
my being sent for by Mr. Asquith, July 19. I brought with
me as a witness to the interview, Miss Muriel Matters, a
well-known suffragist. Mr. Asquith received us at 10,
Downing Street and began by explaining the difficulties in
the way of holding an adequate enquiry. The House, he
said, would refuse a sworn enquiry, and that alone could be
satisfactory. He wanted to know if I would be satisfied
with an inadequate enquiry which was ' the best ' he could
offer. I told him I should not be satisfied with any enquiry
that he told me in advance would be inadequate. I told him
also that if I were not satisfied I should take further action.
" I had even then in view a visit to America to tell an
honest country what British militarism could do.
" Then Mr. Asquith carefully broached the subject of
' compensation ' in lieu of an enquiry. Previously proposals
had been made to me, from various unofficial sources, to
accept compensation, most of the arguments being based
on my boy's future. Mr. Asquith put the proposition ever
so delicately, but it was obviously his only object in sending
for me. He was mellow and hale, with a rosy, chubby face
and silver hair, suggesting a Father Christmas. But he never
looked me straight in the face once during the interview !
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 109
I listened to his persuasive talk about compensation, and
finally told him the only compensation I would consider
was a full, public enquiry into my husband's murder. He
finally said he would give his answer to Mr. Dillon, and
so our interview ended.
" Out of this interview came the setting up of the Com-
mission of Enquiry with Sir John Simon at its head. But
Asquith narrowly restricted the scope of the enquiry as I
have pointed out. My counsel was not allowed to examine
or cross-examine any witness. All witnesses who might
have testified damagingly to the military were either
dead or scattered to points where they could not be reached.
And yet the report of the commission established many
important facts : the promotion of Colthurst, the dismissal
of Sir Francis Vane, and the raids on my house for incrimina-
tory evidence after the murder. Doubt was cast on the
insanity of Colthurst, and grave censure passed on the
military.
" Finally, let no one imagine that my husband's case was
isolated, the one mad act of an irresponsible officer. It
was part of an organised programme. There is evidence,
sworn and duly attested, in Irish hands to-day of almost fifty
other murders of unarmed civilians and disarmed prisoners
—some of them boys and some women — committed by
British soldiers during Easter Week. The North Staffords
murdered 14 men in North King Street, and buried them in
the cellars of their houses. In the British official reports
two such murders are admitted. They are ' justified ' in a
statement made by General Sir John Maxwell at the time
as follows :
" ' Possibly unfortunate incidents, which we
should regret now, may have occurred. It did not,
perhaps, always follow that where shots were fired
from a particular house the inmates were always
necessarily guilty, but how were the soldiers to dis-
criminate ? They saw their comrades killed beside
them by hidden and treacherous assailants, and
no Michael Collins' Own Story
it is even possible that under the horrors of this
peculiar attack some of them saw red. That is the
inevitable consequence of a rebellion of this kind.
It was allowed to come into being among these
people and could not be suppressed by velvet-glove
methods.' '
Mrs. Skefnngton left Ireland for America in December,
1916. She went with the fixed purpose of exposing British
atrocities to the people of a then neutral country. She
hoped to damage British prestige in the United States, and
especially to do her best to prevent America from entering
the war. As she herself has stated, she was under police
and military surveillance at this time, a fact that stamps
her eluding them a feat equal to some of Collins' best. This
is her own story of her outwitting the British authorities.
" I managed to obtain a passport by assuming another
woman's personality," she began. " With the help of her
Scottish family I learned to dress and make up like her in
every way. I cannot give further details on this point as
others are involved and our fight for independence is
not yet over.
" My first goal was a Scotch port from which it had been
arranged I was to take ship for an American port. The boat
I took for the Irish Sea crossing did not, as was usual, stop
at Liverpool for mails. Ordinarily all passengers were
questioned and searched at that port, but I was unfor-
tunately spared that ordeal as a result of a submarine scare
which caused us to make a wide detour away from the
English coast.
" Before starting on the journey — perhaps the more
risky because I insisted on taking my boy with me — I had
carefully arranged an alibi to account for my absence from
Dublin. I let it be generally known that I had fallen ill
and had gone to the home of a friend in the country to be
nursed. Letters I had prepared were posted by this friend
every day while I was on the high seas and in America.
" Providence again came to my aid — although it did
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington in
not seem so at the time — when my seven-year-old son
developed diphtheria on the eve of our departure from the
Scotch port. It was necessary to put him in a hospital at
once, and there he was isolated for ten weeks under the
assumed name which I had adopted. Finally, when he was
released, to my astonishment he was not only very changed
in appearance, but had acquired a strong Scotch accent !
" To further my chances of eventual success, and realis-
ing that I could be of no use to my boy while he was in
the hospital, I returned to Dublin. I had recovered from my
' illness,' and resumed my former occupation as a teacher.
Thus I put the sleuths off the scent. My second trip across
the Irish Sea — in possession of the false passport — was a
relatively easy matter. At Liverpool the authorities sub-
jected Greeks, Americans and Irish aboard the boat to a
rigorous examination, but my Scotch passport and passable
' burr ' let me escape with a question or two.
" The most difficult part of my task was travelling in
Ireland itself. There was, of course, no chance of my leav-
ing from the port of Dublin. I had to go north by a round-
about route, during the course of which I adopted a series of
disguises. At one stage of the journey I was an elderly
invalid; at another I was a touring actress. These were
necessary transitions from my own identity to that of the
Scotch woman named in my passport.
" Of course the passport was bogus, but, like my make
up, it was good enough to deceive the authorities who
examined it. The turning out of those bogus passports is
a story by itself which, one day, perhaps, can be safely told.
But as yet no one in Ireland knows how soon bogus passports
may again become vitally necessary !
" My little boy was obviously an invalid, and as such an
object of compassion — a fact that served to distract atten-
tion from me. Also I encouraged him to chatter in the
hearing of the British authorities, and his suddenly acquired
Scottish burr was better for my purposes than a dozen
passports !
" I remained in the United States for eighteen months,
ii2 Michael Collins* Own Story
lecturing on ' British Militarism as I have known it.'
In this period I addressed audiences in every large city from
New York to San Francisco, and from the State of Washing-
ton to Texas. I spoke at women's clubs, at universities,
including Harvard, Chicago and Columbia, at peace and
labour conferences, and, of course, Irish assemblies. I was
arrested in San Francisco for speaking against conscription
for Ireland after America had entered the war. But I
was not detained nor even charged.
" For several weeks I lobbied Congress and the Senate,
and obtained an interview with President Wilson. I
found him sympathetic but guarded.
" The British in America were not idle at this time. They
tried many times to put an end to my activities. Once their
agents attempted to get me into Canada by inducing me to
board the wrong train out of Buffalo. They approached me
as an Irish reception committee. A stranger put me right
just as the train was about to pull out of the station. Had I
remained aboard, I should have been deported to England
the moment I was in Canada.
" The American people were very kind to me. Individu-
ally and collectively they are extremely warm-hearted,
hospitable and sympathetic. I made many enduring friend-
ships with Americans that have stood the test of time. I
found American women especially helpful — women like
Jane Adams and Mary McDougall of Chicago, Alice Park of
Palo Alto, and Katherine Lecky and Dr. Gertrude Kelly
of New York. If for any reason I had to live outside Ire-
land, I should choose the United States as a second home.,
" Having readopted my own personality as soon I
landed in America, the task of returning to Ireland was no
easy matter. At last, after much difficulty and delay, I
obtained a passport from the British under restrictive con-
ditions. It permitted me to go to Liverpool only ; I should
not be allowed to go to Ireland, but must remain in England.
I told them I was willing to chance their being able to keep
me in England, and so took passage to Liverpool, where I
arrived in July, 1918. There I was closely examined by the
Murder of Francis Sheehy Skeffington 113
military who threatened me with dire penalties if I failed
to report regularly to the police or tried to leave Liverpool.
These threats I naturally ignored.
" First, one of my sisters obtained permission to come to
Liverpool and take my little boy back to Dublin. Then I
disappeared for a fortnight — with the help of friends, a fast
car, and some disguises. Eventually I landed in Ireland —
at the end of July — as a stowaway in a tramp steamship.
For two nights and a day I hid in the pitch dark, grimy hold
without food or water. We landed south of Dublin and,
after some delay, I was smuggled ashore, clad in ship's
dungarees, in the small hours of the morning.
" The British still believe I managed to elude them by
disguising myself as a nun, and nuns were searched
regularly for weeks before it was discovered I was back in
Ireland.
" Almost as soon as I resumed my ordinary life — having
in the interim transacted some special business which I
cannot divulge at this time — I was arrested and deported to
Holloway jail in London for the duration of the ' disorder '
in Ireland. I hunger struck, was released, and finally per-
mitted to return to my home.
" By this time Colthurst had been released from the in-
sane asylum ' cured.' So far as I know it is the only case
on record of a man found guilty of murder but insane, who
has ever obtained his release from an English criminal
lunatic asylum. It was the fact that he had been released
that undoubtedly led the British authorities to permit me to
return to Ireland. Public opinion in England itself was
aroused. It was going too far — Colthurst at liberty and
his victim's widow imprisoned !
" Since then I have been arrested several times ; my
home has been raided several times, and on one occasion
I suffered concussion of the brain as a result of having been
clubbed with the butt end of a rifle in the hands of a Royal
Irish Constable.
' The last I heard of Colthurst he was occupying a minor
official post in Essex. His stay in*the Broadmoor Asylum
H
ii4 Michael Collins' Own Story
lasted about eighteen months — from July, 1916, to February,
1918. His release was effected by a campaign conducted
by the Morning Post and the Spectator, both of which news-
papers insisted — quite correctly — that he was not insane.
I go further, and declare that he never was insane ! So far
as I have been able to discover, no formal steps were ever
taken to establish his restoration to sanity.
" His family no longer live in Ireland. Some of his
property — he owned some castles in Cork — was burned to the
ground last year. It would seem to be fairly safe to assume
that Ireland has seen the last of Captain Bowen-Colthurst.
" One final word about Adjutant Morgan, the only
Catholic in the Royal Irish Rifles, and the only man at Porto-
bello Barracks who treated my husband kindly. Very
shortly after my husband's murder he was removed from
the regiment, deprived of his adjutancy, and sent to the
front ' under a cloud.' There he was killed in 1917."
CHAPTER XII
CHILDERS* OPINION OF AMERICANS
DURING one of the early sessions of Dail Eireann, after the
signing of the Treaty, I approached Erskine Childers and
asked him to tell me the truth about his share in the famous
gun-running exploit at Howth, July 26, 1914. He took a
day to consider my request, and then sent me the following
letter :
" I am afraid I shall hardly be able to do what you
ask of me. I should have no control over the
articles, and as the Hearst Press is, I understand,
strongly Free State, it might be better if the matter
was obtained from that quarter."
Not satisfied with this misstatement of fact, I sought
out Childers and assured him that he would of course have
" complete control over the articles " in that they would be
published exactly as he wrote them . The fact that a state-
ment from him would be welcomed by the Hearst news-
papers was the best evidence that his charge of bias was
unjustified.
" That may be true," Childers admitted soberly, " but
the fact remains that all America is more English than
England herself, and an Irish appeal in the United States
is useless. Why, there is a fringe along the New England
coastline where the people sing night and morning — in their
hearts — ' God Bless the King ! ' And from the seat of your
Federal Government to the distant cities of the Pacific
coast there is a childish fear of England — the result of
"5
n6 Michael Collins' Own Story
propaganda seduously spread by England's workers. None
of you stops to realise it is the old story of the lion and the
whale — but that is exactly what America and England are.
It is ludicrous — this idea that England would fight America.
But England's might is ever kept uppermost in the minds of
the American people. And American publicists do quite as
much as Englishmen to keep alive the false sentiment that
alliance between the two countries is of equal, mutual
advantage.
" Most of your newspapers are worse than the London
Morning Post — worse in their lick-spittling attitude towards
the British Crown and their contempt for everything and
everybody not of English ancestry. Your huge trade
interests are truly soulless. To make an appeal to the
American people on a basis of idealism is hopeless. Your
President Wilson found that out. America is the most
materialistic people in the world to-day. Your worship of
success is surely a contemptible national policy — but it is
America's dominant characteristic.
" Your Ambassador at the Court of St. James wears knee
breeches ! Such truckling to England is disgusting. But
what American is going to say that in so doing your Am-
bassador is not faithfully reflecting the mental attitude
of a great majority of the people he represents ? What
other nation sends with such eagerness so many of its
nationals to be presented at the English Court each year ?
Where else is so much newspaper space devoted to the
ecstasies of those who have had this priceless honour
conferred upon them ?
" Why, your well-read American won't even discuss the
revolutionary war ! They are actually ashamed of it !
Most of the American people are pleased that American
school-books distort the facts of that fight that smashed
British rule in America. It is a thing not to be talked about
in most American circles. ' It's not done ' — that most
abominable of all England's abominable catch-phrases — it
is enough to tell present-day Americans to ensure their not
doing it !
Childers' Opinion of Americans 117
" But even in revolutionary times there was always a fifty
per cent, minority against George Washington. America
would never have won her independence if it had not been
for the stubbornness of one man. Washington did not lead
a people inspired by love of freedom — he compelled an
unwilling people to follow him. And to-day an England-
loving America is ashamed it ever happened !
" This is why I do not care to address the American people
on any subject whatsoever. Perhaps this explanation makes
my reason plain."
I watched him shuffle away down the corridor of the
National University building — an undersized, emaciated,
unhappy figure — and wondered what sort of American
woman must be his wife !
It was as a result of this interview that I persuaded Col-
lins to do what was necessary to obtain all the facts of the
gun-running at Howth. And eventually he arranged the
three-cornered conference with Sean McGarry — the one
man left alive in Ireland to-day who was closest in the con-
fidences of the Easter Week leaders. At Collins' bidding
Mc-Garry told us the following tale :
" In the summer of 1914 there was an army of 80,000
men up in Ulster, led, armed, and drilled by $ Carson,
and pledged to resist by force the enactment of Home Rule.
This was all unlawful — this open defiance of the laws of the
English Parliament to which Ulster professed the limit of
loyalty. But the English Government letjthis announce-
ment of rebellion pass unheeded. They had let those
troops prepare for war for two years and done nothing at
all to stop it.
" We, in the South, looked on during these two years, and
then we reached the conclusion that what Ulster could do
we could do. We were not altogether unmindful of the
fact that we outnumbered the Carsonites by about four to
one ! So we made up our minds to arm and drill on our
own account, NOT TO ATTACK ULSTER, but to be able to
face the English Government with the only argument she
has ever understood ! And then what happened ? Within
n8 Michael Collins* Own Story
a month the Government, which for two years had allowed the
Carsonites to get in all the arms they wanted, issued an order
prohibiting the importation of any arms or ammunition into
Ireland !
" Naturally we both started gun-running. Ulster had
had two years' start, but she still wanted more arms and
ammunition. She got them ! Perhaps the Fanny will
be remembered by some — the yacht that steamed right
through ' watching ' British warships and landed her cargo
of guns at Larne after the newspapers had told of her
coming for two weeks previous ! The Fanny came in and
went out and never a word from the gunboat patrols.
Larne, it may be necessary to state, is in Ulster !
" Meantime, the gunboat patrols off Dublin and Wicklow,
as well as the western coast, had nothing the matter with
their eyesight. We knew the difference, never fear. But
it had nothing to do with the fact that we had to have
arms.
" It was July 26, 1914 — when everybody was talking
about Austria's ultimatum to Servia — that we managed to
unload 2,000 rifles and a goodly supply of ammunition at
Howth. A route-march had been called for that day (it
was a Sunday) and about 1,200 of the Dublin Volunteers took
part in it. Perhaps a dozen of us, all told, knew what was
the real purpose of that nine-mile route-march !
" Word came to me the day before to get a boat and go
out in the bay to meet Childers' yacht. So on that Saturday
afternoon I went over to Howth with two others, and tried
to bargain with boatmen for a launch. But there was a
storm, and never a boat could we get. Finally, we per-
suaded one old fellow to take us out and have a run around
the harbour — to see if it was as rough as it looked ! He
was on the point of casting off the lines when, unfortunately,
he caught sight of a revolver sticking out of one of our
pockets ! That was enough for him ! We hadn't been too
convincing in our explanations for wanting to make the trip
anyhow — and when he guessed the truth — that we intended
to keep him out in the bay, once we got him away from shore,
Childers' Opinion of Americans 119
he quickly put his engine out of commission ! He wasn't
wanting to be a hero in the least !
" On we went to Dunloacharie, and again met with no
success. Not a boatman would go outside in the storm, and
not one of them would hear of us going alone. Up in Bray,
however, Willie Cullen managed to get a boat — an open motor
boat — and he it was who finally picked us up at Howth, after
a wild night out by himself in Dublin Bay. So far as I know,
Willie Cullen's name has never even been mentioned in
connection with the gun-running, but it is my opinion his
bravery ought to be made known. Without him and the
boat I don't know what would have happened.
" Well, we met the Childers' yacht all right, and, to our
surprise, we found a woman steering it ! The woman turned
out to be Mary Spring Rice — daughter of the then English
Ambassador in Washington ! x
" We showed the way in to the pier in our motor boat,
after assuring Childers that the English patrol boat was not
in the neighbourhood — a whisper that we were going to run
guns in to Wexford having sent it off on a false scent. Be-
fore we had made fast the Volunteers — doing exactly
what the Ulstermen had done at Larne — had taken pos-
session of the pier, advised the police and harbour officials
it was best for them to remove themselves from the imme-
diate neighbourhood — advice they all decided was sound —
and were all ready for us. While we were unloading the
rifles and several cases of ammunition another 300 of the
Volunteers arrived, making our total about 1,500 men. The
job finished, we started back to Dublin.
" Of course, Dublin Castle had been notified before ever
we left Howth, and at Clontarf, on the outskirts of the city,
we met a force of police and soldiers. Our rifles were un-
loaded. A parley took place. They demanded the surrender
of the guns. We refused. The soldiers — a company of the
1 Authentic records of the Howth gun-running exploit have es-
tablished that there was a woman aboard Childers' yacht, and that
she was at the wheel when it came alongside the pier at Howth, but
until now her identity has remained unknown.
120 Michael Collins* Own Story
King's Own Scottish Borderers — were ordered to charge us
with fixed bayonets. Two of them in the excitement fired
at us One of our men was bayoneted. Then the English
commander called another parley. By this time there was
only the front rank of our force anywhere in sight ! The
rest of us, interested only in saving the guns — had dis-
appeared across the fields ! And so not one gun was lost !
" Then came the tragedy in Bachelor's Walk — when the
British troops, marching back to their barracks, were cursed
and stoned by a crowd composed chiefly of women who had
heard rumours of a massacre of the Volunteers at Clontarf .
The soldiers fired without warning — and killed one man, two
women, and a boy. Nobody was ever punished for that,
although it ought to be remembered that this was not only
before we had begun to use armed force — two years before,
in fact — but also before the world war had made killings the
order of the day.
" The only other important thing about the gun-running
at Howth — which I think most certainly should be emphasised
— is that about one week later ERSKINE CHILDERS ENLISTED
IN THE BRITISH SECRET SERVICE ! "
Collins suggested to McGarry that he should continue
the narrative to include what he personally, new about Sir
Roger Casement's activities in connection with gun-running
from Germany. It was interesting to note Collins' intense
desire to acquire information on points outside his own im-
mediate jurisdiction. He explained to me in an aside that
after his arrival in Ireland in 1916 he had had little oppor-
tunity of enquiring into matters not directly concerned with
his own duties.
" The one big point about the Germans that I think should
be told," McGarry continued, " is that they did not let us
down in 1916. Casement always felt that they did, but he
admitted to me that they never actually promised to send
men to help us. That was what Casement most wanted —
not having too much faith in us because of our inexperience
as soldiers — and Germany might have sent men if the war
had gone her way instead of against her. I had a letter
Childers* Opinion of Americans 121
from Casement when he was ill in Munich, early in 1916,
stating that he had a kind of conditional promise from
Germany regarding men for Ireland. It was that if they
won a decisive advantage on either the Eastern or Western
front they would send us men.
" Of course, this influenced our plans to no little extent.
We knew that such aid from Germany would be at best
temporary. We had to arrange to be in a position to make
our move coincide with the arrival of the Germans — and
cany through our plan of campaign while we had them with
us. So it was that the rising was originally set for Easter
Friday. It was Tommy O'Connor who carried the word
from us to Casement."
The casual references to communications between Ire-
land and Germany, and McGarry's calm statement that the
Germans were planning not only to make the trip to Ire-
land— but, later, to make the return journey — provoked an
interjected query from me. Was passage between the two
countries as easy as that ?
McGarry looked at Collins — obviously seeking his advice
before making answer. But Collins did not return his glance.
Instead, he turned his face towards me — and grinned ! It
was quite as if he had put it into words. It was a foolish
question !
" Anyhow," McGarry continued, " there were many
things to be done. We sent a messenger to America on
one of the American liners to tell our friends there that we
were going to start on Good Friday. Tommy O'Connor came
back from Germany and explained that the Germans were
going to send in guns to Tralee — but the ship would not make
it in time for us to start on Good Friday — the nearest they
could figure the tune of its arrival being between Good
Friday and Easter Sunday morning. This meant re-
arranging everything.
" In the midst of our work of notifying commands all
over the country, back came our messenger from America
and reported that everything there was moving as well
as could be wished, and all plans made for the Good Friday
122 Michael Collins' Own Story
rising ! Within an hour that messenger was heading back
to New York ! It was vitally necessary for him to let our
friends know that the date had been altered from Good
Friday to Easter Sunday. The ship on which he was
making the second journey was delayed for five days in the
English Channel — as a result of a German submarine scare ;
and that was very bad for us.
" If it is not plain enough without my saying it, I'll
explain that naturally one of the most important things our
messenger had to do in New York was to get word to Case-
ment in Germany. Except on this occasion we had been
able to communicate in this way without any trouble at all —
but this time things went wrong. Owing to the lateness of
our messenger's arrival in New York, his message, wirelessed
from there to Germany, found Casement gone ! He was in
the submarine on his way to Tralee Bay — and he did not
know that we were planning to begin the rising on Easter
Sunday with or without aid in the form of German soldiers !
" The disguised German merchantman that was bringing
the arms to us was stopped and searched three times, but
every time Captain Spinlow, her skipper, bluffed the British
and was allowed to continue on his way to Tralee. But
when, finally, he was actually in the bay at Tralee, he found
himself surrounded by British patrol boats — and there was
nothing for it but scuttling the ship. This he did, and down
to the bottom went 20,000 rifles and a million rounds of
ammunition !
" And this happened only a few hours before Casement
walked into the trap ! I have every reason to believe that
Casement had become obsessed with the idea that we were
being fooled. When he went to Berlin from Munich, he
heard that we were planning to start the rising — because we
were counting on the aid of German men. And he
believed our cause was hopeless without their aid. I know
this was his fixed idea. To prevent us from attempting
what he thought was the impossible, he insisted on hurrying
to Ireland in a submarine. The world knows the price he
paid for that trip ! "
CHAPTER XIII
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUCE
" SEVEN months before England granted the truce of July,
1921, she wanted very much to withdraw the Black and Tans
from Ireland and end the murderous war which she had
begun to realise could never be won. A truce would have
been obtained after the burning of Cork by the forces of the
Crown — in December, 1920 — had our leaders acted with
discretion. There is every reason to believe that the British
Government were minded to respond favourably to the
endeavours of His Grace, Archbishop Clune, who attempted
to mediate ; but the English attitude hardened through the
too precipitate action of certain of our public men and
public bodies."
Collins thus began an exposition of the events leading up
to the ending of hostilities. So far as I am aware, England's
desire for this earlier truce is not generally known.
" Unhappily," he continued, " several of our most
important men gave evidence of an over-keen desire for
peace while tentative proposals were being made and
considered. So it was that, although terms of truce had been
virtually agreed upon, the English statesmen abruptly ter-
minated the negotiations when they discovered what they
took to be signs of weakness in our councils. They con-
ditioned the truce, then, on surrender of our arms ; and the
struggle went on.
" British aggression continued ; our defence continued.
It was now war to the death in very truth !
" Of course, in these seven months preceding the truce,
there were many instances of unofficial ' feelers ' put out by
123
124 Michael Collins* Own Story
men on both sides — much visiting back and forth by well-
meaning but unauthorised persons. Friends of Ireland from
America frequently tried to intervene on our behalf, but
those of us actually in the fight played no part in these con-
versations. We had no time for talk !
" The attitude of those of us who eventually took part
in the Treaty negotiations was the same — in 1920 in Ireland
as it was in 1921 in London. It is no good to have confusion
of thought about this. We were fighting as Irishmen had
always fought — for freedom ! We were fighting for freedom
from English occupation, English interference, English
domination ! But there was no thought in our minds as
to what especial label might be attached to the freedom — if
only we could win it. In other days we had struggled to win
Repeal of the Union, Home Rule, or some other form of
devolution. But it was not these labels that mattered ;
our fight was essentially a struggle to win for ourselves as
large a measure of freedom as possible. And so we were
fighting — not for a republic — but freedom ! We felt — and
those of us who believe in the Treaty still feel — that freedom
for Ireland is of vastly greater consequence than the form
of government under which we shall enjoy our freedom.
" When charges of treason are directed at us now — it is
as well that our aspirations of 1920 be kept in mind. I said
at a meeting of Dail Eireann that the Treaty gives us free-
dom— not the ultimate freedom which all nations hope for
and struggle for — but freedom to achieve it. AND I WAS
AND I AM NOW FULLY ALIVE TO THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT
STATEMENT !
" Returning to the fight as it was being waged at the
beginning of 1921 — the most important phase of it was our
gradual realisation of England's desire to call a truce. This
was the more important because it had never been possible
for us to be militarily strong, nor to do more by force alone
than to make England uncomfortable. Now, at last, we
discovered that we had grown strong enough to make
England too uncomfortable. More than this — we discovered
that while England expatiates on the futility of force (by
The Truth About the Truce 125
others) it is the only argument she listens to. Above all,
the valiant efforts of Irishmen under the Terror— their
deaths — these finally awoke the sleeping spirit of Ireland.
" That spirit was once more flaming — and with cause.
For the people saw in England's desire to end the reign of
terror the true worth of the young men who had gone to
their deaths that peace might come to their country. There
had been — on rare occasions — regrettable acts on the part
of individual Irish soldiers, but such acts had been so few as
to be negligible, and when they did occur they were the out-
come of terrible and incessant provocation, and were foreign
to the whole nature of the Irish resistance. The normal
conduct of our soldiers proved them to be chivalrous,
courageous, and enduring — and with an unsurpassable
devotion to the ideal of freedom. Let me cite an instance.
" In June, 1921, a party of four Volunteers of the East
Clare Brigade, engaged in cutting wires on the railway at
Meelick, were surprised by a party of 30 English soldiers with
two machine guns. Fire was opened by the enemy at
close range. The commander of our little force was atop a
telegraph pole and had time to shout a warning an instant
before the firing began. His men jumped to cover while he
dropped off the pole behind a low bank beside the railway.
Two of the four managed to make good their escape, but
the other two — Lieut. M. Gleeson and Commandant C.
McCarthy — were killed.
" As they ran across a field McCarthy fell wounded, and
Gleeson went on without noticing it. But on reaching a
place of safety and finding his comrade missing, he im-
mediately started to retrace his steps. Presently he saw him
lying in the open field across which an English machine-gun
and about a dozen rifles were pouring a hail of lead at about
100 yards range. At the same time Gleeson saw a party of five
English soldiers scurrying around the field to cut off their
retreat. It must have been as evident to Gleeson as it was
to my informants, who were looking on, that no power on
earth could save McCarthy, but it was equally evident that
Gleeson preferred going back and dying with his comrade
126 Michael Collins' Own Story
to leaving him. Racing down the field, straight into the
fusillade of bullets, he knelt beside McCarthy and lifted him
on to his back — with his right hand busily firing his revolver
at the pursuing soldiers, as he carried his comrade up the
field. Another moment and Gleeson fell, badly wounded —
while McCarthy collapsed a few yards further on.
" When the British troops came upon Gleeson they found
him still unconquered. With his last breath he fired his
last cartridge at them. That was the performance of an
Irish boy of 20 years of age WHO HAD NEVER BEFORE BEEN
IN ACTION ! According to the British officer in charge —
a Lieut. Gordon of the Royal Scots — who had been through
the world war — Gleeson was the bravest man he had ever
seen ! His men, however, apparently did not share his
opinion. They frightfully mutilated the body — as also that
of McCarthy.
" In the same brigade area, at about the same time, ten
of our soldiers, exhausted after a forced march, were attacked
by a strong patrol of Constabulary. Eight of our ten lads
had never before been in action, and were unnerved by fatigue
and the suddenness of the attack. How they were saved
by the bravery and resourcefulness of their officers is worth
telling.
" They had started to cross an open field when the Con-
stabulary, numbering twenty-two, suddenly swept up behind
them in lorries and opened fire. It was a roasting hot day and
our men were completely played out. The Constabulary were,
of course, quite fresh. Our men dashed to shelter under
orders of their commander, who himself stood his ground to
cover their retreat. Almost immediately one of the others
came running back to his commander, and insisted on re-
maining with him. He was Brigade Police Officer Thomas
Healy. As these two men slowly retreated — firing at their
pursuers, and delaying them — Healy at last sank to the
ground in a state of collapse. He had not been wounded.
His death was due to heart failure. He was a native of
Tralee and had been a member of the R.I.C., from which he
had resigned a year earlier.
The Truth About the Truce 127
" Meantime the others were becoming so exhausted
they could hardly stand, their commander, having now to
cover the retreat alone, being obliged to order, coax, threaten,
and appeal to them to keep moving. Here then, was one
man fighting twenty-two men, with eight of his own com-
mand useless as combatants. He was a good shot, however,
and managed to bring down more than one of the enemy at
500 yards range. The pursuit lasted half an hour — all of
it up hill — but in the end the Constabulary withdrew. After
almost superhuman efforts, the commander had succeeded
in saving all of his men except Healy.
" These were typical deeds. And as they became known
among the people there was no stemming the tide of rising
national spirit — victory was at hand ! But there was
another unifying cause — and one I choose to state merely
in general terms. During the reign of terror 274 Irishmen
were assassinated in their homes or while in custody.
" Torture of Irish prisoners in a vain attempt to force them
into a betrayal of their comrades had occurred in thousands
of cases. Brutal assaults upon suspected men had been
almost the invariable rule in raids by Black and Tans on
Irish homes. There is proof in plenty to substantiate these
statements, but I prefer you obtain it elsewhere."
Accordingly I sought this proof in other quarters —
and quickly found there was indeed plentiful sworn evidence
of the truth of what Collins had said. Of many that I have
seen and read the following sworn statements are typical :
THE SWORN STATEMENT OF MARY MAGEE, OF CORROGS,
NEWRY, co. DOWN.
" I, Mary Ellen Magee, of Corrogs, Newry, co. Down,
do hereby solemnly declare that the statements made
herein are the truth, so help me God.
" On Wednesday, June 8, at or about the hour
of 8 o'clock in the evening, I heard voices (which I
afterwards found to be those of Special Constabulary)
speaking to my brother, Stephen Magill, at the door
pf our house. They were asking him was his brother
ia8 Michael Collins' Own Story
in the house. Before he could reply, my brother,
Owen Magill, walked out to the side of Stephen.
They were only a few feet from the door when I heard
the order, ' Hands up ' and the next thing I heard
was a volley of shots. I ran to the door and saw my
brother Stephen falling, and my brother Owen ran
to me and said to me ' I'm done.' I took my brother
Owen round to the back of the house and helped to
bandage his wound, which was in his right side. He
was quite conscious and did not appear to be seriously
wounded. My brother Stephen was shot through
the heart and died in a few minutes. His wound
appeared to be caused by an explosive bullet as the
gash in his breast was almost two inches in diameter.
" When the Specials left, we took my brother Owen
into the house and he undressed himself and went
to bed. At about 10 p.m. the Specials returned and
enquired for my brother Owen, who was wounded.
They told him they were going to take him to
hospital and they told me the same. My father was
in the room with my brother at the time ; the Specials
kicked him out of the room and abused him badly.
My father is aged 78. Then my brother walked out
of the house with the Specials, and as far as I know,
walked over two hundred yards to the military lorry
which was in waiting. They did not allow my brother
to put on his coat, but took him away in his shirt and
trousers. As far as can be ascertained, my brother
was dead when he arrived at the hospital.
" The Specials returned on June 10, and raided our
house. They knocked down a stack of hay, and threw
clothes and other things on the yard. On Sunday,
June 12, they again returned. Neither my father nor
myself were in the house at the time. They broke
open the door and tossed everything over the house,
pitching beds, clothes, and everything here, there,
and everywhere They again returned on June 18.
" On the occasion of their visit on June 8 they
followed me through the fields, and threatened to
The Truth About the Truce 129
shoot me if I did not tell them where my wounded
brother was, he having hid himself under the bed when
he heard they were coming the second time. This
is a true statement of all the main facts of the case.
(Signed) " MARY ELLEN MAGEE.
" June 20th, '21."
THE SWORN STATEMENT OF LAURENCE MCGIVERN,
OF DRUMREIGH, co. DOWN.
"I, Laurence McGivern, of Drumreigh, Rostrevor,
co. Down, was employed as a servant with Patrick
J. MacAnuff, of Shinn, Ardaragh, Newry. On the
morning of June 5, the house was raided by military
between the hours of 3 and 4 a.m. They ordered
me out of bed and asked me questions I knew nothing
about. They then asked, Did I know who I was speak-
ing to. I said no. They then said they were Royal
Irish Constabulary, and made me repeat these words
after them. One of them hit me and knocked me
down. I got up and two of them ordered me out.
I refused, as I said I was bare-footed, but they made
me go, and took me across the lawn and ordered me
not to look behind at the crowd of military behind
me. They then gathered around me, made me put
my hands by my sides, and hit me with their fists.
They knocked me down and kicked me in the back
and sides, and used the ends of their rifles on my
head and face. An officer came out of the house, and
asked (by the way) what had happened. The reply
was that I fell on my face. He lifted me, knowing
well what had happened ; but he took me into the
house and helped my master to put me to bed. I
was then unconscious for some time and am now at
home unfit for work and under the doctor's care. I
am twenty years of age.
(Signed) " LAURENCE McGiVERN."
(This raid had a tragic sequel a few days later when a
1
130 Michael Collins' Own Story
party of British forces again raided the house in search of
Patrick MacAnuff. His sister, Theresa MacAnuff, who was
on a visit from Broadford, England, rushed to a window
when she heard the soldiers breaking their way through the
house, and called for help. She was ordered by the raiders to
desist. She continued to call, and was thereupon shot dead.)
LETTER WRITTEN BY PATRICK TRAYNOR,
106, BOTANIC ROAD, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN.
" Rath Internment Camp, Curragh,
" Co. Kildare.
" loth June, '21.
" DEAR
" The following account of my treatment with
a view to extracting information by British Intelligence
Officers whilst I was a prisoner in Dublin Castle,
should be published.
" From March 30 to April 20 I was a prisoner in
the Castle, and in all was interrogated by British
Intelligence Officers on 33 occasions.
" During each interrogation with a view to extract-
ing information, I was treated by these Intelligence
Officers with the utmost cruelty. My fingers were
bent back until they nearly tipped the back of my
hands. My arms were twisted, a red-hot poker was
held to my eyes, and threats to destroy my sight were
made. I was kicked and threatened with shooting.
On several occasions I was taken to a dark passage,
under the canteen, which leads to the cells, and
badly beaten. The doctors here can testify to my
condition on arrival.
" On one occasion an officer asked me if I would care
to see a priest, and upon my saying ' Yes/ a ' priest '
was sent to see me. This ' priest/ I afterwards
discovered, was a member of the Intelligence Staff
in Dublin Castle and an ordinary civilian.
" Love to all,
" Yours affectionately,
" PADDY/1
The Truth About the Truce 131
SWORN STATEMENT OF EDWARD DORAN, BALLY-
MACGEOUGH, KlLKEEL, CO. DOWN.
" I am a farmer and live at Ballymacgeough, co.
Down. I was arrested on May 10 and taken, with
Thomas Fearon, James McDermott, Thomas Cun-
ningham, and Edward Cunningham to Newry
Military Barracks. We were all placed in the same
cell there. About an hour after our arrival a police
officer came in. I saw him strike Thomas Fearon.
He took me to a guardroom where there were forty
constables and placed me with my back to
the wall. He took up two or three empty
cartridges off the floor and said : ' See where
your friends have gone.' He then put his head out of
the door of the guardroom and said, as if speaking to
somebody in the yard : ' Don't close that grave.
We'll put them all in one.' He then turned to me
and said : ' What are you in the I.R.A ? ' I said :
' I don't recognise your right to ask me any question.'
He hit me with his open hand on the face. He re-
peated his question. I refused to answer. He then
struck me with his clenched fist on the cheek, loaded
his revolver and said he would give me three minutes
to answer.
" At the end of about three minutes, he said, ' I'll
let you off if you will answer me one question. Who
is your commandant ? ' I said nothing. He said,
' Are you going to answer that question ? ' I said
' No.' He then rushed at me and commenced to
beat me with his clenched fists about the face. He
knocked me down once. He cut my face and gave
me two black eyes. Whilst he was beating me, a
Black and Tan officer came in, got beside me and
struck me, knocking me down. The officer then took
up his revolver and watch, and, looking at his watch,
said, ' My lunch has got cold with you and I am going
to finish you now if you don't answer my question.'
As I still remained silent he asked me, ' Are you going
132 Michael Collins' Own Story
to answer ? ' I said, ' No.' He gave me a kick on
the thigh. Then he stood back from me and fired a
shot. The bullet passed close to my head. The
plaster fell off the wall behind me. He showed me a
mark on the wall and said, ' Do you see how it missed
you ? ' A sergeant then took me out to the yard,
and as I was passing the officer on the way out he
(the officer) gave me a kick on the thigh again.
(Signed) " EDWARD DORAN."
"Dated this 2$th day of June, '21."
In the course of the interview Eoin MacNeill granted
me he described his experiences with the Black and Tans.
He said :
"It was at an early hour that the Black and Tans smashed
into my house and arrested my eldest son — then about
12 years of age — and me. They took us in a lorry down into
the village of Blackrock, where there were several other
lorries standing. Apparently their occupants were raiding
houses in the vicinity. Our captor stopped his car and
ordered us down into the road. Then he pointed to a blank
wall on which had been scrawled, ' Up the Republic/ and,
producing a bucket of whitewash and a brush, held them out
to my son and ordered him to whitewash the wall.
" My boy looked up at me to see if I would allow him
to do this, and I told him not to touch the brush or the
bucket. ' Oh, you won't let him do it, eh ? ' said the
Black and Tan. I replied that I certainly would not.
' Very well, then/ said he, ' you do it yourself.' I refused.
Setting down the bucket and brush, he produced a revolver
and pointed it at me. He told me if I did not do as he
ordered within one minute he would fire. But when I
did not move, he finally put his revolver back in his holster,
and gruffly ordered us into another lorry.
" This was the only bad treatment accorded me at any
time while I was a prisoner in the hands of the British.
In the English jail where Griffith and I were fellow prisoners,
every possible consideration was shewn us."
The Truth About the Truce 133
When I reported back to Collins that I had found ample
testimony to support his general statement that the Black
and Tans had been guilty of acts of extreme cruelty — he
made no comment. All he had to say in that connection,
he explained, he had already said.
" Even after the truce had been declared," Collins
continued, " I was not in favour of bringing these matters
forward. A truce presupposes the possibility of a return
to the conditions which existed before it was declared. I
could see no good purpose served by doing anything to
make worse the conditions that had been so barbarous. I
am still inclined to doubt the wisdom of reopening a subject
that cannot be done justice to unless one goes into details
of indescribable infamy. However, the fact remains that
exaggeration in this connection is impossible."
CHAPTER XIV
THE INVITATION TO NEGOTIATE
" THE excuse offered by the British Government for the
brutish insensibility of the Black and Tans was that they
were meting out to murderers just retribution. Mr. Lloyd
George was ' firmly convinced that the men who are suffering
in Ireland are the men who are engaged in a murderous con-
spiracy.' At the London Guildhall he announced that the
police were ' getting the right men.' A demand for the
truth about English repression in Ireland was beginning to
make itself heard in all parts of the world. It was becoming
ever more difficult to convince the world that the premedi-
tated murder of Irishmen constituted legitimate acts of
self-defence."
Collins thus began the story of events leading up to
the Treaty negotiations.
" At length, when the Terror, growing ever more violent
and, consequently, ever more futile, failed to break the
spirit of the Irish people — failed as it was bound to fail —
concealment was no longer possible," Collins continued.
" The true explanation was blurted out when Mr. Lloyd
George and Mr. Bonar Law declared that their acts were
necessary to destroy the authority of the Irish national
government which ' has all the symbols and all the realities
of government.'
" But this announcement had an unexpected consequence.
In the opinion of responsible men in the other States of the
British Empire, such destruction had no justification. They
expressed their opinion in emphatic fashion. They con-
vinced British statesmen that it was essential for England
to put herself right with the world — the Irish slate had to
The Invitation to Negotiate 135
be cleaned. So declared the Premiers of the Free Nations
of the British Commonwealth — then assembled at the Im-
perial Conference in London. There was only one course
for the British Prime Minister to take — to invite us, whom
he had called ' murderers ' and ' heads of the murder gang/
to discuss with him terms of peace. The invitation was :
" To discuss terms of peace — to ascertain how the
association of Ireland with the community of nations
known as the British Empire may best be reconciled
with Irish national aspirations."
The world knows that we accepted that invitation.
" What is not known — except only by those few of us
who had to take the responsibility of accepting or refusing
the invitation — is the searching of our hearts and minds,
the weighing of every consideration, the honest effort some
of us made to put aside scepticism in order that the decision
might be the fruit of our combined best judgment. There
was much in our immediate path that undeniably prejudiced
us as to the possibility of obtaining a generous peace from
England. Beyond that were more than seven centuries of
English misrule of Ireland. In our councils were men
who believed — and who still believe — that to try to make a
bargain with England could result only in Ireland's getting
the worst of it.
" I have always believed that Mr. Lloyd George foresaw
the inevitable at least a year before his colleagues even
considered the possibility of granting Ireland freedom. I
base my belief on the fact that while the Terror was at its
height the British Cabinet passed the Government of Ire-
land Act, 1920 — better known as the Partition Act. In my
opinion, Mr. Lloyd George intended the Act to allay world
criticism. As propaganda it might do to draw attention
away from British violence for a month or two longer.
At the end of that period — most of the English Ministers
mistakenly believed — Ireland would have been terrorised
into submission. That desired end gained, a chastened
136 Michael Collins1 Own Story
nation would accept the crumb of freedom offered by the
Act. Britain' — her idea of the principles of self-determina-
tion satisfied — would be able to present a bold front again
before the world.
" It seems to me this must have been what was in the
mind of the British Cabinet in passing this measure. Cer-
tainly it was not asked for by Ireland. Nobody representing
any Irish constituency in the British Parliament voted for
it. We of the South took advantage of its election machinery
only to repudiate the Act and to secure a fresh mandate from
the people. Otherwise the Act was completely ignored by
us. In the Six Counties almost one-fourth of the candidates
were returned in non-recognition of the Act, while Sir James
Craig himself said, referring to himself and his friends, ' we
accept the Parliament conferred upon us by the Act only as
a great sacrifice.'
" I believe there was an understanding between Mr.
Lloyd George and the Orange leaders. The Act entrenched
them — or appeared to — within the Six Counties. No doubt,
both the British Prime Minister and Sir James Craig had it
in mind that if a bigger settlement had ultimately to be
made with Ireland, at least the Act put them in a position
from which they could bargain. In any ' settlement ' the
North-East was to be let down gently by England. Pam-
pered for so long, they had come to be able to dictate to
and to bully the nation to which they professed loyalty.
They were to be treated with tact in regard to any change of
British policy towards Ireland.
" This much I was convinced of from the moment the
Lloyd George proposal of peace reached us. In our councils
I urged this view. I held that England now realised that
both the Partition Act and the Terror had alike failed to
achieve what had been expected of them. Ulster's useful-
ness to England had ceased to be potent enough to prevent
Irish freedom, but I urged that we should not be unmindful
that Ulster could be useful in another way. She could but-
tress England in England's determination that, while agree-
ing to our freedom, Ireland must remain associated with the
The Invitation to Negotiate 137
British group of nations. England's insistence upon this
association as a minimum was based on her conviction that
her own national safety can be assured by nothing less.
In this view I HAD THE COMPLETE SUPPORT OF DE VALERA
NOT ONLY DURING THESE PRELIMINARY CONFERENCES, BUT
AT ALL TIMES DURING THE PROGRESS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS !
" What seemed to me to be our chief concern was so to make
our moves that Britain would be obliged to give us the
maximum limit of freedom. And from the outset I was con-
vinced that that maximum limit would be bounded by
association with the British Empire. I anticipated what
subsequently turned out to be the fact. Britain must
represent to us that the North-East would never acquiesce
in more, while representing to them that in such a settlement
they would be preserving that which they professed to have
at heart, the sentimental tie with the nation to which they
were supposed to be attached.
" In those preliminary conferences, a few of us held that
any settlement which did not include the possibility of a
united Ireland — which was not predicated on the living
truth, THAT EVERY IRISHMAN IS FIRST AN IRISHMAN WITH
RIGHTS THE SAME AS THOSE OF EVERY OTHER IRISHMAN —
would be unacceptable to us. It was not so much the
Partition Act itself that mattered — it was an even more
formidable legacy that England would leave us, PARTITION
OF VIEW. That is there, and it has to be dealt with. It is
for us, to whom union is an article of our national faith, to
deal with it.
" For the most part De Valera — at first — seemed to be
in accord with the views voiced by Griffiths and me. As,
little by little, Childers wormed his way into our councils,
however, De Valera's attitude gradually changed. From
beginning to end Stack and Brugha were unqualifiedly hos-
tile to the whole idea of entering into negotiations with
England. Yet for a long time we had all been agreed on
the fundamental wisdom of no coercion for Ulster. Like-
wise we were one in our conviction that a divided Ireland
could never be a free Ireland,
138 Michael Collins' Own Story
" It was — and, more's the pity, it still is — this serious
internal problem which led some of us to argue for the attain-
ment of the final steps of freedom by evolution rather than
by force. If we could obtain substantial freedom by con-
senting to association with the British Empire, it would at
least give us time to teach the North-East to revolve in the
Irish orbit and to get out of the orbit of Great Britain. We
held that in acquiescing in a peace which would admittedly
involve some postponement of the fulfilment of our national
sentiment — by agreeing to some association of our Irish
nation with the British nations — we would be going a long
way towards meeting the sentiment of the North- East in
its supposed attachment to England.
" Against these councils the uncompromising Republicans
raised up the objection that by consenting to bargain with
England before she recognised the Republic — we should be
letting the Republic down. But De Valera, himself, pointed
to the fact that this was not an issue to be argued then. Mr.
Lloyd George had already made it clear that no such recogni-
tion would be granted. Furthermore, it was pointed out
that were the Irish Republic a recognised fact, we should
have to use our resources to coerce North-East Ulster into
submission. None of the conferees was prepared to sponsor
such a course of action. We had long since concluded that
coercion — even if it succeeded — could never have the lasting
effects which conversation on our side, and acquiescence on
theirs, would produce.
" Our position at this time, as it appeared to me, was one
of greater strength than ever before in the history of Ireland
under English rule. From the English view-point, peace with
Ireland had become a necessity to the British Cabinet.
Already Mr. Lloyd George — in 1921 — had made a peace offer
to De Valera. That offer had not been acceptable to the
Irish people. Referring to it, Mr. Churchill, at Dundee in
September of the same year, had said :
" ' ... this offer is put forward, not as the offer
of a Party Government confronted by a formidable
The Invitation to Negotiate 139
opposition and anxious to bargain for the Irish vote,
but with the united sanction of both the historic
parties in the State, and indeed all parties. It is a
national offer.'
" Undoubtedly it was a national offer, representing
English necessity to put herself right with world opinion.
It had, at last, become essential that England find a way of
peace with Ireland or a good case for further, and what un-
questionably would have been more intensive, war.
" The important factors in the situation were known to
all of us. We knew the Dominion Premiers were in England
fresh from their people. They were able to express the views
of their people. The Washington Conference was looming
ahead. Lloyd George's Cabinet had its economic difficulties.
England's relationships with foreign countries were growing
increasingly unhappy. Recovery of the good opinion of the
world had become indispensable. BUT i FOUGHT THE STUPID
NOTION THAT WE WERE STRONG ENOUGH TO RELY ON FORCE
ALONE.
" England wanted peace with Ireland, true ; but if Ire-
land made impossible demands we could be shown to be
irreconcilables and then England would again have a free
hand for whatever further measures of force might be
necessary ' to restore law and order ' in a country that would
not accept the responsibility of doing so for itself. I was
under no delusion that the offer indicated any real change
of heart on the part of England towards Ireland. In this
respect I was entirely at one with the uncompromising
Republicans. But I held that then, as always, England's
difficulty was Ireland's opportunity, and we should be
fools to fail to seize it merely because behind the offer was
no sincerity of good will. It seemed to me to make no
difference that an awakening conscience had nothing to do
with the English offer. It is true that there were stirrings
of conscience felt by a minority of Englishmen — the minority
that had opposed England's intervention in the European
war. They were the peaceful group averse to bloodshed on
140 Michael Collins' Own Story
principle. They were opposed to the killing we had to do
in self-defence quite as much as they were opposed to the
aggressive killing of our people by the British agents sent to
Ireland for that purpose.
" I urged that we waste no time in considering this phase
of the situation. Pacifists the world over are almost with-
out any political power and have very little popular support.
The point was that peace had become necessary to England.
It was not because she had repented in the very middle of
her Black and Tan terror. IT WAS NOT BECAUSE SHE COULD
NOT SUBJUGATE us ! It was because she had not succeeded
in subjugating us before the world's conscience awakened
and made itself felt.
" We had ample evidence of this. There was, for in-
stance, the frank admission of Lord Birkenhead in the
British House of Lords early in August :
" ' The progress of the coercive attempts made
by the Government have proved in a high degree
disappointing.'
" From every side came proofs that world sympathy was
with us — passive sympathy for the most part. If we had
done no more — and we had done much more — this winning
of world sympathy was itself a great asset in the proposed
negotiations with England.
" What it was never possible to make the more extreme
of our conferees appreciate was that we had not beaten
AND NEVER COULD HOPE TO BEAT THE BRITISH MILITARY
FORCES. We had thus far prevented them from conquering
us, but that was the sum of our achievement. And in
July, 1921, we had reached the high-water mark of what we
could do in the way of economic and military resistance.
I suppose there are Irishmen who will go to their graves
still cherishing the notion that continuation of the struggle
would have ended in an overwhelming victory for Irish
arms. It is a pity, but it is a fact. To such men figures
mean nothing, They will not see,
The Invitation to Negotiate 141
" But even some of these uncompromising Republicans
had their moments of sanity. Some of them, at least, are
on record as recognising our inability to beat the British
out of Ireland. See what Mr. Barton had to say in The
Republic of Ireland in its issue of February 21, 1922 :
" ' ... it had become plain that it was physi-
cally impossible to secure Ireland's ideal of a com-
pletely isolated Republic otherwise than by driving
the overwhelmingly superior British forces out of the
country.'
And yet Mr. Barton — after he had put his signature to the
Treaty — talked at a session of Dail Eireann about having
signed ' under duress ' ! Before we went to London to
negotiate, Mr. Barton knew, as did we all, that the element of
duress existed and would continue to exist so long as British
power lasts.
" I have explained how we considered every phase of the
situation before finally deciding to accept the offer. I
WANT TO MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY PLAIN THAT AT THE CON-
CLUSION OF OUR DELIBERATIONS WE HAD ABANDONED, FOR
THE TIME BEING, THE HOPE OF ACHIEVING THE IDEAL OF AN
ISOLATED REPUBLIC. FOR ANY OF THE MEN WHO PARTICI-
PATED IN THOSE CONFERENCES TO PRETEND OTHERWISE
IS ABOMINABLE ! WE ALL CLEARLY RECOGNISED THAT OUR
NATIONAL VIEW WAS NOT SHARED BY THE MAJORITY IN THE
FOUR NORTH-EASTERN COUNTIES. WE KNEW THAT THAT
MAJORITY HAD REFUSED TO GIVE ALLEGIANCE TO AN IRISH
REPUBLIC. WE KNEW THAT THEY WOULD NOT YET ACQUIESCE
IN ANY KIND OF ISOLATION FROM BRITAIN. BEFORE WE
UNDERTOOK THE TREATY NEGOTIATIONS WE REALISED THESE
FACTS AMONG OURSELVES. HAD WE NOT REALISED THEM —
HAD WE NOT ACCEPTED THEM AS FACTS — THERE WOULD HAVE
BEEN NO NEGOTIATIONS. LET THERE BE NO DOUBT ABOUT
THAT.
"It is true that before we accepted the invitation sent
by Mr. Lloyd George we endeavoured to get an unfettered
142 Michael Collins' Own Story
basis for the conference. And after negotiations had been
begun— as I shall presently point out — we continued to try.
Document No 2 was an instance of this endeavour. But we
did not succeed. Again and again we asserted our claim
that the plenipotentiaries could enter such a conference only
as the spokesmen of an independent sovereign State. It was
a claim Britain tacitly admitted in inviting us to negotiate
at all, but the fact remains that we finally went to London
without recognition of our nation as an independent sovereign
State. We went — and in going WE ADMITTED THAT THERE
WAS A POSSIBILITY OF THE IRISH PEOPLE RECONCILING
' IRISH NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS ' WITH ' ASSOCIATION OF
IRELAND WITH THE GROUP OF NATIONS KNOWN AS THE
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH.' Let us not fool ourselves about
that.
" Those who cannot, or who will not, look these facts
in the face blame us now, and more than blame us. They
find fault with us because in agreeing to some kind of associa-
tion of our nation with the British nations we were not able,
by the touch of a magic wand, to get rid of all language of
Empire. That is not a fair attitude. We like that language
no more, perhaps less, than do those who wish to make us
responsible for its preservation. It is Britain's affair not
ours, that she cares to preserve the prevarications of ob-
solete feudalism. The British Empire is what it is. It is
what it is with all its trappings, its symbols of monarchy,
its feudal phraseology, its obsolete oaths of allegiance —
its king a figurehead having no individual power as a
king — maintaining the unhealthy atmosphere of mediaeval
subservience translated into modern snobbery. But these
are things that are not to be dissipated by the waving of a
magic wand !
" MOREOVER, THE RESULT OF OUR DELIBERATIONS SPEAKS
FOR ITSELF — WE ENTERED INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH THAT
EMPIRE AND ITS LANGUAGE IS THE LANGUAGE WE HAD TO
SPEAK.
"It is not any verbiage about sovereignty which can
assure our power to shape our destinies. The important
The Invitation to Negotiate 143
thing is to grasp everything which is of benefit to us — to
manage things for ourselves — to make such a constitution
as suits ourselves — to make our Government and restore
our national lile along the lines which suit our national
character and our national requirements best. It is now
only fratricidal strife which can prevent «s from making the
Gaelic Ireland which is our goal."
CHAPTER XV
THE TREATY NEGOTIATIONS
" MY going to London as one of the plenipotentiaries was
in spite of my conviction that any other Irishman, would
serve the cause of Irish freedom better than I — at least, so
far as the Treaty negotiations were concerned. For three
hours one night, after the decision had been made to send
a delegation to London, I pleaded with De Valera to leave
me at home and let some other man take my place as a
negotiator. But it was no use. My arguments seemed to
fall on deaf ears. I had no choice. I had to go."
This statement Collins made to me many months after
he had told me the inside story of the Treaty negotiations
— and in view of all the circumstances it was, perhaps, one
of the most astounding things he ever told me.
" Of course we all knew," he continued, " that whatever
the outcome of the negotiations we could never hope to
bring back all that Ireland wanted and deserved to have
— and we therefore knew that more or less opprobrium would
be the best reward we could hope to win. But as Arthur
Griffith has told you, we went when others refused to go —
because it was a job that had to be done by somebody.
For my own part, I anticipated the loss of the position I
occupied in the hearts of the Irish people as a result of my
share in what was bound to be an unsatisfactory bargain.
And to have and hold the regard of one's fellow-countrymen
is surely a boon not to be lost while there is a way to avoid
it. But this consideration was not at all what moved me to
try to keep out of the negotiations.
" The point that I tried to impress upon De Valera was
144
The Treaty Negotiations 145
that for several years — rightly or wrongly makes no dif-
ference— the English had held me to be the one man most
necessary to capture because they held me to be the one man
responsible for the smashing of their Secret Service organisa-
tion and for their failure to terrorise the Irish people with
their Black and Tans. Brugha has spoken of this English
legend as having been altogether of newspaper manufacture.
What difference does that make ? The important fact was
that in England, as in Ireland, the Michael Collins legend
existed. It pictured me a mysterious active menace —
elusive, unknown, unaccountable. And in this respect I
was the only living Irishman of whom this could be said.
If and as long as the legend continued to exert its influence
on English minds, the accruing advantage to our cause would
continue. Bring me into the spotlight of a London confer-
ence and quickly would be discovered the common clay
of which I am made ! The glamour of the legendary figure
would be gone for ever.
" Whether De Valera underestimated the advantage of
keeping me in the background — whether he believed my
presence in the delegation would be of greater value — OR
WHETHER FOR MOTIVES BEST NOT ENQUIRED INTO HE WISHED
TO INCLUDE ME AMONG THE SCAPEGOATS WHO MUST IN-
EVITABLY FAIL TO WIN COMPLETE SUCCESS — IS of little
importance. The only fact that may appeal to the careful
reader as significant is that BEFORE THE NEGOTIATIONS BEGAN
NO DOUBT OF DE VALERA'S SINCERITY HAD PLACE IN MY
MIND !
" As I have before stated, I objected to the presence of
Childers in the secretariat because, as I have already pointed
out, I considered him at least altogether too radical and
impractical and, at worst, an enemy of Ireland. But just
as I failed in my plea to be kept off the delegation so De
Valera would not listen to Childers' exclusion. His argu-
ment was that, aside from whatever truth there might be in
my view that the menace I constituted was of advantage
to us, Ireland needed her ablest advocates at the conference
table — and he insisted I belonged in that category. As
K
146 Michael Collins' Own Story
for Childers — and here I am convinced he was quite sincere
— he said he considered him the most brilliant constitutional
authority Ireland had ever had, and his presence in the
delegation an essential of success.
" So my wishes were thwarted. Instead of being kept
in the background — against all eventualities — to be offered
in a crisis as a final sacrifice with which to win our way to
freedom — I had to walk into Whitehall and deal, face to
face, with the heads of the British Empire. AT THE VERY
MOMENT I WAS SHAKING HANDS WITH MR. LLOYD GEORGE ON
THE OCCASION OF OUR FIRST MEETING THERE WAS STILL IN
EXISTENCE THE DUBLIN CASTLE REWARD OF TEN THOUSAND
POUNDS FOR MY CAPTURE, DEAD OR ALIVE ! SUBSEQUENTLY
I REMINDED THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER OF THIS INCON-
GRUOUS STATE OF AFFAIRS — BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN
UNTIL I HAD DISCOVERED THAT HE KNEW HOW TO LAUGH !
" From beginning to end the English plenipotentiaries
dealt candidly, fairly, sympathetically. Much criticism
has been directed at Griffith and me because frequently we
went into conference alone with Mr. Lloyd George and Mr.
Churchill. It seems to me the point is not well taken. I
have never heard of anyone's criticising De Valera for having
conferred quite alone with Mr. Lloyd George a few months
earlier. There are inevitably details in the course of nego-
tiations of this character which are best discussed by a few
men, rather than by dozens. It comes to this : confidence
in the negotiators. And if, as Brugha charged, we were
bungling amateurs the fault lies with those who sent us
as their plenipotentiaries.
" It would be poor return for the treatment accorded
us in London to overstep the bounds of strict ethics by divulg-
ing anything of the negotiations which in any way could
prove offensive to the English participants. I have no
intention of doing so. But with that said, there are certain
points which I may shed light upon without committing
that unpardonable offence. And, to begin with, there is one
matter that I can deal with without any breach of confidence
or without any departure from etiquette.
The Treaty Negotiations 147
" It has been charged that we signed the Treaty under
duress. It has been said we signed the Treaty under a
threat of ' immediate and terrible war.' That is not true.
It was Barton who first made this charge — and by his own
statement proved himself a man who could be successfully
threatened ! BUT BARTON — CHALLENGED TO QUOTE THE
EXACT WORDS USED BY ANY OF THE ENGLISH PLENIPOTEN-
TIARIES IN FRAMING THE ALLEGED THREAT — ADMITTED THAT
IT HAD NEVER BEEN VOICED IN WORDS ! Nevertheless,
Barton, having signed the Treaty, opposed it and gave as
his justification his having acted under a threat which was
never made ! It is time this kind of thing received the
attention it merits.
" Surely I have made it plain enough that British armed
force could wipe the Irish nation out of existence. Is it
necessary to labour a self-evident fact ? No one but a mad-
man would question it. And in that sense, then, there was,
during the negotiations as there has always been as between
England and Ireland, the element of duress present. Nobody
doubts that had we been able to do it we should have beaten
the English out of Ireland — as our simple right. Our
acceptance of the truce, our consenting to negotiate — yes,
and in the same sense our signing of the Treaty — all these
proved that there existed the element of duress. Had we
been able to do it we should have whipped England
decisively — and then the Treaty negotiations would have
been conducted in Dublin, and we should have been a con-
queror nation announcing terms of surrender to a van-
quished foe ! The only reason that did not happen was
because we could not make it happen ! What good end is
to be served by pretending otherwise ?
" I dwell on this point because in many quarters this
charge of duress has been interpreted to mean that we
plenpotentiaries were subjected to personal duress. Of
course, this is nonsense. Obviously there was not, and could
not have been, any personal duress. But the unfortunate
impression that individual members of our delegation were
directly threatened has found lodgment in the minds of men
148 Michael Collins' Own Story
not conversant with the fundamental rules of conduct of
negotiations between two sovereign States. Of frankness
there was plenty. Plain speaking was to our liking. And there
was little of subtlety and drawing of fine distinctions. Mean-
time, however, the weeks dragged along, and we could see
small chance of arriving at any possible agreement.
" Time after time — duly reported in the world Press —
we adjourned the conference, and went back to our col-
leagues in Dublin — with nothing that was encouraging to
report. It was during the first of these return visits that
De Valera brought forward the first rough draft of what
later came to be the ' Mysterious Document No. 2.' Its
right to the title lay in the fact that it was not of De Valera's
composition. Put forward by him as his alternative to the
proposed Treaty, it was, in fact, the work of Erskine Childers.
I had little difficulty in guessing the identity of the author
as soon as I read it. Dominionism tinged every line of this
production. No Irishman who understood the tradition
and the history of Ireland would have thought or written
of his country's aspirations in the terms used in this
document.
" Under the terms of this document Ireland, by our own
free offer, was to be represented at the Imperial Conference.
Thus our status would have been taken from a Constitutional
Resolution passed at an Imperial Conference ! It was quite
clear that the outlook of the author of the document was
bounded entirely by the horizon of the British Empire.
BUT DE VALERA WAS INSISTENT THAT WE CARRY THE
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL BACK TO LONDON AND THERE SUB-
MIT IT AS OUR IRREDUCIBLE MINIMUM !
" We did so. The English delegates turned it down
flatly. We brought it back to Dublin, and it was revised
and amended — and again we took it to Downing Street.
Again it was turned down. And again we returned to De
Valera with the twice-rejected document. But a third
tune revisions and amendments were made, and a third
time we presented ourselves in London with the Childers'
compromise. When Mr. Lloyd George let us understand
The Treaty Negotiations 149
that further repetitions of this kind could mean only the
final breaking up of conference, we shelved Document
No. 2 — shelved it for once and all, as we thought. But that
was an error.
" Meantime, I had come to have what I believed — and
believe — was a clear understanding of the basic facts of the
situation. And when the opportunity arose I made it
quite clear to the British representatives that my stand was
different from that of the author of the thrice-rejected
proposals. I stated that Ireland was a mother country, with
the duties and responsibilities and feelings and devotions
of a mother country. This simple statement had more
effect on the British delegates than all the arguments about
dominion status, or all the arguments basing the claim of our
historic nation on any new-found idea. I told them that
Irish nationhood springs from the Irish people, not from
any comparison with any other nation, not from any
equality — inherent or acquired — with any other nation.
" In the course of our conversations Griffith and I soon
learned that the imposing conferees were primarily men who
dealt in facts, men to whom facts appealed. In this respect
they were like ourselves. In the Mansion House in Dublin
there was much of fine idealism — and almost as much of
impractical dreaming. In Whitehall there were no illusions
—and idealism had no place. But in Whitehall, at least, we
knew where we stood.
" As I have said, I hesitate to do anything that can be
construed as a breach of etiquette, but to make my point
quite clear I must risk the charge by citing two instances of
this downright frankness which characterised the English
statesmen with whom we dealt.
It happened during the conference between Mr.
Churchill and Lord Beatty and Childers and myself — in the
Colonial Office — to which I have already referred. In my
embarrassment over Childers' failure to produce anything
approaching a reasonable idea to back up his statement that
he could prove that Ireland was of no concern to Britain, I
searched my mind for something to say that would at least
150 Michael Collins' Own Story
make mycolleague's impracticability less glaring It will be
remembered that Childers had insisted that Plymouth was a
better base for submarine chasers than any Irish port !
While Lord Beatty was pointing to the map and thus flatly
disproving the truth of this assertion, I had an idea. Point-
ing to the French coast I suggested that Havre, for instance,
would have made an excellent base for the British forces
engaged in hunting submarines.
" ' Quite so,' replied Lord Beatty. Then he smiled,
and added, ' BUT WE CAN'T TAKE A FRENCH PORT ! '
" If that constitutes duress, I'll admit that we were
under duress. But to my way of thinking it is plain talk,
right talk, and the kind of talk I prefer my opponent to use.
" The other instance of this willingness on the part of
the Englishmen with whom we were dealing to say what
they mean was furnished by Mr. Lloyd George. I think
he will have no objection to my quoting him. As I have
already stated, I know he can laugh !
" It was in the midst of our consideration of the defence
clauses in the British proposals. Mr. Lloyd George made it
quite clear to us that the British people could not, or would
not, for the sake of their own safety, allow any Irish Govern-
ment to build submarines. England did not mind if we
built a dreadnought or two, a battleship or two — although
these concessions do not appear in the signed Treaty. In
fighting for vital concessions we were not weakening our
position by claiming anything so obviously useless as the
right to build and man a few capital ships ! It must
be apparent to everyone that to do such a ridiculous thing
would be to play England's game.
" We could indulge our vanity — if we were foolish enough
to waste public funds in such a manner — by having an
infant navy that could never mean anything at all to the
British sea power — BUT WE COULD NOT HAVE ONE SUB-
MARINE ! SUBMARINES ARE CHEAP TO BUILD AND REQUIRE
FEW MEN TO OPERATE THEM ! SUBMARINES ARE A REAL
MENACE TO ENGLAND !
" I fought my best to try to argue the point. ' After all,'
The Treaty Negotiations 151
I said to the British Prime Minister, ' Ireland could never
hope to wage an aggressive war against England.' Restrict-
ing our offensive armament seemed to me on a par with
muzzling a Skye terrier.
" ' Submarines/ replied Mr. Lloyd George, ' are the
flying columns of the seas.' He looked at me straight as he
said this, and slowly a twinkle came into his eyes. Then he
spoke again. ' And I am sure,' he said, ' there is no need
for me to tell you, Mr. Collins, how much damage can be
inflicted by flying columns ! We have had experience with
your flying columns on land ! '
" There was nothing to be said then ! He knew what he
was talking about. More than that — he knew that I knew !
" But De Valera and Childers saw nothing disadvan-
tageous to us in this prohibition of submarines. Perhaps it
would be more nearly accurate to say that De Valera did not
visualise the potential value of Irish submarines — and that
Childers did ! In any event, Document No. 2 conceded this
British claim fully. Document No. 2 gave way to England
on a point that really mattered ! This cannot be stated
too emphatically. Such a concession to British necessity,
real or supposed, was nothing but rank dishonesty. LET
US AGREE — SINCE WE MUST — THAT WE SHALL NOT BUILD
SUBMARINES, BUT DON'T LET US PRETEND THAT WE ARE
DOING IT FROM ANY MOTIVE OTHER THAN THE REAL
MOTIVE !
" With the Treaty finally signed, what was the position ?
After 750 years, Ireland was about to become a fully con-
stituted nation — the whole of Ireland as one nation to com-
pose the Irish Free State with a Parliament to make laws
for the peace, order and good government of Ireland,
and with an Executive responsible to that Parliament.
This is the whole basis of the Treaty, and it must be borne
clearly in mind that the Treaty (and a treaty, be it remem-
bered, is between equals) is the bed-rock from which our
status springs, and that any later Act of the British Legis-
lature derives its force from the Treaty only. We have the
constitutional status of Canada, and that status being one of
152 Michael Collins' Own Story
freedom and equality we are free to take advantage of that
status. In fact, England has renounced all right to govern
Ireland, and the withdrawal of her forces is the proof of this.
With the evacuation, secured by the Treaty, has come the
end of British rule in Ireland. No foreigner will be able
to intervene between our Government and our people. WILL
IRISHMEN CONTINUE TO INTERVENE BETWEEN OUR GOVERN-
MENT AND OUR PEOPLE ?
" The Treaty we brought home gave us the freedom we
fought to win — freedom from British interference and
domination. The Black and Tans are no more. The
regular British Military Forces are gone. The Royal
Irish Constabulary is only a memory hi the twenty-six
counties. And these are the results of the Treaty. And
we knew that December night when we boarded the train,
bound for home, that these were to be the results of our
many months of arduous labours. If it were not a triumph
for the cause of Ireland, at least it was a greater measure
of success than any of us had dared hope. And it seemed
that the Irish people resident in London considered it a
triumph. For at the station there were thousands of them
— men, women and children — waving the tri-colour and
cheering us and singing happy folk-songs. It was a hearten-
ing sight. Was it only a forerunner of our greeting in
Dublin ? We all wondered.
CHAPTER XVI
THE MISGUIDED ONES
" OUR arrival with the signed Treaty in Dublin, on a grey,
cold December morning, was in a sense prophetic of what
was to follow through all the bitter weeks of the Dail
sessions. Here were no signs of jubilation. There was no
one at the station to greet us. And yet the newspapers
had acclaimed the Treaty as a triumph. Even the few
people abroad at that early hour seemed strangely apathetic.
Had our four months of hard work meant just nothing
at all to the people whom we had tried to serve ? It
appeared so."
Collins spoke with an unaccustomed note of sadness in
his voice. Although at this time he did not make reference
to it, I recalled an earlier confidence of his — the real ambiton
he hoped one day to realise. When I tell it, there should
be no longer any doubt as to the kind of man this young,
inspired Irishman was. He hated politics. He hated
intrigue. He hated everything that was not constructive.
What he wanted above anything else — and I can say this
because I have his word for it — was to see his country
awaken to the meaning of good citizenship and so permit
him to lay down the heavy burden of being the leader of
a people asleep and ignorant. And when that day came
Collins hoped he might be able to set himself up in business
— a little business in which he could never have to be afraid
of becoming rich !
That was a very real fear in Collins' mind — perhaps the
only fear he ever knew. On two different occasions it
became my duty to acquaint him with opportunities offered
»5J
154 Michael Collins' Own Story
him by American interests through me. One of them
involved his receiving a sum of money greater than the
total of his life's earnings — to be paid to him for writing a
series of articles for American publication. He agreed to
write the articles BUT FLATLY REFUSED TO ACCEPT
PAYMENT FOR THEM !
" Would you think of offering your President Harding
payment for such a thing ? " he asked soberly. Collins
had no " side," but he was Chairman of the Provisional
Government, and he held that any act unworthy of that
office must reflect on the dignity of the Irish nation.
The other offer I presented to him called for his leaving
the responsibilities of government to others and making
a journey to the United States where a lecture tour had
been tentatively arranged for him. He shook his big head
emphatically. It was out of the question, he insisted.
And when I explained to him that in six months of lecturing
he could do more for Ireland's cause in America than he
could ever accomplish in any other way, he was still adamant
in his refusal even to consider it. I asked him if he had
any idea how much money he himself could earn by such
a tour. The question seemed to strike him as very
humorous. He grinned, and shook his head. I told him he
would be the richer by at least a million dollars.
" That settles it," he said with a chuckle. " I'll keep
away from America. A million dollars would ruin a better
man than I am ! " And he meant it ! But returning to
Collins' story of the homecoming of the envoys.
" The lack of jubilation among the people, "he continued,
" was dispiriting enough, but it was nothing compared
with the open hostility we faced in the Cabinet drawing-
room of the Mansion House. Awaiting us there were De
Valera, depressed, gaunt, solemn ; Stack, his eyes blazing,
his fists tight clenched ; Brugha, the personification of
venom ; Mme. Markievicz, more nearly hysterical and more
vituperative than ever she was in any session of the Dail.
These and others faced us, and one of the first words of
greeting told us that we had made ourselves ' Partners of
The Misguided Ones 155
the Empire ' — referring to the phrase used by the Lord
Chancellor of England in felicitating Ireland.
" Before that first conference ended Griffith and I
realised what we must expect from these men and women
with whom all through the years we had fought the fight
for Irish freedom. From colleagues they had suddenly
changed into savage, relentless enemies. And yet, then —
as always ever since — Griffith and I hoped against hope
that we could persuade them of their error. IT is ALL VERY
WELL FOR CRITICS OF THE POLICY WHICH GRIFFITH AND I
ADOPTED TO DECLARE THAT THE MENACE THIS MISGUIDED
MINORITY CONSTITUTED SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MET BY
KID-GLOVE METHODS — BUT THE IRISH PEOPLE NEEDED,
AND STILL NEED ABOVE ANY OTHER, ONE THING UNITY —
AND UNITY IS NOT TO BE ACHIEVED BY KILLING ALL THOSE
WHOSE OPINIONS MAKE UNITY IMPOSSIBLE. HARMONY
does not spring FROM MURDER. THERE ARE FEW MEN IN
THE WORLD WHOM YOU CAN BRING TO YOUR POINT OF VIEW
BY KNOCKING THEM DOWN.
" Griffith and I held that the Treaty healed an age-old
tragedy, the first act of which was played in Dublin in 1172,
when Henry II. of England compelled Ireland's tribal kings
to swear fealty to him. But the little group of men and
women facing us in the Mansion House held a different
opinion. They told us — and for the most part they were
sincere — that the Treaty we had signed was the most in-
famous document any Irishman ever signed ; that every
martyr's widow, and most of the army leaders, considered
we were guilty of treason. It was they — at first — who
held the floor, and had their say. But finally I had my
chance.
" ' In signing this Treaty,' I told them, ' we have laid
the foundation of peace and friendship with the people at
our side. What I have signed I shall stand over hi the
belief that, if it brings Ireland no other blessing, the ending
of the conflict of centuries is the finest thing that ever
happened for the Irish people.'
" This I told them, but it served to lessen their hostility
156 Michael Collins* Own Story
not at all. Stack, I remember especially, was incensed
because Griffith had ' forgotten ' the meaning of Sinn Fein
— which he mistranslated as ' Ourselves Alone.' Neither
Griffith nor I made answer to this charge — nor, indeed, to
any of the charges. Unexpected as was this vitriolic con-
demnation of us, and as little prepared for it as we were,
we both grasped the essential point that recriminations
were useless and worse than useless.
" De Valera showed us a telegraphed appeal to the
Irish people sent from London that morning by Art O'Brien,
head of the Irish Self-Determination League. ' Be not
misled into thanksgiving without cause,' the telegram read.
' Complete sovereignty is a claim which no nation can forgo.
And until it is met in our case we of the Irish race cannot
and will not rejoice.' This was, at any rate, less vicious in
tone than the rest, and we quickly made it plain that we
expected no acclamation of joy that might properly follow
a national triumph. We asked and wanted no throwing up
of hats, no fervid demonstrations of any kind. We did
ask and did want calm, deliberate, FAIR consideration of
the results of our labours in London.
" Of the 121 members of Bail Eireann, 112 were veterans
of the war and men who had served at least one term in an
English jail. Many of them have been arrested and im-
prisoned three and even five times. A few have served
prison terms as many as nine times. And to these Teachtse
of the Dail we submitted the Treaty with its oath of
allegiance, ' That I will be faithful to His Majesty King
George, his heirs and successors by law.' We knew how
hard it was going to be for these men, who had suffered so
much at the hands of England, to take that oath. BUT
WHO IS GOING TO SAY THAT THEIR DIFFICULTY IS ANY MORE
PAINFUL THAN OURS ?
" I talked with these men, and tried my best to reason
with them. The world knows the result. A majority of
seven in Dail Eireann brought the Treaty into being. But
the minority left me in no doubt as to where I stood in
their estimation. Few of them chose to say it openly,
The Misguided Ones 157
but all of them held that I was not the same man who told
the young Volunteers at Rathfarnham that ' Irish freedom
is coming because of the men who have died and because
of the men who are still prepared to die.' I was the <^me
man. I am the same man. And I say now what I said at
Rathfarnham, with the difference that now I say Irish
freedom HAS come !
" Of course, the Dail discovered that there was a serious
split in the Cabinet at the first of the secret sessions in Decem-
ber. De Valera had just motored back from the West.
Brugha was on hand fresh from an inspection of the army
that had taken him all over Ireland. Both were convinced
that the vast majority of the people would support them in
any move they made. And, for a few days, this was a fact
undoubtedly. The people still hailed De Valera as their
leader. They applauded him when he told them, ' We have
counted the cost, and we shall not quail even though the
full price of our freedom has to be paid.' Brave words,
truly ! Applauded certainly ! But sanity was yet to
prevail.
" Brugha told us in one of the secret sessions that we
had fallen to the magic of Lloyd George. Mme. Markievicz
held us in scorn because we had proved ourselves incapable
of matching swords with ' the Welsh wizard.' De Valera
referred to his own fears — fears that led him to abstain
from taking part in the negotiations. He admitted his fear
that he might succumb to the British Prime Minister's
cunning, and then, apparently on the verge of tears,
declared that this is what had happened to us. The man
who had taken the measure of Woodrow Wilson and Georges
Clemenceau had outwitted us. This is what De Valera told
the Teachtae. IT WAS NOT THUS.
" The truth, as I have tried to make it plain, is that
Lloyd George was well informed. The militarists in White-
hall were pressing for an immediate onslaught by sea and
land. They believed — and many of them still believe —
that the late Lord Salisbury spoke accurately when he
said that ' the Irish are no more fitted for self-government
158 Michael Collins* Own Story
than the Hottentots.' What Ireland needed — declared
these advocates of ruthlessness — was twenty years of
resolute government ! Lloyd George did not believe this.
I repeat : he was well informed. He knew we had organised
on a national scale and could count on 3,000,000 men, women
and children to do their part of the task of fighting the
British armed forces in guerilla warfare. He knew the
British garrison in Ireland, all told, numbered 150,000 men.
He knew what it would mean to conquer the Irish people.
He did not want to have to do it.
" Lloyd George knew that the Terror had failed ; that
it had been not only non-deterrent but had actually swelled
the patriotic fervour of the youth of Ireland. He knew
that the morning they hanged young Kevin Barry 550
young men of Dublin enrolled themselves in the army !
He knew that we were smuggling arms and ammunition
into Ireland throughout the truce. He knew we were
recruiting and drilling. He knew our ramifications were
world-wide. There were evidences of this close at hand.
The raids for machine-guns on Chelsea and Windsor Barracks
were such evidences. The Irish Office in Whitehall had
proof that as much as five pounds had been paid for a high-
explosive detonator — and five tunes as much for a service
revolver ! The British Prime Minister had accurate in-
formation as to the intended recipients of the 600 '45
calibre Colt automatics discovered on the docks in
Hoboken ! He knew the planned destination of the 355 Ibs.
of T.N.T. seized in the home of a coal-miner in Newcastle.
" But he knew more than this. He knew that Ireland's
freedom was absolutely dependent on the good-will of
Britain. He made us know it ! He made us see the common
sense of entering into friendly relations — a course dictated,
if by nothing else, by the instinct of self-preservation. He
put clearly before us the indisputable fact that our economic
interests are identical. It was our task to convince our
people that these were the facts.
" To many Irishmen the Treaty had come as a crushing
disappointment. There is no gainsaying it. They had
The Misguided Ones 159
believed that in some magical way we of the delegation
would be able to make possible the rebirth and regeneration
of the Gaelic State on a stupendous scale. Anything less
than this seemed impossible to accept. Yet we could not
for ever live in dreamland. The reality of the situation
had to be made plain from Cashal down to Kerry. Griffith
voiced the urgent need of unity on the part of ' all sections
of the Irish nation in raising the structure and shaping the
destiny of our new Free State.' And already the people
began to understand.
" De Valera at first insisted that the Treaty would
never be accepted by the people. He declared that ' the
terms of this Agreement are in violent conflict with the
wishes of the majority of this nation.' But little by little
he began to realise that this was not the case. Whereupon
he sponsored the remarkable policy of saving the people
from themselves by preventing their expressing their will !
To me it would have been a criminal act to refuse to allow
the Irish nation to give its opinion as to whether it would
accept this settlement or resume hostilities. But in the
initial stages of the fight within the Cabinet De Valera
and his followers seemed capable of making a plebiscite
impossible.
" Our difficulty then — as it is still — was to make plain
to the people that the task of making a noble Irish Ireland
lies in the people themselves. It cannot be stated too
often that our people for hundreds of years have been sub-
j ected to the de-nationalising influence of Anglicisation . The
task before us, having got rid of the British, is to get rid of
the remaining influences — to de-Anglicise ourselves. There
are many among us who still hanker after English ways,
and any thoughtlessness, any carelessness, will tend to keep
things on the old lines — the inevitable danger of the prox-
imity of the two nations.
"It is no restriction nor limitation in the Treaty that
will prevent our nation from becoming great and potent.
The presence of a representative of the British Crown —
depending upon us for his resources — cannot prevent us from
160 Michael Collins* Own Story
doing that. The words of a document as to what our status
is cannot prevent us from doing that. . . . One thing only
can prevent us — and that is disunion among ourselves.
Can we not concentrate and unite not on the negative but
on the positive task of making a real Ireland, distinctive
from Britain — a nation of our own ? The only way to get
rid of the British contamination and the evils of corrupt
materialism is to secure a united Ireland intent on demo-
cratic ways, to make our free Ireland a fact, and not to
keep it for ever in dreamland as something that will never
come true, and which has no practical effect or reality
except as giving rise to everlasting fighting and destruction.
Destructive conflict seems almost to have become the end
itself in the minds of some — some who appear almost to be
unheeding and unmindful of what the real end is.
" In those early days of the year we clung hopefully
to the belief that our political opponents must sooner or
later cease their opposition and accept the will of the
people, which was daily becoming more and more over-
whelmingly in favour of the Treaty. At that time Ireland
was perhaps the only country in Europe which had living
hopes of a better civilisation. We had an unparalleled
opportunity of making good. Much was within our grasp.
Who could lay a finger on our liberties ? If any power
menaced us we were in a stronger position than ever before
to repel the aggressor. We had reached the starting-point
from which to advance and use our liberties to make Ireland
a shining light in a dark world, to reconstruct our ancient
civilisation on modern lines, to avoid the errors, the miseries,
the dangers into which other nations with their false civilisa-
tions have fallen.
" The only way to build the nation solid and Irish is to
affect the dissentient elements in a friendly national way —
by attraction, not by compulsion, making themselves feel
welcomed into the Irish nation in which they can join and
become absorbed as, long ago, the Gerladines and the de
Burgos became absorbed. The old Unionists, Home
Rulers, Devolutionists — and now the uncompromising
The Misguided Ones 161
Republicans — we had to have them all, and we tried to win
them all. We are still at it. If with each passing week our
efforts seem to be more and more futile — if the soul-destroy-
ing pessimism which is gradually settling down over our
people cannot be dissipated — at least it will not be because
those of us enlisted in the cause of an Irish Ireland
have not used every means in our power to put an end to
internecine conflict.
" The English Die-Hards said to Mr. Lloyd George and
his Cabinet, ' You have surrendered.' Our own Die-Hards
say to us, ' You have surrendered.' There is a simple test.
Those who are left in possession of the battlefield have won.
" Yes — we had won. We had won our freedom,
next we had to consolidate our gains to prove ourselves
worthy of the victory. And as the weeks lengthened into
months and our opponents became ever more bitter and
more extreme, we began ourselves to wonder if hi the end
the Irish people — in order to be able to live in peace — would
consent to remain in dreamland, to be led by dreamers !
We wondered, but we did not cease doing our best to prevent
this national tragedy. We have not ceased — and we shall
not cease. The fight must go on until it is won. It will
go on until law and order have been established in every
square mile of the 26 counties. To that we have dedicated
ourselves."
CHAPTER XVII
DISHONEST TACTICS
" THERE were 1,200 of us in the internment camp. Almost
every man of the lot had done his share in digging the tunnel
through which a few of us would be able to make our escape.
By mutual agreement this number was fixed at thirty. If
a greater number attempted it the escape would be fore-
doomed to failure. The point was — how to nominate the
lucky thirty. Every one of us knew in his heart that our
return to the army meant more to Ireland than that of any
other man ! That was only human, of course. The
selection was not safely to be left in our hands. Only
some one less self-interested ought to name the thirty.
" Among ourselves we discussed our various leaders —
to find one upon whose judgment we could all rely. Brugha,
as titular head of the army, was objectionable to many of us.
De Valera likewise was voted down. Finally, Collins was
proposed. Not one man of the 1,200 had any objections to
him. And so we left our fate in his hands. We did it
because we had implicit trust in him."
This little story was told me several months after the
signing of the Treaty by Desmond Fitzgerald. I tell it
here to make clear the wonderful hold Collins had on all
classes of Irishmen. In their eyes he was the embodiment
of honesty and fair dealing. But in the case of De Valera
there was also a kind of blind faith on the part of hundreds
of thousands of Irish people which accounted for his very
real power in Dail Eireann. They are a simple people,
the Irish. They must have an object of devotion. And
once a national hero has won their affection, it is neither
easy nor wise to attempt to disillusionise them. And this
162
Dishonest Tactics 163
fact must be borne in mind while considering Collins' stead-
fast refusal to tell the Irish people what he himself had dis-
covered— THAT DE VALERA'S " IDEALISM " WAS NOT GENUINE.
" The unnatural campaign of destruction being waged
by the uncompromising Republicans," Collins said at one
of our last conferences, " had its beginnings in the bitter
fight in the early sessions of the Dail. For a long time I
struggled with myself to keep from believing the evidence of
my own eyes and ears, but finally I had to realise that the
man we had made President of the Republic was capable
of resorting to dishonest methods. Griffith came to this
conclusion before I did, but in the end we were both of one
mind. Also we saw eye to eye as to the inadvisability of
making this deplorable fact known among the people. No
good end was to be served by such a course. We felt that
we were strong enough within the Dail itself to remove De
Valera as a potent factor of disruption. But now the time
has come to establish the grave charge I have made.
" De Valera would not head the delegation that went to
London. Every member of the Cabinet and every Teachtae
of Dail Eireann wanted him to conduct the Treaty negotia-
tions, and many of us pleaded with him not to remain
behind. But he was immovable. The reason he gave was
twofold. First, he said, it was beneath his dignity, as Presi-
dent of the Irish Republic, to leave his country ; and,
second, he could not afford to put himself in a position in
which he might do his nation irreparable harm by a chance
word across the conference table. He insisted his value
to the Irish people would be greatest by remaining in Dublin,
and from that distance guiding us in our task.
"I for one accepted what he said as being his sincere
belief, although I differed from him. But when he per-
sisted in forcing us to present to the British delegation
Document No. 2 — after we had told him time and again
that it meant the breaking off of the negotiations — a doubt
of his sincerity began to form in my mind. Subsequent
developments have removed that doubt. There is no longer
any doubt about it. De Valera was animated by only one
164 Mictoael Collins' Own Story
purpose-; — the collapse of the negotiations to be effected by
our stubborn unreasonableness !
" De Valera's alternative contained very little that was
not in the Treaty, and little that England could have
objected to, but for that very reason our insistence on its
supplanting the Treaty merited the unequivocal refusal our
insistence met. Besides that, De Valera's document was loos
in its construction. In the application of its details we
should have been constantly faced with conflicting in-
terpretations leading to inevitable discordance. But such
considerations meant nothing to De Valera. HE NEITHER
EXPECTED NOR WANTED HIS ALTERNATIVE ACCEPTED !
" He stated that England had never kept a treaty, and
would not keep this Treaty. He used this argument in
support of his contention that his Document No. 2 should
have been forced upon the British Government. Yet a
blind man can see the fallacy of such an argument. England,
saidDe Valera in effect, would not keep the Treaty which
she had signed — and would keep a treaty she had not
signed ! The truth is that De Valera, under the malignant
influence of Childers, had reached that point of paranoia
at which persecutory delusions become fixed. He would
effect the ruin of his own country before he would admit that
peace and friendship between Ireland and England were
possible. AND YET HE IS THE MAN WHO ACCEPTED IN THE
NAME OF THE IRISH PEOPLE THE ENGLISH INVITATION TO FIND
A WAY FOR THE TWO NATIONS TO LIVE SIDE BY SIDE IN AMITY.
I SAY — AND I CHOOSE MY WORDS DELIBERATELY — THAT HIS
ACCEPTANCE OF THAT INVITATION WAS A DISHONEST ACT.
" Of course it has been abundantly established that
Document No. 2 was not of De Valera's authorship, to
begin with. And it is fact that cannot be controverted that
De Valera claimed its authorship. It is relatively un-
important, but it is an added proof of my charge. As to
the differences between the Treaty and this alternative,
such as there are, they all bespeak the dishonesty of purpose
of their author. There is, for instance, the definite stipula-
tion in Document No. 2 for Britain's ratification of the
Dishonest Tactics 165
alternative. And hand in hand with that fact is De Valera's
vehement protest against the British conferring on us of the
rights and powers of the Treaty. That is not honest.
" Under certain clauses of the alternative Ireland is
committed to an association so vague that it might afford
grounds for claims by Britain which might give her an
opportunity to press for control in Irish affairs as ' common
concerns,' and to use or to threaten to use force. The Irish
people would never have agreed to commit themselves to
anything so vague. We know that there are many things
which the States of the British Commonwealth can afford
to regard as ' common concerns ' which we could not
afford so to regard — one of the disadvantages of geographical
propinquity. We had to find some form of association
which would safeguard us — as far as we could be safe-
guarded— in somewhat the same degree as the 3,000 miles
of ocean safeguard Canada.
" De Valera knew when he accepted the British Prime
Minister's invitation to discuss ' association with the
British Commonwealth ' that that meant association of a
different kind from that of mere alliance of isolated nations.
For him to have suggested otherwise was dishonest. More
than that, the association of the Treaty is less equivocal than
the association proposed in Document No. 2. The external
association mentioned in Document No. 2 had neither the
honesty of complete isolation — a questionable advantage in
these days of warring nationalities when it is not too easy
for a small nation to stand rigidly alone — nor the strength
of free partnership satisfying the different partners. Such
external association was not practical politics.
" De Valera and Childers laboured long over the framing
of an oath which they knew had to be incorporated in any
agreement that would be acceptable to Britain. Their
first essay read as follows :
' That for the purposes of the association Ireland
shall recognise His Britannic Majesty as head of the
association.'
166 Michael Collins* Own Story
Here merely is recognition as precise as that given in the
Treaty — but it met with such disapproval that De Valera
and Childers shelved it in favour of another, namely :
' I do swear to bear true faith and allegiance to
the Constitution of Ireland and to the Treaty of
Association of Ireland with the British Common-
wealth of Nations and to recognise the King of Great
Britain as head of the associated States.'
This alternative oath was discussed by the Dail for many
long, weary days in private sessions. De Valera attempted
to explain that the King of Great Britain might fairly be
regarded as a managing director — a mere name in common
usage these days when industrial concerns are amalgamating
and entering into agreements. The King of Great Britain
would thus occupy the same relative position towards the
associated States as a managing director occupies towards
associated businesses. Now a managing director is one who
manages and directs. Whatever the practical value of
royal prerogatives, no modern democratic nation is managed
and directed by one ruler. This talk of a managing director
was as nonsensical as it was dishonest.
" Throughout the Childers document there are dangerous
friction spots — which obviously were to be avoided by
any one with Ireland's interests at heart. Ireland, being the
weaker nation, could not fail to suffer if a misleading clause
had to be interpreted. As for the defence clauses, I have
already told how De Valera and Childers gave way to
England on the only point that really mattered — agreement
not to build submarines. It will not do for them to say
submarines would be of no use to us. Childers, with his
experience in the Royal Navy, knows better. I cannot
believe that De Valera is so ignorant as not to know better.
IF HE BELIEVES WHAT I HAVE TOLD HIM MORE THAN ONCE,
HE DOES KNOW BETTER !
" But without going into tiresome details I want to state
again that from beginning to end this document is for the
most part a repetition of the Treaty WITH ONLY SUCH SLIGHT
Dishonest Tactics 167
VERBAL ALTERATIONS AS NO ONE BUT A FACTIONIST, LOOKING
FOR MEANS OF MAKING MISCHIEF, WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT
WORTH WHILE TO HAVE RISKED WRECKING THE TREATY FOR.
"As an improvement on the Treaty, Document No. 2
is not honest. It may be more dictatorial in language,
but it does not contain in principle a great ' reconciliation
with Irish national aspirations.' It merely sought to attach
a fresh label to the same parcel, or, rather, a label written
of purpose illegibly in the hope of making believe that the
parcel was other than it is.
" What is this idealism that is supposed to be animating
De Valera and his followers ? Without attempting to
answer that question, let me point to its proven consequences.
We are back in slavery ! At the very moment that we
had been lifted out of the worst slough of destitution these
idealists began their senseless, wicked campaign, the under-
lying purpose of which is to destroy us as a nation ! We
were turning our eyes towards the light of liberty, and
beginning to lift our heads as Irish men and Irish women,
with a land of our own, and with traditions and hopes of
which no nation need feel ashamed — and then from East
to West, from North to South, a handful of desperate mad-
men brought down upon the people all the wicked anguish
of fratricidal strife ! They have done and are still doing
their best to prove true the degrading lie that what is
English is respectable, and what is Irish is low and mean !
BUT THEY WILL NEVER SUCCEED IN THAT.
" Let a world who stands by now and expresses scorn
of a people who permit outrages to be practised upon them
by a negligible minority understand that this is not fair to
the Irish people. Let the world remember that there have
been only brief intervals between long periods of starvation
— periods in which we could reflect upon our condition and
awaken to the cause of our miseries. The presence of the
English had deprived us of life and liberty. An infamous
machine was destroying us. Now that it has gone, the
ravaging effects remain. National consciousness is not an
over-night growth. Of patriotic fervour there is no lack,
168 Michael Collins' Own Story
but a people must be schooled for generations to know how
effectively to put their patriotism to practical ends.
" The history of 700 years must be reversed before
we shall know the meaning of national freedom. And
first of all we must acquire the habit of standing to-
gether. Already to a large degree the advantages of the
Treaty have been irretrievably lost. Our very national
life is being threatened by this continued disunion. The
country is too small to stand a big cleavage in the national
ranks. The opposition as represented by De Valera and his
Irregulars has already proved nearly fatal to the national
interests. If De Valera succeeds in his opposition, he will
undoubtedly destroy the nation as a whole. BUT DE VALERA
WILL NOT SUCCEED ! THAT IS THE ONE EVENTUALITY —
AND PERHAPS THE ONLY ONE — WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN
SO LONG AS THERE REMAIN ALIVE SANE IRISHMEN.
" When, during the Terror, England issued the order I
have already referred to, making it a criminal offence for an
Irishman to be in possession of arms, it was held to be a
death-blow to our fight for freedom. Yet to-day we are
faced with a greater misfortune — disunity among ourselves.
Until now I have refrained from speaking plainly about
those men who are leading the nation into black chaos — but
nothing less than the brutal truth will serve now.
" More than once in Ireland's history has an Irish army
been betrayed by Irishmen. Once, for instance, the
Volunteers were betrayed — by Grattan — who, when it
suited his purpose, spoke of them as ' an armed rabble.'
The old saying that the only real lesson of history is that
the lessons of history are never learned, is peculiarly
applicable to some of the Irish people to-day. If De Valera
has his way, the Irish army of to-day will be rendered useless,
as were the armies of 1652, 1691 and 1782. BUT DE VALERA
WILL NOT HAVE HIS WAY. THE NATIONAL ARMY IS THE
PEOPLE'S ARMY, AND IT WILL BRING THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY
MOST DESIRE — ABIDING PEACE.
" Finally, let there be no doubt anywhere that the vast
majority of responsible opinion in Ireland is absolutely
Dishonest Tactics 169
against De Valera and his followers. See what the bishops
of Ireland said at a general meeting, held in St. Patrick's
College, Maynooth, April 26, 1922 :
" ' The condition of the country is a subject of
the deepest distress and humiliation. On the great
national question of the Treaty every Irishman is
entitled to his own opinion, subject to truth and
responsibility to God. It is a national question to
be settled by the national will and ascertained by an
election. It is painful to have to use the language
of condemnation, but principles are being openly
defended which are in fundamental conflict with the
law of God. The army as a whole, and still more a
part of the army, has no moral right to declare itself
independent of all civil authority in the country.
Such a claim is subversive of all civil liberty. The
army more than any other order in society, from the
nature of its institution, is the servant of the nation's
government. . . .
' We appeal in the name of God, of Ireland and
of all national dignity to the leaders on both sides,
civil and military, to meet again, to remember old
fellowship in danger and suffering, and if they cannot
agree upon the main question to agree upon two
things at all events — that the use of the revolver
must cease, and the elections, the national expression
of self-determination, be allowed to be held free
from all violence.'
" To this appeal Griffith and I responded whole heartedly.
The result is known by the world. The Military Executive
that was set up in the Four Courts was the answer of the
extremists who clung to De Valera's idealistic (!) pronounce-
ment that Ireland was theirs ' for the taking ' — clung to it
as greedy vultures cling to a carcass. The die was cast. It
was now only a question of weeks, perhaps days, before the
people's army would have to go forth and defend the people's
rights. It was heart-sickening. But the fact remained."
CHAPTER XVIII
THE ULSTER PROBLEM
" WHEN a people have struggled for 750 years against
subjection it is perhaps not strange that the one dominating
characteristic of such a people should finally come to be
antagonism. And antagonism has come to be an in-
grained quality of many Irishmen. Among ourselves in
the 26 counties there is hardly less of antagonism between
the labour group and those not so labelled than there is
between the so-called Republicans and those who support
the Treaty. The agreement with the British Government
has removed Ireland's one great inspiration for unity, and
has made many Irishmen forget that after all we are every
one of us — Republican extremist and moderate Free Stater,
radical labourite and idealistic Separatist — IRISH ! "
Collins thus introduced his narrative of the two years'
reign of violence in Belfast one night while he lay ill at
the house of a friend in Dublin. He told me the story
only after he had become convinced of the uselessness of
further conferences with Sir James Craig.
" Mistaking the means for the end is perhaps the greatest
blunder a man can make," he continued. " Unhappily it
is a blunder of which many Irishmen are guilty. In some
instances fighting for freedom has come to mean fighting
for fighting's sake. Bringing the victims of this delusion
to realise their folly constitutes the gravest problem con-
fronting the Free State Government. For it is this spirit
of suspicion and hostility animating opposing groups of
Irishmen that is largely responsible for the situation hi
Ulster. If unity is impossible among us of the South, how
The Ulster Problem 171
can we expect understanding and reconciliation with Ulster ?
" The semblance of unity which we managed to manu-
facture at the recent session of the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis
was artificial in the sense that it was but temporary and
for expediency, but it would be a mistake to imagine for a
moment that that unity would not become very real and
absolutely effective if either Britain or Ulster attempted to
take advantage of any apparent split between the four
opposing groups. It has always been so — in Ireland.
Enemies of to-day are brothers in arms to-morrow — in-
stantly an outsider seeks to exploit either to his own end.
" / have every reason to believe, however, that neither
Britain nor Ulster has any thought of trading on our disunion.
Those of us who negotiated the Treaty are convinced of the
good faith of the English signatories. This in itself pre-
cludes the possibility of any aggressive action on the part of
Ulster. Whitehall invariably shows Belfast the way. The
bitterer our quarrel becemes, the more virtuous will be the
attitude of both Britain and Ulster."
(In the light of subsequent events this prophecy is of
unusual interest in so far as it proves the great insight of
the Irish leader. At the time he gave me this interview
massacres of Roman Catholics were of daily occurrence in
Belfast. The pogrom had been uninterrupted for two
years. With the outbreak of the civil war in Southern
Ireland the atrocities in Ulster ceased as if by magic !)
" Before I take up the situation in Ulster, therefore, I
want to emphasise the one factor that is worrying us more
than any other — the disunion that exists within our own
parties. Divergencies of opinion among supporters of the
.Treaty are almost as great as the gulf that separates the
Free State party as a whole and the Republican party.
There is an unbridgeable chasm between the uncom-
promising extremism of the radical wing of the Republican
party and its moderate adherents.
" De Valera is a moderate at heart. An idealist, he is
at the same time less radical than man}' of his followers.
Proof of this can be adduced. To do so I shall lift a corner
172 Michael Collins* Own Story
of the veil of secrecy that covered the three-hour con-
ference that took place just before the opening of the Ard
Fheis between the leaders of the two parties. At that
conference De Valera and Stack met Griffith and me in an
attempt to find a common ground on which to appeal to
the 3,000 Sinn Fein delegates for unity. As I think I have
already made plain there is no follower of De Valera —
not even excepting Cathal Brugha — more bitterly hostile
to the Treaty than Austin Stack. Yet an agreement was
reached — and reached in the face of Stack's violent op-
position. To prove De Valera's moderation it is necessary
to reproduce a portion of our discussion in the conference.
" ' I have a clear majority of 600 in this Ard Fheis/
said De Valera.
" ' You have not/ I told him.
" Stack insisted that their majority was quite 600
— and a blind man could have seen the chip on his shoulder.
" ' You're wrong/ I told them. And before they could
say anything further I showed them how wrong they were.
I told them they had a majority of more than a thousand !
" In spite of this admission of mine we reached an
agreement not to take the vote which I acknowledged would
see us beaten by two to one. The reason De Valera con-
sented to forego this victory was simple. He knew that
that Ard Fheis was as typical of the Irish nation as Tammany
Hall is typical of New York State. As well expect Tam-
many to endorse the Republican candidate for President as
to expect the Ard Fheis to vote to disestablish the Irish
Republic. A vote in the Ard Fheis would leave the situation
in the country unchanged. No good could come from
taking a vote then. I drove the point home with a para-
phrase of the alleged threat of Mr. Lloyd George (which he
never voiced) about ' immediate and terrible war/
" ' If you force the issue here/ I told De Valera, ' it will
mean that we shall go to the country and have an immediate
and terrible election ! "
" Even Stack smiled. But his opposition to any kind
of agreement was not in the least abated. He was still
The Ulster Problem 173
dissatisfied even after De Valera had managed to persuade
us to postpone the General Election for three months. That
agreement was popularly supposed to be a victory for De
Valera. Actually it earned him the displeasure of all the
extremists among his followers. His moderation, as then
expressed, accounts for the ascendancy to-day of Rory
O'Connor. De Valera is less than ever the real leader of
those who oppose us. He wishes more than ever that
some way could be devised to get him ' out of the Republican
strait-jacket ' !
" It is a pity, but it is true, that De Valera finds himself
in an inextricable position for all his desire to get himself
out of it. Recently he qualified an earlier statement of
his by saying that whereas he had stood on the rock of the
Republic, he now felt he held a stronger position in that he
was standing on the rock of Right. The truth is he knows
that rejection of the Treaty will not bring the Republic into
practical being any more than it has ever been a practical
entity. He knows, moreover, that the Republican ideal is
as dear to us who support the Treaty as it is to himself.
He knows the achievement of that complete independence
which a recognition of the Republic would bring to Ireland
is much more nearly certain of being won through the
medium of the Treaty than by its rejection. He knows that
we who oppose him will work to make Ireland strong
enough to declare her independence — strong enough to
force world recognition of her status as a soverign State.
" He knows these things — but his followers do not.
And the pity is that he has not the moral courage to tell
them ! He is a leader who does not lead, but is forced to
adopt a course insisted upon by his followers. And I have
gone into this purely domestic business in order the more
clearly to set forth the actual facts regarding the situation
in Ulster. For, curiously enough, there is a perfect parallel
there.
" Sir James Craig — like De Valera — is powerless to
control his followers. The madmen responsible for the
bloody warfare on defenceless Catholics in Belfast and
174 Michael Collins* Own Story
elsewhere throughout the North-East counties have gone
about their slaughtering with complete disregard of their own
authorities. They are continuing their murdering with
absolute impunity. I came to a realisation of the truth
during the visit of Sir James Craig to Dublin — at that
conference after which it was announced that ' a serious
situation ' had arisen over the question of the Boundaries
Commission. It was not at all the matter of the Boundaries
Commission that brought the conference to an abrupt end.
It was not our disagreement over this subject that made
Sir James Craig walk angrily out of the City Hall.
" Time after time Craig declared that Lloyd George had
tricked Ulster. Each time my only reply was a demand
to know what he was going to do to end the slaughter of
Catholics in Belfast. Each time Craig evaded the question.
Finally, I told him that there was no use of our continuing
the discussion because he had satisfied me that he could
not guarantee, much less control, the actions of his followers.
His public announcement that Ulster would never abide
by the findings of the Boundary Commission was, perhaps,
his way of refuting this charge of mine. It seems to me
hardly a refutation !
" Before I take up the details of the atrocities in Belfast
I must make one further reference to Sir James Craig. I
foresee the possibility of the end of his nominal leadership
in Ulster — and the consequent opportunity for the Free
State Government to take that situation in hand.
"If we can achieve unity in the 26 counties, if
by setting a good example among ourselves we can prove
our capacity for self-government, there will be a favourable
reaction in the North-east. Of even greater value will be
the changing of public opinion in England. By our own
efforts I believe we can influence the sentiment of the
British Government, which has been historically pro-
Ulster, and make it favourable to Ireland as a whole. To
bring this about there must be an end of Irish hatred of
England. There must be an end of references to the English
as ' the enemy.' So long as the British Government acts
The Ulster Problem 175
in accordance with the spirit of the Treaty we must deal
with them in the same spirit. Our hope of a United Ireland
is based largely on a growing realisation by the British
Government that it is to their own best interests to give the
Free State Government a chance to prove our good faith
toward the North-East Once we can accomplish this there
would follow necessarily the withdrawal of English support
from Craig. The records are the best proof that Irish unity
is impossible with Craig in power in Ulster.
" And now we can examine the records and determine
whether this is a fair statement. For everything that has
happened in Ulster since the pogrom against Catholics
began — July 21, 1920 — Sir James Craig, as head of the
Ulster Government, is responsible. Let us look at the official
figures. Here* are the total for two years :
Killed 447
Wounded I,79^>
Driven from employment 9,250
Driven from homes 23,960
Now homeless in Belfast 3,800
" All these figures refer to Catholics. In the same
period no Protestants were driven from their employment
or their homes. As for reprisals, here is a table that shows
the comparative numbers of killed and wounded on both sides
during the first six months of 1922 :
Catholics. Protestants.
Killed. Wounded. Killed. Wounded.
January 8 20 4 13
February 28 70 17 27
March 42 58 22 38
April 26 37 15 36
May 46 103 29 63
June 20 57 8 33
Totals. 170 345 95 210
176 Michael Collins* Own Story
" These figures are misleading inasmuch as the killing
and wounding of Protestants have not been in all cases the
work of Catholics. We have indisputable proof that uni-
formed specials and armed mobs of Protestants have
frequently numbered their own kind among their victims.
This has been an unavoidable feature of the rule of the
revolver in the streets of Belfast. One of the most recent
outrages illustrates the inevitability of such mistakes on
the part of the Ulster gunmen.
" At the intersection of two of the busiest streets in
Belfast a lone gunman took possession of an office and
throughout an entire afternoon terrorised the neighbour-
hood. He fired at every passer-by, and before his murderous
work had completely emptied the street he had killed five
men and wounded seven others. Of these twelve there
were only three who were Catholics. From his position
he could not possibly have identified any of them by sight.
SUCH INSENSATE BLOOD LUST IS HIDEOUS ENOUGH — BUT
HOW MUCH GREATER THE INFAMY OF A GOVERNMENT THAT
PERMITS SUCH A THING TO HAPPEN WITHOUT TAKING ANY
STEPS WHATEVER TO INTERFERE WITH THE MURDERER !
" A Mrs. Fitzpatrick, living in her own home at 5,
Parkmount Terrace, Belfast, was driven into the streets
with her three young children on the night of July 18. She
was the only Catholic left in the locality. Nine weeks
earlier her husband had to escape from the house by the
back way when word reached him that a crowd of loyalists
were coming to kill him. Since then he has never dared
return to his home. This was the notice served upon
Mrs. Fitzpatrick :
" ' As these premises are required for the Southern
loyalists, who are homeless, you are required to clear
out, or, without further notice, means will be taken to
have you removed.'
According to information that has reached us Mrs. Fitz-
patrick's house has remained unoccupied ever since. There
The Ulster Problem 177
is no record of the arrival in Belfast of any ' Southern
loyalist.'
" More recently the Belfast Telegraph — consistently a
mischief-maker and inciter of the pogromists — printed an
account of an alleged attack by Sinn Fein gunmen from
the Oldpark Road upon Royal Ulster Constabulary in the
Marrowbone district. The facts are these :
"Two drunken specials hi civilian clothes appeared at
the Brickfields in the afternoon of July 19 and approached
a crowd of Catholics — expelled workers — who use the fields
for recreation purposes. The specials drew revolvers and
shouted, ' Hands up, you Fenians ! '
" Then they searched the Catholics, and finally took a
boy off across the Brickfields. After going a short distance
with them the boy started to run away. The specials, very
much under the influence of drink, chased him and fired
shots at him, but he escaped. Soldiers on duty in the
neighbourhood opened fire and wounded one of the specials,
Isaac Bradley, in the groin. Later all the male inhabitants
of the Marrowbone were rounded up in the Brickfields and
searched.
" In the evening of the same day members of the R.U.C.
were making enquiries in Ardilea Street when they were
fired at by the loyalists in Oldpark Road. The police saw
five men armed with a rifle and revolvers between Clifton-
ville and Oldpark roads, and gave chase. The men escaped
pursuit, but the Marrowbone was raided and searched
from end to end for the ensuing twenty-four hours.
" Orange newspapers safely count on the ignorance of
the outside world regarding the ___location of Catholic quarters
in Belfast — but it is high time that attention was called
to the fact that Sinn Fein gunmen would hardly choose a
Catholic community like the Marrowbone in which to fire
upon their own friends !
" Outside Belfast the rule of the revolver is almost, if
not quite, as much in evidence. There was the case of a
Mr. Owen Donnelly, of Whitehouse, whose daughter was
married recently to a Mr. Anderson of the same village.
M
178 Michael Collins1 Own Story
Mr. Anderson was formerly a Protestant who became a
Catholic shortly before the marriage. On the wedding-day
he was visited and threatened by two specials, and a few
days later his father-in-law received the following letter :
" ' I want to let you know that we know the game
you have been playing these few months as regards
W. Anderson. You rushed the thing, got him to
turn, and paid him to do it.
" ' You think you are clever, and we know you
are the boss of the Sinn Fein Hall as well, but we
know all and the clothes you are wearing will not
save you. We have seen you miles away from
Whitehouse, so you are easy got. It might be days
and it might be weeks, but we will get you when we
want you so you may prepare to meet your God.
You will not get any letters from us again, but we
will send you a bullet quick and sure. Take heed
and don't treat this as a joke. We have men away
after Anderson. At present he is in Coalisland so
we will get him, we never fail. Sinn Feiner beware,
for this is your last chance, so get down and say
your prayers, but vengeance is ours. You will not
lead any more good Orangemen into the ranks of
the damd old Fenians.
" ' FROM THE 6-couNTiES COMMITTEE to a rebel
bastard and leader of young men from the Protestant
Faith.'
" Since his receipt of this letter Mr. Donnelly has
remained in Whitehouse — and as yet the threat remains
a threat.
" The lying propaganda promulgated by the Belfast
Press has gone a long way towards misleading world-opinion.
In order to carry out the extermination of the Catholic
minority in the North-East it was necessary to make it
appear that the 90,000 unarmed Catholics in Belfast were
making war upon the 280,000 Orangemen and non-Catholics,
The Ulster Problem 179
most of whom are armed and well supplied with ammunition.
To illustrate the methods of the propagandists the slaughter
of children in Weaver street last February is pertinent.
" There were the usual playing children in Weaver
Street when two strange men appeared and held a whispered
conversation with the police on duty. The policemen
went into an adjoining street and ordered the children
who were playing there to go into Weaver Street. Then
they drove all the children to one end of the street. Presently
the two strange men appeared again and threw a bomb
into the midst of the children — killing and wounding more
than twenty of them — all of them Catholics. Five of the
wounded died, and most of the survivors are maimed for
life.
" THE PRINCIPAL CONTINENTAL PAPERS — INCLUDING THE
LEADING CATHOLIC PAPERS IN ROME — REPRESENTED THIS
AS A CASE OF BELFAST PROTESTANT CHILDREN BEING
BOMBED BY SINN FEINERS. THAT WAS THE STORY SENT
TO THE WORLD BY THE BELFAST PRESS ASSOCIATIONS.
" Another attempt made by the propagandists has been
to show that civil war has been raging in Belfast. The
facts give the lie to this statement. The population of
Catholic males between sixteen and sixty in Belfast is
about twenty thousand. Of the forty-nine thousand armed
special constables in the Six-County area, there are twenty
thousand in Belfast. There are ten thousand soldiers in
Belfast. There are three armed men, therefore, to keep in
order each two unarmed Catholic males between sixteen
and sixty years of age. Surely it is not necessary to say
more.
" Recently the Ulster newspapers have diverted their
activities from incitements of the pogromists into the more
profitable channels of incitements of the Irregulars and
armed bandits throughout the rest of Ireland. The issue
of the ' Fenian Irregulars' War Bulletin ' for July 21,
containing altogether less matter than one column of an
ordinary newspaper, has no fewer than seven extracts from
the Orange Press. Erskine Childers, De Valera's director of
i8o Michael Collins* Own Story
publicity, seems proud to reprint the gloating of these
Ulster newspapers over the alleged victories of the Irregulars.
He copies also — in the columns of his PoUacht na h'Eireann
— their advice to the Irregulars as to how best to carry on
guerilla warfare.
" Changing conditions have resulted in a change of
methods on the part of these propagandists. Formerly the
prime object was to make reasonable the Ulster denials
that pogroms and persecutions ever took place in Belfast,
and that Orangemen were forced to act in self-defence by
the provocative aggression of Sum Feiners. Now they
bolster up this he by attempting to show that the peace
that reigns in Belfast is the direct result of the departure of
the Sinn Fern gunmen for the South — to join the ranks of
the Irregulars. This, they urge, leaves the majority of the
Ulster Catholics free to do what they have hitherto been
restrained from doing by these gunmen — recognising the
Ulster Government ! I KNOW OF NOT ONE INSTANCE OF
ANY SUCH RECOGNITION !
" Is it possible that the real reason for this industrious
spreading of falsehoods is to be found in the wording of a
supplementary estimate for the British Civil Service,
issued July 20, 1922 ? It deals \vith an item of £2,250,000
for a grant in aid to the Six-County area, as a contribution
towards abnormal expenditure — ' not to be audited in detail.'
It is not enough that this is one of the supplementary
estimates which generally escape the notice of the British
taxpayer. It is well to take the added precaution of
keeping well hidden the fact that this ' abnormal ex-
penditure ' is caused by misgovernment that is without
parallel since the penal days ! "
CHAPTER XIX
THE REBELLION I ITS CAUSE AND COST
" WHILE critics at home and abroad were accusing the
Provisional Government of being too lenient with the radical
Republicans, at first led by Rory O'Connor and his
lieutenants, we were, in fact, awaiting the moment when
we could safely adopt sterner methods. Unity was still
our goal, as it must always be our goal. By inopportune
action against the rebels in the Four Courts we might
easily have split the country \\ide open. Irishmen were
not to be called upon to shed the blood of Irishmen until the
provocation had become intolerable."
Even while Collins was making this statement to me — one
night in July, in my bedroom in the Hotel Shelbourne — the
reports of rifle and revolver shots reached us through the open
window, emphatic proof of that intolerable provocation.
" To explain our long endeavour to save the country
from the misery of fratricidal strife," Collins continued,
"it is necessary to go back to the early part of May when
individual members of the I.R.A. signed the following
statement, and had it published :
" ' We feel that on this basis alone can the situation
best be faced, viz.:
" ' i. The acceptance of the fact — admitted by
all sides — that the majority of the people of Ireland
are willing to accept the Treaty.
" ' 2. An agreed election with a view to
' 3. Forming a Government which will have the
confidence of the whole country.
" ' 4. Army unification on above basis,'
181
182 Michael Collins' Own Story
" Following the publication of this document, there came
from the Director of Publicity, Republican Forces, Four
Courts, a reply that stated that ' Any agreement upon which
the army can be united must be based upon the maintenance
of the Republic.'
" Then came the adoption by the Dail, May 3, of a
motion to appoint a committee ' to consider and discuss the
statement issued by the army officers on May 2.' The
members of this committee were Sean Hales,1 P. O'Maille,
James Dwyer, Joseph McGuiness, Sean McKeon — repre-
senting the Free State party — Mrs. Clarke, P. Ruttledge,
Liam Mellowes, Sean Boylan, Harry Boland — representing
the Republicans. At the first meeting of this committee
it was recommended that hostilities should immediately
cease, and steps were taken to effect this. After a con-
ference at the Mansion House the following day between
leading officers of both sections of the I.R.A., it was an-
nounced that a truce had been declared as from four o'clock
that afternoon with a view to giving both sections of the
army an immediate opportunity of discovering a basis for
army unification. Then, May 10, it was announced that the
conference had concluded without reaching an agreement.
" The Dail adjourned after receiving a promise from the
committee that a fresh effort would be made to find a solution
of the difficulties. At the resumed sitting of the Dail,
May 1 6, further reports of the peace conversations were
presented indicating that a basis of settlement satisfactory
to all parties had not yet been reached. It was then that
I approached De Valera with a suggestion that he and I
find a way out of the impasse. Out of our conference came
what has been called the Collins-De Valera pact. The
terms of that agreement were as follows :
" ' We are agreed :
" ' i. That a National Coalition panel for this
1 Brother of the man who commanded the detachment of 200
Irregulars who ambuscaded the Collins' cavalcade at Bandon, where
Collins met his death.
The Rebellion : Its Cause and Cost 183
third Dail, representing both parties in the Dail and
in the Sinn Fein organisation, be sent forward on
the ground that the national position requires the
entrusting of the Government of the country into
the joint hands of those who have been the strength
of the national situation during the last few years,
without prejudice to their present respective positions.
" ' 2. That this Coalition panel be sent forward as
from the Sinn Fein organisation, the number for each
party being their present strength in the Dail.
" ' 3. That the candidates be nominated through
each of the existing party Executives.
" ' 4. That every and any interest is free to go up
and contest the election equally with the National-
Sinn Fein panel.
" ' 5. That constituencies where an election is not
held shall continue to be represented by their present
Deputies.
" ' 6. That after the election the Executive shall
consist of the President, elected as formerly ; the
Minister of Defence, representing the army ; and
nine other Ministers — five from the majority party
and four from the minority, each party to choose its
own nominees. The allocation will be in the hands
of the President.
" ' 7. That in the event of the Coalition Govern-
ment finding it necessary to dissolve, a general
election will be held as soon as possible on adult
suffrage.'
This agreement was submitted to Dail Eireann, May 20,
and was agreed to unanimously.
" World opinion — as voiced in newspaper editorials
and in expressions of private individuals which reached me
— condemned me for entering into this pact with De Valera.
In the light of what has happened since, the condemnation
may appear to be justified. Yet I cannot bring myself to
believe that it was not my duty to have done what I did,
184 Michael Collins' Own Story
In my official capacity as Chairman of the Provisional
Government, I had no right to evade the duty I owed the
Irish people — and the paramount responsibility resting
upon me was to make any sacrifice that might spare the
Irish nation from civil war.
"As to my own personal views — whatever I may have
anticipated is beside the point."
Collins would not say more than this. But I had
already learned from another source — and had amply
corroborated it — just how much faith Collins had in the
efficacy of his pact with De Valera. I tell it here because
it is very well worth the telling.
Collins met Harry Boland on the street — one day shortly
after the public announcement of the pact. Everywhere
in the ranks of the uncompromising Republicans there was
bitter disappointment over the " surrender " of their
leader. It was being openly charged that De Valera had
shaken hands with a traitor. In all fairness to Boland, it
should be added that he was not of those who openly charged
Collins with treason, although his affiliation with the
extremists had prevented his actively repudiating their
charges. As they came face to face, Collins opened the
conversation.
" Boland," he began, " if De Valera and the rest of you
uncompromising Republicans believe what you say — that
because I support the Treaty I am guilty of treason — and
you have the courage of your convictions, there is only one
decent thing you can do. You know what a traitor de-
serves. Why don't you have me killed ? "
" Now, Mick, be reasonable," replied Boland. " You
know we can't afford to have you killed. Look at the dis-
astrous reaction among the people who believe in you.
We wouldn't dare take the responsibility of such a thing."
" Nonsense," said Collins. " You know better than that.
The best thing the Irish people do is forget — and forget
quickly. Within a week they would have forgotten me.
Besides, you and those with you have openly charged that
I am guilty of treason. There is only one punishment fitting
The Rebellion : Its Cause and Cost 185
that crime and no considerations of any kind should sway
you from executing that punishment — no consideration,
that is, unless, maybe, there is nobody among you that
dares try it.
" I am altogether serious, Boland. You know what
has to be done if a diseased body is to be made well. You
must get at the central nerve tissue and destroy it. Also
you know well that I am the pulse of this movement which
you call treasonable. Destroy me and your idealistic
colleagues can go ahead with the Republic without domestic
opposition worthy the name."
When I related this story to Collins — as I did do when
he refused to talk about his personal views of the value of
the pact with De Valera — he chuckled. It was a charac-
teristic of his, very much like a peculiarity of Theodore
Roosevelt's, which bespoke his vast amusement. But the
tale did not draw his fire ; and I was determined to make
sure that in eight months I had not completely misunder-
stood my man.
" But surely," I expostulated, " you don't mean to
tell me you have decided to become one of those anaemic,
maligned, martyrs-for-martyrdom's-sake persons ! You don't
mean you are prepared to put up your hands and be shot
down in cold blood ! "
"Ah, sure," came the quick reply, the smile widening
and the chuckle more pronounced, " if they try it, there'll
be several of them that will have headaches ! "
Then, resuming his narrative, Collins dissected the
motives actuating the leaders of the rebellion.
" It is not a pleasant thing to have to say," he began,
" but there is no doubting that from the moment De Valera
found himself beaten in the Dail and had to resign the
Presidency, his wounded vanity led him straight into the
arms of the bitterest of his followers. At any time before
the outbreak of actual hostilities he could have stopped
the rebels' preparations with a word. But he had for-
gotten Ireland in his own hurt — and to smash the machinery
of the Government in which he did not have the controlling
186 Michael Collins' Own Story
voice became an obsession with him. I have never seen
anywhere in print a reference to a remarkable statement
that De Valera made the third day of the private sessions
of the Dail — Friday, December 16, 1921. On that occasion
he said :
" ' I have been President of the Irish Republic ;
I will never accept any lesser office in any Irish
Cabinet.'
" De Valera cannot escape the responsibility of this
revolt. In that one sentence lies the reason for his, first,
fomenting civil war and, now, taking part in it. Of the
remaining fifty-six members of the Dail who voted against
the Treaty more than two-thirds have told me that they
are delighted with the prospects of a peaceful Ireland.
Not ten of the minority Deputies to-day approve of the
senseless campaign of murder and destruction that is being
waged by De Valera and his followers.
" Study of the mentality of the Irregular leaders with
whom De Valera has chosen to associate himself, robs of
any surprise their ambushing of the funeral cortege of a
dead Volunteer. Such acts of desecration are but the
natural development of the war policy worked out by
leaders warped by vanity and egotism, and carried out by
pliant followers who, from the very nature of their organisa-
tion, must necessarily include the rag-tag and bobtail of
society — professional irresponsibles who, when war seemed
unlikely, used the camouflage of an irregular armed force
either to live without working or to get rich quick at the
expense of the community.
" When De Valera spoke glibly about wading through
blood, he paved the way knowingly for what was to come.
He paved the way for the recognition in his organisation of
an under-world section of his countrymen to whom could
be left the work of promoting disorder and decay. He so
twisted the minds of many Irish youths that they now
regard as a ' stunt ' the wholesale destruction which marks
The Rebellion : Its Cause and Cost 187
their track through the country. De Valera paved the way.
" Our intelligence staff was meantime not inactive. We
knew what was going forward as a result of secret con-
ferences in the Four Courts. When we made our attack
on the rebel headquarters it was because we had in our
possession proof that Rory O'Connor had perfected his
plans for the opening of a general offensive in all parts of
Ireland — and with the promise of De Valera to take an
active part in the hostilities. Stack and Brugha and
Childers were active participants in these conferences and,
like De Valera, had important posts to fill the moment the
fighting began.
" During the far-too-long-protracted period of dis-
cussion of the Treaty it was frequently pointed out that the
time for talk was ended, and that the next phase must be
one of hard work and constructive statesmanship. It was
plain that if the development of our natural assets was to
be delayed by unscrupulous, incompetent, or merely silly
men and women, the assets of the nation, her cities, her soil,
her many natural resources and capabilities, would be
seriously injured. Few of us then foresaw the waste and
destruction of mad war. It is the wickedest sin of those
now in arms against the Irish nation that for the most
part they are without any realisation of their sin. From
injuries that were merely malicious and spiteful in the
beginning, their destructive operations are now conducted
on a basis of sheer lunacy.
" At whatever cost, there must be a return to sanity.
The realisation must be brought home : that the looted
shops, the burned town and city areas, the broken roads
and railways — all the items of the wild orgy of destruction
— must be paid for by the Irish taxpayer. The cost of this
campaign of appalling carnival of crime is more than a
million pounds a day — and this is a dead loss, never to be
recovered. Ireland must be saved at no matter what cost.
This is the people's war, and the people must win.
"It is the people's war because it is their homes and
lives and fortunes that are being ruined. And so they are
i88 Michael Collins1 Own Story
with their Government in the effort to suppress this revolt
with the utmost speed. The people know that resources
spent now in pursuit of victory will be economy if they
ensure that wild destruction of all resources must cease.
The victory of the people must be as sudden and as complete
as possible. When the fighting ceases it must have ceased
for once and all, and the will of the people be proved supreme
beyond further question. There must not be any qualifica-
tion of this, no shadow of doubt about it at all.
" THERE CAN BE NO TALK OF COMPROMISE, BECAUSE NO
COMPROMISE IS POSSIBLE IN THE PRESENT CASE. WHEN
WE HAVE PEACE IT MUST BE A REAL PEACE UPON WHICH WE
CAN BUILD UP CLEAN AGAIN FROM THE SOUND AND SOLID
FOUNDATIONS OF THE PEOPLE'S WILL.
" I promised in an earlier talk to dwell at greater
length on that idea of the preference one should have for a
wise coward as contrasted with a stupid brave man. I
regret to say that, in the interim, facts have been brought
to my attention that make me question the honest courage
of the stupid man I had in mind.
"He is Austin Stack. I do not even now impute his
bravery. But until recently I had faith in his honesty.
His stupidity was amply evidenced at the time of the
capture of Sir Roger Casement. In that crisis Stack lost
his head completely, and was guilty of blunders a clever
coward would never have committed. Let it be borne in
mind that Stack to-day is one of the leaders of the Irregulars.
He is actively engaged in leading bands of men against
their fellow Irishmen — killing, burning, looting. Yet, as
recently as last May — the sixth day of that month, to be
exact — Stack made a speech in Bridgeport, Conn., in
which he made the following statement :
" ' I would rather that the proposed Free State
was beaten by what is called constitutional means
than any other. We propose to fight this election
and defeat the Treaty at the polls. That is the only
way the Treaty can be beaten without bloodshed.'
The Rebellion : Its Cause and Cost 189
It was all fours with other speeches of other Republicans
during this period. For the greater part these men pro-
claimed that a war against brother Irishmen was unthink-
able. In view of their subsequent actions it is clear that
the speeches were uttered with the object of lulling the
people into a sense of false security until such time as the
rebels were ready to strike. Meantime arms, explosives,
and means of transport were being piled up in various areas,
notably in the Four Courts and in Cork.
" Austin Stack has personal bravery in no small degree.
I regret to have evidence of his dishonesty. Yet no man
who knows him will ever believe that Stack could ever
prefer a contest to be won in any fashion other than by
fighting. Constitutional means never had any appeal for
Stack. But in America, perhaps, he was influenced by the
same considerations as caused J. J. O' Kelly, at Phila-
delphia, at about the same time, to make this statement :
' Nobody in the U.S. need have any fear that the
opposing sides in this matter of the Free State will
not conduct themselves properly. Any discussion
they may have will be in keeping with the dignity
of our race.'
It may be mentioned in passing that Stack and O'Kelly were
members of a Republican delegation hastily despatched to
America to try to bolster up the waning cause of the Republic.
" The cost of the revolt has already reached staggering
totals. No man can tell how many more millions of treasure,
how many more lives, the campaign of destruction may
yet cost. But of one thing the Irish people may be sure.
The fire that is testing our souls will make us the purer for
it — when once again peace has come. And this is especially
true of the young manhood represented by the national
army.
" Our army, so long as it exists for honourable purposes
only, will continue to draw to it honourable men. It will
call to it the best men of our race, as the Athenian army
igo Michael Collins* Own Story
did — men of skill and culture. And it will not be recruited
as so many modern armies are, from those who are in-
dustrially useless. It has not been so recruited, and it
will not be. For our army will continue to exist only for
the defence of our liberties, and of our people in the exercise
of their liberties.
" An Irish army can never be used for the ignoble
purposes of invasion, subjugation, and exploitation. But
it is not only upon our army that eventual victory of a self-
governing Ireland depends. It depends more upon the
extent to which we make ourselves invulnerable by having a
civilisation which is indestructible. That civilisation will
be indestructible only by its being enthroned in the lives of
the people, and having its foundations resting on right,
honesty, and justice.
" Our army in the field will deal with the ne'er-do-wells
upon whom De Valera now depends. But in the final
analysis our army is secondary in maintaining the peace
that must be won. Its strength is but the strength of our
real resistance — the extent to which we build up within
ourselves what can never be overthrown nor destroyed —
the extent to which we make strong the spirit of the Irish
nation."
CHAPTER XX
THE FUTURE OF IRELAND
" WITH the Union came national enslavement. With the
termination of the Union goes national enslavement — if we
will. Freedom from an outside enemy is now ours, and
nobody but ourselves can interfere with it. Complete
national freedom can now be ours, and nobody but our-
selves can prevent us achieving it. We shall no longer
have anyone but ourselves to blame if we fail to use the
freedom we have won to achieve full freedom. We are now
on the natural and inevitable road to complete the work of
Davis and Rooney, to restore our native tongue, to get
back our history, to take up again and complete the educa-
tion of our countrymen in the North-East in the national
ideal, to renew our strength and refresh ourselves in our
own Irish civilisation, to become again the Irish men and
Irish women of the distinctive Irish nation, to make real
the freedom of which Davis sang, for which Rooney worked,
for which Tom Clarke and Sean McDermott and their
comrades fought and died."
This was Collins' considered answer to my question as
to his opinion of the future of Ireland. It was early in the
series of interviews that he took up this subject, introducing
it in characteristically humorous fashion.
" Sure, there's not a man on earth with sufficient pre-
vision to dare guess what the morrow will bring to Ireland.
Indeed, few of us appreciate what is happening to-day — and
a bare minority who know the truth about Ireland's yester-
day. With conditions what they are, a man would be rash
to venture a prophecy about the future of this country,
192 Michael Collins' Own Story
but for the self-same reason it is impossible to tell a com-
prehensive story of Ireland's fight for freedom — if ever
' Finis ' is put at the bottom of any page of it. So perhaps,
after all, it is as well to make the end of the tale a forecast
which may well prove wrong before the type is set.
" The known facts naturally provide a basis for an-
ticipating what the future has in store for Ireland, and
they may be briefly stated for this purpose. The British
have given up their claim to dominate us. They have no
longer any power to prevent us making real our freedom.
That much is an accomplished fact.
" The freedom which has been won is the fruit of the
national efforts of this generation and of preceding ones.
The efforts of resistance made by the nation were the ex-
pressions of what had been robbed from the nation. But
these efforts have not been continuous. With the Union
came upheaval. The seat of Government was transferred
to England. With Catholic emancipation, and the ' right '
it gave to representatives of the Irish people to sit in the
foreign parliament, the national spirit was invaded. People
began to look abroad. The anglicisation of Ireland had
begun. The English language became the language of
education and fashion. It penetrated slowly at first. It
was aided by the national schools. In those schools it was
the only medium of education for a people who were still
Gaelic speaking. Side by side with this peaceful penetra-
tion the Irish language decayed, and when the people had
adopted a new language and had come to look to England
for government they learned to see in English customs and
English culture the models on which to fashion their own.
" The ' gifts ' wrung from England — Catholic emancipa-
tion, land acts, local government — while not actually
destructive in themselves of the Gaelic social system, helped
in the denationalisation process. These gifts undoubtedly
brought ameliorative changes, but the people got into the
habit of always looking to a foreign authority, and they
inevitably came to lose their self-respect, their self-reliance,
and their national strength. The system made them forget
The Future of Ireland 193
to look to themselves, and that taught them to turn their
backs upon their own country. We became the beggars
of the rich neighbour who had robbed us. We lost reverence
for our own nation, and we came very near to losing our
national identity.
" O'Connell was the product of the Ireland which arose
out of this perversion, prompted by the Young Irelanders,
and urged on by the zeal of the people, stirred for the moment
to national consciousness by the teachings of Davis. He
talked of national liberty, but he did nothing to win it.
He was a follower and not a leader of the people. He
feared any movement of a revolutionary nature. Himself
a Gaelic speaker, he adopted the English language, so little
did he understand the strength to the nation of its own
native language. His aim was little more than to see the
Irish people a free Catholic community. He would have
had Ireland merely a prosperous province of Britain with no
national distinctiveness. Generally speaking, he acquiesced
in a situation which was bringing upon the Irish nation
spiritual decay. This is the plain truth about O'Connell.
" The Young Irelanders, of whom Thomas Davis was
the inspiration, were the real leaders. They saw and felt
more deeply and aimed more truly. Davis spoke to the
soul of the sleeping nation — the nation really drunk with
the waters of forgetfulness. He sought to unite the whole
people. He fought against sectarianism and all the other
causes which divided them. He saw that unless we were
G^els we were not a nation. When he thought of the
nation he thought of the men and women of the nation.
He knew that, unless they were free, Ireland could not be
free, and to fill them again with pride in their nation he
sang to them of the old splendour of Ireland, of their heroes,
of their language, of the strength of unity, of the glory of
noble strife, of the beauties of the land, of the delights and
richness of the Gaelic life.
" ' A nationality founded in the hearts and intelligence
of the people/ he said, ' would bid defiance to the arms
of the foe and guile of the traitor. The first step to nation-
N
194 Michael Collins* Own Story
ality is the open and deliberate recognition of it by the
people themselves. Once the Irish people declare the
disconnection of themselves, their feelings and interests,
from the men, feelings and interests of England, they are
in march for freedom.'
" That was the true national gospel. ' Educate that you
may be free/ he said. ' It is only by baptism at the fount
of Gaelicism that we shall get the strength and ardour to
fit us for freedom.' The spirit of Davis breathed again in
those who succeeded to his teachings and who, directed by
that inspiration, kept the footsteps of the nation on the
right road for the march to freedom.
" Those who succeeded to these teachings saw that if
we continued to turn to England, the nation would become
extinct. We were tacitly accepting England's denial of
our nationhood so useful for her propaganda purposes. We
were selling our birthright for a mess of pottage. We
pleaded with England for measures of reform and political
emancipation — pleading with the spoilers for a portion of
the spoils they had robbed from us. We saw that the
nation could be preserved and freedom won only by the
Irish people themselves.
" The future Ireland had its birth in the last decade of
the last century. In days to come Irish history will recog-
nise in the formation of the Gaelic League in 1893 the most
important event of the nineteenth century. I may go
further and say that it was the most important event in
the whole history of our nation. It probably checked an
assimilation of Ireland by the predominant neighbour, and
once and for all turned the minds of the Irish people back to
their own country. It did more than any other movement
to restore the national pride, honour, and self-respect.
Through the medium of the language it linked the people
with the past and led them to look to a future which would
be a noble continuation of it. Within its folds were nur-
tured the men and women who were to win for Ireland the
power to achieve national freedom.
" A good tree brings forth good fruit — a barren one
The Future of Ireland 195
produces nothing. The policy advocated by O'Connell,
Isaac Butt, and John Redmond ended, as it was bound to
end, in impotence. The freedom which Ireland has achieved
was dreamed of by Wolf Tone, was foreseen by Thomas
Davis, and their efforts were broadened out until they took
into then- embrace all the true national movements by the
1 grim resolve ' of William Rooney, supported later by the
strong arm of the Volunteers.
" And now we have no choice but to turn our eyes again
to Ireland. The most completely anglicised person in
Ireland will look henceforth to Britain in vain. Ireland is
about to revolve once again on her own axis. But let us
ever bear in mind that our real freedom can be won only
when we are ' fit and willing ' to win it.
" Can we claim that we are yet fit and willing ? Is not
our country still filled with men and women who are unfit
and unwilling ? Are we all yet educated to be free ? Have
not the greater number of us still the speech of the foreigner
on our tongues ? Are not even we who are proudly calling
ourselves Gaels little more than imitation Englishmen ? I
am sad to have to believe that the day-by-day happenings
prove that the answers to these questions are all in the
affirmative.
" But we are free to remedy these things. Complete
liberty — what it stands for in our Gaelic imaginations —
cannot be got until we have impregnated the whole of our
people with the Gaelic desire. Only then shall we be worthy
of the fullest freedom. The bold outline of freedom has
been drawn by the glorious efforts of the last five years.
Will not those who co-operated in the conception and work
of the masterpiece help with the finishing touches ?
" Can we not see that the little we have not yet gained
is the expression of the falling short of our own fitness for
freedom ? When we make ourselves fit we shall be free.
If we could accept that truth we would be inspired again
with the same fervour and devotion by our own grim resolve
within the nation to complete the work which is so nearly
done."
196 Michael Collins' Own Story
Here was the soul of Collins laid bare. Englishmen of
my acquaintance frequently refer to the great Irishman
as " a gunman," " a killer." The charge has foundation
in fact. I saw Collins handle a service revolver — and he
knew how ! But the heart of him was the kindliest, gentlest,
most peaceable any man ever had in his breast. It sickened
him to have to stand and fight — his own. I know — because
he confided in me — that had he lived to see the triumph of
his Government over the Irregular forces led by De Valera,
it would have been a sorry victory for him. The hurt that
had been done him could never have been healed — FOR IN
HIS FINE GAELIC IMAGINATION THE WICKED DESTRUCTION
BEING DONE HIS COUNTRY BY IRISHMEN WAS ON A PAR
WITH THE DESPOILING OF HIS SISTER BY ONE OF HIS
BROTHERS !
" Mr. De Valera, in a speech he made in February,"
Collins went on, " warned the people of Ireland against a
life of ease, against living ' practically the life of beasts,'
which, he fears, they may be tempted to do under the Free
State. The chance that materialism will take possession of
the Irish people is no more likely in a free Ireland under the
Free State than it would be in a free Ireland under a Re-
publican or any other form of government. It is in the
hands of the Irish people themselves.
" In the ancient days of Gaelic civilisation the people
were prosperous and they were not materialists. They were
one of the most spiritual and one of the most intellectual
peoples in Europe. When Ireland was swept by destitution
and famine the spirit of the Irish people came most nearly
to extinction. It was with the improved economic con-
ditions of the last twenty years or more that it has re-
awakened. The insistent needs of the body more ade-
quately satisfied, the people regained desire once more to
reach out to the higher things in which the spirit finds its
satisfaction.
" What we hope for in the new Ireland is to have such
material welfare as will give the Irish spirit that freedom.
We want such widely-diffused prosperity that the Irish
The Future of Ireland 197
people will not be crushed by destitution into living ' prac-
tically the lives of beasts.' They were so crushed during
the British occupation that they were described as being
' without the comforts of an English sow.' They must not
be obliged — owing to unsound economic conditions — to
spend all their powers of both mind and body in an effort
to satisfy the bodily needs alone.
" The uses of wealth are to provide good health, comfort,
moderate luxury, and to give the freedom which comes
from the possession of these things. Our object in building
up the country economically must not be lost sight of.
That object is not to be able to boast of enormous wealth
nor of a great volume of trade — for their own sake. It is
not to see our country covered with smoking chimneys and
factories. It is not to be able to show a great national
balance-sheet, nor to point to a people ' producing wealth
with the self -obliteration of a hive of bees.' The real
riches of the Irish nation will be the men and women of the
Irish nation — the extent to which they are rich in body and
mind and character.
" What the future holds in store for Ireland is the
opportunity for everyone to be able to produce sufficient
wealth to ensure these advantages for themselves. That
such wealth can be produced in Ireland there can be no
doubt.
' For the island is so endowed with so many
dowries of nature, considering the fruitfulness of the
soil, the ports, the rivers, the fishing, and especially
the race and generation of men, valiant, hard and
active, as it is not easy to find such a confluence of
commodities.'
Such was the impression made upon a visitor who came
long ago to Ireland.
" We have now the opportunity to make our land indeed
fruitful, to work up our natural resources, to bring pros-
perity to all our people. If our national economy is to be
198 Michael Collins' Own Story
on a sound footing from the beginning it will, in the new
Ireland, be possible for our people to provide themselves
with the ordinary requirements of decent living. It will
be possible for each one to have sufficient food, a good
home in which to live in fair contentment and comfort. We
shall be able to give our children bodily and mental health,
and we shall be able to secure them against the inevitable
times of sickness and old age.
" That must be our object. What we must aim at is
the building up of a sound economic life in which great
discrepancies cannot occur. We must not have the desti-
tution of poverty at one end, and at the other an excess
of riches in the possession of a few individuals beyond what
they can spend with satisfaction and justification. The
growing wealth of Ireland will, we hope, be diffused for the
benefit of all of our people, all sharing in the growing pros-
perity, each receiving in accordance with what each con-
tributes in the making of that prosperity, so that the weal
of all will be assured.
" How are we to increase the wealth of Ireland, and
ensure that all producing it shall share in it ? That is the
question which will be engaging the minds of our people,
and will engage the attention of the new Government.
The keynote to the economic revival must be the develop-
ment of Irish resources by Irish capital for the benefit of
the Irish consumer. Thus the people will have steady work
at just remuneration and their own share of control.
" How are we to develop Irish resources ? The earth is
our bountiful mother. Upon free access to it depends not
only agriculture, but all other trades and industries. Land
must be freely available. Agriculture, our main industry,
must be improved and developed. Our existing industries
must be given opportunities to expand. Conditions must be
created which will make it possible for new ones to arise.
Means of transit must be extended and cheapened. Our
harbours must be developed. Our water-power must be
utilised. Our mineral resources must be exploited. Foreign
trade must be stimulated by making facilities for the
The Future of Ireland 199
transport and marketing of Irish goods abroad, and foreign
goods in Ireland. Investors must be urged and encouraged
to invest Irish capital in Irish concerns. Taxation, where it
hinders, must be adjusted and must bs imposed where the
burden will fall lightest, and can best be borne, and where
it will encourage rather than penalise industry.
" We have now in Ireland, owing to the restrictions put
upon emigration during the European war, a larger popula-
tion of young men and women than we have had for a
great many years. For their own sake, and to maintain
the strength of the nation, room must and can be found for
them. If room is to be found for our growing population,
land must be freely available. We have not free access to
the land in Ireland. Thousands of acres of the best land
lie idle, or are occupied as ranches, or form part of extensive
private estates, or are given over to sport. Side by side
with this condition there are thousands of labourers unable
to get land on which to keep a cow or grow vegetables.
While the fertile lands of Kildare and Westmeath lie idle,
men and women have to labour from dawn to late at night
to win a bare living out of the rocks of Donegal, and families
in Connaught have to send their children to labour in the
potato fields of Scotland.
" The ranches must be broken up. Pressure must be
brought to bear on owners of land and upon those who are
withholding land so that it may be suitably used for pro-
curing wealth and giving employment. Thus opportunities
will be presented to all of our population.
" For purposes of development Ireland has three great
natural resources. Our coal deposits are by no means
inconsiderable. The bogs of Ireland are estimated as having
500,000,000,000 tons of peat fuel. Water-power is concen-
trated in her 237 rivers and 180 lakes. The huge Lough
Corrib system could be utilised, for instance, to work the
granite in the neighbourhood of Galway. In the opinion
of experts, reporting to the Committee on the Water-Power
Resources of Ireland, a total of 500,000 horse-power can be
developed from Irish lakes and rivers. The magnitude of
200 Michael Collins' Own Story
these figures is appreciated when it is known that to raise
this power in steam would require 7,500,000 tons of coal.
" Schemes have been worked out to utilise the water-
power of the Shannon, the Erne, the Bann, and the Liffey.
That the advantages of water-power are not lost on some
of the keenest minds of the day is shown by the following
extract from an interview given to an American journalist
in London by Lord Northcliffe for publication on St. Patrick's
Day, 1917 :
" ' The growth of the population of Great Britain
has been largely due to manufactures based on the
great asset, black coal. Ireland has none of the coal
which has made England rich, but she possesses in
her mighty rivers white coal of which millions of
horse-power are being lost to Ireland every year.
... I can see in the future very plainly prosperous
cities, old and new, fed by the greatest river in the
United Kingdom — the Shannon. I should like to
read recent experts' reports on the Moy, the Suir,
and the Lee.'
" The profits from all national enterprises will belong to
the nation for the advantage of the nation. But Irish men
and women as private individuals must do their share to
increase the prosperity of the country. Business cannot
succeed without capital. Millions of Irish money are lying
idle in banks. The deposits in Irish Joint Stock banks
increased in the aggregate by £7,318,000 during the half-
year ended December 31, 1921. At that time the total
amount of deposits and cash balances in Irish banks was
£194,391,000, in addition to which there was a sum of
almost £14,000,000 in the Post Office Savings Bank. The
Irish people have also a large amount of capital invested
abroad. With scope for our energies, with restoration of
our confidence, the inevitable tendency will be towards
return of this capital to Ireland. It will then flow in its
proper channel. Ireland will provide splendid opportunities
The Future of Ireland 201
for the investment of Irish capital, and it is for the Irish
people to take advantage of these opportunities. If they
do not, investors and exploiters from outside will come in to
reap the rich profits -which are to be made. And what is worse
still, they will bring with them all the evils that we want to
avoid in the new Ireland.
" A prosperous Ireland will mean a united Ireland. With
equitable taxation and flourishing trade our North-East
countrymen will need no persuasion to come in and share
in the healthy economic life of the country.
" Such are the possibilities of the future. Can we not
see hi them the great achievement that our efforts have
won ? Can we not think of what we have gained — and not
for ever dwell upon the thought of what we might have
gained ? If we would only put away dreams, and face
realities, we would realise that nearly all the things that
count we now have for our country. Is not the test of the
Government we want simply whether it conforms with
Irish tradition and national character ? Whether it will
suit us and enable us to live happily and prosper ? Whether
under it we can achieve something which our old free Irish
democratic life would have developed into ?
" We have shaken off the foreign domination which
prevented us from living our own life in our own way. We
are now free to do this. It depends on ourselves alone
whether we do it. And I have lasting faith in the Irish
people."
CHAPTER XXI
WHAT THE TREATY MEANS — A SYMPOSIUM
IN an endeavour to ascertain the considered opinions of
representative Irish men and women — Treaty proponents
and Treaty opponents equally — as to Ireland's chance
of freedom under existing circumstances, I propounded
to Irish leaders of outstanding importance the following
question :
" Under the terms of the Treaty, what does the
future hold in store for Ireland ? "
In due course I received the following written answers :
FROM SEAN McKEON
[Major-General McKeon, T.D., immortalised as
" the Blacksmith of Ballinalee," fought more suc-
cessful battles against the Black and Tans than any
other leader of the I.R.A., and, since the murder of
Michael Collins, is to-day the most popular hero in
Ireland.]
" Although I am on record as an advocate of accepting
the Treaty, I want it thoroughly understood that, like every
other member of my party, I am an Irish Republican.
Anything less than full independence will never completely
satisfy any Irishman. But with this much said, I am willing
to discuss Ireland's future under the Treaty.
" There are possibilities under the terms of the Treaty
of tremendous advantage to Ireland. It gives us far more
What the Treaty Means 203
than many of us ever dared hope could be won in our life-
time. It gives us far more than we ever could have won
by force of arms alone — so long as our strength remained
relatively negligible as compared with England's armed
power. It does not give us all we want ; all we are deter-
mined one day to have, all that is ours by right. But it
does give us a far better chance than Ireland has ever
known before to achieve our ultimate ideal.
" Not unnaturally, I am inclined to view the purely
political phase of the present situation through the eyes of
a soldier. Soldiering is my profession. Politics is not.
Conferences appeal to me not at all. Explorations of
avenues that may lead to agreement seem to me waste of
time — when the explorers, metaphorically speaking, are
more intent on conducting the expedition into a morass than
to success.
" A general in the field realises that a war is not won
in a single battle. Only a counsel of desperation risks
disaster in one final offensive. Day by day minor gains
are consolidated, minor losses accepted. The final goal —
decisive victory — is none the less ever uppermost in mind.
But the high command recognise it can be won only by
patient acceptance of gains or reverses as mere incidents
in the general scheme.
" The most strenuous of the opponents of the Treaty
base their arguments on the assumption that all Ireland has
to do is flout England and thus gain complete independence
on the spot. They forget that Ireland's Declaration of
Independence was published to the world in 1916 — and now,
after six years, has yet to be recognised by any government
in the world. They forget that for most of this period
British armed forces were in practical control of all Ireland.
Repudiation of the Treaty by Dail Eireann now — accom-
panied by a reaifirmation of the Republic — would surely
result in a return to the conditions under which Ireland
lived during the Reign of Terror. Those of us whose duty
it is to protect our people will not shirk that duty if it is
imposedjipon us — but it must be the people who impose it
204 Michael Collins' Own Story
upon us — if that be their will. And I for one do not believe
it is.
" The future of Ireland under the Treaty is a brighter
future than any living or dead Irishman ever knew ; the
future of Ireland if the Treaty be turned down is hopeless.
Hopeless, at least, in so far as existing generations are con-
cerned. For who doubts that England, given what the
world would consider ample justification, would once again,
and more eagerly than ever, send her armed forces back
amongst us — this time to make our subjugation more
complete than ever ?
(Signed) " SEAN McKEON."
FROM CATHAL BRUGHA
[Mr. Brugha, T.D., formerly Minister of Defence
under De Valera's Presidency of Dail Eireann, killed
during the July rebellion, was an uncompromising
Republican whose public utterances proved him an
ardent advocate of the use of force.]
" During the Dail debate on the Articles of Agreement
President de Valera said he was against the pact because,
amongst other reasons, he believed it would not bring
peace. That same view was expressed by other deputies.
The correctness of their judgment is being brought home to
us every day.
" The most ominous proof of it was the I.R.A. Convention
held Sunday, March 26. That Convention represented
over 80 per cent, of the Republican army. One division
alone, which stands solidly behind the Republic, has 38,000
men on its roll. The Convention elected an executive to
control the army in future. These men had all taken an
oath of allegiance to the Republic and to Dail Eireann as
the Government of the Republic. Even when the majority
of An Dail had approved of the alleged Treaty the army held
fast.
" When the new Government formed by the Treaty party
What the Treaty Means 205
was elected, the President gave an undertaking that the
Republic would be maintained until the electorate got an
opportunity of expressing its opinion on the Treaty. The
new Minister for Defence promised theDail that the army
would continue as the army of the Republic until the people
had spoken. Both those undertakings were basely broken.
The Provisional Government was set up and allowed to
supplant An Dail. Its chairman and two of his alleged
ministers publicly repudiated the supremacy of An Dail
at one of its sittings. They denied that they were in any
way responsible to it. They did this in the presence of
President Griffith without any remonstrance from him.
" In regard to the promise given by the new Minister
for Defence, instead of adhering to it, he allowed the army
to be made use of to build up an army for this usurping
Provisional Government. The net result of this double-
dealing was the calling together of the I.R.A. Convention
and the election of an independent executive.
" The army is determined to maintain the existing
Republic. Whoever else may have been play-acting when
they took the oath of allegiance to the Republic, it is quite
evident that those men were not. Upon them principally
has been the burden of guarding the Republic against its
enemies during the time of stress. How well they played
their part the world already knows. The world may hear
from them again when people who did nothing to
establish the Republic or to maintain it attempt to give it
away.
"It is almost incredible that any responsible person
who has been in touch with things should be so misled as to
believe that those men could be seduced from their allegiance
so simply.
" What we are now asked to do is to surrender the
sovereignty of the Irish people, to yield at last to our
oppressors and admit ourselves their subjects. Why, the
weakest day Ireland ever saw she never did that. There
was always a body of opinion in Ireland that denied Eng-
land's right to interfere in Irish affairs. They were with us
2o6 Michael Collins' Own Story
in every generation. Whenever they considered themselves
strong enough they went out in arms against the usurper.
Though beaten in the field they never bent the knee. That
tradition has been carried on, and no amount of dragooning
could break it. The prison-cell, the hangman's rope and
the firing-squad — all have failed.
" So tenacious is the fibre of which Irishmen are made
that the greater the persecution, the stronger became the
spirit of resistance. It is conceivable, though unlikely,
that the threat of war might stampede the Irish people into
voting in favour of the Treaty without realising what it
involves. It is possible that the anti-Republicans, aided
by the pro-British Press, could so confuse the issue that a
majority of the present out-of-date register might accept
the Free State.
" The signatories to the Treaty do not agree on what
it means. One of them says it gives us freedom. Another
says it gives us freedom to achieve freedom. We know it
gives us neither. Between us all it would be no wonder if
the electorate were befogged. But even if guile succeeded,
sooner or later the struggle would begin again when the
people found out that they were deceived. It is almost
certain that this would occur in our own time.
" We are better organised now militarily than ever we
were in modern times. We are also better armed. Above
all, the traditional hope of finally expelling the invader that
has always lived in the hearts of the Irish race is now
stronger and more widespread than ever. That yearning
for complete nationhood has now become an overmastering
desire. People hitherto apathetic had become infused with
this enthusiasm before the Treaty was signed. The past
four years have not gone for nothing. Though we did not
actually drive out the tyrant, we made him impotent.
Those who have tasted the delicious wine of freedom will
not be put off with a draught of inferior quality. The
Free Stater who thinks otherwise is living in a fool's
paradise.
(Signed) " CATHAL BRUGHA."
What the Treaty Means 207
FROM PROF. EOIN MACNEILL
[Professor MacNeill, T.D., formerly speaker of Dail
Eireann and one of its most erudite members, was
President and Chief-of-Staff of the Irish Volunteers
at the time of the Easter Week rising in 1916 ;
for his Sinn Fein activities he was sentenced to penal
servitude for life.]
" The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December, 1921, is an
agreement between two nation-states, Ireland and Britain,
to enter into a free partnership. This partnership includes
also Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
For the present, the consent of the non-signatory states is
presumed, but the presumption does not imply an admission
that the British Government can bind any of these states
without then* express consent, and an express agreement
between Ireland and the non-signatory states will doubtless
lollow in due course.
" The Treaty does not regulate the internal political
status of Ireland. It regulates by agreement the form of
the partnership between the nation-state Ireland and the
other nation-states. The essence of the Treaty is that it
guarantees no less freedom and sovereignty to Ireland within
her natural territorial bounds than the freedom and
sovereignty — not as recorded in any British statute, but as
actually enjoyed and exercised — belonging to the other
states, Canada being named as an example. This, of
course, means the full freedom and sovereignty exercised by
any of the states, since it is certain that Canada would not
admit restrictions not imposed on a partner state.
" Any claim of British suzerainty now or hereafter set
up as against Ireland would imply a similar claim as against
Canada. Britain, on the other hand, claims certain facilities
for defence as necessary to her safety, and Ireland, without
adopting the reasons on which this claim is based, concedes
certain facilities. Ireland, of course, remains entitled to guard
against any use of these facilities to her detriment or danger.
208 Michael Collins* Own Story
" Under the Treaty, then, Ireland can and will insist on
holding as partner the maximum status as it exists in
practice, not in British law, of the other states. Her status
must be maximum from the outset because, as Mr. Winston
Churchill has acknowledged, she comes into the partnership
not as a colonial offshoot but as ' a mother country.' It
is necessary to be clear on this, for the British Press in
general indulges in the notion that Britain is endowing
Ireland with powers, and the attitude of the British Ministry
since the signing of the Treaty can be interpreted in some
respects as being afflicted with the same notion.
" So far as Ireland is concerned, the Treaty requires
no statute or resolution of the British legislature to give it
effect, nor can any statute or resolution of that legislature
invalidate or modify the Treaty. Britain can break the
agreement ; she cannot change it, except as she made it,
that is, jointly with Ireland. The only force of British
legislation in regard to the Treaty is to legalise it from the
purely British standpoint — not to legalise it for Ireland.
" It will soon be seen that the existence of future good
relations between Britain and Ireland will have for its
essential condition the absolute cessation of all manner of
interference by the British Government or by British political
agencies in the domestic affairs of Ireland. Ireland will
not seek to interfere in British affairs. There is, however,
a certain aristocratic and semi-aristocratic element which
has family connections and property connections in both
countries and plenty of leisure to be meddlesome, and this
element constitutes a danger to be watched.
" Above all, there is the situation which the British
Government and British political agencies have deliberately
created in Ulster. There, simultaneously with the Black
and Tan war against Ireland generally, a campaign of
sectarian violence was let loose two years ago. In the same
year a British statute divided Ireland into two separate
administrative, legislative and judicial areas. There was
no Irish demand, in or out of Ulster, for this division. It
was a purely British governmental device directed against
What the Treaty Means 209
the peace and progress of Ireland. This policy cannot be
maintained without violating the essence of the Treaty ;
yet certain British ministers seem to think that we do not
understand it.
" Having barely mentioned certain points which as yet
do not appear to have penetrated the public intelligence of
our neighbours — many of whom still think they own us by
divine right — let me say that I am confident that we, on
our part, if we act with a single purpose for the good of
Ireland, can surmount every surviving difficulty and make
Ireland as free as any other nation. We are young, vigor-
ous, resourceful, and, in spite of all the past, we are one of
the few nations of Europe that are solvent. The Black
and Tan war and its Ulster accompaniment have raised the
temperature and produced some fever, but we are organically
sound and, as a people, we mean to have a reign of justice.
(Signed) " EOIN MACNEILL."
FROM SEAN MACENTEE
[Mr. MacEntee is a native of Belfast and, until his
defeat in the summer elections, one of the younger
members of Bail Eireann, most active in support of
De Valera.]
" Two things stand out in the Treaty : first, that Ire-
land, under threat of war, is compelled to forego her right
to independence ; of our natural right, the latter a violation
of our territory.
" Liberty is ' the inalienable right ' of the Irish as of all
other peoples, and Ireland's territorial integrity is as truly
essential to Ireland's national existence as was the preserva-
tion of the Federal Union to America under Lincoln.
America waged wars to secure her liberties and to preserve
that Union ; Ireland in the same just cause will fight to the
end. Under the Treaty, therefore, Ireland can never be at
peace, but must be at war.
" The Treaty will not bring peace to Ireland ; neither
O
210 Michael Collins* Own Story
will it bring prosperity. Ireland cannot be prosperous while
Ireland is not free, for all that is best in the country of
intellect and of character will address itself to the struggle
for liberty. All that is material will be sacrificed to that
great spiritual passion — the phenomenon of ages will be
repeated — Irish youth growing to manhood will have but
one thought, not to become rich, but to become free. All
its energy, all its courage, all its capacity will be devoted
to that ideal. And with all this we shall have the same
political instability, the same civil turmoil ; these are
everywhere the invariable concomitants of injustice and
oppression, and these are essentially destructive of material
prosperity.
" Based upon partition, the Treaty will perpetuate dis-
union. Its real object is to establish and consolidate in
North-Eastern Ireland an English settlement which England
plans shall be the inveterate and relentless enemy of the
Irish nation. England feels herself assured of the loyalty
of that settlement as she is assured of the loyalty, say, of
Scotland. There is no power, no authority she may concede
to the Irish Free State that she will not give more un-
reservedly and more freely to Northern Ireland. By such
a policy she hopes to make the breach which she has forced
between North and South wider and deeper. She knows
Northern Ireland as established under the Treaty will strive
to become wholly English, while Southern Ireland strives
to become wholly Irish. So that in a little time she
calculates there will be in Ireland two peoples speaking
different languages, holding different religions, following
different political ideals.
" By her North-Eastern settlement and not by an oath
of allegiance England hopes to hold Ireland for the British
Empire. Northern Ireland, as established by the Treaty,
is to be her new Gibraltar, a Gibraltar which, if the Treaty
were to stand, would reduce Ireland for ever to political
impotency and paralysis.
" The Treaty, in short, makes Ireland neither a free
country nor a British Dominion, but a sort of hybrid among
What the Treaty Means 211
states, a mule among nations — impotent and abject, con-
demned to servitude and decay. It will not stand, how-
ever ; for those who made Ireland great, the men who
fought and the women who suffered, stand against it.
They still stand true to the Irish Republic. The authority,
legitimacy and territorial integrity of that Republic will
yet be vindicated by this living generation, so that its flag,
floating over every inch of Irish soil, shall secure the loyalty
and homage of all who claim Ireland for their home. But
when this is done, it shall be done, not by means of, but in
spite of, the Treaty.
(Signed) " SEAN MACENTEE."
FROM ERNEST BLYTHE
[Mr. Blythe, T.D., is Minister of Economics in
Dail Eireann and one of its most brilliant members,
who has always been a great admirer of Griffith's
Sinn Fein policy — although an Ulster man and a
Protestant.]
" I believe the people who think that national effort in
future is likely to concentrate itself along the lines of
Republican agitation and revolutionary action are entirely
mistaken. The Treaty gives, for the present, ample scope
for national growth and reconstruction. The mind of the
country will be given chiefly to economic and cultural
development.
" The left wing in the year after next will not be con-
stituted of the Republican doctrinaires, but of the advanced
workers for a revival of the Irish language and of the advo-
cates of tariff and banking reform. In the new situation
it will be recognised that the nation's ' soul ' is to be saved
no longer by the maintenance of a political effervescence, but
by preserving and spreading the use of the historic languages
of the Gael. When Irish has again been made common
speech throughout the country, all thought will be given a
distinctively Irish tinge and objective ; Irish brains shall,
212 Michael Collins' Own Story
at last, pay a toll of service to Ireland instead of going
entirely to build up the culture and literature of other
countries.
" On the material side we shall have attention turned
not to the expulsion of British maintenance parties from
the few coastal posts they will hold, but to the development
of industries, to the utilisation of our peat and mineral
deposits and water-power, and to the opening up of direct
trade relations with the many countries with which our
lines of communication at present run through Liverpool
or London. There are abundant proofs that the fostering
care of a national government will be able to transform
the economic condition of Ireland. The country is at
present very backward industrially. To bring it to the
point at which it ought to be will be a big task. When the
back of that task has been broken, when the future of the
Irish language has been unmistakably assured, then only will
doctrinaire Republicanism really come to the forefront again.
(Signed) "ERNEST BLYTHE."
FROM COUNTESS MARKIEVICZ
[Constance Georgina Markievicz, T.D., was sen-
tenced to death by court-martial for having com-
manded the insurgents in the Royal College of
Surgeons during the Easter Week rising in Dublin,
but was later released in the general amnesty. Her
hatred of England is the one dominating passion of
her life.]
" Your question demands a prophecy, and at most times
there is a risk in hazarding an opinion as to future events ;
but in this case I do not hesitate to stake any reputation
that I may have by giving as my honest and thought-out
opinion that under the Treaty the future holds little but
trouble for Ireland.
" A friendship or agreement between two persons,
parties or nations must be based on a mutual understanding.
What the Treaty Means 213
The oath which it includes is translated as meaning one
thing by Mr. Griffith, Mr. Collins and their followers when
explaining it to the Irish people, while the meaning given to
it by Mr. Lloyd George and his followers is the direct
contradiction.
" Mr. Griffith said, speaking openly before the assembly
of Dail Eireann :
" ' It is an oath, I say, that any Irishman could take
with honour, as he pledges his allegiance to the Free State
and faithfulness, after, to the head of the British Common-
wealth of Nations.'
" Mr. Collins said : ' . . . And we have obtained . . .
a compromise on allegiance not ideal, but which enables
us to pledge our true faith and allegiance only to our own
Saorstat, and declares fidelity to the Crown merely in its
capacity as the link between the two nations.'
" Their followers are now declaring quite openly that
this oath binds them to do nothing more than to try the
Free State, and make use of it to obtain the Republic ; and
that they would be willing to take a fresh oath for every
gun they could procure by so doing — and much more on
the same lines.
" So much for the pro-Treaty-ites. Now turn to their
English friends speaking in defence of the Treaty in the
English House of Commons. The most definite statement
among many of the same kind was made by Sir Worthington
Evans, December 15, 1921 :
" ' ... Part of the terms of the settlement will be
that the members who go to serve in that Free State Parlia-
ment will have to swear true faith and allegiance to the
Constitution as passed by the House of Commons. How is
it possible to say that within the terms of that oath they
set up a Republic and still maintain their oath ? '
" He further stated : ' . . . Anson's description of the
Oath of Allegiance is that it was a declaration of fidelity to
the Throne, so that in this oath we have got this : we have
got an oath of allegiance in the declaration of fidelity : "I
will be faithful to His Majesty King George V., and his
214 Michael Collins' Own Story
heirs and successors by law " — and we have got something
in addition, a declaration of fidelity to the Constitution
of the Irish Free State, and in further addition we have
the declaration of fidelity to the Empire itself.'
" Whether our envoys were themselves tricked or
whether they agreed to trick the Irish people is the obvious
question that Irish people are asking to-day. Whichever
way the question is answered, it will not help these men to
keep the confidence of the Irish people, and unless they
have the confidence and the support of the people they
will be powerless to govern efficiently. Nor can this
Treaty based on misunderstanding bring anything but
dissension between the two nations.
" Then there is the question of the Northern Pale
deliberately set up by the British Cabinet in anticipation of
the South becoming unanimously separatist. The situation
there becomes daily worse. Mr. Collins called off the
Belfast boycott. If he did so to propitiate Sir James
Craig it would appear from the Press that he failed. Then,
too, Mr. Lloyd George seems to interpret this Treaty so as
to secure power to himself to postpone the Boundary Com-
mission. This gives the Irish people much cause for thought
and reason for suspicion, both of the sincerity of Mr. Lloyd
George and of the capacity of Mr. Collins and his advisers.
" Next comes the question of the formation of the Con-
stitution. Mr. Griffith and Mr. Collins believe that loose-
ness of the Treaty can be made use of by them. Mr. Collins
makes the amazing announcement that ' we make our own
decision, and it is we who decide how we are to deal with
Mr. Lloyd George.' Mr. Griffith even went so far as to
pledge himself openly to the Southern Unionists to give
them their ' full share of representation in the First Chamber
of the Irish Parliament, and as to the Upper Chamber, we
will consult them on its constitution, and undertake that
their interests will be duly represented.'
" Labour has already expressed itself on this pronounce-
ment of Mr. Griffith's, and labour is a power in Ireland
to-day. The people, too, are suspicious.
What the Treaty Means 215
" These are only a few of the points that the people of
Ireland are pondering over to-day, and these are the ques-
tions that are daily being asked with more and more
insistence :
" Have the signatories been fooled again in the old way
and by the old enemy, and will the result of all these negotia-
tions be :
" i. The establishment of a new English Pale on
the old lines, and
"2. The division of the rest of Ireland into two
parties also on the old lines which in the past gave
us the 'Queens,' O'Neills, O'Reillys, etc., i.e., those
who were guarding the English interests in Ireland
and who derived their power from the English King
and the forces behind him — and the Irish rebels who
derived their powers from the will and love of the
Irish people.
" These rebels will be there and stand for an independent
Ireland till that day when nationality has ceased to be
an inspiration ; when language is dead and our history
forgotten ; when Irish idealism has been lost in British
materialism, and we a smug British province.
" That day will never come. Therefore I see naught but
trouble in front of us till our national aspirations are achieved
by the establishment and recognition of the Irish Republic.
(Signed) " CONSTANCE MARKIEVICZ."
FROM WILLIAM ROACHE
[Liam de Roiste, T.D., successor in Dail Eireann
of William O'Brien for Cork City, has worked for
years for the revival of Irish industries ; it was he
who induced Henry Ford to establish a factory in
Cork, and put through a scheme whereby the Moore
MacCormack Steamship Company's liners ply
direct between Cork and New York.]
216 Michael Collins' Own Story
" Unless divinely inspired, prophecy is untrustworthy.
No one can say dogmatically what the future holds in store
for Ireland or for any other country. One can only express
an opinion as to what it should hold, granted certain
premises.
" Ireland, owing to the blighting influence of foreign
rule, is a nation of arrested development, intellectually,
nationally, socially, politically, economically. Now that
the Irish people have secured power in their own hands
what should be expected is almost immediate development
in the spheres of activity indicated. For such develop-
ment, however, order and at least comparative peace are
essential
" Intellectually the Irish nation can develop to perfection
only on the basis of its ancient civilisation and culture
which are enshrined, as it were, in the native language.
Already, owing to the freedom secured under the Treaty
and the taking over of the educational systems of the
country by the Irish authorities, a gigantic fillip has been
given to the study of the Irish language and its literature.
Granted orderly development, so far as one can see, this
intellectual progress, drawing inspiration from purely
native ideals, is likely to be maintained. The world will,
therefore, be presented with the spectacle of an ancient
civilisation reanimated — a civilisation that has much in it
from which the world may learn.
" The sense of national distinctiveness is very strong
indeed in Ireland. It was fostered rather than checked
by the repressive laws of the English. National feeling is
often intolerant. That intolerance is based upon ignorance
or is due to conditions where the national feeling must
continually show itself in protest. With a development of
education in Ireland and freedom from restrictions of all
national feelings it may be anticipated that the expression
of the national distinctiveness of the Irish nation will be
in the sphere of culture rather than in the sphere of politics.
" Socially and politically it may be expected that the
development in Ireland will be towards democratic control
What the Treaty Means 217
of all activities, that there will be few, if any, privileged
classes, that there will be a more just distribution of wealth
and power than is found in other countries, and that there
will ultimately be great individual liberty.
" While not sternly Republican in the doctrinaire sense
of a form of government, the Irish people of the present
day are essentially a democratic people. So far as one can
judge, there is no special regard for men of wealth as such,
and none for men of title. There is regard for worth and
for service to the community. The traditional struggle
for Ireland has been simply to get power into the hands of
the people of the country and out of the hands of select
coteries and classes set up by the British. The political
form in which that power may express itself has varied
during the centuries in the minds of the people, and even
now no one political form commands universal assent ;
except that the form conceived of must be democratic, one
through which the will of the people can best express
itself.
" The whole economic structure of Ireland needs re-
moulding, and under the Treaty terms this remoulding is
at last possible. Ireland having full fiscal and economic
freedom is at liberty to rebuild its industries, trade and
commerce, to adjust agrarian grievances, to plant the
people on the soil and to solve the problem of emigration.
The outstanding economic factor in Ireland for the past
76 years has been the abnormal emigration of the young
people of the country. No remedy has been possible
during this period. The problem can now be solved in a
manner that should ensure the increase of a healthy, in-
dustrious and virile people.
" As I view the position, the Treaty arrangement is a
step, a big step, in the onward progress of the Irish nation.
The Land Acts were steps ; technical, agricultural and
university education were steps ; the establishment of
local government was a step ; the extension of the franchise
was a step — all tending to greater and greater strength, to
more and more liberty. The Irish language movement
218 Michael Collins' Own Story
and the cultural Sinn Fein movement marked these steps,
and the rising-out of 1916 roused the spirit of the people
for the assertion of sovereign independence. With the
increase of intellectual and material strength which is
possible under the Treaty terms the progress of the Irish
nation to fuller freedom and fuller development should be
rapid.
" Unfortunately, however, the prospect is marred by
the spectre of fratricidal strife. If fratricidal strife should
eventuate, there is no prospect but defeat and disaster for
the Irish nation in this generation.
(Signed) " LIAM DE ROISTE."
FROM PROF. W. F. P. STOCKLEY
[Professor Stockley, T.D., is one of the pacifist
members of the Dail who, nevertheless, espouses the
Republican cause.]
" Nothing is settled until it is settled right. The right
settling of this world is not possible. But some right
settling is.
" The English Daily Mail, publishing whole-sheet
pictures of the Kaiser as our ally-to-be in the Boer War,
declared that that holy war was ' a war to end war and make
the world safe for decent men.' A later war was camou-
flaged by like aspirations. Countries, small and great, were
now to live their own lives, resolve their own difficulties.
The resulting peace without principle has plentifully praised
past domestic resolvings of majority-minority strifes,
as in the infant United States. But it has not been
the instrument of a yet smaller minority being left in
Ireland to understand itself and the world, and to calm
down in that island geographically and historically one and
indivisible. Any single passing from principles possible of
application makes this a cry of peace where there is no peace
and no right settling.
" The late Pope Benedict had principles for a peace-
What the Treaty Means 219
making. Ex-President Wilson embodied such in his aban-
doned claims. And the rising of heart, the will to act on
the part of millions in their response to such higher practi-
cality was proof of some possible doing. Indeed, never was
there a better chance of peace between England and Ireland
than when could have been applied between them this
golden rule of do as done by. There never was a surer
opportunity of getting rid of irritation by minding one's
own business, not to say of mutual good-will, or even, as
far as propriety and decency demanded, of forgive and
forget.
" ' The right and the wise thing for England to do is to
consent freely to the establishment of an Irish Republic
unconditionally. I make that proposal because I want to
see a true and final settlement of the differences between
my country and England.' (Prof. Eoin MacNeill, English
Review, Sept., 1917.)
" But England, powerful by arms, not less powerful by
ruling when not pretending to rule — as over rajahs, mahara-
jahs, and khedives — would not change. The whole world
was filled with portraits of her as willing to let Ireland
manage things Irish if only the Irish people would agree
among themselves. Such was the portrait published in
Washington's day also, of fond Mother England clasping
to her breast her fractious colonial child to whom no soothing
thing good for it was refused.
" What to-day has England done but refuse reality,
keep up suspicions, and make the future unsure ? In
victims the hostile mind continues. Therefore out of world-
unrealty and out of unrealiity towards Ireland there will
come no lasting peace. From pretence will come resentment
and also corruption, and all that makes for a revolt of the
gallant and the wise
" Further, the circumstances of the signing of this so-
called Treaty are circumstances shameful in unreality.
As to Washington and Franklin and Adams, so to the Irish
envoy — devastation of the resisting weak country was
threatened — immediate and terrible war. A Treaty ! And
22O Michael Collins' Own Story
a Treaty freely made ! And between equal nations !
Can wilder falsehoods further go ? Does any man, respecting
common sense, think that on such pretence will be based a
rock-built refuge for a nation, for two nations ?
" (And now truly the English in the transaction, and
most of the Irish in it, give up their pretences that they
feared war or that war was intended. That was only a
plea for a panic, as Washington dubbed the like — a working
on nerves dreading responsibility for re-exposing Ireland
to assassins rather than warriors. John Bull, in its issue
of November 26, 1921, says, ' We do not want a war in
Ireland, and we could not afford one if we did. . . . Better
blot such a possibility out of the account. If Sinn Feiners
will not come to terms they should be released from the
Empire and left to find their own salvation.')
" Lastly, the unreality by this Treaty's own terms of
pretending that Ireland is a Free State ! Equal with
England ! England, therefore, ' free ' when France has
cut off Yorkshire and Lincoln, garrisoned them, and paid
those English counties to serve France ; when France is
guaranteed rights to cover whole England with all machinery
of war, if France's relations are anywhere ' strained ' ; when
France holds in perpetuity the English ports of Hull, Liver-
pool, Portsmouth, Bristol ! What need further ? Is that
a free England — an England having to swear, besides,
fealty to France ? Would the calling such an England
' free' settle anything — even if that English dog, with collar
and chains, were fed fat with scraps from his French master's
table ? Who could have faith in a treaty calling unfree
England free ? Who could have faith in the future of a
treaty that shuts men's eyes from the real Ireland, that
Ireland that is and that will be, that is sure to be troubled,
and sure in some measure to trouble both America and the
world — until the reality of her national life is acknowledged
and she contribute even in her comparative weakness to a
more settled world, because, in this one matter, a world
settled right.
(Signet) " W. F. P. STOCKLEY."
What the Treaty Means 321
FROM WILLIAM SEARS
[Mr. Sears, T.D., member of Dail Eireann for
Sligo, is the most influential provincial newspaper
proprietor in Ireland.]
" Seldom in history has a nation had such an opportunity
as the Treaty gives to Ireland. It is, of course, not a new
thing that a nation has suddenly burst its bonds and re-
gained complete control of its affairs. But few people
possess a land of such real and potential wealth as ours or
occupy such a magnificent geographical position to make the
most of that wealth.
" Imagine what possibilities there are for our existing
industries, long discouraged and obstructed, when they can
now count upon that driving force and fostering care that
a native government can supply. Irish genius, that in the
past was not permitted to direct Irish effort, can now bend
itself unfettered to the task. And under the Treaty we
have won the necessary fiscal freedom to make the most of
our chance.
" Regarding foreign goods, we can open or close our ports
to them just as we wish. The untapped resources of
Ireland, long sealed up by the stranger, are in themselves
a vast field for Irish enterprise and energy, even if our
population were three times what it is at present.
" Then our country, fresh and vigorous, enters upon
the international stage at a time when the rest of Europe
bends, under crushing debts and is disorganised and dis-
couraged to the point of despair. In our people, although
they have come through a terrible time, the industrial spirit
and courage is equal to that of the youngest nation on the
globe. It faces the future not merely with confidence, but
with eagerness.
' There may be drawbacks to the Treaty from the
idealist point of view ; there are none from the material.
The obstacles to complete freedom that still remain can
daunt only the faint-hearted The nation that frustrated
222 Michael Collins' Own Story
the greatest military power in Europe, and won its way to
the present position, cannot humanly be prevented from
reaching the final stage save by some act of criminal folly
on its own part.
" But perhaps it is not in the material field the Ireland
of the future will make its greatest mark. The kindly
neighbourliness of the Irish character, as is evidenced in the
success of the co-operative movement, offered a better field
for social reform than is elsewhere found. When the harsh
reactions from the war have passed away, Ireland should
furnish interesting headlines in social evolution, perhaps
new departures the world may find of value. And from
even higher fields she may garner a worthy crop, for the
nation that has come through the fires of centuries of
persecution must be handicapped with a little less of the
world's dross than others.
" The purging, surely, was not all in vain, and perhaps
that spiritual bent in the race that in the past earned for
our island a glorious title may manifest itself again and add
lustre once more to the ' Isle of Destiny/ We are en-
couraged to hope for the best when we recollect that the
language that foreign tyranny set aside is now to be taken,
as it were, from cold storage and to furnish to the nation
a fresh and unfailing source of mental and spiritual energy
and inspiration.
(Signed) " WILLIAM SEARS."
FROM H. J. BOLAND
[Mr. Boland, who died as the result of wounds
received while resisting arrest by Free State troops,
spent almost all of the time, from 1916 to the signing
of the Treaty, in the United States, where he was
the official representative of the Irish Republic,
engaged in raising funds.]
" The future of Ireland under the Treaty is a very
difficult subject to discuss. I prefer to deal with the
What the Treaty Means 223
immediate present. Ireland under the Treaty is now rent
asunder and I cannot see any grounds for hope unless the
Treaty-ites explicitly assert in the constitution of the Free
State :
" i. That the nation is one and indivisible.
" 2. That all authority in Ireland is derived from
the people of Ireland, and
"3. That the oath of allegiance and the Governor-
General must be omitted from the Treaty.
" A constitution which will not debar those who would
have Ireland free from giving constitutional expression in
an Irish Parliament to the Republican ideal would, I think,
be acceptable to the Republicans. But it must be under-
stood that England forced the plenipotentiaries to sign
under the threat of ' immediate and terrible war.' Of all
England's abominable crimes against Ireland this latest
is, to my mind, the most revolting.
" There are two shades of political thought represented
in those who favour the Articles of Agreement signed in
London. One, led by Mr. Arthur Griffith, asserts that the
agreement gives Ireland essential liberty and is quite
prepared to accept the arrangement in complete satisfaction
of Ireland's claims or, in the words of Mr. Griffith, to ' march
into the British Empire with our heads up ' — and settle
down, a contented Dominion of the Empire, with the hope
that some day the ultra-Imperialists of the Six Counties
called Ulster will come into the Imperial Free State.
"It is to be regretted that Mr. Griffith has taken this
course, a course which is the very negation of all that for
which he has given his life's work. Mr. Griffith, by his
teachings of the past thirty years, is responsible to a great
extent for the intense revival of Irish nationalism which
found its expression in the Republic.
" The other group, led by Mr. Michael Collins, claims
that the Treaty gives Ireland ' freedom to achieve freedom.'
' Get the British out of Ireland, build up the country, and
in ten or twenty years Ireland will be in a better position to
224 Michael Collins' Own Story
fight England and so establish the Republic.1 This plea
has secured many adherents to the Treaty — men who here-
tofore were considered implacable in their desire for the
complete independence of Ireland. Indeed, were it not for
the fact that Mr. Collins signed them, the Articles of Agree-
ment would have received very short shrift in Dail Eireann.
" The Republican point of view expressed by De Valera
and supported by the young men of the Irish Republican
Army and by all those who would have Ireland as free as
America, or as England, is a simple one, based on the funda-
mental right of the Irish nation to the undictated control
of its own affairs, owing allegiance to no power on earth
save the sovereign people of Ireland, prepared to stand on
the fundamental rock of right, refusing to give a democratic
title to the British King in Ireland, refusing to march into
the Empire with heads up, as Mr. Griffith invites, or to march
in with hands up for ten years or more, as Mr. Collins would
have it. Of the two policies that of the ' heads up ' is the
more honourable.
" Republicans argue that once the Irish nation sanc-
tions this Treaty and ratines it in the ballot-box, the honour
of the nation is committed, and by so doing Ireland wills
her own national death. The sanctity of treaties is invoked
against Mr. Collins' arguments. It is pointed out that
entering the Empire gives the He to all that for which
countless generations of Irishmen have contended. All
the dead generations are fighting on the side of those who
would maintain the independence of Ireland.and lam satisfied
that this point of view will win in the coming election.
" Now that the army of the Republic has cut itself off
from those who would accept the agreement, the future of
Ireland under the Treaty is very doubtful. It remains to
be seen whether Messrs. Collins and Griffith will persevere
in their efforts to force the Free State against the Irish
Republican Army opposition. If they so persist, then I
look for serious trouble hi Ireland. If, on the other hand,
they tell the British that they cannot ' deliver the goods,'
I feel sure that a just peace can be negotiated between
What the Treaty Means 225
England and Ireland. Of one thing I am certain : this
so-called Treaty will not bring peace to Ireland or to Eng-
land, for Ireland unfree will never be at peace. The man-
hood of Ireland is in revolt against this agreement, signed,
as it was, with a pistol at the heads of the delegates. In
the words of Franklin, ' Those who would give up essential
liberty to purchase a life-safety deserve neither safety nor
liberty ' — and history proves that Ireland will never submit
to the status of a dismembered Dominion of an Empire
with which she has been at war for centuries.
(Signed} " HARRY BOLAND."
FROM DAN MACCARTHY
[Mr. MacCarthy, T.D., is the whip of the Treaty
party, and generally recognised in Irish political
circles as the most efficient organiser in the country.]
" The Ireland of the future under the terms of the Treaty
will be an Ireland governed by Irishmen for the common
good of Irishmen. In this way we can develop our own
civilisation without being subjected to, and hampered by,
the interference of the foreign invader.
" Dublin Castle — the symbol of English authority in
this country for seven hundred years — is in Irish hands for
the first time in history. Irishmen the world over know
what Dublin Castle stood for. From its inception it was
meant for a government of corruptioners, and all the time
its rulers aimed at the extermination of the Irish people.
" For centuries it has been the ideal and aim of Irishmen
to loosen the chains by which Dublin Castle bound the people
of Ireland, and this at last is achieved under the Treaty.
" By the Treaty we can develop Ireland in an Irish
way. No longer fettered by English imperialistic aims,
we can make our land fit for Irishmen to live in. England
saw to it that education in Ireland was totally unsuitable
to the people. We can change all that ; we can restore the
P
226 Michael Collins' Own Story
Irish language to be the language of our people ; we can
develop our agricultural districts ; we can open up our
mines, and find employment for our people, so that no
longer will it be necessary for the sons and daughters of
Erin to leave their native shores to earn a living in the land
of the foreigner.
" Under English rule we have been subjected to over-
taxation which crippled and ruined our industries ; our
shipping all disappeared and Ireland became the slave of
her English master. The Treaty gives us power to levy our
own taxation without outside interference.
" The future holds bright things for the Irish people.
With an Irish Government replacing the rule of the
foreigner by the rule of the plain people of Ireland, I can
see in the near future a prosperous and well-contented
country. Our work now is to build up the nation, and
the vast majority of Irishmen are taking up that work
with a pride and a zest unequalled.
j " The Treaty gives us the means of attaining our com-
plete freedom. Irish soldiers are replacing the Britisher
in our streets and in the barracks throughout the country.
The army of the Free State will be used to defend Ireland's
rights ; they will see that nothing that she has gained is
taken from her. The soldiers which the Irish people will
see in Ireland will be green-clad boys of Ireland — the token
of her freedom — not the khaki-clad soldiers of Britain, the
symbol of Ireland's subjection.
" Under the Free State the Irish people will work out their
own salvation and their destiny as glorious as the people of
America worked out their fate under the Federal Constitution.
(Signed) "DAN MACCARTHY."
FROM JOSEPH MACDONAGH
[Mr. MacDonagh, T.D., is a brother of Thomas
MacDonagh, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rebellion,
who was executed by the British after the Easter
Week rising.]
What the Treaty Means 227
" There are many arguments against the Treaty. The
principal ones are :
" i. The Irish Republican Army (not the ' Free State '
Army, with headquarters at Beggars Bush), which has
renounced its allegiance to Dail Eireann since that body
handed over its powers to the Provisional Government and
ceased to function as the Government of the Irish Republic.
"2. All the men and women killed or murdered by the
British during the last six years gave their lives for an Irish
Republic, and all the sophistries of the pro-Treaty party
are unable to hide the fact that the proposed pact is a
betrayal of the dead who died for Ireland.
"3. If the Treaty is accepted by the people, Ireland will
assume a share of the British war debt, and will require such
an army to prevent the young men of Ireland from re-
establishing the Republic that taxation will become in-
tolerable and make a trade or industrial revival impossible,
"4. The partition of Ireland is admitted for the first
time by people claiming to be Irish Nationalists.
" The above four arguments show how impossible it is
to expect a settlement on the lines of the Treaty. The first
argument — the Irish Republican Army, which still remains
faithful to its oath of allegiance to the Irish Republic — will
not allow that Republic which was proclaimed by Pearse
and his colleagues, less than 1,000 men, mostly unarmed,
to be disestablished while it can count on upwards of 50,000
men mostly armed and well used to fighting. The establish-
ment of the ' Free State ' means the disbandment of the
Irish Republican Army by force, and that means civil war.
" The second argument will make it certain that even if
the ' Free State ' be now established, the patriotic youth
of every coming generation in Ireland will try by force of
arms to re-establish the Republic for which the heroes from
1916 to 1922 died. That will mean civil war.
" The third argument shows that Ireland, which should
be prosperous, must remain poor in order that it may be
made safe for the British Empire. Those people who are
now clamorous for peace, thinking it is the forerunner of
228 Michael Collins* Own Story
prosperity, will soon realise that the Treaty means national
decay.
" Lord Birkenhead may congratulate his colleague on
having set the Irish fighting ; Mr. Churchill on the great
achievement of British statesmanship, and on the chance
of making ' Irish civilisation a by-word throughout the
world ' ; Mr. Griffith on having achieved freedom for
Ireland and ended the fight of seven hundred and fifty years ;
and Mr. Collins on having obtained the freedom to achieve
freedom. But the I.R.A. are, above all, realists. They
realise that the seven hundred and fifty years' fight is not
yet ended and that the Treaty does not give even freedom
to achieve freedom. They are aware of the fact that they
possess an instrument which, if used, renders the establishment
of the ' Free State ' and the disestablishment of the Irish
Republic impossible. They mean to use that instrument !
(Signed) " JOSEPH MACDONAGH."
FROM P. J. HOGAN
[Mr. Hogan is Minister of Agriculture in Dail
Eireann, and occupies the same Cabinet position in
the Provisional Government.]
" The land is the outstanding problem in the new Ireland.
The changed political order, which sets free the energies of
the people for the task of reconstruction and nation-building,
has definitely brought the question of the settlement of the
broader aspects of the land problem into the first place.
Land purchase on the established lines will have to be
completed at once.
" The present position of land purchase is that about
three-fourths of the tenanted land has been sold to the
occupiers through the machinery of the British Land Acts.
The benefits of 'f land purchase need no arguing. The im-
provement in the material and mental outlook of those
who have been made the owners of the land they till is
admitted by all. It is there tcTsee.
What the Treaty Means 139
" The financing of a future scheme presents considerable
difficulties. The finances of the existing Land Purchase
Acts have broken down. Ireland cannot afford to finance
future land purchase on the lines of the last Acts. What-
ever way out is found, however, it is plain that the raising
of the necessary money is a matter of national credit, and
from this point of view the present insecurity is most un-
fortunate.
" Following the completion of the transfer of the occupied
land to its tenants must come the acquisition, division, and
establishment of homesteads on the untenanted ranches.
Due largely to the plantations of the past — these ranches
consist of wide areas of some of the most fertile land in
the country, hungered after by the owners of tiny or barren
holdings adjoining and by other classes of deserving
claimants. The acquisition of these untenanted areas and
their conversion into suitable holdings is a problem of
immediate urgency in view of the necessity of providing
for the needs even of our present population pending
the development and exploitation of Ireland's industrial
resources.
" But while land settlement must be regarded as the first
step towards an efficient and economical use of the land
which is our greatest national asset, supplementary assist-
ance must be given by way of a loan chargeable on the
property with a view to providing the proprietor with the
equipment and housing necessary to a progressive agri-
culture. In the case of new settlements such provision will,
of course, be absolutely essential. There is little use of
educating the farmer as to the necessity of proper housing
for stock and implements or of the desirability of initiating
different lines of development if through lack of capital or
credit he is unable to effect the necessary changes.
" Equally important to the country is an efficient
system of agricultural education. It is one of the anomalies
with kwhich unfortunately we have been too familiar that
in this agricultural country the schemes of education have
been directed to fit the youth of the country for anything
230 Michael Collins* Own Story
rather than agriculture. Only within the last year or so
has there even been a beginning made towards the establish-
ment of faculties of agriculture in the university centres.
It is a primary condition of success in developing our know-
ledge of the potentialities of the land, and disseminating that
knowledge so as to be of practical value to our farmers, that
attention to this, the fundamental industry of the country,
should be firmly established as a most important function
of the universities. Quite apart from agricultural research
in its ordinary meaning, it would seem desirable that in
these centres new possibilities of farm practice might be
tested on a commercial scale. In Ireland we have too few
farmers, whatever may be their enlightenment, who are so
fortunately circumstanced as to be able to take the risks
inherent hi pioneering.
" The problems referred to are those which seem to call
most for immediate attention from the State authority.
But there still remains almost untouched a wide field of
possible agricultural developments.
" The questions of new agricultural industries, organisa-
tion of markets, transit facilities or improvements, reclama-
tion of waste lands, might be mentioned as typical.
There is also awaiting attention the question of congestion
in the West. So far only the fringe of this difficult problem
has been touched. A population is there eking out a pre-
carious existence on holdings which are either too small or
too unproductive to support them. This situation has to
be remedied.
" We can see, therefore, that agriculture in Ireland is
at a trying period, and in grievous need of reconstruction
and development. By virtue of the Treaty we have com-
plete control of the industry. If we have difficulties and
problems, we have, likewise, for the first time, power to
deal with them. If we fail to bring agriculture to the level
of efficiency and productiveness it has reached in such
countries as Denmark, then we shall have nobody to blame
for failure but ourselves.
(Signed) " P. J. HOGAN,"
What the Treaty Means 231
De Valerafpromised to contribute to the symposium,
but failed to do so. However, I did obtain from him an
exclusive interview during the session of Dail Eireann in
December 1921, and it may be of interest to include here
parts of his statement to me at that time.
" Our opponents in the Dail," De Valera began — " and,
really, I think it is only fair to explain they are not our
opponents in fact — however, politically speaking, our
opponents have been playing politics in this matter of
Document No. 2. They have succeeded in inducing a
large section of the Press to make much of the seeming
similarity between the oath contained in the Treaty and the
oath which I suggested verbally at the secret session. As
a result of their success in this attempt to mislead the people
with regard to the true facts, almost all of the Irish news-
papers are displaying this sort of thing . . ."
Here De Valera spread out an evening newspaper on
the table and pointed with his forefinger to a box con-
taining under the caption, " The Two Oaths," an italicised
statement which read as follows :
" Mr. Sean Milroy on Tuesday revealed Mr. De
Valera's alternative oath. It is for the Irish nation
to say if they agree with Mr. Griffith that this is a
quibble."
The two oaths followed in parallel columns, and the
statement concluded with a further italicised line, which
read :
" Mr. Milroy declared that the whole issue at
stake was the difference between these two oaths."
De Valera's " explanation " of the difference, as he
stated it to me, was as follows :
" The trouble with the oath contained in the Treaty,"
he said, " is not at all with regard to swearing to be ' faith-
ful ' to the King of England ; the trouble is swearing
232 Michael Collins* Own Story
allegiance to the Constitution of the Irish Free State ' as
by law established,' which amounts to swearing allegiance
to the King — the King under the Treaty terms actually
being the titular head of the Constitution — the very Con-
stitution itself.
" Now, since it is impossible to win the status of an
isolated Republic, but because it is possible to arrange an
external association with the British Commonwealth of
Nations, I can see no harm in recognising the King as the
head of that Commonwealth. It seems to me there is a
very real difference between these two viewpoints, as there
is between the two oaths.
" I suppose that the world appreciates Ireland's true
ambition. The Irish people have always wanted an isolated
status like that of Switzerland or Denmark, with guarantees
of neutrality. But England, rightly or wrongly, never has
been able to see her way clear to consenting to this —
perhaps fearing in the case of war with another Power that
she might have to violate such Irish neutrality and thus
earn the same stigma as Germany in regard to Belgium.
" Knowing that it is impossible to win this much, and
having already agreed to endeavour to find the way to effect
a real peace between the Irish and English people, it does
not strike me as being repugnant to recognise the King
of England. I go even further, and say the objectionable
feature of the Treaty oath is not in agreeing to be ' faithful '
to the King, because I disagree that there is any analogy
between such a term and the fealty of a slave to his master.
On the contrary, I take it to mean that it is the faithfulness
of two equals who prove it in keeping a bargain made.
' The point is that the oath contained in the Treaty
actually and unequivocally binds the taker to ' allegiance '
to the English King, for under the terms of the Treaty the
Constitution of the Irish Free State ' as by law established '
is the King of England and nobody else.
" As a matter of fact, those in favour of the ratification
of the Treaty are taking an unfair advantage in making it
appear that the difference between the two oaths is the
What the Treaty Means 233
only actual difference between us. My verbally-proposed
oath was the least of what I offered by way of counter-
proposals. It is not even correctly expressed, as a study
of it immediately makes apparent. I never put it on
paper. Had I done so, it would have been properly
expressed. I did not expect it to be written down and
used against me in a public session of the Dail.
" I have repeatedly said in the public sessions that the
Treaty is objectionable because it does not mean peace.
The reason for this is obvious. The Irish people never
mean to become part of the British Empire, but they are
eagerly willing to be faithful to any agreement they enter
into, even an agreement designating the king as titular head
of the negotiating party. We earnestly, honestly and
faithfully want to establish and maintain peaceful relations
with England, but this can be " — and here De Valera paused
as if choosing his words with the greatest care — " only when
* we ' means the Irish nation, and not British subjects
within the Empire.
" My plan of peace is much more acceptable to Mr.
Lloyd George than this Treaty, unbelievable as that may
sound. It is more acceptable to him, if he only knew it,
because it spells real peace, whereas the inclusion of Ireland
within the Empire will never spell peace. If peace were
to come on the lines I have proposed the greatest difficulty
that might well eventuate would be to prevent too much
fraternisation between the two countries !
" Whether the Dail will ratify the Treaty or reject the
Treaty I do not know, nor can any man know. But one
thing I do know, and I am sure that every man and woman
in the Dail knows it too — ratification will not mean peace.
It will mean sooner or later that the English Government
will have to face the centuries' -old question of Ireland for
the Irish people. This I am so convinced Mr. Lloyd George
fully comprehends as to leave me little moved by the argu-
ments of our opponents that rejection would be immediately
followed by war.
" When Mr. Lloyd George knows, as I am positive he
234 Michael Collins' Own Story
knows, that he can have a permanent and faithful peace
with Ireland, including the association of Ireland with the
Commonwealth of Nations of the British Empire — so long
as we remain ourselves and have not to become British
subjects — I think there can still be arranged such a peace
— not only can, but will be."
FROM SIR MAURICE DOCKRELL, M.P.
[Sir Maurice is the only Unionist member elected
from the South of Ireland to the Imperial Parliament,
who, after his experience in the House of Commons,
became an ardent Home Ruler. He is one of the
principal business men of Ireland.]
" One would need to be a super-optimist to predict a
future for the Treaty amid all the happenings of the
moment. The flash of light which heralded its arrival may
either have revealed an unsuspected precipice or may have
temporarily blinded us to its full meaning. We may
resemble birds who, after being released from captivity, circle
round and round in apparent perplexity as to which is the
true course to their objective. All Irishmen who are lovers
of their country will hope that we may soon find and pursue
with unerring aim the road that leads to a happy and
prosperous Ireland.
(Signed) " DOCKRELL."
FROM His GRACE MOST REV. DR. T. P. GILMARTIN
[Dr. Gilmartin is the Archbishop of Tuam.]
" If educated men with a sense of citizenship are
returned to Parliament, if judges and police are worthy of
their rdles, if, in a word, all the organs of the new State
function normally, a great future awaits us. The country
is fresh and undeveloped ; the population is healthy ; the
people love their homes and their families ; the vices of
civilisation are to a great extent unknown, and all the
What the Treaty Means 235
fixed factors of progress are, I think, realisable. But there
are many unknown quantities in the problem, and there
are many ' ifs ' in the political prophecy.
(Signed) " GILMARTIN."
FROM RICHARD CROKER
[The late Richard Croker dictated and signed the
following statement while lying on his sick-bed a
few weeks before his death in his home, Glencairn,
in Stillorgan, a suburb of Dublin.]
" In my opinion there are four countries in the world
to-day which can be properly called progressive. They
are America, Japan, Germany and the Argentine Republic.
In my opinion the Irish Free State will rank among the best
of these if it is given a chance. But . . .
" The way the leaders of this Irish Free State are handi-
capped reminds me of last year's Grand National. Out
of 27 starters two finished, and the second of these had
fallen at the water- jump — all due to the impossible
difficulties of the course. Just this applies to the men who
are now trying to establish the Free State.
" These men are looking forward, instead of backward ;
they are trying to bring prosperity to their country. Their
faces are set to the future, and their minds are not dwelling
on the wrongs and misrule of 750 years. But will their
opponents take down the hurdles and lighten the weights
and give the Free State a chance ? Until we have an answer
to that question nobody can say what the future holds in
store for Ireland.
" Progressive Irishmen have left Ireland for many years
back, and have gone out into the world and taken com-
manding positions, filling important governmental posts in
countries all over the world. They have done so chiefly
because they had no opportunity in their own country to
better their condition. Now the opportunity has come
they should not let it escape.
236 Michael Collins' Own Story
" Men like Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith would
rise to the highest positions in the Government if they were
American born and had done one half of what they have
done for Ireland. In 15 years from to-day, if the
wreckers of the Treaty do not succeed in preventing it,
Michael Collins will prove himself to be one of the great
figures of the world. At least, this is my opinion.
" If the Free State leaders are sustained, the prosperity
that will come to Ireland in the wake of returning sons
and daughters, and the consequent opening up of industries,
will provide work for every man that is now idle and will
bring comfort and plenty to all the people. And yet
nothing in the existing situation justifies anybody's pre-
dicting that they will be sustained.
" And this is none the less true for all that as between
the opposing factions the only important difference is over
a name. As to the patriotism and love of country and
sincerity of all the men and women on both sides, there is
no question whatever. But I cannot believe that the
Treaty opponents will plunge the country into misery. If they
do, it will be the sorriest day in all Ireland's sorry history.
(Signed) " RICHARD CROKER."
FROM ERSKINE CHILDERS
[Mr. Childers, who, until the summer elections,
was the only member of the Dail born in England,
and — because there is as yet no naturalisation
machinery in Ireland — remained an Englishman, was
generally considered the brains behind the Republican
movement.]
" I approach the question as one who is deeply and
vehemently opposed to the Treaty, but I will try to assume
that the Irish people gives its sanction to the Treaty and
that the Free State is set up. A most extraordinary
position would result from the first. The election would
have been decided on an obsolete register giving no fair
What the Treaty Means 237
reflection of the electorate as it exists to-day, and excluding
from the franchise most of the young men who fought in
the war of independence and are resolutely opposed to
accepting the Treaty and entering the British Empire. The
young women would also be excluded, although adult
suffrage is, or should be, now universal in up-to-date de-
mocracies, and although these young women took a most
important share in the winning of the war. You would,
therefore, have from the first some of the most virile elements
of the population smarting under the grievance of not
having been able to give a vote in an election deciding the
destiny of their country.
" But there is a wider question still. The election
would be fought under the threat of renewed war by the
British. Mr. Griffith has declared that the issue will be
'to honour the Treaty or revert to war.' To honour the
Treaty means to surrender the existing Irish Republic and
the independence of Ireland and agree to her entry into the
British Empire as a conquered people. To ask that a
national democracy choose with a bayonet at its throat
between freedom and extermination is a thing never done
before in history, and an iniquitous thing.
" The verdict at such an election, if it were for the
Treaty, would be null and void, and would be considered
so in their hearts even by those who voted for the Treaty.
" Apart from this, you would have the whole of the
present Republican party, which, though it might be beaten
at the polls, would, at any rate, be a large minority, violently
opposed to the surrender of independence which would
have been thrust upon them, and determined to use their
utmost efforts to regain it.
" I am not saying anything about civil war. That does
not enter into the question I am discussing. What I mean
is that, talk as people will about the people of Ireland
settling this question at an election, the question will not
be settled unless it is settled by the defeat of the Treaty
and byTthe return of the Irish people to that unity which
can only be based on independent nationality. Otherwise
238 Michael Collins' Own Story
you would have the nation divided against itself, some of
its citizens prepared to live a lie and to send to Parliament
members ready to swear an allegiance they do not feel to
a foreign king, others disowning that Parliament, refusing
to go into it and working to restore independence.
" This is how human nature will act inevitably, as it
would in any other country in the world, and I, therefore,
feel it impossible to estimate the gain to fine national
development which might result from the use of the powers
which the Free State has received, important as they
undoubtedly are. A nation divided fundamentally on the
question of its very existence as an independent nation
cannot function and develop freely. I myself anticipate
that the struggle could not last long and that it must end
in the recognition of Irish independence. Then, and then
only, can our nation find its true place in the world and
express fully its own culture and civilisation.
(Signed) " ERSKINE CHILDERS."
FROM SEAN MILROY
[Mr. Milroy, T.D., one of the few members of Dail
Eireann representing two constituencies — one of
which is in Ulster — has proved himself repeatedly
during the course of the Dail debates one of the most
brilliant thinkers in that assemblage.]
" I am asked to express my opinion upon the question,
' Under the terms of the Treaty, what does the future hold
in store for Ireland ? '
" That question might be dealt with by the reply that
under the terms of the Treaty Ireland's future will be
whatever the Irish people wish to make it. In the Pro-
clamation of 1916 appeared the following passage :
' We declare the right of the people of Ireland to
the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control
of Irish destinies to be sovereign and indefeasible.'
What the Treaty Means 239
" That right has been vindicated by the Treaty, and
through it the control of Irish destinies passes into the
hands of the Irish people. A fair and legitimate test of
the powers it brings to the Irish nation is the examination
of how far the constructive programme embodied in the
constitution of the Sinn Fein organisation is made possible
as a result of the Treaty. Briefly that programme was as
follows :
" i. The protection of Irish industries and commerce.
"2. The establishment and maintenance of an Irish
consular service.
"3. The re-establishment of an Irish mercantile marine.
"4. The industrial survey of Ireland and the develop-
ment of its mineral resources.
"5. The establishment of a national stock exchange.
" 6. The creation of a national civil service.
" 7. The establishment of courts of arbitration.
" 8. The development of transit by road, rail, and water,
and of waste lands.
" 9. The development of Irish sea fisheries.
" 10. The reform of education to render its basis national
and industrial.
" ii. The abolition of the Poor Law system.
" The greater portion of that programme has been
impossible hitherto ; only in four of the various aspects of
it, viz., i, 4, 7, and n, was it feasible to make any effort.
In only one, viz., the establishment of courts of arbitration,
were comprehensive, practical results achieved.
" Under the Treaty the whole programme becomes a
matter of practical work. It requires no great imagination
to understand what a transformed Ireland we shall have
when that is done.
" Another test of the value of the Treaty to Ireland :
" In 1919 an announcement was issued over the names
of President De Valera and Michael Collins, Minister of
Finance, advertising the loan of that year. The following
240 Michael Collins' Own Story
is part of the wording of that announcement stating what
might be achieved for Ireland if the loan was subscribed :
' You can recover Ireland for the Irish.
' You can re-people the land.
' You can harness the rivers.
' You can put her flag on every sea.
" ' You can plant the hillsides and the wastes.
" ' You can set the looms spinning.
' ' ' You can set the hammer ringing on the anvil.
' You can abolish the slums.
" ' You can send her ships to every port.
' You can garner the harvest of the seas.
" ' You can drain the bogs.
" ' You can save the boys and girls for Ireland.
" ' You can restore Ireland's health, her strength,
her beauty, and her wealth.'
' That was a magnificent outline of what could be done
for Ireland.
" The Treaty gives to Ireland the chance to secure that
every one of these objects for which the loan was subscribed
can become an accomplished fact within our own day.
"It is not likely that the Irish people will thoughtlessly
throw away the fairest chance that Ireland has known for
centuries of becoming free and progressive.
(Signed) " SEAN MILROY."
FROM MARY MACSWINEY
[Miss MacSwiney, T.D, is sister of the late Lord
Mayor of Cork, who died in Brixton Prison after a
hunger-strike that lasted for more than two months ;
in a speech at a session of Dail Eireann she vowed
she would be an uncompromising rebel against the
Free State as she always has been against British
rule in Ireland.]
What the Treaty Means 241
" As I write, the peace committee of An Dail is still
striving to find a basis of negotiations between the Re-
publican party and those who favour the Treaty. They
will have finished their deliberations long before this article
reaches the public. If they succeeded in finding such a
basis it will be such that Republicans can be certain it will
not involve now, or at any future time, acceptance of the
Articles of Agreement which put Ireland inside the British
Empire.
" The future of Ireland is certain. Independence will
bring prosperity, and, side by side with increasing prosperity,
will spread Gaelic culture, which will make our people great
as in the olden days when Ireland was the university of
Europe. That Ireland — free and Gaelic — will have much
to give humanity and will be generous in the giving. But
all that development is contingent on real independence ;
not the loosening or lengthening of the tyrant's chain, but
the breaking of it.
" The proposed Treaty could never bring peace to Ireland,
because it would not bring real freedom, and ' Ireland
unfree will never be at peace.' A certain material pros-
perity it might bring — for a time. But as soon as the
natural development of Cork and Galway roused the jealousy
of Southampton and Liverpool, we would have a repetition
of the old economic coercion.
" England did not ask for a truce and negotiations
because her conscience smote her for her frightfulness in
Ireland, but because she hoped that the Welsh wizard would
accomplish at the conference-table by his wiles what her
Huns and her Black and Tans could not do by their terror ;
and because the Treaty is of English manufacture and in
English interests it cannot bring peace to Ireland. Should
it be forced on our people by the threat of ' immediate and
terrible war/ which frightened our delegates into signing
that disgraceful document on the 6th of last December,
the result will not help England any more than it will bring
peace to Ireland.
" The Treaty to Ireland will mean civil war and chaos
0
242 Michael Collins' Own Story
for a time, and an added spirit of hatred and revenge toward
England. As long as there is a trace or a symbol of English
domination in Ireland so long will the enmity between the
nations last ; so long will there be Irishmen who will look
upon every difficulty in which England finds herself as an
opportunity for them to strike a blow again at our one and
only enemy. Through the Treaty, therefore, there can be
no peace ; the fight must be carried on until England
withdraws her preposterous demand that Ireland become
a Dominion of the British Empire ; that Irishmen take an
oath of fidelity to a foreign monarch, and allow a Governor-
General, no matter how camouflaged, in our country.
" Much effort is expended by our enemies in vilifying
the Republican attitude. That vilification ought not to
receive any support from any American who knows his
history. That our country is passing through a terrible
crisis at present is true ; that much lawlessness exists and
dire poverty is equally true ; much of the poverty is part
of the economic conditions which obtain all over Europe
as a result of the world war. In so far as our difficulties
are political, the blame lies on England chiefly for trying to
force us to accept her Empire under threat of ' immediate
and terrible war/ and, secondly, on those who gave way to
that threat and so divided the country. Let England
remove the threat of war and agree to abide by the free
decision of the Irish people and we have no doubt — nor
has England — what that decision will be.
" Meantime, a little more patience, renewed courage, and
the victory is ours. Remember Washington's bitter cry
at the condition of the States of the Union after the War
of Independence had been won. And yet his country sur-
mounted her difficulties. So will Ireland.
" And Ireland free will make Ireland great and noble.
Men and women will bend themselves to the task of making
this land of ours a real home for all its children ; where
justice will abound ; where every child born to the noble
heritage of Irish citizenship will be assured of its rights and
will grow up to enjoy the blessings of freedom won by the
What the Treaty Means 243
heroic struggles of Ireland's martyrs, and to increase, in
happier times and circumstances, the magnificence of that
heritage for posterity.
(Signed) " MARY MACSWINEY."
FROM J. J. WALSH
[Mr. Walsh, T.D., Postmaster-General of the
Provisional Government, fought in the Easter week
rebellion, and thereafter spent long periods in
gaol.]
" Ireland under the Treaty will have a Parliament
elected by, and responsible to, the Irish people, an Executive
Government responsible to that Parliament, power to
legislate for every department of national life, a democratic
constitution, an Irish judiciary, an army for the protection,
instead of the repression, of Ireland, a police force or civic
guard for the maintenance of Irish law and order (and not
British), and a recognised place as a separate state amongst
the nations. Notwithstanding certain imperfections in
the Treaty, she can deal in her own way with everything
that touches the lives of the people. She has government
of the people, for the people, by the people, for the first
time practically in eight hundred years.
" Ireland having complete control of education, it goes
without saying that this means the scrapping of existing
methods — from A B C to university — and the substitution
of a system ensuring the complete re-Gaelicisation of the
race. The present national education system (called
' national ' because it was intended to denationalise, and
' education ' because it was intended to delude) has, even
in the short space of time since Irish ideas have begun to
count, received its death-blow.
" For many years the Gaelic League has been doing its
utmost to revive the native language and culture, but
voluntary effort in such matters obtains little success.
Now, however, the schools can do their natural part, and
244 Michael Collins* Own Story
in the future bi-lingual education, in accordance with
national sentiment, is assured, an incalculable advantage
in the remodelling of the nation.
" So many avenues for strenuous effort exist that it is
impossible to do more than touch on them here. The
improvement of the physique of the race will be of prime
importance. Forced emigration during the last half
century has depleted Ireland of much of its young man-
hood. The ill-wind of the world-war, however, has blown
good in this respect, as it kept scores of thousands of young
people from emigrating, and no effort will now be spared
to make it worth their while to remain at home. Good
houses, land, and fruitful work will be provided ; healthy
sport will be encouraged ; the Aonach Tailltean or Tailltean
Games are being revived, though not by the Provisional
Government, after the lapse of centuries, men and women
of the Irish race throughout the world being eligible to
compete.
" Vast areas require to be drained, mineral resources
developed, and reafforestation on a large scale attempted,
for under English rule effort in these respects was either
stifled altogether or merely tinkered with. Development
and misrule do not thrive together. And as the develop-
ment of Irish industries proceeds it is hoped to link up
Ireland for purposes of direct trading with all the great
countries of the world.
"It is intended to make the country as attractive as
possible for tourists. Roads will be improved for motorists
and the country generally opened up. Already the question
of instituting aerial services between Ireland, England and
beyond for mails and passengers is under consideration.
Further, it is hoped by studying the various systems of the
world, and especially the American, to ensure an internal
telephone system second to none.
" It will, of course, take some time to make the Irish
landscape fruitful and smiling, but it is not too much to
prophesy that after a few years Ireland will be as different
from what she is at present as cheese is from chalk. Irish-
What the Treaty Means 245
speaking and Irish, she will take the distinct and worthy
place amongst the nations which her history entitles her to.
" Many people look dismal at the prospect of further
strife. They forget that there is an aftermath to every
revolution. It will pass.
(Signed) " J. J. WALSH."
FROM SEAN ETCHINGHAM
[Mr. Etchingham, although a great friend and
admirer of Arthur Griffith, is one of the Treaty's
bitterest opponents. In spite of his advanced years,
he took an active part in organising the rebellion in
Wexford in 1916. He was beaten for re-election to
the Bail in the summer elections.]
" The present situation in Ireland is the inevitable
result of signing the Articles of Agreement in London and
attempting to force acceptance of them on the people. If
some members of the delegation had been preparing their
minds for many months to the final act of December 6,
1921, the young men in the army had not such schooling of
thought. Rather were they preparing for a renewal of the
struggle, and this is what they were exhorted to.
" Out in the West — the real Ireland — the present
Minister of Defence, General Richard Mulcahy, made a
' no surrender ' address to the army at Galway, December 4,
1921. Away down to the South of Ireland the self-same
intense feeling fills the minds and actions of Ireland's
soldiers. President Griffith's action in asking the young
fighting men to march into the British Empire with their
' heads up ' displays an astounding lack of appreciation of
the patriotism and self-sacrifice of the youth of Ireland.
The Irish Republic is, with them, a firm faith.
" They say that it is the intention of those advocating
acceptance of the Treaty to use it as a stepping-stone
toward the Republic. Hell in the same way is paved with
good intentions. To kill the Republic and resurrect it
246 Michael Collins* Own Story
again may be a soothing balm to a troubled conscience, but
it is beyond my grip. It is like putting it on the long
finger.
" There was a newspaper in America which one morning
announced the death of a prominent citizen. When this
gentleman entered the editorial office a little later he
demanded an explanation. ' I'm not dead,' he said. ' You
can see that for yourself. Contradict it ! ' But the
editor wasn't willing to admit the error. ' We never make
a mistake,' he declared. ' But I'll tell you what I will do
for you : I'll put you in the Birth Notices to-morrow.'
You cannot solve the death and birth of the Republic here
in that way.
" For instance, here in Dublin there are too many
Republican plots, and the graves therein are memories not
soon forgotten. If Ireland wants to avoid the horror of
civil war she must consult the army. The soldiers of the
Irish Republic are patriots.
" No, the Treaty will not bring peace to Ireland. That
should have been apparent to even ' peace-at-any-price '
people. There was not a rushlight in Ireland to celebrate it.
Ireland wants peace, and peace can be had if President
Griffith and Mr. Collins will but meet the situation. Both
of them, I feel, want to do the best they can for Ireland.
Both have worked well for Ireland in the past. They can
now do the greatest work it was ever given two Irishmen
to do. They can make it possible to unite their people
and bring peace to their country. It is better not to make
known to the world at the moment how that can be done.
Enough that it is in their power to do.
(Signed) " SEAN ETCHINGHAM."
FROM KEVIN O'HicciNs
[Mr. O'Higgins, T.D., is Minister of Commerce in
the Provisional Government and in Bail Eireann.]
" When some people in America cabled Mr. De Valera
What the Treaty Means 247
remonstrating with him on the conditions of anarchy and
fratricidal strife his policy is precipitating in Ireland, he
replied, ' Oh, ye of little faith, hold up your heads ! ' To my
mind the men ' of little faith ' are those who speak and
think of their nation as if it were some dead thing that
could be wrapped up for all time like a mummy in a bit of
parchment called a Treaty.
" The Irish nation is a living, growing organism whose
development cannot be stayed by a formula nor cease with
the full stop of a document.
" You ask what the Treaty offers for Ireland in the
future. One cannot answer apart from existing conditions.
Mr. De Valera, at the head of a fraction of the population,
cannot secure better terms for the nation, but he has great
power for evil. He can sour the auspices, he can poison the
wells, he can sap morale, kill enterprise, lock up capital, and
foster anarchy. He can do what the British could not do
— he can kill the Irish nation.
" And the Irish nation is the thing that matters, not
the phrase or formula used to describe the mechanics of its
Government. The Irish nation is something greater than
Republic or Free State — the Irish nation thinking nationally
— not thinking in terms of murder, brigandage or civil war,
not thinking in terms of ' wading through Irish blood,' but
thinking in terms of reconstruction and progress and
national consciousness.
" All this could have been secured if Mr. De Valera
had been big enough to take his stand with Collins and
Griffith and advise his people to accept this Treaty, not as
a recognition of their full rights, not as an ideal thing, not
as a final thing, but as affording them an opportunity to
grow strong, to attain internal unity, to rid themselves of
the slave-mind born of vested interests in the British
administration, to solve the North-eastern problem, and
then to go forward proudly to the fulfilment of their destiny.
" For the metaphysical difference he professes to see
between his Document No. 2 and the Treaty, he has pre-
ferred to throw the country into a welter in which national
248 Michael Collins' Own Story
morale is giving place to party spirit or to despair and
cynicism, and in which all the moral elevating effect of our
six years' struggle is fast running out.
" In the existing conditions I cannot prophesy. We of
the Provisional Government, we who stand for acceptance
of the Treaty simply because we can give the country no
reasonable assurance of securing better, are doing, and will
continue to do, our best towards reconstruction and develop-
ment that will enable Ireland to export something hence-
forth other than her sons and daughters But as I have
said, Mr. De Valera and his friends have great power for evil
— one cannot reconstruct while people are wading through
one's blood.
" The opposition we are faced with is not constitutional,
the democratic principle of the majority's will being the
deciding factor in political affairs is waived aside, the
exploded doctrine of ' the right divine of kings to govern
wrong ' is revived in altered form as the divine right of
Document Two-ites to shove their patent medicine down the
necks of the people at the point of the revolver. Well-mean-
ing Irish-Americans who subscribe funds to the opponents
of the Treaty are adding their weight and strength
to hurl Ireland, in the very hour of her delivery, down to a
hell of anarchy and despair. ... No ! I will not prophesy 1
" So much depends on what Mr. De Valera may do, and
my experience of Mr. De Valera leads me to the view that
it is utterly impossible to base any opinion on a calculation
of that kind. In any case, it is generally accepted that he
has set factors at work that he will not be able to control
when — and if — he recovers sufficient sanity to wish to do so
(Signed) " KEVIN O'HiGGiNS."
CHAPTER XXII
ADDENDUM
FOLLOWING the publication in a London newspaper of some
of the foregoing chapters, an official statement was issued
by General Pierce Beasley, Chief of the Irish Censorship
Bureau, charging that what had been published was " a
deliberate forgery," and threatening to use " all the powers
of international law " to prevent publication of this book.
Immediately I learned of this repudiation I furnished the
newspaper in question with irrefutable proof of the authen-
ticity of what I had written — proof furnished by Michael
Collins himself in a series of letters and telegrams covering
a period of six months.
At that time I wrote as follows :
" After twenty years of newspaper work in almost every
part of the world I have finally won the distinction of being
called a liar, a forger, and a defamer — and the charges
emanate from Irishmen.
" The fact that I have worked twenty years for one
newspaper organisation would seem in itself sufficient proof
that I am neither a liar nor a forger nor a defamer. There-
fore what I am now about to say is less a refutation of these
patently absurd charges than an attempt to arrive at the
probable motives actuating those who have made them.
"First, Colonel Commandant Joe O'Reilly — a youngster
with qualities as lovable as those of Collins himself — says
that my account of Collins' escape from the Mansion House
is ' pure fiction,' and adds that Collins never had ' a
bodyguard. ' '
(In my hastily-written notes, made while Collins was
HI
250 Michael Collins' Own Story
telling me this narrative, I find that I have used the expres-
sion "bodyguard " referring to O'Reilly, and "Black and
Tans " referring to the British forces engaged in hunting
down Collins. In deference to O'Reilly's , extreme sensitive-
ness I have corrected these two inaccuracies in the narrative
as published in this book.)
" If the story, as published, is fiction — it is fiction that was
supplied to me not only by Collins, but also by O'Reilly
himself !
" It was O'Reilly — who knew all about his chief's working
with me on his memoirs — who suggested that I persuade
' the big fellow ' to tell me about the Mansion House escape
— and it was O'Reilly who contributed the amusing feature
of his use of the germicide sprayer !
" Is it possible that O'Reilly was indulging in that delight-
ful trait of romancing ? Sure, if he was I'd not hold it
against him — but in all fairness he ought not to label as a
lie my recital of a tale which he himself was primarily respon-
sible for my hearing !
" Come now, Joe, be a good lad and admit what you know
is the truth — that your late Commander-in-Chief was
closeted with me many, many hours hi many, many different
places, at all times of the day and night — and almost always
it was you who were close by ; and if you were not acting as
bodyguard to the big fellow, how did it happen you were
carrying that service revolver that you playfully ' drew '
on me one day because of the extra work I was causing you
by these many conferences ? Was it just to keep your hand
in, Joe ? Or was it because you were, in fact, Collins'
bodyguard ?
" One word more, Joe, and then we can get on to the next
calumniator. What of the letter I have now before me which
you sent by my private messenger, August 29, 1922 ? Does
it begin ' Dear Hayden,' and does it include a final paragraph
reading, ' I would like to see you as soon as possible ? '
Does it, Joe ?
"And does it say that you cannot give me certain informa-
tion because ' anything that has to be done must be done
Addendum 251
with the permission of the Government ? ' Is that right,
Joe?
" And did you underscore the following sentence in that
letter :
" ' You are requested to write nothing and publish
nothing about our late Commander-in-Chief for the present.'
" Is that right, Joe ? If it is — how does it happen UNLESS
YOU KNEW I HAD SOMETHING TO WRITE ?
" As for General Pierce Beasley and his accusation that
what I have written is ' a deliberate forgery ' — let us see.
Beasley I hardly know. During the sessions of Dail Eireann,
early in the year , I met him once or twice. I know something
about him, however. So do most of the London corre-
spondents of American newspapers.
" For a year past Beasley has been trying to negotiate in
these quarters — and with the Dublin newspaper corre-
spondents as well — for the publication of ' inside stuff '
about Michael Collins. So far as I know, he has failed to
sell a single story.
" I do know — and I challenge him to deny it — that in the
past nine months I have been alone with Michael Collins
more days than he has been minutes. I don't need his
permission to write Michael Collins' memoirs. I have
Michael Collins' permission. And if the greatest, kindliest,
squarest Irishman who ever lived had not been struck down
by the other kind of Irishman I could safely leave General
Pierce Beasley to him ! Michael Collins had no patience with
self-seekers !
"Finally, the Irish Republic — a venomous publication
then edited by Erskine Childers — characterises my articles
as ' A Defamation of Michael Collins.' Surely comment is
superfluous.
" These are the charges. I offer a few facts of an affirm-
ative kind in the belief that they may not lack interest.
" The last night I was with Collins — August 2, 1922 — just
twenty days before he was killed — there were two others
who saw me with him. One of these was McGann, once
upon a time De Valera's private secretary, and at this time
252 Michael Collins* Own Story
serving Collins in the same capacity. I have seen a state-
ment attributed to McGann quoting him as saying that
Collins had not ' authorised ' me to write his memoirs.
Let me jog McGann's memory.
" As Collins' private secretary , it was McGann who notified
me of most of the appointments his chief made with me. In
the six months that McGann occupied the post he advised
me at least thirty times of such appointments — and I pur-
posely understate the number. He knows — because he
heard the conversation — the whole story of my obtaining
Collins' autographs on four big art photograph mounts on
that occasion.
" McGann heard me ask Collins to do this, and he heard
me explain that one of these autographed mounts was to be
used as the frontispiece of the memoirs. It was McGann
who, talking with me before Collins' arrival that night,
bewailed the fact that there was not one photograph in
existence that did Collins justice, and certainly not one good
enough to be used as a frontispiece in his book ! It was Mc-
Gann who had been trying for a month to persuade Collins
to go to a photograph studio to pose for a portrait for this
purpose !
" Finally, it was McGann who helped the private
messenger I sent from London to Dublin immediately after
the murder of Collins to recover these autographed mounts
from the photographer with whom I had left them. McGann
had planned to have this photographer make the frontispiece
portrait — and affix it to the mount — but after the death of
Collins the value of each mount alone had jumped to £100.
It was McGann who knew that my ownership of these
mounts was indisputable, and it was he who enabled my
messenger to get them from the photographer.
" This last interview with Collins was arranged with a
two-fold purpose. As I have earlier stated, Collins had been
planning for a long time to have me meet Sean McGarry —
' the man,' according to Collins, ' who was closer in the
confidence of the Easter Week martyrs than any living Irish-
man.' In order that my story might be as comprehensive
Addendum 253
as possible, Collins insisted that I hear McGarry's account
of the famous Howth gun-running exploit. The other
object of this last interview was to get Collins' tale of his
birth and boyhood — the only part of the whole narrative
that remained to be told.
" McGarry arrived before Collins. He and McGann and
I sat in an outer office in the Provisional Government head-
quarters and chatted. Eventually Collins came in — a
magnificent figure of a soldier-statesman in his general's
greatcoat. He bade McGarry and me to follow him into
an inner room.
" There he told McGarry that I was writing the inside
story of Ireland's fight for freedom— that he had furnished
me with most of the facts — and that he wanted ' Sean/
as he called him, to supply the unpublished details of the
Howth gun-running. And Sean McGarry thereupon did
as Collins ordered.
" Now, General Pierce Beasley, you need look no further.
Although I am not sure of McGarry's rank, I think he must
be less than a general. As his superior officer, call him
before you and let him tell you what I tell you — that you
are not telling the truth !
" Michael Collins is dead, but Sean McGarry is alive, and
from what I saw of him and from what Collins told me about
him I am willing to leave the matter to McGarry. Collins
could not have been so fond of him if he were not both
courageous and honest, and he would now have to be both
a coward and a liar if he contradicted one word of what I
have written about that last interview at which he was
present. Call Sean McGarry before you, General Pierce
Beasley, and then write the apology you owe me ! "
(Although this was published several months ago, the
only response I have had from Beasley was indirect — con-
tained in a letter sent to the proprietor of the newspaper
which printed my statement, in which Beasley contented
himself with merely denying my charge that he had ever
attempted to negotiate with London correspondents of
American newspapers. If it were worth while, I could prove
254 Michael Collins' Own Story
this charge by the sworn statements of these correspondents,
but after all, I have no interest in the matter beyond estab-
lishing my own integrity.)
" McGarry had not begun to tell us all that was on his
mind when Collins interrupted sharply, saying it was late
and he had little time left in which to tell his own story. To
the best of my recollection McGarry then left — although of
this I am not positive — and Collins began to answer my
typewritten questions about his ancestry and boyhood.
Fortunately I preserved my lead-pencil notes of this last
interview. In themselves they prove conclusively the
authenticity of these memoirs. For it was when I stumbled
over the spelling of " Clonakilty " — misunderstanding Collins
to have said " County Kilty " — that he took the pencil out
of my hand, and wrote not only that word, but two addi-
tional lines citing the Irish pronunciation of his birthplace.
" So much for that.
" Now as to the motives actuating these various persons. I
want to make it clear that I am very fond of Joe O'Reilly,
and know him to be made of the right stuff. But he is
suffering grief beyond the comprehension of any man not
Irish born. In the hour that my messenger was with him
— the day following Collins' funeral — he never spoke above
a whisper, and never raised his eyes from the ground. He
cannot understand the ruthless demands of journalism. To
his mind it is profanation to utter the name of his late
Commander-in-Chief in an ordinary tone. A single in-
accuracy in a printed narrative concerning the man he loved
finds him honestly, deeply resentful. And I should be a
very young, inexperienced journalist if I insisted any fact-
narrative of my writing could not contain inaccuracies.
Those of us who have grown beyond the ' cub ' stage in
newspaperdom know better than to make any such claim.
" For inaccurately describing the uniform hi which
Collins made his escape from the Mansion House as that of a
Black and Tan officer, and for denominating his pursuers
on that occasion as Black and Tans (when, according to
O'Reilly, there were no Black and Tans in Ireland at that
Addendum 255
time) I apologise, Joe. I should have said — as I have now
done in the narrative as it appears within these covers —
' British ' instead of Black and Tans. And I quite appreciate
what an important distinction this is in your mind, Joe.
" McGann's statement that Collins did not authorise me
to publish his memoirs puzzles me. Although I never got
so close to McGann as I did to O'Reilly I always found him to
be gracious and helpful. I like to believe there was no
ulterior motive behind his making this statement — if, in-
deed, he ever made it. I do believe that sober reflection
will serve to make him realise the injustice he has done me
— and in time he will either repudiate the statement attri-
buted to him or admit its untruthfulness.
" As for the motives of Beasley and the renegade editor of
the Republic of Ireland, Childers, it is possible they may be
discovered in the story an Irishman of my acquaintance —
just arrived in London from Dublin — has told me.
' Sure, it's plain as the nose on your face,' said my
friend. ' You can go to Dublin to-night and make yourself
persona grata all over the place — IF YOU WILL SPLIT WITH
SOME OF THE BOYS ! That's what the matter is. They
don't like to think of all the money you're making out of
these Collins articles — with never a penny of it spent in
Ireland — and with many of them badly in need of a few
pounds ! I don't know do you intend returning to Ireland
— but there is how you can do it — and find yourself with as
many friends as you could hope to have ! '
" I wonder ! "
I loved Ireland. In all the world there can be no fairer
scene than the gently curving crescent beach from Killiney to
Bray — no more beauteous home site than on the luxuriantly
wooded slopes of Killiney Mountain, almost as tropical as
Southern California. For nine months I wandered afoot,
and rode in jaunting-cars, through a countryside as glori-
ously rich as any I have ever seen. I dreamed of a home in
Ireland. But that dream was shattered at 4 o'clock in
the morning of August 22, 1922, when an editor of a London
256 Michael Collins' Own Story
newspaper told me over the telephone of the murder of
Michael Collins.
The assassination of my friend, Dr. Walter Rathenau,
did not surprise me. It was understandable. It left me
unchanged as regards my feelings towards Germany.
Not so with the murder of Michael Collins.
" Had he fallen at the hand of an external enemy, we
could have borne it, but that such a rich and bounteous
nature, such a triumphant and romantic battler for Ireland's
cause, such a glory of our race and nation, such an idol of the
people should be slain by a spiteful faction of our own
countrymen is a chagrin, a bitterness and a shame too heavy
to bear.
" Sooner or later, and the sooner the better, the people
will get going in earnest, and when they do, they will make
short work of the wreckers. Then will the heroic figure of
Michael Collins tower high in glory, while they who contrived
his death lie buried in shame."
I quote from a statement issued by Most Rev. Dr.
Fogarty in Dublin the day of Collins' funeral.
Until the Irishmen I know " get going in earnest " —
until they prove themselves fit to have been followers of
their great leader — until they avenge his murder in the
only way possible to avenge it — until they adequately
punish a crime as unnatural and as hideous as incest —
the Ireland that Michael Collins typified, the Ireland that
Michael Collins would have recreated, the Ireland that
Michael Collins gave his life for, will never be.
THE END
FAINTED BY THE ANCHOR PRESS LTD., TITTBEE, KSSEX, ENGLAND.
Messrs. Hutchinson & Co.
have pleasure in giving the following brief notices of many
important new books of serious interest for the Autumn, 1923.
Messrs. Hutchinson 's list of NEW NOVELS includes the most
recent works of nearly all the leading authors of to-day and
whose names are given below.
SIR PHILIP GIBBS
GILBERT FRANKAU
MAY SINCLAIR
H. DE VERE STACPOOLE
ROBERT HICHENS
KATHLYN RHODES
DOLF WYLLARDE
BARONESS VON HUTTEN
DOROTHEA CONYERS
E. M. DELAFIELD
" RITA"
ISABEL C. CLARKE
MARIE BJELKE PETERSEN
M. E. FRANCIS
DIANA PATRICK
NORMA LORIMER
JOHN AYSCOUGH
CURTIS YORKE
SELWYN JEPSON
HORACE HUTCHINSON
E. CHARLES VIVIAN
ROBERT ELSON
ROY BRIDGES
KATHARINE NEWLIN BURT
MAUDE ANNESLEY
CHARLES CANNELL
RONALD M. NEWMAN
JOHN CHANCELLOR
NEVILLE LANGTON
HARRY SINCLAIR DRAGO and
JOSEPH NOEL
ETHEL M. DELL
E. F. BENSON
RAFAEL SABATINI
EDEN PHILLPOTTS
FRANK SWINNERTON
BOYD CABLE
ELINOR MORDAUNT
E. TEMPLE THURSTON
MRS. BAILLIE-SAUNDERS
WINIFRED GRAHAM
MABEL BARNES-GRUNDY
MRS. BELLOC-LOWNDES
C. A. NICHOLSON
A. M. LUDOVICI
MRS. FRANCES EVERARD
ACHMED ABDULLAH
UNA L. SILBERRAD
ESSEX SMITH
TICKNER EDWARDES
G. B. BURGIN
M. P. WILLCOCKS
ROBERT WELLES RITCHIE
FREDERICK SLEATH
STEPHEN McKENNA
ONOTO WATANNA
ANDREW SOUTAR
EDWIN L. SABIN
RANN DALY
F. A. M. WEBSTER
WILLIAM GARRETT
TALBOT MUNDY & BRADLEY KING
London: HUTCHINSON & CO., Paternoster Row, E,C.
Hutchinson's Important New Books
The Royal Naval Division By DOUGLAS JERROLD
With an Introduction by
The Rt. Hon. WINSTON CHURCHILL, C.H.
In one large handsome volume, with 8 folding maps and 24 illustrations,
21s.net.
In his long and brilliantly written introduction Mr. Churchill pays
tribute to " the extraordinary achievements and almost incomparable
prowess which this small band of men continued to display in every
theatre where they fought during the whole course of the war." This
authoritative account of the Royal Naval Division will certainly be widely
read with pride and a profound interest. The despatch of the Royal
Naval Division to the trenches defending Antwerp in October, 1914 ; the
full story of its achievements in the operations at Gallipoli ; the less widely
known but no less distinguished part which the Division played in the
final campaigns in France are here described with much vivid detail.
Problems &f training and tactics, with their solution on progressive lines,
will prove valuable to the expert. A record of almost continuous adven-
tures, the book will equally appeal to the general reader.
" Mr. Winston Churchill stands sponsor, contributing a brilliant and charac-
teristic introduction. This volume is worthy of the subject, and that in itself
is high praise." — Daily Telegraph.
" Mr. Jerrold writes well. He has an analytical and critical mind ; he speaks
with the authority of knowledge . . . and he has a deep but properly controlled
enthusiasm." — Morning Post.
'Every page bristles with the tale of heroic exploits ... a very valuable
addition to the literature of the war." — Evening News.
" An admirable account of the operations of that famous unit. . . . To it
Mr. Winston Churchill contributes an introduction, passages from which are
worthy of a place in any future anthology of English prose, from their eloquence
and dignity/' — Daily Mail.
Fields of Adventure By ERNEST SMITH
In one large handsome volume, with 16 illustrations, 18s. net.
The writer has been for twenty-five years a special correspondent of a
leading London daily, and in the course of his wanderings has known the
cities and ways of many men. Moreover, from the almost infinite variety
of his experiences he possesses an enviable knack of selecting the most
entertaining incidents. His reminiscences will thus be found of out-
standing interest to the general reader. Royalty in stories of Queen
Victoria, King Edward, the late King of Italy, the ex-Kaiser (both in his
glory and in exile), the Shah of Persia ; such eminent statesmen as Bis-
marck, Gladstone, Marshal von Biberstein ; Pope Leo XIII. ; literary
giants of many nations ; great soldiers, " queer " people and anarchists —
all contribute to the vast interest of these pages. Very few descriptions
of the outbreak of the War are surpassed by the author's reminiscences of
Paris in the early days of August, 1914. A snowstorm in Jerusalem, sunset
on the Volga, the siege of Ladysmith, the guillotining of a French criminal
are but a few of the varied sights which Mr. Ernest Smith has witnessed
in his time and describes so realistically and with all the assurance of a
practised penj
2
Hutchinson's Important New Books
" Just My Story " By STEPHEN DONOGHUE
Dedicated, by special permission, to
H.R.H. the PRINCE OF WALES, K.G.
In one large handsome volume, with 32 coloured and other illustrations, 21 1. net.
An Edition de Luxe, limited to 200 copies only, numbered and signed by the Author,
will be issued at 2 guineas net.
This autobiography of the most prominent horseman of to-day, who by his
unique achievements holds and deserves a very high place in the history of
the Turf, is of far more than passing interest. For the story of one who
against heavy odds and entirely without influence attained, by sheer force
of will and endeavour, a world-wide fame is illumined with romance, steadily
growing until the author's most recent achievement, the winning of a third
successive Derby. The book abounds in vivid descriptions of important
races, including much information hitherto unpublished of great horses and
their owners, as well as intimate reminiscences of other distinguished Turf
personalities. Thrilling adventures in many countries are realistically
depicted. With its numerous and well chosen illustrations, "Just My
Story " will be found a valuable addition to every sportsman's library.
My Russian Life By PRINCESS ANATOLE
MARIE BARIATINSKY
In one large handsome volume, with 16 illustrations, 21 S. net.
The writer's husband was a personal friend of the late Nicholas II., so
that both Prince and Princess attended all important Court functions.
The Czar's Coronation, the magnificent ball that followed, the Emperor's
historic visit to Paris in 1901, life in Manchuria, regimental duties in
Tashkent, " home " life on the vast Bariatinsky estate are vividly depicted
in these reminiscences of an intelligent observer. The personalities of the
Czar and Czarina, Grand Dukes and Russian Generals are intimately por-
trayed, while other acquaintances included the late Pierre Loti and Jerome
K. Jerome. During the War the Princess superintended a hospital at Kieff,
once invaded by Bolsheviks. As a writer, she possesses a distinct gift of
graphic suggestive description, while a lively style adds to the attractive-
ness of her reminiscences.
The greatest Romance of real life ever told.
With Lawrence in Arabia By LOWELL THOMAS
In demy 8vo, with 16 illustrations on art paper, 10s. 6d. net.
The profusely illustrated narrative of the greatest adventure of a
century is now presented to the public in this popular form. The famous
exploits of Colonel Lawrence, " the uncrowned King of Arabia " — whom
Mr. Lloyd George described as " one of the most remarkable and romantic
figures of modern times " — will be read with eager interest by all who
appreciate the importance of his services to the Empire. This thrilling
story of our men's gallant deeds in the East is not only a splendid record
of critical years of the war, but also a permanent chronicle of British enter-
prise and courage which will be treasured throughout the Empire.
Hutchinson's Important New Books
Memories
By VISCOUNT LONG OF WRAXALL, F.R.S.
(Walter Long)
In one large handsome volume, with Frontispiece, 24s. net.
This volume is a faithful record of over forty years' continuous devotion
to public service and of personal experiences of country life of even longer
duration. The writer has the rare distinction of having been a Cabinet
Minister during two great wars, and his concise accounts of these most im-
portant and critical epochs of British history are of uncommon interest.
Lord Long's record of his close association with the Dominions and Colonies
and of personal relations with many of their most distinguished representa-
tives makes excellent reading. Throughout his career he has followed with
enthusiasm almost every form of country sports and pursuits, and his
comments upon the changes which have characterised country life during
the last half -century will be widely appreciated.
Second Large Edition at once called for.
The Life of Fred Archer By E. M. HUMPHRIS
Edited by LORD ARTHUR GROSVENOR,
with a Preface by ARTHUR F. B. PORTMAN
In one large handsome volume, with coloured Frontispiece and 24 other
illustrations, 18s. net.
This well-written biography of one of the world's greatest jockeys will
strongly appeal to sportsmen and the wide public who appreciate a fine
story of a man of true British pluck and a nerve of iron. Prominence is
naturally given to descriptions of Archer's races and to Lord Falmouth,
his principal patron, and other leading sportsmen of the day, and letters
from some of these are included.
" A well-written and admirably compiled record of one of the greatest periods
of Turf history." — The Times.
" A. valuable contribution to the history of the turf." — Westminster Gazette.
The Story of Boxing By TREVOR C. WIGNALL
Author of " Jimmy Lambert," " Thus Gods are Made."
In one large handsome volume, with 32 original cartoons by Charles Grave,
21s. net.
The writer has long been boxing expert to a leading paper, while his
vigorous novels on the sport are no less widely appreciated than his well-
informed Press contributions. This record of his judgments of past time
contests and fighters and of his own experiences will doubtless be regarded as
the standard work on the subject, while his easy vivid style renders the book
invariably entertaining. Its scope extends from the days of James Figg,
the first champion of England, in 1719, up to the far-famed successes
of Dempsey and Carpentier. The personalities as wel] as the chief fights
of eminent prize-fighters are intimately described, and on both subjects Mr.
Wignall has gleaned much information as yet unrecorded. Reproductions of
old prints enhance the wide interest of this noteworthy volume.
4
Hutchinson's Important New Books
Embassies of Other Days
By WALBURGA, LADY PAGET
In two large handsome volumes, with 16 illustrations on art paper, 42s. net.
Lady Paget, herself one of its most prominent figures, now gives her
first-hand impressions of most of the leading personalities of Victorian
society for a period of half a century and describes a wide experience of
Court life in England and in the defunct Empires of Austria and Germany.
She gives a most interesting account of meetings with Queen Victoria, the
Prince Consort, the ex-Emperors of Austria and Germany, Princess Metter-
nich, Lord Salisbury, Lord Spencer, Lord Palmerston, Sir Edward Burne-
Jones, and of many others famous in the worlds of Society, politics and
art. The book contains many new and fascinating anecdotes, and also
possesses a historic value as a first-hand authority on many of the central
figures of the Victorian era.
Insanity and the Criminal
By JOHN C. GOODWIN
Author of " Sidelights on Criminal Matters."
In one large handsome volume, cloth gilt, 1 8s. net.
Readers of Mr. Goodwin's stimulating volume, " Sidelights on Criminal
Matters," will recollect its concluding chapter on the relationship between
insanity and crime. It is this all-important phase of criminology that
he develops, with force and lucidity, in the present book. The forms
of insanity most likely to cause crime, the respective influences of
heredity, environment, bodily health, drink or drugs, the mentality of
revolutionaries and other " social misfits " are, in due order, discussed with
a regard to detail characteristic of the writer. Of particular interest are
his fearless comments on our prison system and his conjectures as to the
practical employment of psycho-analysis in the realm of crime. " Good "
stories abound in a book which, compiled with a wide and intimate know-
ledge of the subject treated, is throughout extremely interesting and of
real value.
Wild Fowl of the World
By FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S.
Author of "Birds of the Countryside," " Familiar London Birds," etc.
In crown 8vo, cloth, with many illustrations, 4s. 6d. net.
A complete account of the wild fowl of all countries, their appearance,
habits, and natural haunts. From his own unrivalled experience the
author supplies, in practical form, much useful information both for the
ornithologist and the sportsman, while the general reader will readily
appreciate its educative value. The text is copiously illustrated by beauti-
ful photographs, taken direct from life.
Hutchinson's Important New Books
An Englishwoman in Angora
By GRACE ELLISON
Author of " An Englishwoman in a Turkish Harem," etc.
In one large handsome volume, with 35 illustrations reproduced from the
Author's own sketches and exclusive photographs, 18s. net.
While British civilians were evacuating Smyrna and war between
the Allies and Turkey seemed inevitable, Miss Ellison braved the lines of
bayonets surrounding Angora and proceeded to examine the Nationalist
Movement at its capital. Befriended by the Turks, she was able to fre-
quent the National Assembly, to see and talk with many of the deputies,
to visit and have many frank interviews with Kemal Pasha. She describes
the life of Angora from within the Assembly, the Greeks, the story of the
hard work and the devotion of the whole population to the National Cause
Miss Ellison afterwards attended the Lausanne Conference. Her memoirs
comprise a fascinating record, both of interest and of value, and related
with much vivid detail. Many unique photographs are reproduced.
The Life of Anne Boleyn
By PHILIP W. SERGEANT, B.A.
Author of " The Empress Josephine," " Cleopatra," etc.
In one large handsome volume, with 8 illustrations, 18s. net.
In our admiration of the amazing personality of Queen Elizabeth, few
have probably paused to estimate how many of her great qualities may
have been inherited from her unfortunate mother. Yet, as an impartial
study of this well- written biography will serve to convince us, the beautiful
daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, willing to sell both his daughters for the
King's favour; a Maid of Honour to the Tudor Queen of Louis XII. at
his vicious court ; and, later, twice a betrothed but in neither case a bride,
Anne is surely a pathetic figure, rather than an object of censure. In her
time of trouble all her professed friends betrayed her — including her
father, though her courage and constancy remained unshaken to the end .
Of this attractive personality Mr. Sergeant writes with a clear insight
and a profound sympathy, though without minimising the faults of one who
" lived gaily." His book is thus a noteworthy addition to our knowledge
of the Tudor period.
Pharaoh's Dream Book
Compiled by LADY THRELFALL
In crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. net.
The origin of this fascinating volume is in itself romantic. Some years
ago when in Australia the writer secured two old and very rare books on
the interpretations of dreams. Having tested many of these interpreta-
tions, both in her own case and in those of many friends, and found them
remarkably exact, Lady Threlfall has carefully compiled the contents of
each volume, rendering the wording into modern phraseology and adding
further explanations founded on actual experiences. All who have
been puzzled over the meaning of a dream and its warning will find this
authentic and complete treatise of distinct interest.
6
Hutchinson's Important New Books
Recollections of Imperial Russia
By MERIEL BUCHANAN
Author of " Petrograd," etc.
In demy 8vo, with illustrations, 12$. 6d. net.
The daughter of the last British Ambassador to the Russian Imperial
Court, Miss Buchanan had unrivalled opportunities of meeting and convers-
ing with distinguished people at Petrograd and elsewhere. Her memoirs
are thus of remarkable interest. She writes with sympathy and under-
standing, graphically recording the sinister stages which brought about the
downfall of the Romanovs. Moreover, she has read and studied widely
the history of the country in which she lived. Stories of Moscow, Kiev,
and other capitals provide fitting themes for her descriptive powers. Few
will dispute her contention that old traditions — the cruelty of foreign
invaders, the injustice of Tartar rule, religious oppression — have im-
planted in the minds of Russian peasantry that fatal resignation to suc-
cessive tyrannies which has largely brought about their bitter sufferings
to day.
The Sands of Time By WALTER SICHEL, M.A.
Author of " Disraeli," " Emma, Lady Hamilton," etc.
In one large handsome volume, with illustrations, 18s. net.
Statesmen, great ladies, men and women distinguished in every branch
of the arts, all of whom Mr. Sichel has known personally, are represented in
this volume. Most numerous are those eminent in literature — George
Eliot, Matthew Arnold, Ruskin, Trollope, De Morgan, Mrs. Humphry
Ward, all figuring in these pages. Among poets, his friends included
Robert Browning and Swinburne ; he knew Henry Irving, Ellen Terry,
John Toole, Arthur Cecil and other " stars " of the drama ; of artists.
Millais, Leigh ton and Sir William Richmond ; such distinguished ecclesi-
astics as Cardinal Manning and Bishop Gore ; two Lord Chief Justices, Lords
Cockburn and Russell ; and of scholars. Professor Jowett. Rich in memories
of such friendships, Mr. Sichel writes in his easy and distinguished style,
so that his account of the eminent people is as charming as it is interesting;
The Art of Badminton
By SIR GEORGE THOMAS, Bt.
In crown 8vo, cloth, with 16 illustrations from photographs, 48. 6d. net.
The writer, the present holder for the fourth year in succession of the
Singles Championship as well as of other distinctions, has compiled his
experiences of first-class Badminton during more than twenty years.
Elementary principles of the game, details of stroke executions and other
practical instructions are carefully described, while later chapters on singles,
the back and front formation will prove of special interest to tournament
players. Illustrations of the author and other champions while at play
enhance the value and interest of a volume practically indispensable for
all who wish to succeed in this increasingly popular sport.
7
Hutchinson's Important New Books
The Life and Memoirs of Count Mole (1781-1855)
Edited by the MARQUIS DE NOAILLES.
Volume I. (1804-1815)
A large handsome volume with numerous illustrations, 18s. net.
From his earliest years Mathieu Louis, Count Mole, was in the habit of
recording in his diary his impressions of the events which took place before
his eyes and in which he was intimately concerned. He also left two
manuscripts dealing with the years 1813-14. Such is the material from
which the skilled and learned editor, the Marquis de Noailles, has composed
this extremely fascinating book. The present volume is of absorbing
interest. In 1807 Napoleon made young Mole a member of the Council of
State. Of his almost daily conversations with the Emperor on the most
diverse subjects — some of them of great interest to Englishmen — Mole
gives a literal record, with the added piquancy of his own witty comments
upon prominent persons and the Emperor's opinion of them. In short,
these memoirs will prove a rich mine of information for the general reader
as well as a most important addition to Napoleonic literature.
Volume II. (1816-1817) of these brilliantly written Memoirs is now in
preparation.
A Modern Mystery Merchant : His Trials, Tricks and
Travels By CARL HERTZ
A large handsome volume, with 24 illustrations, 18s. net.
This lively and entertaining life story opens with the writer's account
of his early struggles and hardships, and of the skill and perseverance by
which he ultimately attained his present eminence. Strange and varied,
indeed, are his experiences in many countries. Mr. Hertz's tricks and illu-
sions have amused King Edward, the ex-Kaiser, the late Tsar, and many
distinguished personages — including the assembled House of Commons ;
his frank exposures of their respective methods have confounded pseudo-
spiritualists, cardsharpers, and swindlers. On one of his travels he was
nearly kidnapped by bushrangers, on another scarcely escaped marriage
with a princess ! Readers, young and old, will welcome the long list of
attractions presented in this amusing volume.
Character as Revealed by Handwriting
By PRINCESS ANATOLE MARIE BARI ATINSKY
and IVAN FORBES
In crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. net.
The author gives specimens of the handwriting of the nobility, eminent
statesmen, soldiers living and deceased, and men and women distinguished
in every branch of art and literature, both English and foreign. She
describes the system from which she deduces their respective characters and
distinctive qualities.
8
Hutchinson's Important New Books
Nell Gwyn By LEWIS MELVILLE
Author of " The Thackeray Country," " First Gentleman of Europe," etc.
In one large handsome volume, cloth gilt, 21 S. net.
With 12 coloured and 16 black-and-white illustrations by
KITTY SHANNON (Mrs. Keigwin).
In an age richly distinguished for its wit, beauty, and talent, " pretty,
witty Nell " was pre-eminently endowed with all these qualities ; moreover,
she added to them an unfailing kindliness, generosity, and constancy to-
wards old friends. Succeeding generations have taken her to their hearts
as scarcely less than a national heroine, while romance has claimed her for
its own. In his latest biography Mr. Lewis Melville has carefully compiled
all the information available. He traces Nell Gwyn's career from
orange girl to King's Favourite, tells of her youthful troubles, her lovers,
her stage successes, her struggles with rival favourites, vast popularity, and
later years in her Pall Mall mansion. A living record of an intensely living
personality, this volume will be found of remarkable interest and charm.
Dogs and I By MAJOR HARDING COX
Author of " Chasing and Racing," " A Sportsman at Large," etc.
In demy 8vo, cloth gilt, with 16 illustrations, 16s. net.
No books of sporting reminiscences have so rapidly caught the fancy
both of the Press and public as Major Harding Cox's lively yet
authoritative volumes. In his latest venture he deals with his personal
experiences of the canine race in all its breed and characteristics, bringing
into action his long and intimate knowledge of the subject. The author
is recognised throughout the world as one of the greatest of canine experts.
He has been invited to judge various breeds of hounds and dogs at every
important show in many parts of the world. " Dogs and I " is not a
merely technical book ; it is a light treatise, chattily and intimately written,
with copious illustrations and anecdotes.
A Tale of Indian Heroes : Being the Stories of the
Mahabharata and Ramayana
By FLORA ANNIE STEEL
Author of " The Potter's Thumb," " On the Face of the Waters," etc.
In demy 8vo, cloth gilt, 1 0$. 6d. net.
In her interesting and illuminating preface the writer introduces these
two famous Indian epics as yet unfamiliar to English readers. She has
skilfully simplified and condensed a powerful study of the profoundest
problem of human existence. Deeds of heroism are told with a charm and
simplicity that will appeal, especially to youthful readers. Beauty in
expression, a high moral tone and a vein of pathos and irony will claim for
" A Tale of Indian Heroes " a high place in literature.
9
Hutchinson's Important New Books
The Book of Wonders: First Series
By RUDOLF J. and AMELIE WILLARD BODMER
In one large handsome volume, copiously illustrated, 16s. net.
In this volume the writers give the plain and simple answers which all
should be able to, but so often cannot, give. Such practical information,
concise in form and of almost endless variety, is certainly unobtainable
from any other single volume. Hundreds of illustrations, many of quite
unusual character, stimulate the vast interest of the work and add to its
educative value. A Second Series will follow shortly.
Salmon and Trout Angling : Its Theory, and Prac-
tice on Southern Streams, by Torrent River and
Mountain Loch
By JOSEPH ADAMS (" Corrigeen ")
Author of " Ten Thousand Miles through Canada," " The Gentle Art of
Angling," etc.
With a Foreword by THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON
In demy 8vo, with 18 illustrations, 16s. net.
A lifelong enthusiast of angling and a contributor of many years
standing to the chief London sporting papers, Mr. Adams has compiled his
experiences on all kinds of fisheries under varying ch' mates throughout the
British Isles, in Canada and British Columbia. He gives full and concise
accounts of his methods in spate and low waters ; describes vividly his
own luck, and includes some simple instructions in the art of rod-making
and fly-tying. The illustrations are numerous and beautiful.
" An attractive mixture of descriptive reminiscence and practical advice." —
Times.
" The author's graphic experiences must delight every angler, while the
chapter on rod and tackle will be of great assistance to those young in the art of
fly-flshing." — Daily Mail.
The Art Book of the Year.
The Work of P. A. De Laszlo
Edited with Notes by OAKLEY WILLIAMS
With an Introduction by COMTE ROBERT DE MON-
TESQUIOU.
In one large folio volume containing 64 photogravure plates, representing some
of the choicest examples of the artist's work.
A limited edition of 300 only signed and numbered copies will be issued
at 10 guineas net. An Edition de Luxe on large paper, 75 copies only
(numbered and signed by the artist), will be issued at 18 guineas net, with
five extra plates produced in colour-photogravure.
10
Hutchinson's Important New Books
A Second Volume of this Important and Fascinating Record
The Farington Diary Volume II. (1802-1805).
By JOSEPH FARINGTON, R.A.
Edited by JAMES GREIG
A large handsome volume, cloth gilt, with photogravure Frontispiece and 12
other illustrations, 21 S. net.
The volume opens with a striking account of a visit which Farington
paid to France during the Peace of Amiens, a description of a review
of his troops by Napoleon, interesting glimpses of France.and of the diarist's
gratitude on his own safe return home. The imminence of war is vividly
depicted, the opinions of Pitt, Fox, Windham, Admiral Gardner and other
leading men on the subject being impartially revealed. Once more the
affairs of the Royal Academy are prominent in the Diary. We are told of
Benjamin West's election as its President, of Beechey, and the King's
candid opinion of both these artists ; of Opie's plan for the National
Gallery ; of Sir Thomas Lawrence, both as an actor and as the lover of Mrs.
Siddons, and of George Morland's death in a sponging-house. There are
interesting entries about Coleridge and Wordsworth, and we are introduced
to the latter poet, Fanny Burney, and Boydell, the publisher. George III.,
full of everybody else's affairs, bustles among the statesmen, and the
Prince of Wales offers himself for military service. There are intimate
personal reminiscences of Sheridan's " Brandy " appearance, and of
Garrick's vanity ; allusions to Dr. Johnson's love of tea, and to the friend-
ship of Cowper and Mrs. Unwin. Both as a singularly captivating record
and a valuable addition to the history of the period, this volume will be
widely welcomed, and its successors eagerly awaited.
3rd Edition now ready.
The Farington Diary Volume I (1793-1802)
A large handsome volume, with photogravure Frontispiece, and 16 other
illustrations on art paper, 21 S. net.
The 3rd Volume (1805-1806) is now in preparation.
The Sidelights of London : Further Experiences and
Reflections of a Metropolitan Police Magistrate
By J. A. R. CAIRNS
Author of " The Loom of the Law."
In demy 8vo. cloth gilt, 16$. net.
In this volume Mr. Cairns continues his experiences of those phases of
life which he has such unrivalled opportunities to study. On the depths
of humanity's greatness his ideals and methods are worthy of study, and
he says much that is of interest to the general reader. In a happy vein
of philosophy he contrasts the East and West both by day and by night,
discusses " Women and Crime," " Life's Misfits," and " The Glory of the
Lost." As before, his experiences and conclusions will be found as in-
structive as they are throughout entertaining.
11
Hutchinson's Important New Books
The Second Volume of these authoritative and brilliantly
written Reminiscences
An Ambassador's Memoirs Volume II (Jane 3rd,
1915 — August i8th, 1916)
By MAURICE PALEOLOGUE
(Last French Ambassador to the Russian Court).
A large handsome volume, cloth gilt, with many beautiful exclusive drawings
and other illustrations, 1 8s. net.
In this second volume of his remarkable and enthralling memoirs the
last French Ambassador to the Russian Court carries his story down to
the entry of Rumania into the war in August, 1916. Once more we have
astonishing revelations, of the very highest interest, of the* secret history
of the time as Russia, slowly but surely, picked her tortuous and sinister
way to the " Slough of Despond." The stages of the journey are des-
cribed by the author with the most terrible fidelity, and we realise both his
official and personal feelings as he comes to recognise, as he did on August 4,
1916 (after the ardent pro-ally Foreign Minister — Sazonov — had been
dismissed), that " Russia's defection is possible : it is an eventuality which
must henceforth enter into the political and strategic calculations of the
French Government. Of course the Emperor will remain faithful to the
end. But he is not immortal. How many Russians, even now and among
those around him, are secretly longing for his disappearance ? " As before,
there are delightful " asides " on aspects of Russian nature, art, and life,
which must surely make this book rank with the work of Tolstoy and
Turgeniev as the most informative and striking revelation of Russian
psychology.
Reprints are now ready of Vol. I (July yd, 1914 — June 2nd, 1915) Cloth
gilt, with many beautiful exclusive drawings and other illustrations, 18s. net.
" These memoirs are recognised to-day by historians as among the most im-
portant documents treating of the period, and they have no less interest for the
general reader." — Times.
" A brilliant ' war book "... as fascinating as any romance." — Daily
Mirror.
" Intimate details of the late Tsar and Tsaritsa . . . and profound views on
Russian life and characteristics are given." — Daily News.
Vol. III. (Aug. 19th, 1916— May 17th, 1917) is now in preparation.
Inland Birds : Northern Observations by a Sports-
man By H. MORTIMER BATTEN, F.Z.S.
Author of " Romances of the Wild," etc.
With an Introduction by The RT. HON. SIR
HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart., F.R.S.
In demy 8vo, with 32 illustrations on art paper, 12s. 6tf. net.
A delightful work of first-hand observation, containing much fascinat-
ing information that is not to be gleaned from the average book on birds.
The method of treatment is concise and most attractive, and effectively
dissipates any preconceived idea that ornithology is a dull subject.
12
Hutchinson's Important New Books
Myself and Others By JESSIE MILLWARD
Edited by J. B. BOOTH.
In demy 8vo, cloth gilt, with 18 illustrations, 16$. net.
Miss Millward's records of theatrical gossip and amusing stories of
stage life during the last thirty years will provide ample entertainment for
readers young and old alike. She possesses keen powers of observation,
a lively sense of humour and an agreeable style. As a girl she played with
Henry Irving, was leading lady to William Terriss, while her later successes
in " Lord and Lady Algy," " Mrs. Dane's Defence," " The Hypocrites,"
and other plays will be readily recalled. The Bancrofts, George R. Sims,
Beerbohm Tree.Marie Lloyd.Mrs.Kendal, George Grossmith — Miss Millward
knew them all and relates many amusing stories about them. A section
of the reminiscences deals with her experiences in America.
Adventures Among Bees By HERBERT MACE
Author of " A Book about the Bee," etc.
In crown 8vo, cloth, with 24 illustrations on art paper, 4s. 6d. net.
In this concise yet comprehensive volume the author recounts the
results of a lifetime's observations and practical experiences of beekeeping.
Of particular interest are his useful hints on the handling of bees under
difficult conditions and his discussions on the little creatures' relationship
to other animals, weather and plants. Lively times in bee life are graphi-
cally described, so that the book will prove as entertaining as it is
instructive.
The Irish Free State : Its Evolution and Possi-
bilities By ALBERT C. WHITE
Author of " Ireland : A Study in Facts," etc.
In cloth, 3s. 6d. net.
From the standpoint of a vigorous and independent mind Mr. White
traces the history of the relations between Great Britain and Ireland from
the Act of Union down to the Great War. The Home Rule struggle, the
four Home Rule Bills, of 1886, 1893, 1914 and 1920, and^the terms of the
Treaty concluded with Sinn Fein are fully described
Bergholt's Modern Auction— Its Bidding and
Principles By ERNEST BERGHOLT
Author of " Royal Auction Bridge," etc.
In cloth, with numerous illustrations, 7s. 6d. net.
The author is perhaps the greatest authority on Bridge to-day, and the
value of his articles in the Press is widely appreciated. In concise and attrac-
tive form he has now compiled his experiences of the game. This volume
will prove highly instructive to practical players, while beginners will
rapidly acquire proficiency from its clear and comprehensive directions.
13
Hutchinson's New and Forthcoming Books
The Outlands of Heaven
By the REV. G. VALE OWEN,
formerly Vicar of Orford, Lancashire
Author of " Life Beyond the Veil," " Facts and the Future Life," etc.
In crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. net.
This volume includes " The Children of Heaven," the two works
forming one complete narrative. It is a continuation of the script published
under the general title " Life Beyond the Veil," and was received by Mr.
Vale Owen from a band of spirit communicators acting under the leader-
ship of one who gives his name as " Arnel," an Englishman who lived in
Florence during the early days of the Renaissance. The whole forms a
stimulating narrative of intense interest, full of helpful suggestions for all
who seek to know something of the conditions of life and work awaiting
them after death.
Familiar London Birds
By FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S.
Author of " Birds of the Countryside," " Bird Behaviour," etc.
In crown 8vo, cloth, with 34 illustrations, 4s. 6d. net.
London birds, when, where, and how they may be found, is the subject
of this fascinating volume. Their identification will become an easy matter
to all who read the full descriptions and study its many beautiful photo-
graphs.
Buying a Car? 1923
Compiled by LEONARD HENSLOWE
Author of " Quite Well, Thanks," " Motoring for the Million," etc.
Crown 8vo, fully illustrated, Is. 6d. net.
A new annual, brought out in the interests of the vast army of motorists,
new and old, by one of the most experienced writers in the motoring world.
45th Year of Issue
The Year's Art, 1924 Compiled by A. C. R. CARTER
Crown 8vo, cloth, 8s. 6d. net. Over 600 pages, with illustrations.
A concise epitome of all matters relating to the Arts of Painting,
Sculpture, Engraving and Architecture, and to Schools of Design, con-
taining events which have occurred during the year 1923, together with
information respecting those of 1924.
Ready early in 1924
The Life and Letters of George Wyndham
By COLONEL GUY PERCY WYNDHAM, C.B.,
and PROFESSOR JOHN W. MACKAIL, LL.D.
14
Hutchinson's Important New Books
Hutchinson's
Animals of All Countries
The Living Animals of the World in Word and Picture
Published in about 48 fortnightly parts, with over 2,000 illustrations and about
50 fim Coloured Plates printed throughout on the best British art paper
Is. 3d. each part.
This great work, which is being produced at a cost of £75,000, covers
every branch of natural history. Edited throughout by eminent specialists,
it gives a clear, concise, anecdotal description of beasts, birds, fishes,
reptiles and insects.
The illustrations, selected from many thousands for their artistic and
educational value, are a special feature of the book. Many pictures show
the wonderful achievement of the camera, animals in their wild state taken
by the telephoto lens, fish and other marine creatures taken through the
water, birds in flight, etc. Never before has such a complete set of illus-
trations been seen together.
Complete in 4 handsome volumes. Volume I. now ready, cloth gilt. 21 S. net.
Hutchinson's
Story of the British Nation
The first connected pictorial and authoritative history of the British peoples,
from the earliest times to the present day.
Written by the leading historians and edited by
WALTER HUTCHINSON, M.A., F.R.G.S., F.R.A.I.
(Barrister-at-Law, Editor of Hutchinson's " History of the Nations," etc.)
In 48 fortnightly parts, price Is. 3d. each. Complete in 4 volumes.
The first three volumes, which have achieved a record success, are now
supplied in handsome cloth gilt, each 21 S. net, and in various leather bindings.
Beautiful coloured plates are a special feature of this great work.
Birds of Our Country
By FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S., and E. KAY
ROBINSON
Complete in two large handsome volumes.
Both volumes, handsomely bound in cloth gilt, and containing nearly 1,000
unique photographs of the living bird, and 47 fine coloured plates, are now
ready, each 21 %. net.
Hutchinson's
Popular Botany
By A. E. KNIGHT and EDWARD STEP, F.L.S.
Complete in two large handsome volumes.
Both volumes, with about 1,000 beautiful illustrations and 18 coloured plates
are now ready, each 128. 6d. net.
15
Hutchinson's Important New Books
A Popular Astronomy
Hutchinsori's
Splendour of the Heavens
Edited by T.E.R. PHILLIPS, M.A..F.R.A.S. (Secretary of the
Royal Astronomical Society), assisted by Leading Astronomers.
Published in fortnightly parts, each containing a coloured plate and about
60 beautiful illustrations on art paper, at the popular price of 1 8. 3d. each part.
This standard work, whose vast interest and value have been quickly
appreciated by young and old alike, contains the fullest and most complete
account yet published of the various classes of heavenly bodies, expressed
in popular language. The mass of material dealing with the latest dis-
coveries now before the Editor and Publishers has enabled them to bring
to our knowledge.in a form simple and easily understood, the fresh wonders
of the Universe. The work describes the solar system, the sun, earth,
moon, the planets, the comets, meteors, stars, nebulae, and numerous other
bodies. It also includes the story of time, motion, light, gravitation, the
tides, evolution of worlds, origin of the moon and stars. The illustrations
are very numerous and of great educative value.
To be completed in about 24 fortnightly parts. Parts 1 to 7 are now ready.
Hutchinson's
Library of Standard Lives
Each volume attractively bound with three-colour pictorial wrapper, beautifully
printed on the best quality paper. The prices are : Cloth, 23. net ; Full
Leather, 3s. net.
Each biography contains approximately 384 pages of clear type and
a frontispiece portrait and title page on art paper, an Appendix,
Chronology, Notes, and a full Index, and is capably and judiciously edited.
Already Issued
Napoleon (544 page" By F. de BOURRIENNE
Nelson By ROBERT SOUTHEY
Queen Elizabeth By AGNES STRICKLAND
Marie Antoinette By MADAME CAMPAN
Cleopatra By PHILIP W. SERGEANT
Oliver Cromwell By THOMAS CARLYLE
The Empress Josephine By PHILIP W. SERGEANT
The following volumes will be published at fortnightly intervals :
Wellington Madame du Barry Lady Hamilton
John Wesley Queen Victoria Samuel Johnson
Madame de Stael Nell Gwyn Geoige Washington
Mary Queen of Scots
16
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Heirs Apparent By SIR PHILIP GIBBS
Author of " The Street of Adventure," " The Middle of the Road "
($oth thousand).
In reviewing the outstanding success attained by Sir Philip Gibbs' last
published novel, The Times commended his " remarkable talent for present-
ing a point of view in dramatic form." In his present work, concerned en-
tirely with English life during the present year, the author interprets the mind
of the young people of to-day — the leaders of to-morrow. Infused with
the true spirit of youth, distinguished by brilliant and convincing character-
isation, this fine story is of immediate and absorbing interest.
The Sequel to " The Blue Lagoon "
The Garden of Qod By H. de VERE STACPOOLE
Author of " The Blue Lagoon," "Men, Women and Beasts,"
" Vanderdecken," etc.
Mr. Stacpoole again gives proof of his ingenuity and resource, and in his
latest novel has recaptured the ghostly yet extraordinarily vivid and bril-
liant atmosphere that made " The Bine Lagoon" a classic among romances
of the sea. On the glowing beach of Karolin, the lofty island whose
longest reflexion slashes the sky, we see Katafa, the maid whom none may
touch and who may touch no one. The author has developed the love
story of this picturesque and fascinating character with skill and fervour,
and his romance should prove one of the most noteworthy of the season's
novels.
The Water Diviner By DOLF WYLLARDE
Author of " Mafoota," " The Lavender Lad," " Our Earth Here," etc.
The character which gives this vivid and emotional story its title is no
enterprising explorer, but a captivating English girl. Landia, the adopted
niece of the owner of Cassidy, a Caribbean estate, inherits the money of
her patroness. But it is for herself that Mallory, to whom Cassidy has been
bequeathed, loves her. Miss Wyllarde writes fascinatingly — because
intimately — of the intrigues and emotions that stir the hearts of men and
women dwelling in distant lands. The young lovers' romantic adventures
are thus dramatic and effective, while in colour and atmosphere the
author's descriptive passages maintain a high literary excellence.
Vindication Ety~STEPHEN McKENNA
Author of " The Secret Victory," " Soliloquy," " The Commandment
of Moses," etc.
Mr. McKenna has an uncanny knowledge of feminine psychology.
This novel shows him as much an adept as ever in this strange labyrinth ;
and, following him, we hold the clue as to why a woman yields her dearest
treasure to a man she fears and hates, and denies it to him for whom her
whole being longs. It is not an entirely pleasant world, that in which
Mr. McKenna bids us accompany him willy-nilly, but it is a curiously
absorbing one, and, moreover, the shifting, changing world of to-day.
Here, ex-chorus girls, with the garish glow of the footlights hardly dimmed,
rule stately houses, and impoverished blue blood clings desperately to lost
ideals of honour and womanhood.
17
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
•
Tetherstones By ETHEL M. DELL
Author of " The Bars of Iron " (312** thousand), " The Hundredth Chance, "
(zjoth thousand), etc.
If Miss Dell is unsurpassed as a mistress of the art of story-telling the
reason is surely because she has always a good story to tell and invariably
tells it with a steadily maintained vigour of action that holds the readerV
interest from start to finish. For the main scenes of her latest novel she
has chosen the old farm of Tetherstones, hard by the Druidic circle in
Devon, to the stones of which (according to tradition) victims were fas-
tened prior to sacrifice. Into the tragic environment which not unnaturally
clings to the farm itself comes the heroine, under strange circumstances.
Mysterious happenings follow her arrival, which culminate, after many
thrilling adventures, in the finding of a great treasure. With its prac-
tised craftsmanship, ingenious plot and admirable character-drawing,
" Tetherstones " has been pronounced by prominent critics as Miss Dell's
most finished work.
Visible and Invisible By E. F. BENSON
Author of "Dodo Wonders," "Miss Mapp," "Colin," etc.
In this volume Mr. Benson, departing from his usual choice of subject}
deals with the occult and supernatural, and these stories of engrossing
interest are proofs of his versatility and considerable powers of imagina-
tion. Between our own and the other world lies a borderland of shadows,
which eyes that can pierce the material plane may sometimes see and whose
voices may be heard by listening ears. This unknown realm and its
happenings are somewhat disquieting. The writer has subtly caught this
vague uneasiness and made it the pervading influence upon his characters
in these original and powerful stories.
The First Good Joy By C. A. NICHOLSON
Author of " Martin, Son of John," " Their Chosen People," etc.
Racial antagonism is not the central theme of C. A. Nicholson's present
novel. But the story is informed with such sympathetic insight into the
life and character of the Jewish people and with the sincerity of one who
knows profoundly their merits and shortcomings as to be in its way. a
masterpiece. Justin Daris, seeing life in Brussels, meets his fate in Zosia,
an " unfortunate " whom, out of pity, he marries. They part ; hard
work, success, and love for another woman absorb his life, though he yearns
for Zosia and children of his own. For her Fate has a hard lot in store
— yet husband and wife are destined to be reunited. The characters,
some of whom appeared in " Their Chosen People," are strikingly well
drawn. Justin, clever and sensitive; the beautiful Zosia, the victim of
men's pleasure, with her constant appeal for her husband's affection ; the
widower who befriends her; Justin's shrewd father, and his mother so
fearful for his spiritual welfare, become, one and all, extraordinarily living
personages, in whose acts and opinions we are brought to feel persona)
interest
18
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
A Cure of Souls By MAY SINCLAIR
Author of " Anne Severn and the Fieldings " ($th edition), " Uncanny
Stories," etc.
In her latest novel this talented author has returned to her old style of
writing. Her story is concerned with the life of a country rector
and the trials and difficulties which he encounters in pursuit of a peace and
comfort incompatible with the responsibilities of a cure of souls. Miss
Sinclair is a past mistress in the technique of her art and in a profound
understanding of human emotions that makes her characters intensely
alive. Her plot is therefore intimate and refreshing, its interest further
sustained by a subtle irony, while characters and incidents are presented
with an unfailing skill.
The Last Time By ROBERT HICHENS
Author of " The Garden of Allah," " The Spirit of the Time," etc.
These four stories are told with all the art of a practised story-teller.
" The Last Time " deals with the tragedy of a woman, who makes a con-
fession of the wreck of her life to a man in order that another woman's
life may be made happy. " The Letter " is a love story in Mr. Hichens'
most successful vein, with the picturesque countryside as its background.
In " The Villa by the Sea " the author portrays in a brilliant psychological
study some " lingering influences " and their effects on sensitive persons,
while " The Fa9ade " is a delightfully humorous tale of a beautiful " high-
brow " actress. In each story the reader will find enough vivid and
arresting incidents and realistic character studies as almost to compose a
complete novel.
Reputation By ELINOR MORDAUNT
Author of " The Park Wall," " Laura Creichton," " Short Shipments," etc.
In this dramatic and engrossing novel Mrs. Mordaunt convincingly
refutes the widely cherished notion of Victorian women's demureness.
In 1882 Claudia Waring (then aged 18) elects to elope from the country
rectory that has always been her home. Her half-hearted explanations
on her return serve to invest her escapade with the savour of romance.
Twenty years later her brilliant novels have earned her an established
reputation in London, nor does she again visit the dull countryside, save
once — to save a young niece from an utter folly at the cost of confessing
the real truth of her own supposed romance. Throughout the book
Claudia's activities are many and of continuous interest. Yet in an epi-
logue of 1922 we find a maiden of the third generation wondering at the
drab existences endured by the unprotesting Victorians ! The style and
narration of Mrs. Mordaunt's story are easy and graceful, the personality
of Claudia, with those of the lesser characters, being set in a background
minutely appropriate to the varying periods.
19
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
John o' Chimes
By MARGARET BAILLIE-SAUNDERS
Author of " Becky & Co.," " Makeshifts," " Madge Hinton's Husbands," etc.
Dame Imogen Giles, the youthful Lady of the Manor House in the old
Kentish village, is a delightf ul character, of a simplicity and old-world charm
yet up-to-date in interests and outlook. The reader follows with ready
sympathy the course of her love for John La Ferronays. Meantime, the
legend of muffled ringing of church bells buried beneath the sea haunts
her mother ; indeed, a strange mystery threatens for a while the lovers'
happiness. The romance of this legend forms an admirable setting for
this picturesque and attractive story, vrhose interest never flags and in
which scenes and characters alike are portrayed with truth, vivacity, and
conviction.
The Red Redmaynes By EDEN PHILLPOTTS
Author of " The Grey Room," " The Three Brothers,"
" Told at ' The Plume,'/' etc.
In his new story Mr. Eden Phillpotts again displays the masterly hand-
ling of crime and mystery which rendered " The Grey Room " so notable
a success. Three men, two of whom are brothers, are successively mur-
dered, suspicion in each case falling on Robert Redmayne. Two of the
greatest detectives, an Englishman and an American, set out to track
down and arrest the criminal. Mystery, excitement, and intense human
interest distinguish this thrilling Dartmoor narrative, the characters in
which are skilfully and realistically depicted.
The Gazebo By BARONESS VON HUTTEN
Author of " Pam," " The Lordship of Love," etc.
The particular gazebo which gives the name to this book is a windowed
balcony overlooking the village street, in the country home of Peg Doria,
a well-known novelist, who befriends Jenny Mayes, a clever, but half
educated, middle-class London girl, and later her own rival in love. It
is from the gazebo that Jenny overhears a conversation from which
she gathers that her suitor and Mrs. Doria care for each other ; and
from the gazebo, too, Mrs. Doria looks down on her derelict husband, who
vainly tries to create a scandal in the village.
Viola Hudson By ISABEL C. CLARKE
Author of " Carina," " Average Cabins," etc.
In her latest and longest novel Miss Clarke is mainly concerned with the
life-story of Viola Hudson from the time of her meeting at Venice her old
playmate, Esme Craye. From their subsequent marriage come the struggle
of Viola's life and her heroic self-sacrifice for the spiritual welfare of her
child. The fortunes both of mother and daughter make an earnest and
appealing narrative, enhanced by the fidelity of characterisation and high
standard of descriptive powers that distinguish all this author's works.
20
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Wild Heart of Youth By KATHLYN RHODES
Author of " Courage," " Desert Justice," etc.
For the setting of her latest novel the author, forsaking the East, has
chosen the pine woods of Surrey and the Cornish coast. Its central
theme is the development of Martin Ryott's character under the influence
of two women. In the one, his wife, methodical, lethargic, and opposed
to activity whether of mind or body, he finds merely a comforter in domes-
ticity. Inspiration, if it is to be his, will come from Isobel Winn, eager for
life's ambitions and enthusiasms. His friendship and, indeed, his affection
are naturally attracted from the one to the other woman, and, skilfully
developed by the writer's convincing touch, infuse the story with an
interest dramatic yet intensely true to life.
French Beans By ANTHONY M. LUDOVICI
Author of " What Woman Wishes," " The Goddess that Grew Up," etc., etc.
The eternal clash of East with West is skilfully and convincingly
portrayed in this story of a Frenchman of Arab extraction, who tries to
accommodate himself to English society. Quite unconscious of the deep
ancestral promptings that are directing his action, the hero's career throws
him into the most emancipated set of advanced feminists, to one of whom
he becomes engaged. The lady endures with great impatience his high-
handed masculine attitude, and the manner in which, after many vicissi-
tudes, he eventually gains the victory over the whole set provides the
main incidents of a novel and sprightly story.
The Terriford Mystery
By MRS. BELLOC-LOWNDES
Author of " The Red Cross Barge," " What Timmy Did," etc.
Mrs. Belloc-Lowndes is an excellent tale-teller, and the mystery which
inspires the incidents of her latest novel is both convincing and ably sus-
tained. Moreover, into an original story she has happily infused a delight-
ful love romance. An innocent man has been accused of murder. Despite
suspicious circumstances, the girl whom he loves never loses her faith in
him and is untiring in her efforts to prove him guiltless. The scenes are
laid mainly in an English village, while characters and descriptive passages
fully illustrate the writer's literary power and ingenuity.
The King's Red-Haired Girl By SELWYN JEPSON
Author of " The Qualified Adventurer," " That Fellow MacArthur," etc.
In his latest novel Mr. Jepson's fancy lightly turns to imaginative
adventure, mainly set in the distant republic of Kavallia. Banished by its
President, one Mareno has conceived the ambition of overthrowing that
potentate and restoring in his place Petronyevitch, son of the last king,
with his own daughter Elizabeth as his wife and queen. This twofold
ambition is opposed both by Peter Ambleton and his brother. Their
counterplots and escapades, related with all Mr. Jepson's richness of
imagination and humorous touch, make up a spirited narrative, full of
good descriptions, and which moves with vigour from start to finish.
21
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
The Mating of Marcus
By MABEL BARNES-GRUNDY
Author of " A Girl for Sale," " The Great Husband Hunt," etc.
" From this day my hand shall be against every woman." Thus pro-
claims the bitterly disillusioned hero at the opening of Mrs. Barnes-Grundy's
latest novel. And forthwith he hides himself in a distant habitation of a
remote Essex village. But alas for him — the " Eternal Feminine " abounds
everywhere. How his seclusion was persistently disturbed and by what
allurements his heart eventually stormed are the main incidents in an
original story which runs with a pleasant swing and whose characters are
drawn with uncommon liveliness and truth.
A New Novel by the " Thomas Hardy of Sussex "
Sunset Bride By TICKNER EDWARDES
Author of " The Honey-Star," " Tansy," " The Seventh Wave," etc.
As in all this author's previous books, the scene of this powerful and
romantic novel is laid in a remote village in the South Down country which
he has made essentially his own. Into a captivating story is subtly woven
a charming and original contribution to the solution of an ever-perplexing
problem — whether, in respect of Holy Matrimony, the ancient adage,
"Better late than never," holds good or otherwise. With its vivid charac-
terisation, humour, pathos and intense dramatic interest — above all, in the
lovable personality of its heroine — this novel will certainly rank as one
of the most successful of Mr. Edwardes' creations.
Fields of Sleep By E. CHARLES VIVIAN
Author of " Passion-Fruit," " City of Wonder," etc.
The search for Clement Delarey, which led the searchers to the " Fields
of Sleep," has called forth, in the words of an established critic, " one of the
greatest works of modern imagination." From the day when Victor
Marshall and the " little old lady " made the compact which sent Marshall
on his quest, up to the moment of his return, the story becomes a panorama
of swiftly changing incident, novel in conception and convincing and
dramatic in presentation. The weird, terrible trees of sleep, the mystery
and wisdom that characterise their guardians, and the impish contrast
afforded by Erasmus Whauple — a unique creation — make up a romance of
uncommon breadth and power.
The Man Who Understood By " RITA"
Author of " Peg the Rake," " Conjugal Rights," etc.
The man who understands the heart of a woman, the weakness of
man, and the faith and trust of a little child, is indeed a great character,
meriting complete and detailed delineation. " The Man Who Under-
stood " has a singularly human and lovable personality, always believing
in the best and forgiving the worst ; adapting the healing powers of
Nature to a man's skill and patience, and never ceasing to preach tht
axiom that to love much is to forgive much.
22
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
A Fight to Windward By BOYD CABLE
Author of " Grapes of Wrath," " The Old Contemptibles," " Th« Rolling
Road," etc.
Mr. Boyd Cable's very numerous readers will find " A Fight to Wind-
ward " as subtle in its humour, breezy in writing, and as packed with
exciting incidents as any of this author's previous successes. It relates
the strange adventures that befell Chick Summers, employed to write up
" copy " for his paper from the latest startling events of the day. Such
a sensation is provided for him by the mysterious disappearance of one
William Goodenough, together with all the available funds of the important
firm which employed him. In the search for the culprit Mary Griffiths
becomes concerned. With her Chick proceeds as far as Australia, follow-
ing clues valuable or false in a manner that often baffles and always diverts
the reader. After a series of highly ingenious and amusing escapades he
gets his big story — and with it a prize of even more permanent value.
Uncanny Stories By MAY SINCLAIR
Author of " The Three Brontes," " Anne Severn and the Fieldings "
(5/A Edition), "A Cure of Souls," etc.
With many illustrations by the CHEVALIER JEAN DE BOSSCHERE
Miss Sinclair is perhaps the most competent of modern novelists, and the
brilliant writing and analysis which rendered " Anne Severn and the
Fieldings " one of the literary events of the past season are no less conspicu-
ous in her present volume. Its seven stories are original and arresting
studies of supernatural happenings in this and the " other " world and in
the borderland between them. In the first, " When Their Fire is not
Quenched," Hell is presented, with a consummate art, as the eternal mono-
tonous repetition of a sin. " The Flaw in the Crystal " deals with the
gruesome possibilities of psychic healing, while " The Finding of the
Absolute " is a masterly metaphysical phantasy. The remaining stories
are ghost stories with a strong psychological interest. One and all are
fine examples of the writer's high imaginative qualities. Striking designs
by the Chevalier Jean de Bosschere suitably illustrate the book throughout.
The Runaway By M. E. FRANCIS
Author of " Many Waters," " Renewal," " Beck of Beckford," etc.
Mrs. Francis is one of the rare novelists who by long experience has
acquired a facility in writing that always maintains a high literary stan-
dard and yet whose versatility, freshness and power to charm never fail
her. The present story is mainly concerned with the love affairs of young
Keith MacDonald, who, provoked by her taunts of the benefits which
her wealth has conferred upon him, deserts his wife and seeks peace and
employment among simple village folk. There he meets his true soul's
nintc, and his struggles to keep his honour unsullied, the intrigues of an
ill-wisher and the claim of his wife are the main emotions by which his soul
is swayed. The author's portrayal of the life and characters of the Welsh
villagers makes a highly effective background to an admirably told story.
23
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
The Shadow Of Egypt By NORMA LORIMER
Author of " A Mender of Images," " The False Dawn," etc.
Eastern both in subject and setting. Miss Lorimer's romantic story
appropriately reflects the passions, intrigues and dangers of Egypt of
to-day. During an anti-British rising both the heroine and her husband
are captured, while the all-powerful Haddad fulfils his evil designs. He
succeeds in keeping the hapless wife a prisoner in his harem, and there
and elsewhere thrilling adventures befall her. Incidentally there is an
exciting search for treasure in the Theban hills, which, though actually
written previous to the late Lord Carnarvon's discoveries, realistically
depicts the difficulties of such an enterprise.
Sally's Sweetheart By G. B. BURGIN
Author of " Many Memories," " Manetta's Marriage,"
" The Man Behind," etc.
In a brief " Foreword " to his seventieth and latest novel, Mr. Burgii
confesses that, in the natural sequence, he ought to have written this
story some twenty years ago, but that it has now insisted on writing
itseli ! For this solution the reader will be grateful, since in returning to his
favourite haunts at " Four Corners " — that charming little riverine Ottawa
village which he has made his own — the author tells a fresh and ever
delightful idyll. A lovers' quarrel between Ikey Marston and Miss Sally
Plunket, Ikey's departure with " Old Man " Evans to old haunts among
the Reservation Indians, and Miss Plunket's amusing escapades after
following her affronted lover are its central interests, vividly described
with Mr. Burgin's customary charm and literary skill.
All to Seek ~By DIANA PATRICK
Author of " Islands of Desire," " The Manuscript of Youth," etc.
With the competent craftsmanship which we expect from her, the
writer gives us in this novel a clever, realistic study of a girl's experiences
of life and love. Melody is the daughter of a music teacher in a small
Yorkshire town. Her younger sister marries, and chafing at the restriction
of her own small world Melody goes to study in London. Her sister's
experiences and her own misadventures in love convince her that no
woman should sacrifice her liberty for a man's love. Melody's disillusion-
ment on this idea and consequent happiness are the concluding episodes of
a story that is throughout essentially true to life and which gains consider-
ably from the sharp individualisation of its characters.
Whispering Sage By HARRY SINCLAIR DRAGO
and JOSEPH NOEL
With its main theme a fierce struggle for water rights between Basque
sheepmen and cowboys, and its emotional setting of personal hate, combat,
struggles and revenge, these authors have evolved a powerful story forcibly
told. The love of Mercedes, who after the murder of her father is
only saved from an evil fate by her lover, the brave Kildare, handled with
sympathy and understanding, adds romance to a novel of almost breath
less interest.
24
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Young Felix By FRANK SWINNERTON
Author of " The Happy Family," " September," " Coquette," etc.
Mr. Swinnerton's latest novel, the longest and in some respects the
most ambitious book which he has written, describes a young man's life
from childhood until about his thirtieth year. The analysis of young
Felix's character is searching and detailed, but never overstressed, since
with his life-story are involved the doings and sayings of his own family
and those of others. The lad's evolution from childhood to an ambitious
artist of quite uncommon type is, throughout, of engrossing interest as a
close and vigorous study of real life. Moreover, the novel's characters and
often humorous incidents are marked by shrewd observation and uncommon
descriptive powers.
The Adventures of Gerry
By DOROTHEA CONYERS
Author of " The Strayings of Sandy," " Rooted Out," etc.
The adventures of Gerald Dallas, the hero of this cleverly written and
well meditated novel, arose from his discovery, on his wedding day, of an
irreparable bar to his married happiness. He leaves his wife and seeks
an undisturbed seclusion in Ballyoram, in dread of a seemingly inevitable
fate. What actually befalls him, strange and unexpected, is told with
all the writer's accomplished ease in a delightful and effective story.
Incidents and characters (mainly Irish) throughout are depicted with
knowledge and discrimination, while the hunting scenes are particularly
enjoyable.
A First Novel of Eastern Magic and Adventure
Woven in a Prayer Rug By NEVILLE LANGTON
This new author has devised a romance of quite original interest ;
he writes lucidly and with a convincing earnestness, and depicts both his
characters and scenes alike with much skill and charm. Absorbed in the
mysterious history of carpets, Dennis Hastings, who works in his uncle's
carpet store, spends his last shilling on a tattered old Eastern prayer rug.
When the war breaks out, he leaves England and the girl of his love and is
sent to Gallipoli. Capture by the Turks, thrilling adventures in the East,
and a romantic association with an Arab maiden befall him. Through all
these scenes the influence of the prayer rug is prominent. Eventually
its mystery solved, it brings wealth and happiness to its possessor.
Brogmersfield By JOHN AYSCOUGH
Author of " Dromina," " Monksbridge," etc.
Brogmersfield is the country estate of his ancestors, to which a young
Artillery officer, wounded in the Great War, succeeds. But he is not long
in realising that there is something uncanny about this lonely house ; that
the occupants of it, dependents of the former owners, are remarkably queer.
Is he on the track of a crime ? Is some diabolical influence threatening
him ? Are the sins of old generations being visited on the new ? The
surprising solution of these grim mysteries proves of enthralling interest
in a story conceived and developed with the author's wonted ingenuity.
26
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
A Reversion to Type By E. M. DELAFIELD
Author of " The Heel of Achilles," " The Optimist," etc.
Cecil Aviolet is the only child of a marriage between Rose Smith,
daughter of a bankrupt London tradesman, and Jim Aviolet, the scape-
grace younger son of an old and noble English family. A hereditary taint
appears in the boy when he is a very young child, and shows himself to be
a congenital liar. The problem of his education leads to friction between
Rose and the Aviolet family ; an unsatisfactory solution produces tragedy
when Cecil grows up. Throughout Rose's courage never fails, although
she is made to believe that the taint in Cecil is owing to his father's mis-
alliance with herself. This story of conflicting personalities and a mother's
high devotion is of remarkable cleverness. As a psychological study
it will rank as one of Miss Delafield's finest conceptions.
The Gold of the Sunset
By FREDERICK SLEATH
Author of " A Breaker of Ships," " The Red Vulture," etc.
Mr. Sleath is a writer of varying moods, whose admirable skill is equally
successful in suggesting the atmosphere of horror proper to such tales as
" A Breaker of Ships," or in symbolising the eternal urge of the human
soul, as in this delightful tale of present-day Scottish life and character.
It is ex-Captain Andrew Watson who tells it. From him we learn of the
love of two men for one girl ; of the mysterious end of one of these
suitors, and of the coming of the Captain's own " fair lady." Both
incidents and characters will keep the reader's interest alert throughout.
Cattle By ONOTO WATANNA
Author of " A Japanese Nightingale," " Sunny-San," etc.
A powerful Canadian story set in the vast cattle ranches of Alberta,
where the drama of sex has full|play among rough men and primitive
women. " Bull " Langdon, owner of much wealth and master of men and
of $the famous " Bar Q " cattle, wearies of his invalid wife. He casts
lustful eyes on Nettie, whose beauty and goodness are unsullied by the evil
around her. How his evil designs are thwarted and Nettie's happiness, after
many harrowing dangers, at length attained are the main incidents of
this thrilling, swiftly-moving story. The author describes stirring deeds
with sustained, suspended interest and his descriptive passages throughout
are vivid and full of colour.
If Ye Break Faith By ESSEX SMITH
Author of " Shepherdless Sheep," " The Revolving Fates," etc.
An absorbing, earnest story of high ideals upheld amid the degrading
ugliness that mars so many phases of life to-day — a strong and heartfelt
protest against its waste of strength, virtue and manhood. Howard Chance,
owner of a fine old estate, returns from the war, to find a London utterly
demoralised and, caught up in its whirl of gaieties, the girl whom he has
long loved. She, too, has changed, for " we war girls are hard," she tells
him. It is only after dire tragedies have intervened that Pauline learns to
appreciate her lover's devotion, and a story, in which incidents and char-
acters, though never sordid, are intensely realistic, ends in their happiness.
26
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Jewelled Nights By MARIE BJELKE PETERSEN
Author of " The Captive Singer," " The Immortal Flame," " Dusk," etc.
The scenes of " Jewelled Nights " are laid in Tasmania, whose dizzy
heights, dense jungles and treacherous rivers the author has seen and
knows as does no other living writer — amid the weird fascination of the
Osmiridium mining fields. Hither comes Dick Fleetwood, young and
handsome, to seek his fortune. His adventures among the rough miners,
their efforts to oust him from the field, and his friendship with a big stalwart
digger are related in a series of thrilling episodes and original and often
humorous incidents, while the brillant descriptive passages disclose that
fine, deep vein of romance which has established so wide a popularity for
all Miss Petersen's writings.
The Letters of Jean Armiter
By UNA L. SILBERRAD
Author of " Green Pastures," " The Honest Man," etc.
Jean Armiter, a spinster of thirty-five, becomes possessed of a small in-
come and with it, she imagines, the liberty to lead her own life in her own
way. In this ambition, however, she finds herself effectually thwarted
by relatives, friends, and other ties. A charming love story runs through
the book, which ends happily, for Jean is a sound, cheery Englishwoman
very typical of her class to-day. Her letters, indeed, are so full of human
interest that the reader comes quickly to regard them as real letters from
a living person.
Fortune's Fool By RAFAEL SABATINI
Author of " Historical Nights' Entertainment," " Scaramouche," etc.
This romantic adventure-story tells of the hopes, struggles, and dis-
illusionment of Colonel Randal Holies, who left service in Holland to
offer his sword and experience to his own king. Throughout his career
Fortune had mocked this old Parliamentarian, and she was to fool him
yet again at the court of the Merry Monarch. Against the terrible back-
ground of the Great Plague flit such great figures as George Monk, Duke of
Albemarle, the Duke of Buckingham, Sir George Etheredge. Mr. Sabatini
possesses a happy gift of reanimating the dead past and imbues the scenes
and personages whom he depicts with pungency and life, nor are his
fictitious characters less convincing.
Broken Couplings By CHARLES CANNELL
Author of " The Guarded Woman "
From the moment when Tolway, gentleman adventurer, sees Ellen
Woollaston, " the woman of the stairway," in company with his friend
Newton, up to the final paragraph which tells how Ellen solved the problem
life set before her, the changing drama of this book grips the reader's
attention. It is a daringly intimate study of a woman's temperament,
as displayed in the working out of a situation which, at first sight, admits
of no satisfactory development. Though by no means lacking in humour
the story is one of fine dramatic intensity, depicting real people confronted
with real problems.
27
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Battling Barker By ANDREW SOUTAR
Author of " The Road to Romance," " Corinthian Days," etc.
In a spirited and realistic story of the prize ring of to-day the centra^
figures are Jerry Barker and his padre friend, both fired by the fine ambi-
tion of " cleaning up " British sport by the suppression of gambling,
faked matches and similar evils, and Reuben Braddock, a powerful and
wealthy sporting crook. As the mysterious " Masked Man," each friend by
turns competes for the heavy-weight championship of England. These
and other fights are depicted with all the writer's intimate knowledge of the
ring and power of thrilling narrative. This story, in which there is also
a pleasing love interest, will appeal especially to male readers.
Under Eastern Stars
By MRS. FRANCES EVERARD
Author of " A Daughter of the Sand," " A White Man," etc.
In her latest novel, Mrs. Everard takes her readers once more to the
Africa which she knows so well. But apart from the fascinating pictures
of Eastern life, she presents in this new and arresting story a brilliant
penetrating study of a dangerous year of married life, a vivid portrayal
of the hearts and minds of men and women in their social and domestic rela-
tions. Trevor Weyburn brings into his home and that of his invalid wife
the young and beautiful girl whom he had loved in earlier years. As may
be imagined, the consequences threaten to be disastrous, especially when
the action is played out under the glamour of Eastern stars. The author
develops this dramatic situation with an attractive and moving sympathy.
A First Novel of Adventure and Love
The Enchanted Island By RANN DALY
A stirring adventure story, swift in action and well thought out, of the
South Seas, whose life, colour, and enchantment are evidently familiar to
the author. From Sydney, Nina Brayne sets out to join her father on
his copra plantation at Dulacca. There, too, she meets Delaunoy, his
villainous partner, and others of the gang, intent on the discovery of hidden
treasure. In the search for this, Nina herself becomes involved, and many
exciting adventures befall her before a story of singular attraction and
power ends in true lovers meeting and in their assured happiness.
Drums Of Doom By ROBERT WELLES RITCHIE
Author of " Trails to Two Moons," " Dust of the Desert," etc.
In a vivid and picturesque story the author tells of Nathaniel Bullock,
who lived alone in a strangely built house in San Francisco. At length
Nancy Hannibal, with her father, comes to live next door. One day the
girl enters the old recluse's house and takes away some papers. She is
hotly pursued and dangers threaten her. But in young Peter Free she
finds her true friend. And in the desert of old Mexico, full of mystery and
haunting silence, where danger lurks in the shadows and written laws are
meaningless, the two lovers find adventure — and more. " Drums
of Doom " is a romance of stirring action, mystery and love.
28
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Rat'8 Castle By ROY BRIDGES
Author of " Dead Men's Gold," " Green Butterflies," etc.
The period of this adventurous romance is the reign of George III. after
the Gordon Riots. Two boys, one of whom tells the story, are the chief
characters and, seeking together a buried treasure, of which one of them
is the rightful inheritor, meet with hazardous escapes and dangers on land
and sea. The writer has a distinct flair for vivid descriptions and continues
to give both his scenes and characters a genuine freshness, a circumstance
which greatly enhances the interest of his virile and exciting story.
Worry By ROBERT ELSON
Author of " Maxa," etc.
This original, cleverly conceived and well-written story describes the
career of a great lawyer. The reader is admitted behind the scenes,
participates in the legal struggles which are stepping-stones to honour and
high position, and feels the thrill when success and failure hang in the
balance. Interwoven with the dramatic episodes, in which figure men and
women of all classes, from a society beauty to a poor labourer, is the story
of the lawyer's inner life, a story of love and friendship, of misunderstand-
ings and loneliness, and self-sacrifice rewarded at last.
Q. By KATHARINE NEWLIN BURT
Author of " The Branding Iron," " Hidden Creek," etc.
In this exciting love story the writer has made an unusual departure
from the typical Western romance. Instead of bringing the East to the
West, she has brought the West to the East. The sleepy town of Sluy-
penkill, the home of the aristocratic Grinscoombe family, is invaded by a
soft-spoken, clear-eyed, gently humorous stranger from the West.
Q. T. Kinwydden has come to the East to gain an education and Heloise
Grinscoombe, whom he has previously guided on a hunting trip. His
gentleness and natural courtliness win him the hearts of the people. How
he is blocked by an indolent rascally doctor ; how he unites two loving
couples ; how he gains victory from seeming defeat, respect from con-
tempt and distrust, make a fascinating story.
A First Novel of Thrilling Interest
The Man with the Million Pounds
By RONALD M. NEWMAN
The lucky individual of the title of this absorbing novel is a demobilised
officer whose advertisement requesting this modest sum receives to his
amazement an anonymous but favourable reply — on a certain condition.
What this condition was and how it was fulfilled form the subject of Mr.
Newman's entertaining and crisply-written novel, in which the reader
will find enough thrills, humour and adventures to hold his interest firmly
from start to finish.
29
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Worlds Apart By M. P. WILLCOCKS
Author of " The Sleeping Partner," " The Keystone," etc.
Two widely divergent characters, one a supreme but lovable egoist, the
other an idealist, find in middle age the real challenge to their several ways
of life from the younger generation, determined, active men from the war,
whose fate is in the hands of circumstances, at work before they were born.
The story is one of heredity, hidden, transformed, but never eliminated.
There are tragic moments, but the tone is one of humour, for the two forces
inevitably opposed are depicted with a rare sympathy and a skill which
holds the reader's interest throughout.
Alien Souls By ACHMED ABDULLAH
Author of " Night Drums," " The Blue-Eyed Manchu," etc.
The writer is pre-eminently a man of world vision, and in this volume
of stories has brought together what he has seen and learnt in many lands.
The ideals, beliefs and characteristics of the Afghan, Persian, Turk, Russian,
Arab — all are told with rare insight and an intimate and fascinating
knowledge. Moreover, with the supreme skill of the story-teller, Achmed
Abdullah has caught the magic atmosphere of the countries of which he
writes. In each story the point of view is not that of a foreigner, but of
the peoples themselves. Thus, apart from the sparkle and interest of these
stories, they give a fine answer to the question as to how the other half of
the world lives.
The Bubble Reputation
By TALBOT MUNDY and BRADLEY KING
Into the serious purpose of their novel, the revealing of the utter
selfishness and cruelty of the American Press, these writers have woven a.
most romantic, appealing, and exciting tale. Jacqueline Lanier, on the
day of her marriage to her guardian, is confronted by theprofligateCalhoun,
his rival for her love. A duel between the two men seriously compromises
Jacqueline. In shame and despair she runs away to earn her own living
— above all, to escape from the various reporters who pester her
relentlessly as sensational " copy." The story of her subsequent life is
full of colour and incident.
Friday to Monday By WILLIAM GARRETT
Author of " The Secret of the Hills," etc.
The title of this engrossing story denotes the week-end visit which Sir
Richard Montague, all unsuspecting, paid to the country house of an old
friend. There he finds mystery, false impersonation, robbery and danger-
ous adventures depicted with a vigour and resourceful imagination which
holds the reader's attention to an eminently satisfactory conclusion.
30
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Her House off Dreams By CURTIS YORKE
Author of " The Unknown Road," " Briony." " Peter's People," etc.
This novel has won the distinction of a Jubilee celebration, being its
talented author's fiftieth book. Yet the adventures of Margaret Ferrers,
when her train to London broke down in the snow, the strange refuge which
she found and its still more mysterious inmate make up a distinctly fresh
and original story that shows the writer's fertility in imagination to be
still unfailing. The subsequent happenings after " Peggy's " discoveries
make very interesting telling, while the characters of this lively story and
descriptive passages throughout are in the author's most successful
manner.
A Powerful First Novel of Mystery and Romance
The Mystery off Norman's Court
By JOHN CHANCELLOR
The central incident in this new writer's thrilling story is the detection
of a crime so astounding and baffling as to set the keenest and most sophisti-
cated reader on his mettle to elucidate it. The circumstances under which
Hugh Bowden is found murdered are, indeed, a remarkable conception, and
the story of the detection of the criminal and of the final solution of the
mystery moves briskly and with ever growing interest to its ingenious
solution. Into this powerful narrative the writer has woven an element of
romance and intrigue and, incidentally, a fascinating love episode, drawing
his characters, virtuous and evil alike, with a skill and discernment that
should rapidly secure him the favour of discriminating readers.
The Rose off Santa Fe " ~By EDWIN L. SABIN
Author of " Desert Dust," etc.
A thrilling, swiftly-moving story of the days when caravans set out on
the South-west Trail in the wilds of Western Missouri. On such a trail
the Senorita Rosa journeys with her father. Dangers, swift, surprising
and tense, threaten, for a while, on every side. Moreover, two young men
who escort her are fierce rivals for her favour. It is all an enthralling drama
of love, hatred, and adventure, whose romantic developments will prove
entirely to the reader's taste.
The Hill off Riches ~By F. A. M. WEBSTER
Author of " The Curse of the Lion," " Black Shadows," " Old Ebbie," etc.
A beautiful Irish girl, the heroine in Captain Webster's eventful story,
is left penniless, her parents and brother, with whom she had come to
live in Nairobi, have died, and she accepts the post of governess in some
local settlers' home. Pereira, an evil-minded " dago," offers marriage ;
she accepts in despair— only to meet an even more intolerable fate. For
she suffers with her husband the dire revenge of long-suffering natives.
Her ultimate happiness is only attained after many exciting incidents and
adventures. The mystery of the spirit message throughout the age is
again subtly interwoven with the story. The writer possesses an extensive
knowledge of life on the fringes of civilisation and develops strong emotional
situations with much descriptive charm.
31
Hutchinson's New Novels. 7/6 Net
Where I Made One By MAUDE ANNESLEY
Author of " The Sphinx in the Labyrinth," " Blind Understanding," etc.
The ideals and practical work of an Anti Capital-Punishment Associa-
tion are the themes chosen by this clever writer for her latest novel, a
subject which few authors could aspire successfully to handle. Her
account of the feverish anxiety displayed by the Association in pleading
for the murderer, James Porter, contains much good writing and much
dramatic interest. Still more poignant is her description of a second
murder, the result of which plays an important part in her story's
development. Into this she has woven, with understanding and conviction ,
an aspect of the occult, enhancing the thought-provoking character
of a story which is of quite uncommon interest.
The Fate of Osmund Brett
By HORACE HUTCHINSON
Author of " The Eight of Diamonds," etc.
An original and cleverly planned detective story, which at once arouses
the reader's eager attention. Travelling home from the funeral of young
Waring, his niece's husband, Mr. Brett disappears under most mysterious
circumstances. The manner of Waring's decease is no less uncanny, and
even more strange the discovery when his body is exhumed. A succession
of exciting episodes, in which hypnotism plays a part, eventually leads to
the unmasking of the culprit hi a story wherein both detective and reader
have more than a run for their money.
Gerald Cranston's Lady
By GILBERT FRANKAU
Author of " Peter Jackson, Cigar Merchant " (89th thousand), " Men,
Maids and Mustard-Pot," etc.
[Ready in January.
Eve and the Elders By WINIFRED GRAHAM
Author of " John Edgar's Angels," " The Daughter Terrible,"
" And It Was So," etc.
[Ready in January.
May Eve By E. TEMPLE THURSTON
)avid and Jonathan,"
[Ready early in 1924.
Author of " The City of Beautiful Nonsense," " David and Jonathan,"
" The Miracle," etc.
32
New Books for Young People
Hutchinson's Popular Fairy Book Series.
Each volume in square 8vo, richly bound in cloth gilt. Price 58. net.
Two New Volumes this Year.
The Emerald Fairy Book
By JANE MULLEY
With 8 Coloured Plates by WINEFRED V. BARKER and 18 Illustrations by
SYDNEY F. ALDRIDGE.
The Pearl Fairy Book
By KATHERINE PYLE
With 8 Coloured Plates by the Author and 4 others by
WINEFRED V. BARKER.
483 Editions already sold.
MAYA : The Adventures of a Little Bee
By WALDEMAR BONSELS
With coloured Frontispiece and numerous illustrations by
L. R. BRIGHTWELL, F.Z.S.
In handsome cloth gilt binding, 7s. 6d. net.
The Rose-Coloured Wish
By FLORENCE BONE
With 5 coloured plates by KATE HOLMES.
In attractive cloth binding, 29. 6d. net.
Wee Men
By BRENDA GIRVIN and MONICA COSENS
With 4 coloured plates and numerous line drawings by
CHARLES ROBINSON.
In crown 8vo, cloth, 28. 6d. net.
The Fairy Prince Next Door
By LILIAN TIMPSON
With 4 coloured plates and numerous line drawings by
CHARLES ROBINSON.
In attractive cloth binding, 28. 6d. net,
33
OVER THREE MILLION ALREADY SOLD.
NEW VOLUMES OF
Kutchinson's Famous 3/6 Net Novels
Each in crown 8vo, cloth bound, with attractive coloured picture wrapper.
Charles Rex By ETHEL M. DELL
The Love Story of Aliette Brunton
By GILBERT FRANKAU
Mr. and Mrs. Neville Tyson By MAY SINCLAIR
Kitty Tailleur By MAY SINCLAIR
Two Sides of a Question By MAY SINCLAIR
The Thirteen Travellers By HUGH WALPOLE
Satan By H. De VERE STACPOOLE
Venetian Lovers By Sir PHILIP GIBBS
Oliver's Kind Women By Sir PHILIP GIBBS
Helen of Lancaster Gate By Sir PHILIP GIBBS
Back to Life By Sir PHILIP GIBBS
Courage By KATHLYN RHODES
The Post-War Girl By BERTA RUCK
The Young Diana By MARIE CORELLI
New Volumes of Notable 2/6 Net Novels
The Roll Call By ARNOLD BENNETT
Dusk By MARIE BJELKE PETERSEN
Queen Lucia By E. F. BENSON
34
Three Great Novels Just Published
Now in its Thirtieth Thousand
The Middle of the Road By SIR PHILIP GIBBS
Author of " The Street of Adventure," " Venetian Lovers," etc.
Sir Philip Gibbs takes the case of a young man who by family con-
nections and friendly associations is between two opposing trends of
thought in English life to-day, both of them extreme and passionate,
and gives a very intimate picture of the great world-drama now being
enacted in France, Germany and Russia.
" Sir Philip Gibbs has a remarkable talent for presenting a point of view in
dramatic form." — Times.
" Sir Philip Gibbs has done nothing better than this novel." — Sunday Times.
" A fine novel. ... It stands out above much contemporary fiction by reason
of its force and idealism." — Daily Mail.
" A book of exceptional force and insight." — English Review.
" A complete success, for the book ... is the most absorbing which he has
yet written." — Westminster Gazette.
Already in its Twelfth Thousand
Men, Maids and Mustard-Pot
By GILBERT FRANKAU
Author of " Peter Jackson, Cigar Merchant " (89th thousand), etc.
Each of the tales in Mr. Gilbert Frankau's first published collection
of short stories is a tour-de-force. From the heart of the English Shires
to the heart of London's West End, from the palm-fringed beaches of
Malaya to the tobacco-piled wharves of Havana harbour, his characters,
men, maidens and that most amazing horse in fiction, Mustard-Pot, play
out their parts in a series of thrilling incidents.
" Such an eager, full-blooded, hopeful view of human nature and human luck
IB mightily refreshing." — Westminster Gazette
" There are a wealth of incident, a width of interest, a diversity of scene, a
variety of character, and a pervading dash of style in this collodion of short
stories . . . one of the best books Mr. Gilbert Frankau has yet given us." —
Sunday Times.
" All the stories are full of energy and some have real power. . . ." — Daily
Mail.
" He can tell a story. He carries you on by sheer narrative zest." — Saturday
Review.
Four Large Editions Rapidly Exhausted
Time is Whispering By ELIZABETH ROBINS
Author of " The Magnetic North," etc.
The main theme of this most arresting story is the difficulty of a man
and woman in middle life, faced on the one hand by the rigid dictates of
convention, and on the other by the habits and prejudices of years. The
author has chosen difficult types for her chief characters, but she has
drawn them with a skill and consistency which will surprise even those
readers who know her best.
" The book should be read. Judith Lathom is a delicious character, and
there are passages of exceptional beauty and wisdom." — Daily A'eu-s.
" Mias 1 1<> I tins is not (inly a mistress of her technique, but has that swift, sure
Insight into human nature with which those who possess it constantly amaze us
with their seeming cognisance of our own private thoughts." — Star.
" She has skill. Immense sympathy and understand log." — Pall Matt and Olobe.
35
We'll Pay for Your Story NOW
PRIZES OFFERED
FOR
TRUE STORIES
I&lhal redtfti happened
AJr „.$»" —/ ^^- ^ < .^- \~ m m (U..^.^ ///A
A large illustrated monthly Magazine, profusely illustrated by well-
known artists. For the first time the TRUE STORY MAGAZINE
presents stories taken from the actual experiences of life. Its readers
are invited to send their own life-stories. Those whose contributions
are accepted must necessarily remain anonymous, though their names
are scrupulously recorded as a guarantee of their truth. This entirely
new enterprise has proved a record success, for no fiction possesses
the lure of the true story, the inner secrets of a human heart.
16th of each Month, I/- Net
36
THE BEST STORIES B Y THE BEST WRITERS
^linorMordauntDtfrothea onyers,
Agnes & Egerton Castle and others.
Cricket Article Ly HonlionelTennyson
HUTCHINSON'S MAGAZINE is now established as one
of the most successful and popular of modern magazines. Its
stories are selected from the contributions of to-day's leading
writers. The best artists are engaged for its illustrations. Pro-
duced on the best super -calendered paper, HUTCHINSON'S
MAGAZINE is now a fine art production.
12th of «ach Month. I/- Net
37
For Men and Women
HUTCHINSONS
HBEDFORD JONES
It's the story which counts in " HUTCHINSON'S ADVEN-
TURE-STORY MAGAZINE." Each number is packed with
gripping stories of adventure up and down the world. The
"Adventure-Story Magazine" takes you to Thibet, to South
America, to the South Seas, to all those parts of the world
where danger is the spice of life.
The many stories which go to make this magazine the most
popular among men and women are carefully chosen by the
Editor for the gripping quality which carries the reader
breathlessly from start to finish.
16th of each Month, 7d. Net
38
The POPULAR MAGAZINE, containing stories by the Leading
Authors, including :
George Birmingham Kathlyn Rhodes
William Le Queux "Rita"
Alice Perrin Mrs. Balllie Reynolds
Also the great new series of ADVENTURES OF BULLDOG
DRUMMOND by "Sapper," entitled "The Third Round."
12th of each Month. Dd. Net
39
HUTCHINSONS
Gripping Stories
This novel and popular magazine was started to supply
the needs of lovers of gripping mystery and detective stories.
It is the finest miscellany of "thrills" obtainable to-day.
Mystery is the keynote of every story in every issue.
Tales of murder and ingenious robbery, hair-raising
ghost stories, detective yarns breathless with unexpected
adventure.
16th of each Month, 7d. Net
40
University of Toronto
Library
DO NOT
REMOVE
THE
CARD
FROM
THIS
POCKET
Acme Library Card Pocket
Under Pat. "Ref. Index Ftl»"
Made by LIBRARY BUREAU
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11