THE WOMEN'S WAR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1724, 15 April 1913, Page 5

THE WOMEN'S WAR.

MRS. PANKHURST ON LICENSE.

MORE OUTRAGES.

By Tolecrapli—Pms Association-Copyright 1 London, April 13. Mrs. Pankhurst, who was released from gaol yesterday in consequence of her hunger strike, has boon licensed for a limited period, and conveyed to a nursing home. Her friends describe her condition as vciy grave. Suffragettes fired the Council Schools at Gateshead, after soaking tho carpentry shop with paraffin. The fire was promptly extinguished. Two Suffragettes at the Kingsway Theatre called out to Mr. Birrell (Chief Secretary for Ireland), who was seated in tho stalls, "Absurdity Cut-and-Mouso Bill!" Two hundred Suffragettes held a procession. "With black flags, and singing songs, they marched outside Holloway Gaol, and cheered tho Suffragette prisoners. Suffragettes at Doncaster • destroyed many letters at the chief post office. - A.MALE INCITER TO VIOLENCE. m, „ t . London, April 13. J.ho Government is 'considering the question of the prosecution of Mr. George Lamsbury, the well-known Socialist and ex-M.P., for tile speech delivered by him at a Suffragette demonstration at the Albert Hall, in which ho urged all men supporting tho militant Suffragettes to burn and destroy property, adding that llioy wero engaged in a war in which they should not regard property of any kind. CURE FOR HUNGER-STRIKE. NEW METHOD. It was recently stated in the cable messages that a Bill dealing with tho treatment of Suffragette prisoners had been passed by the British Parliament, homo idea of tho provisions of the measure may, be gained from the following from tho "Daily Mail's" Lobby correspondent: t A determined effort is to be made to l ■! m )? 'f° rm "hungerstrikers, so that tho Suffragettes will no longer bo abla by persistently refusing ioca to csciipft imprisonment for tho full term of their sentences. To this end legislation is necessary, and I understand that next session a 1 Bill will be introduced as soon as possible, of which the House of Commons will readily recognise the urgency, to enable tho Home secretary to exercise tho same power of licensing with regard to prisoners committed to prison as he has now with re-Ef-rd to prisoners sent to penal servitude. The effect of the exercise of such powers would be that a prisoner who adopted the hunger-strike might be left without food IV i the prison medical officer reported that danger of collapse was imminent. The prisoner would then be licensed out of prison to her home or to hospital, and ■when her health was sufficiently restored she would be rearrested and returned to pnson. It would be open to tho Home Secretary to include in the license such conditionsas the circumstances might require, sifch as-restriction of domicile, and a provision for medical examination-at intervals while tho prisoner was on license to ■determine the time at which her health \vas sufficiently restored to permit a return to prison; _ Tho time that the prisoner was out on license would not be included in the period of the sentence. Thus a prisoner who. was in prison for a fortnight and then out for a fortnight, and so on, would not conit ploto her sentence of imprisonment, until the full term of it had been served in prison. This Bill is one of two ..separate measures relating to tho administration of the law that will be introduced early next session. The other is to bo named tho Administration of Capital Justice Bill. It will cover questions peculiarly appropriate to the destructive forays of the Suffragettes by providing better procedure for the recovery of fines and damages. Jt will also deal with a number of matt-el's in which experience has shown that the administration of the criminal law may well be, improved, and will provide for tlie payment of fines by instalments, so as to reduce the number of cases in which imprisonment is suffered in default of the payment of a fine.