THE IRISH REBELLION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 23, 2 May 1916, Page 5

THE IRISH REBELLION.

REBELLION AT THE END. LEADER ORDERS SSURRENDFR. 707 PRISONERS TAKEN. United Putißh Association. London, May 1. Official.- The situation in Dublin is much more ' satisfactory. Throughout the country there is still much to be done which will take time, but it is hoped'the rebellion is broken. On Saturday evening the rebel leader sent messages to the rebels at Galway, Clare, Wexford, Lough, and Dublin counties ordering their surrender, and the priests are helping to disseminate this information. The rebels in Sackville Street, Post Office, and Four Courts areas are surrendering freely.

There was more incendiarism in Sackville Street on Saturday evening, but the fire brigade are now able to resume work. There have been 707 prisoners taken, including Markiewicz. The rebels still hold Enniscqrthy, but a truce exists pending the rebel leaders return from Dublin,’ whither they have gone to verify the orders to surrender. Nevertheless, the cavalry, infantry, and artillery are proceeding to Enniscorthy and are prepared to engage the rebels. In Galway it is believed the rebels are disbanding. The situation in New Ross, Govey, Wicklow, Bagenalstown, and Arklow is reported as normal. Carlow and Dprrow are believed to be quiet.

CAREFULLY PLANNED AFFAIR. REBEL TELEPHONES AND WIRELESS. DETAILS OF THE PREPARATIONS. London, May 1. Evidence shows that the revolt was carefull planned, and that the whole city had been surveyed, and strategic portions were seized. The rebels had field telephones and a wireless installation on the roof of the Imperial Hotel, but thejr,arahulancps ai\d liQS] pital equipment ,Ay ere poor,, ~» i , H T-iilpy k manufactured hqme ( ; qnj|nunj-| tion, .including .bombs made if.ronp ifilift cans and field shrapnel. . Even the rebel .newspaper, entitled The Irish War News, is including in its “interviews” members of “the new Cabinet.”

: Thjrteen Sinn Feiners .quickly walked up to tiie gate of Dublin Castle, but a policeman put up bis hand. Instantly the Sinn Feiners shot the policeman dead. This was the first casualty. Two hundred other rebels turned the public out of St. Stephen’s Green and Park and commenced to dig trenches. Others raided the Post Office and seized the railway stations, j, ; Tlie people of Dublin were slow to realise the situation. The Government was utterly unprepared, and the police were withdrawn from the.streets, while the Dublin garrison was kept in

and silver coinage and issued a Republican currency, also rubber stamped postal orders with the .words, Republic of Ireland,” which were used for requisitioning food. Connolly commanded the rebels at the Post Office, and they systematically destroyed the telegraph instruments and provisioned and fortified the building. They brought ammunition from Liberty Hall. By an oversight, Connolly failed to destroy the telephone exchange and thus the authorities were able to telephone to the Curragh. ‘ . newspapers state that a on the river Lilfey shelled Liberty Had. Connolly was on the steps and was shot dead. The rebel plans thenceforward showed a lack of cohesion. The real biooosned began on Tuesday, when soldiers arrived from the Ourragh ana England. Lour omcers 01 me Sherwood Foresters were killed, and fourteen olficeis wounded, inci..u. - colonel. A number of Foresters were Killed. Ihcie was a day-long attack on a doctor s house, wherein nineteen Sinn Feiners were found dead at the end of the fight.

BIG FIRES IN DUBLIN. REBELS SELL LIVES DEARLY. MACHINE-GUNS AND ARTILLERY USED. London, April 30. The Daily Chronicle states that at I Dublin on Friday the sky was reddoujed by the glare of burning buildings in jSackville Street, no such scene having been witnessed in the United Kingdom ' since the sack of Bristol. All through 'Thursday night the glare hung over 'the city, with au incessant growl of rifle firing and clatter of machine-guns. | It is possible that the rebels will have swept all the streets round the north wall with machine-guns,-whereof | they have two or three. We replied jwitii concentrated machine-guns and 'field pieces. Meanwhile, we could hear the sound of distant fighting in Sackville Street. I The rebels erected barricades in Abbey Street, across the end of Sackvillo Street near the Parnell statue, across Bachelors’ Walk, near Bratkin Bridge over the Liffey, in Gable Street, ami Mary Street. All the barricades have been taken frontally. Amid a dropping fire from the surrounding houses tlie rebels were di.s-

lodged from Idle post office by shell fire, the roof being blown off. ■ A greet area of houses and shops in Sack vile kU’eoc was burnt, the whole side f'f the street from Tnvi.en'n! lintel to rlie bridge lias gone. The fire liar taken Eden Quay to North Earl S reet, and to tile, custom house. A fire is raging in North Earl Street, and Marlborough Street. In desperation, the rebels arc shedding their uniforms and donning women's dress. Some are armed with shot-guns, shot having replaced the lugly pieces of steel inflicting jagged wounds. The rebels are using grenades inflicting frightful injuries. It is difficult to estimate the casualties. The troops have probably lost seven officers, twenty-live killed, and many wounded. Some fighting is proceeding in Galway, and minor affairs in Meath and Lough.

| Some of the saddest incidents in ■Dublin were in connection with the arrival of soldiers who were on leave, and who were unable to reach their houses and were, forced to return to France without knowing if their relatives were dead or alive. Several wanted to stay and fight the Sinn Feiners. 1 ' Two cordons of troops have encircled 'Dublin. The first is round the greater part of the city, and the second is around the heart of it. The first cordon is stationary, while the inner one 'is ever contracting as the troops clear lithe houses. Every house must he ; searched rind l the inhabitants interned. otherwise'it is iniodssible to stop iid’s. | There are many snipers in the church !towers. If the rebels are not strongly !fortified the soldiers attack by rifle fire, and when at close quarters parties jbf bombers charge, jeffecting destruction. Hand grenades pare used elseIwhere, and 6in. guns are also used, which are arriving daily. There are fires in several parts of the city, the rebels often being responsible for them, hoping to escape under cover of the smoke. One spirit store that was afire on Friday night presented a wonderful spectacle, long tongues of flame shooting up to the sky and illuminating the city. There was a big explosion at midnight that destroyed the rebels’ largest ammunition depot, killing mfiijy .men. This had to dd with the ‘ rebels’ surrender. . ' t»J.a 'Vi ■; -

MR BIRRELL’S REPORT. AL P D J_,olidon; l 1 Mr Birroll, interviewed by English Ffd yr “The* of dealing with’ tiny rebels is that they frbm.tlic| \yu)dow ( s. ottop, df houses of, pcspoyiahle citizens who. are not connected with the rebellion, and when a bouse is surrounded they leave their rifles and bandoliers and come out as ordinary citizens. It is impossible to estimate the rebel losses or the number of dead civilians, but there are not many civilians. The population qf vl|ub|iii behayed admirably, no iyjfupfettbyf being shown witli the rebels, though there was some looting, beginning: pyijU'i.pnUy with food. The military are now rationing the qity. Fighting is proceeding in several places-in the counties of Galway and Wexford.”

i Mr Birrell further stated: “Wo are quite certain that the German Government is connected with the rtidveV' ment. • The whole thing was timed for Ihe arrival of Casement's ship, which was sent out by Casement himself accompanied the ship, though he was not actually aboard her. The arrival of the ship was timed to coincide with the attack on Yarmouth and Lowestoft, and the outbreak of the revolt in Dublin, and the main object was to divert troops from the Continent to Ireland. The rebels are using a job lot rif rifles. We believe that there was no decision to make the rising until Monday morning, when the rebels considered that their organisation was shaken by Casement’s arrest. yy , \ The rising in the provinces did not occur until after that at Dublin, and as the rebels had not cut the wire to Curragh they were never in a position to be a military menace in Sydney Street on a large scale, and they never had a chance after the arrival of the troops.”

AMERICAN VIEWS. MORE PUBLICITY WANTED. London, April 30. The Times’ correspondent at Washington states that the American reception of the news concerning Ireland dei pends latgely on British censorship, for j if the present course be persisted in, I permitting only the most meagre de- } tails being given, the public will be in--1 dined to draw a sombre conclusion. | Meanwhile, the German-Irish party are | flooding the newspapers with their versions. There is also a long statement from prominent Irish leaders inculcat- , mg the idea that the revolt was too serious for London to permit frankness German-Irish propaganda is universally proclaiming Ireland as ripe for a re-

volu.ion, the world having given convincing (proof against the vaunted solidarity of the Irish in the Empire. Our American well-wishers hope that Britain will check the campaign without delay by showing greater publicity. The New York Tribune savagely ori- ■; icises Mr Birrcll’s administration, and warns. President Wilson that it ought to he, a lesson to him because of his weak treatment of the Germau-Ameri-ran menace, which threatens a similar recurrence. THE POPE AND THE REBELLION. Dome, May 1. The Pope is fearful lest his clergy should he implicated in the rebellion, thereby imperilling the newly cemented relations between Britain and ihe Vatican. which were ratified on the occasion of Mr Asquith’s visit, hence lus urgent message to Cardinal Walsh ordering Catholics to co-operate with the Government in every way.

THE FIGHTING AT DUBLIN CASTLE. HOISTING THE UNION JACK. MANY REBEL WOMEN. WOUNDED OFFICER CLUBBED. GALWAY AND WEXFORD CHIEF CENTRES AT PRESENT. (Received 8.5 a.m.) London, May 1. The most spectacular fighting occurred outside Dublin Castle. After, killing a policeman, the rebels seized the offices of the Dublin Express which are adjoining, and mounted machineguns dominating the Castle yard. The sentries were shot down, and the louei yard was occupied, and the executive taken prisoner until the evening, when the first troops from The Curragh arrived. Then the fighting for the Dublin Express building commenced, sniping and an exchange of machine gun fire occurring. Finally, the military organised a bayonet charge. At the door they, .lyere met with a .voljey of (rifles from the lobby floor above, and eight of the leading soldiers fell. A similar charge at the back door failed, hub : fihally(access was, gap\ed by ■» ‘ruse. A furious struggle ensued, and The soldiers fought their way from [flooii < td tftobr ;wiith Mtheiy jjayonets-.; Twenty mihutes 'later' the'.Uniondisplaced the Green Flag. - Many women ,wei;<Qampng the,rebela. some weaniig .a bgreen .'uniform, with a smart - green .slouch; hat. \ One woman was seen to kill an officer' striking him on the head with the butt end of the rifle. An armed male Sinn Feiner in uniform confronted a Wounded officer and said: “Yon are not worth cartridges. I will settle you with the butti!” * Thereupon, he, elided the offi-.. cer on the head. Galpay and .Wexford remain the most serious 'centres of unrest; ■ The town of Galway was the scone of fighting, but.the troops, have the upper hand. ; The police in Athenry (Galway County) occupy the town, but the rebels hold the mined castle.

I rebel proclamation. ••TO STRIKE FOR FREEDOM!” IRELAND FOR THE IRISH. (Received 8.5 a.m.) Loud OH j May t. The rebel proclamation states;“In the name of God and the dead generations, whence Ireland received her traditions of nationhood, >ve summon Ireland’s children to strike for freedom. Having waited for the right moment for her trained manhood, through secret revolutionary | organisation, through the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, Ireland strikes with full confidence of victory, supported by her exiled children in America and ! gallant allies in Europe.” ! The proclamation claims the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, with unfettered control, the' Irish destinies to be sovereign and indefeasible. DRASTIC CHANCES PENDING IN THE EXECUTIVE. (Received 8.5 a.m.) London, May 1. The Daily Chronicle states that drastic changes in the Irish military ana civil executive are certain in the immediate future. The melancholy events of last week reflect grave discredit upon the executive.

UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF COMMANDERS. MAIL SERVICE RE-ESTABLISHED^ REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT’S PROCLAMATION. (Received 8.55 a.m.) London. May 1. Official.—All the rebel commanders at Dublin have surrendered. There were very few church services in Dublin yesterday. The Larne (Antrim), Stranraer (Wicklow) mail route was re-opened, and the citizens of Dublin received their first newspaper since Easter Monday. At correspondents’ request, General Maxwell opened a press bureau.

Jacob's factory was completely gutted. Tlie occupants surrendered. Ou Sunday night, the provisional Republican Government issued a proclamation signed by Pears©. commandant of the general forces, as follows ; —■ “In order to prevent further slaughter of unarmed people and to 11,I 1 , save the lives of those followers who are now surrounded and hopelessly out-numberod, the members of the provisional Government at headquarters have agreed to the unconditional surrender of the commanders. All the Republican units will order their followers to lay down their arms.”

BACK OF REBELLION BROKEN. OVER 700 PRISONERS. REBELS SURRENDERING The High Commissioner reports:— London, April 30 (8.40 p.m.) General Maxwell reports that the situation in Dublin is much more satisfactory. Throughout the country much still remains to be done,chut he hopes that the bach of the rebellion is broken: , ; : ( (G Last, night messengers; ; were despa tched.by; the leader of the tehels in Dublin to rebels in Galway, Clare, Wexford, Louth, and Dublin Counties, ordering their surrender. 6 The priests and the Royal Irish Constabulary are doing their utmost to disseminate this information. , The Dublin rebels from the area of Sackville Street, the Post Office, and the Four Courts are surrendering freely, 707 persons having been made prisoner, including the Countess of Markiewicz. The rebels at Enniscorthy are reported to be still in possession of that place, and a mixed column of cavalry, infantry, and artillery has been sent from Wexford with a view, to engaging them. In thp meantime a truce exists, pending* aqj enquiry by motor; under escort to .verify the accuracy <of the message, from the rebel leader in Dublin. 1 / 'v'v • :(' 1 Tlie/balway., Rebels are believed to be tliabapding, and a’ few arista ki>e be- r ’ jug made>iH 1 ho; situation in other centres l Ist normal. ■, -L ■ i i; 1 : iSCELTIC CLUB’S RESOLUTION. 1 j v:W; | i 1 Wellington, May 1. . i Tlie Executive of the Celtic Club yesterday unanimously resolved to despatch the following cables to London; To Mr Asquith t Prime Minister:— The London Irish here regret the painful occurrence on the part of a misguided section of the people, and feel with confidence that the firm and prudent administration of the British Go-vernment-Will secure an early re-estab-lishment of order. Theynlasire- express. their aippreciation of gratitude for the splendid services of the Government of Ireland, and feel assured that the administration of Irish affairs is in capable and tactful hands.

To Mr •Redmond, “Deepest sympathy with you, ,iu,. ,v.qul:„ present trouble unfortunate occurrqnceiij Dublin; iras and tended cast disgrace-:oji-oiii' country, 'and discredit on those who have extended us the greatest kindness and sympathy during those troubles. It is obvious that this movement is aimed to discredit the representatives of Ireland. The cables were signed by Ward (patron), Mackenzie (president, Carioll, Cahill and Kennedy (vice-presi-dents).