ROGER CASEMENT'S REPUTATION
THE ACCUSING GHOST, or Justice for Casement, by Alfred Noyes; Victor Gollancz, English price 15/-. N four respects official Britain has made a martyr of Roger Casement. It hanged him in the face of petitions for reprieve signed by eminent persons of all parties. Immediately after the trial it clandestinely circulated reports, followed by documents, that Casement was a sexual :pervert. This was done, so it is charged, deliberately; to damp down sympathy for the prisoner. Successive Governments have declined to allow the alleged Casement diaries, the foundation of the perversion story, to be impartially examined. If the diaries exist, they are apparently held by the Home Office. Fourthly, transfer of Casement’s remains to Eire has been refused. _ This was all featured in Rene MacColl’s lengthy biography, reviewed here some months ago. Now Alfred Noyes, the veteran poet, in a _ shorter bio-
etaphy, has written an impassioned and documented defence of Casement as a public figure and a man. Noyes has a second motive of clearing himself of the accusation of being a party to the campaign of denigration. He is convinced .that these diaries are not Casement’s, and that Casement was not a pervert. He lays great stress on Casement’s love of Ireland and the effect of his Congo and Putumayo experiences on his political views. When Casement went to Ireland from Germany, he says, it was to try to prevent the Easter rebellion. Noyes is very critical of the prosecution and of the use made of the diaries.’ : There is much argument about these diaries. Some well-informed persons do not agree with Noyes. MacColl, though critical, is sure Casement was a_ pervert, An Ulster M.P. regards the documents as genuine, but wants them thrown open. As late as last year in the Commons, for reasons stated, the Government again refused examination, but said a time might come. When? Casement has been dead for over 40 years. Surely in justice ‘to his memory and that of Ministers and officials whose conduct has been so seriously impugned, the argument should be resolved.
A.
M.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 950, 25 October 1957, Page 12
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347ROGER CASEMENT'S REPUTATION New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 950, 25 October 1957, Page 12
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