Among the murders of the week in Ireland perhaps the
most remarkable was that in Dublin of Brigadier-General Adamson, of the official I.R.A. He seems to have been murdered by members of the unofficial I.R.A. Meanwhile, narratives accumulate of the brutality with which the unhappy disbanded members of the have been treated. We know of few things more callous and disgraceful in our political history than the way in which these brave men, whose only offence is that they served the Government faithfully, have been carelessly exposed to the revenge of their enemies. A Government which does not acknowledge its debt to faithful servants and give them adequate protection has written its own condemnation, and unhappily earns for future Govern- ments the penalties which are bound to follow. Private letters which we have received from Ireland show the violence and lawlessness in the South to be almost unrestrained. Bullies belonging to the rival- factions of the I.R.A. wander about stealing property under the pretence that it is " oommandeered." Those who hesitate to hand over what is demanded are threatened with death. Unauthorized persons are seizing upon land where they have reason to suppose that the owner cannot reckon upon the help of the I.R.A. Courts. It would be useless to go into all the details. The fact is that there is anarchy under the name of a trace.
