1911.

Agrarian outrages 581
Malicious injuries to property, Intimidating
  by threatening letters, etc. 285
Firing into dwelling houses 58
Rioting, robbery of arms, etc. 31
Killing and maiming cattle 83

It may be asked, why did not the Ulster members call the attention of Parliament to this state of things?  The answer is, they did so again and again; Mr. Birrell gave stereotyped replies, much after this form, with hardly a variation:—­

I have seen in the newspapers a report that a few shots were fired into a farmhouse in Galway.  No one appears to have been seriously injured.  The police are making enquiries.  No arrests have been made.

(He might as well have added that he knew perfectly well that no arrests ever would be made.) Then he would go to a political meeting and say that the peaceful condition of Ireland was shown by the small number of criminal cases returned for trial at the Assizes; and would bitterly denounce the “Carrion Crows” (as he designated the Ulster members) for trying to blacken the reputation of their country.

One instance may be given more in detail, as typical of the condition to which Ireland had been brought.  Lord Ashtown (a Unionist Peer residing in County Galway) began issuing month by month a series of pamphlets entitled “Grievances from Ireland.”  They contained little besides extracts from Nationalist papers giving reports of the meetings of the United Irish League, the outrages that took place, and the comments of Nationalist papers on them.  His object was to let the people in England see from the accounts given by the Nationalists themselves, what was going on in Ireland.  This, however, was very objectionable to them; and one of their members asked Mr. Birrell in the House of Commons whether the pamphlets could not be suppressed.  Mr. Birrell made the curious reply that he would be very glad if Lord Ashtown were stopped, but that he did not see how to do it.  What he expected would be the results of that remark, I do not know; but no one living in Ireland was much surprised when a few weeks afterwards a bomb outrage occurred at the residence of Lord Ashtown in the County Waterford.  It was a clumsy failure.  A jar containing gunpowder was placed against the wall of the house where he was staying and set on fire.  The explosion wrecked part of the building, but Lord Ashtown escaped unhurt.  He gave notice of his intention to apply at the next assizes for compensation for malicious injury.  The usual custom in such cases is for a copy of the police report showing the injury complained of, to be sent to the person seeking compensation; but on this occasion the police refused to show Lord Ashtown their report, stating that they had received orders from the Government not to do so.  But shortly before the case came on, a report,