Second Burial
On May 8th, my husband's body was exhumed and reburied in Glasnevin, without my knowledge. That day I managed to see Mr. Dillon and told him my story. I never saw a man more moved than he by the tragedies of Easter Week. He read my statement in the House of Commons on May 11th, and his wonderful speech on the horror he had seen compelled Mr. Asquith to cross at once to Ireland. Mr. Asquith said of my statement, "I confess I do not and cannot believe it. Does anyone suppose that Sir John Maxwell has any object in shielding officers and soldiers, if there be such, who have been guilty of such ungentlemanlike, such inhuman conduct? It is the last thing the British army would dream of!" I do not blame him for his disbelief. He went to Ireland, found every word I said was true, as verified at the Commission—he found there other horrors—the North Kings Street atrocity, for instance—surpassing even mine. Yet he did his best to help the military to shield the murderers and hush all inquiries. In a few short days secret courtmartials had condemned to death no less than sixteen Irish leaders—whose crime was that they had wished Ireland as free as is your country, a "free republic." Early in May a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the causes of the rebellion, but all inquiry was refused into the atrocities committed by the troops while in Dublin,
Courtmartial
The courtmartial was presided over by Lord Cheylesmore and consisted of twelve senior officers—a more wooden tribunal it is impossible to conceive. All the witnesses were military, and all were drilled to tell a special tale. They were sworn, and yet at many points their story later to the Commission flagrantly contradicted the previous one—yet they have never been brought to book for perjury. I was not allowed to present evidence. Mr. Healy said of the courtmartial: "Never since the trial of Christ was there a greater travesty of justice." Its findings were afterwards completely discredited by the Royal Commission; the evidence was doctored and all legal forms violated, the prosecutor and defender playing into each other's hands. Dr. Balch, who had refused to certify Colthurst insane, was not questioned, and he was afterwards sent to Sierra Leone, and would not be produced at the Commission.
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