THE Bishop of Chelmsford and those whom the Prime Minister inaccurately styles “nineteen other leaders of various Protestant religious denominations in Great Britain” have been surprised at the effect of the remonstrance [associating themselves with Archbishop Davidson’s expression of concern about law enforcement in Ireland (100 Years Ago, 26 February)] to which we made reference a fortnight ago. Mr Lloyd George himself condescends to deal with what he terms their “arguments”, another trifling inaccuracy of a kind which Prime Ministers are wiser to avoid. The signatories of the appeal cannot but be gratified at the completeness with which Mr Lloyd George justifies their appeal and the simplicity with which he has delivered himself into their hands. For that they will forgive the asperity of his letter, which emboldens the Morning Post to head it “Premier Rebukes Church Leaders.” He admits that there have been deplorable excesses. “A certain number of undesirables have got into the corps, and in the earlier days discipline in the novel and exacting conditions took some time to establish.” That seems to suggest that the difficulties of the early days have been surmounted, and discipline established. He proceeds, however, to say that during the last three months forty-three men have been removed from the force as the result of prosecutions, twenty-four have been sentenced by court-martial, and 267 have been dismissed on the ground of their being unsuitable as members of the police force. If this is the record of the last three months, we cannot imagine what the record of those early days may have been to which he refers as less satisfactory.

Mr Lloyd George then accuses the bishops and their co-signatories of condoning crime, such crime, in every circumstance of revolting brutality, as that of which he gives examples. We are ourselves accustomed to such senseless accusations, usually from anonymous postcard writers; that the accusation should be made by Mr Lloyd George will not serve his cause. . .

The Church Times digital archive is available free to subscribers