Mr, Eamon de Valera's intervention with the British Government in behalf of two Irishmen sentenced to death for the murder of a girl tone of five victims of the explosion at Coventry fon August 22, was in the circumstances a natural move, though it will be interesting to see what response the British Government will make. The Middleton (County Cork) Urban Council asked the Free State Prime Minister fo seck the commutation of the men's death sentences (o penal servitude for rife, The re-Jquest has now been complied with. Mr. de Valera "has made representations to" Whitehall fon the subject, and it remains to be seen what advice the Home Secretary, with whom the final decision ies, will give to the King. So far as the law is concerned, there cannot be he slightest doubt that the two men in ques+ tion, by creating the explosion, are fully responsible for the death of the unfortunate girl comm felony is responsible for any It is a well-known doctrine of Taw that a man
and every result emanating therefrom, and though the condemned men may have hid no intention whatever of killing anyone, the fact that they did so in the course of committing a felony makes them answerable with their lives to the law. The decision which the British Government will have 1" make Is one of consideuble diMeulty. Already. in eases where men found guilty of planting bombs which exploded doing. damage. heavy, exemplary sentences have been inflicted upon them. These cases involved no loss of life, There is some-thi for the argument that it is the original offence which counts, and rot its results, that the amount. of money stolen by a man should not "influence the duration of his sentence which 4s, when all is said and done, merely flicted for the crime of theft, Followers of th Jar school will undoubtedly support that the infliction of the death sentence cannot bring the unfort to life, and. that. punishment should penalties for Against that there is the argument that the law has at all times (0 be vindicated, and that where a felont~ fous act, one of an epidemic, has brought about the death of an innocent person the doctrine fof tex tations should apply. There will Goubtediy be in the minds of the Government, fa desire to do as much as possible to meet Mr. de. Valera's wishes, so. that between the three stools the Government is likely to be placed a quandary.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.