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Show GERMAN PLOT IS BARED Untiring Efforts Made to Foment Revolution in Ireland. TO LAND TROOPS I Plan Called for Submarine Subma-rine Bases Plotters' Arrest Imperative. LONDON, May 25 Germany's untiring un-tiring efforts to foment revolution in Ireland with the aid of Sinn Fein are laid bare In a statement from the official of-ficial press bureau, reviewing this phase of the Irish political situation since the beginning of the war. Rebellions are Thwarted. After the abor'ive rebellion of Eas I ter week, 1916, plans were made for a revolt in 1917, but this miscarried ' because of America's entry into the I war and Germany's Inability to send ( troops to Ireland. An uprising in Ire-; Ire-; land was planned for this year after j the German offenshe in the west had been successful and when Great Britain Brit-ain presumably would be stripped of troops. Concerning the recent arrests in re-i re-i land, the statement says that facts I and documents, for obvious reasons, cannot be disclosed at this time nor can the means of communication between be-tween Germany and Ireland. Submarine Bases Planned. One phase of every plan called for the establishment ot submarine bases in Ireland. In the present elrcumstanc-! elrcumstanc-! es, it is added, no other course was ; open to the government "if useli 9S 1 hlnnHchH Brae I 1 ,1 A -J . . uivuu.jihu iip II. .1U1U'-'1 ,11111 II .duties to its allies fulfilled but to in-l in-l tern the nuthors and abettors of this ' criminal intrigue. Press Bureau Statement. The statement from the press buT-I buT-I cau follows: "The revolutionary movement in j Ireland which culminated in the arrests ar-rests of a considerable number of per-I per-I sons last week consisted of two close-I close-I ly related series of activities: "A Attempts by the German gov-' gov-' ernment to foment rebellion In Ireland Ire-land "B Preparations made In Ireland to carry these attempts into action "The story of the active connection between the leaders of the Sinn Fein movement and the Germans, as disclosed dis-closed by documents in possession of j the British government, falls Intotwo I parts th period prior to and the per I lod since the abortive Irish rebellion of Easter 1916 "The events of the first period can be told In some detail but the second period which concerns recent events, permits of no more than a summary. Story Begins in 1914. "The story begins as early as November No-vember 6, 1914, when Herr Zimmer-mann Zimmer-mann transmitted through Count von Bernstorff a message from Sir Roger Casement (Inter executed) asking that a messenger, a native-born American if possible, be sent to Ireland with word that everything was favorable. He was to carry no letter for fear of arrest. Casement also asked that an Irish priest should be sent to Germany Ger-many with the assistance of the German Ger-man legation In Norway to work in prison camps to corrupt Irish prisoners prison-ers of war. This priest was a certain Father John T. Nicholson, an American Ameri-can citizen of Irish birth. Hp reached .Germany Bafely and we find him in ( January, 1915, transmitting messages to America. Plot Ripens in 1916. "According to a report of Captain von I'apen (German military attache in Washington) dated December 5, 1914,' verbal assurances were Bent in response to Casement's request that an excellent impression had been produced pro-duced in Ireland. In the beginning of 1916 the plot ripened and on February Febru-ary 10 of that year Count von Bernstorff Bern-storff sent to a covering address in Rotterdam a dlspaf-h signed with the name of Skal one of his principal American Am-erican agents. "The dispatch included an extract from the report of John Devoy, head of the Clan-Na-Gael to the effect that action in Ireland could not be postpon ed much longer since he feared the arrest of the leaders. It had been decided, de-cided, he. said, to begin action on Easts Saturday and bs urged that arniB and munitions be in Limerick by that date. Bernstorff Urges Quick Action. "Von Bernstorff, surreptlclously attached at-tached a message to London passed by the American government, a note flx-ing flx-ing Easter Saturday for the rising and urging the dispatch of munitions in time. On March 4, von Jagow, (Get man foreign minister) replied mai ui" arms would bo landed in Tralee bay and asked that the necessarj arrangements arrange-ments bt made in Ireland through 1" voy. "On March 14 von Bernstorff replied that the Irish agreed. Code Is Telegraphed. "The next day von Bernstorff telegraphed tele-graphed the code to be used between the Germans and the. rebels while tie una- wen in tranm und explained that a submarine might safetly enti r Tralee bay and go as far as Pigeon House without encountering nets. "On March 16 von Jagow replied that the arms would be sent and that a special code word would be used every night as the Introduction to the German wireless press service In a message from Bernstorff to Berlin the Germans were assured that there were numerous private wireless receiving stations in operation In Ireland. Messages Sent to Berlin. "On April 18 and 19 messages were sent from America to Berlin fixing the delivery ot arms for the evening of Caster Sunday, pressing for the landing land-ing of German troops and asking for an air raid on England and a naval attack at-tack on the English coast. These attacks at-tacks actuall) took place between April 24 and 26. "It was declared to be the hope ot the rebels and their German and American friends to blockade the Irish ports against England and establish bases in Ireland for German submarines. subma-rines. Rebellion Breaks Out. "The rebellion broke out a day later than expected, on Easter Monday, April 24, but, as the world Is aware. German support miscarried and it ended in complete failure. The report of the royal commission on the rebel-lion rebel-lion in Ireland states: " 'It is not a matter of common not- Oliety that the Irish volunteers had been in communication with the authorities auth-orities in Germany and were for a long time known to have been supplied 'with money through Irish-American societies so-cieties This was so stated in public by John MacNail, (former president of the Sinn Fein) on November 8. 1914. It was suspected long before the outbreak that some of the money came from German sourcs ' The evidence on this subject In p islon of the British government provides the clearest proof of these suspicions. "II became clear very soon after the rising that th.- Sinn Fein leaders again wi re asking Germany for help. On June 17 there was a message from Berlin to Washington referring to "a I ol May 6.' a message which is missing mis-sing and salng that Germany was pi rfe n read to give further help if the Irish would only say what sort of help they required." DUBLIN, May 25 The Westmeath linlepend' ni a s Professor I e Valera snl s letter to a bishop absolutely absolute-ly denying the existence of any German Ger-man plot. |