1
4th April, 1916. Dear Sir, with reference to a letter which you were
good enough to write on the 29th March on the
subject of insinuation contained in a newspaper
against some members and the Rector of Catherines
Parish Church, I enclose a copy of a communication
I have this day sent on the same subject to the
Solicitor to the Rev. E. H. Lewis-Crosby who wrote
to me officially with regard to it. I need scarcely tell you that suppression in
the manner that it has recently been necessary to
adopt, for reasons connected with the safety of the
realm, against a certain dangerous paper in Dublin
would not be a suitable way to deal with a paper
charged with criminal libel. Yours faithfully, Wm. E. Thrift, Esq., F.T.C.D., 80, Grosvenor Square, Rathmines,
Dublin.
This is a letter sent to Professor William Edward Thrift. In this letter the writer
refers to a libelous comments made in a newspaper about members of Catherine's Parish
Church, and notes the involvement of a solicitor. The writer suggests that the measures
taken under the Defence of the Realm Act against other newspapers printing seditious
material would not be suitable in this case.Thrift (1870-1942) was an academic and
politician. He was a fellow of Trinity College Dublin and an Independent TD for Dublin
University until the abolition of university representation. In 1922 he announced
in the house that he did not apologise for his previous unionism, but recognised that
the days of unionism were over, and was fully committed to serving the new political
reality. The letter was addressed to Sir Matthew Nathan (1862 - 1939). Nathan was
the under-secretary for Ireland from 1914 to 1916. In 1916 Nathan offered his resignation
following the outbreak of the Easter Rising.