Letter from Herbert Samuel to John P. Boland, 1 August 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Herbert Samuel to John P. Boland, 1 August 1916

1 August, 1916. Referring to your letter of the
24th July in regard to the liability of a
young man named Breen to military service
I understand on enquiry that the military
authorities are not likely to claim him. Yours sincerely,
John P. Boland, Esq., M.P. 2 July 24. 1916. Dear Samuel, I have been informed that the police authorities
in the Cahirciveen district â€” I am unable to state whether from
Cahirciveen itself or from Waterville or Ballinskelligs â€” have
been interviewing young Breen, son of Eugene Breen, Scariff,
presumably to see if he comes under the Conscription Act. In that district there are three Cable stations into which a number
of young fellows have passed. Breen was learning telegraphy
for some months in London with a view to qualifying for
the necessary examination. Clearly therefore he does not in any
sense come under the Conscription Act. This action of the police, if, as I assume from what I have been
told, it had to do with the Conscription Act, is harassing & not
calculated to assuage discontent which as you must know is
very rife in that district, & I should be glad if you would take
steps to put an end to it. Sincerely Yrs John P. Boland A.n.s. For favour of report
A.P.M.
28/7. 3 26th July, 1916. Dear Sir, I am desired by the
Home Secretary to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the
24th instant and to say that it
shall receive consideration. Yours faithfully, John P. Boland Esq., M.P.

A letter from Herbert Louis Samuel, (1870-1963), Home Secretary from January to December 1916, to John Pius Boland (1870-1958), acknowledging Boland’s letter of 24 July 1916, regarding a man called Breen and confirms that this man is not required by the military authorities to do military service.Attached is a copy of the aforementioned letter from Boland stating that he has been informed by police in Caherciveen, County Kerry, that Breen has been interviewed regarding Breen's eligibility to evade military service.Accompanying this correspondence is an initial acknowledgement, dated 26 July, to Boland for his letter of 24 July.Herbert Samuel, liberal politician, served as Home Secretary of the British Government 1916. During the Great War he initiated legislation which offered thousands of Russian refugees a choice between conscription into the British Army, or returning to Russia for military service. Samuel resigned as Home Secretary following Asquith's replacement by David Lloyd George.John Mary Pius Boland was a politician, lawyer, and tennis player, was born on 16 September 1870 at 135 Capel Street, Dublin, the second son of Patrick Boland (1840–1877), a prosperous milling merchant, and his wife Mary Donnelly. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for South Kerry 1900–1918. Like the other members of the Irish Party, he was taken completely by surprise by the Easter rising in 1916 but continued to hope that a modus vivendi could be forged by the various political groupings in Ireland. He supported his party's opposition to the Conscription Bill in April 1918.

Herbert Samuel
John Pius Boland
1916-08-01T00:00:00
Industry and Public Administration World War I (1914-1918)

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How to cite

Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__0575.html)