I gave notice that I desired to call attention to the notice which appeared in this morning's papers over the signature of the Minister for Home Affairs respecting an announcement that a public meeting was to be held to-day at the railings, Kildare Street, and prohibiting the holding of that meeting under certain terms. The sequel, perhaps, explains the advertisement. It is known, I suppose, to Deputies generally that the public services of the police, military, naval or fire brigade forces are available for surprise demonstrations to show what can be done with such forces. It now appears that the purpose of this notice was to show on short notice that the new Dublin Metropolitan Police can be gathered together to prove the quality of the men recruited in the last few months, and the ability of the new Commissioner of Police. That may have been very satisfactory to the Minister. It was very amusing to the Deputies who were coming here. I had not the pleasure of participating in the exhibition, but I was told that there was a remarkable show of physical capacity and valiant bearing in the streets adjacent to this building. If that were the reason of the insertion of this notice I have no doubt that the Minister is well pleased with his experience. To me it appeared earlier in the day that it was a remarkable thing that the Minister for Home Affairs should issue a notice of this kind over his name to deal with what to an ordinary person, with eyes or ears, was a mere exhibition of an eccentric. An announcement was made that a meeting was to be held in Kildare St. at 3 o'clock, an announcement at which everybody smiled, and which everybody knew was the mere exhibition of one who desired to show himself as an enthusiast in a particular cause. The Minister took it seriously and apparently he thought it was necessary to have a demonstration in force to prevent any gathering of people in the neighbourhood of this house on the pretence or assumption that there was a danger to the public peace. It was no doubt very desirable to prevent a public meeting at the entrance to the legislative chambers. I quite agree, but a remedy was in the hands of the Commissioner of Police without the Minister for Home Affairs coming to his rescue, and if he was not capable of dealing with a matter of that kind, he is not fit for his job. It should have been a small matter to disperse a few people, and move them on and let them hold their meeting out of the line of traffic, but what did the Minister do? This is the most serious part of what I have to say, and is my real reason for raising the matter.
Citizens are guaranteed under the Constitution the right of public meeting and lawful assembly. That presupposes some reasonable regard for public convenience, but that right of public meeting could have been granted and reasonable regard to public convenience still safeguarded, by mere police action without any display of force or the assumption that there was going to be a riot or an attack on Parliament House by an armed body of Protectionists, with Deputy Milroy at their head. The notice which the Minister for Home Affairs signed, not only ordered that the public meeting shall not be held in Kildare Street opposite Leinster House, but shall not be held anywhere within 500 yards radius of Kildare Street. It prohibits any assembly for the purpose of holding any meeting, procession, or demonstration—not even in a house or building, nowhere for fear of a breach of the public peace. If there was any fear of a breach of the public peace, surely the same fear would be occasioned by a meeting 501 yards away. It was apparently the intention to safeguard the convenience of members of the Dáil, and to do that, to crack that little nut, the Minister deemed it necessary to introduce the steam hammer. It is really preposterous that such an exhibition should be made for such a trifling threat. My desire is to utter a warning that the rights of public meeting within decency, within reasonable convenience of the other members of the public must be safeguarded, and should not be interfered with by an order from the Minister for Home Affairs. A slight police operation of this kind should be left to the discretion of the police in the locality, and the Minister ought not feel it necessary to give ponderous directions to police officers to bring all the forces into operation to prevent any possible gathering. I thought it was necessary to raise this matter in this way. I do not want to pretend that the safety of the nation is at stake or even that the Minister has designs on the right of public meeting; but I want to say that this is another straw which shows the necessity for very strict vigilance upon the rights of citizens under the Constitution.