Yesterday evening the Irish Coercion Bill was clause by clause hurried through the House of Commons in two minutes.  It is a worthy counterpart of the Anti-Socialist Law and opens the door to completely arbitrary action by the police. Things regarded as fundamental rights in England are forbidden in Ireland and become crimes. This Bill is the tombstone of today s Tories, whom I did not consider so stupid, and of the Liberal Unionists , whom I hardly thought so contemptible. It is moreover intended, not to last for a limited period, but indefinitely. The British Parliament has been reduced to the level of the German Reichstag. Though certainly not for long.
Letters: Marx-Engels Correspondence 1885. Ireland