Militia Coercion
On 15 February 1900, Parliament rigorously examined allegations that Irish militiamen were being coerced into volunteering for overseas military service, a controversy that stirred strong emotions amid the context of the ongoing South African (Boer) War. Irish MPs presented testimony and petitions from militiamen and their families, claiming that undue pressure, intimidation, and misleading promises were employed by some officers to induce men to sign up for foreign deployment.