IRELAND'S OATH.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 303, 21 December 1921, Page 5

IRELAND'S OATH.

SINN FEIN CONFLICT, BASED ON A QUIBBLE. EXCITEMENT IN THE DAIL BE VALERA'S ALTERNATIVE. A» UNWELCOME REVELATION. (Bj Cable.—Fres* Assodatton.—PonTi-Jsln.i ...iwlretf 10.30 il.ni.i LONDON*. December 20. There >vas excitement in the Dail Eiiann when Mr. .Milroy declared that the only difference between the parties, was the oath in the treaty against that suggested by Mr. de Yalera. which read: •1 swear to bear true faith and allegitac« to the Constitution of Ireland and the treaty of association with the British community of nations, and recognise the King as the head of the associated gUtes." Mr. d<? Valern angrily protested against the revelation of a secret document, but Mr. Arthur Griffith said that the people ought to know that it was tie only difference between the paries. Mr. de Valera then gave notice of his intention to move an alternative proposal before the vote on ratification. He declared that there could not be such a thing , as ratification. Mr. Goroy, Assistant Minister of fisheries, opposed ratification. Under tie treaty Ireland would march into the jjlmpire with her hands up. Ho asked whether there was a coalition of pressure on Mr. Robt. Barton and Mr. Gavan Diifi'y by the other three Irish delegates and "the British Cabinet. They were invincible on December Srd. but theiv cause hncl been undermined by the following Tuesday. The people of Ireland roust know the *tory of that black Monday night. Mr. Lloyd George nie3mnfiflCd President Wilson, and it was HO wonder that he. mesmerised their people when he shook the papers in their faces. >Ir. de Valcra's motion declares that inasmuch as the articles of the treaty do not reconcile Irish national aspiration* and the association of nations ■ forniing the British Commonwealth, and cannot establish lasting peace, the Dail makes the following proposals to the British Government and people. Details of the alternative scheme will net be circulated until the motion h reached. Mr. Finian Lynch said that all who had fought with Mr. Michael Collins regarded as mere eyewash the suggestion that Mr. Lloyd George had succeeded in intimidating him. When Lynch'claimed to represent the people of South Kerry, •> Mis*" Albina Broderick, sister of Lord Midleton, from tho Press seats, denied the claim, and "Was removed. Profeesor John MeNeill, the Speaker, supported the treaty because it gave thenJ an army, control over finance and education, and unhicdiato British evacuation. — (A. and N.Z. Cable.) Mrs. O'Oallaghan, widow of the exLord Mayor of Limerick, declared that the delegates who had been bluffed by means of a threat of war, were trying to bluff them into ratification. Mr. Hogan approved of ths treaty on the ground that it legally sanctioned their sovereignty and gave then* as much as France and more than Germany. ifr. .Tohn O'Kelly. Republican envoy in Paris, declared "that within a year tie people would burst up the treaty and turn their back* upmi those trying to foist it on them. Ireland would not stand by Messrs. Griffiths. Collins, Mulcihy, and McK'con a» King's Ministers and Generals. Before the afternoon session the Dail sat in private to hear the Defence MinisI t«r'g niilitary statement. — (A. and N.Z. FINAL NEGOTIATIONS. A DRAMATIC SESSION. . PEACE OR WAR DECISION. LONDON, December 19. The feature of the debate in the Dail Eirann to-day was the challenge ol Mr. Michael Collins and Mr. Arthur Griffith against the dictatorship which Jir. de Valera is claiming. Mr. dt Valera is a tall, gaunt, unyielding figure, resembling a Savonarola turned political. His powerful voice quickly itirred the passions of the gathering. Hi* speech was very different from that of Wednesday last. There were no hesitations, but a hard and almost inhuman ferocity as he proceeded from denunciation to denunciation. The effect" would have been comic if the ■ speaker had not been so deadly earnest. Mn Griffith did not attempt flights of oratory. Throughout he was plain, emphatic, and dogged. Mr. Griffith's best point was the reading of a letter from r • Lloyd George, the date of which •was not given, in which Mr Lloyd George cleared up certain noints of the Irish treaty. In his letter Mr. Lloyd George pointed <>ut that the Governor-General of the Jriih Free State would be appointed in a sjmilar manner to the Governor-Gen-eral of Canada, and the Irish Government would be consulted in order to ensure an acceptable selection. Regarding Ireland's liability for public debt &nd a share of war pensions the procedure contemplated was that the British Government should submit its claim and the Irish Free State then submit any counter-claim to which it thought Ireland Entitled. Upon this case the arbitrators would decide. Britain desired Ireland to rank as a co-equal with other nations of the British Commonwealth, and would support her claim to a similar place in "in Leaauo of Nations. Thn framing of tne.lrish Constitution would be in the Wdft of the Irish Government. Mr. j-loyd Georjrp concluded: "We propose to begin withdrawing the military weetlr ihe articles of the agreement we been ratified."' CONSULTING THE NATION. Sir. Michael Collins was a great contr&lt to Mr. Griffith and Mr. de Valera. 3is gestures were mercurial, changing from sunny smiles to wrath. He replied Mr. Lloyd George 20 years ago. He confidence and sheer robustness a Siin and again rousing ringing cheers. The- sensation of the day. however. »"as Mr. R. C. Barton's speech, in which jie re.voaled with most dramatic effect I'ow the delegntcs faced the dreadful *lt«rnative at the fateful midnight sea*j°n of the conference. "The ncgotia■oßß had broken down," he said, "and

I broke my oath of allegiance to the I Republic, because I believed it the lesser evil. Wp tried repeatedly to get the responsibility of deciding peace for war referred to the Dail. Mr. Lloyd George. « ith solemnity and power of conviction, declared that the signature of every delegate was necessary, or war would follow immediately. Ho gave us 90 minutes to decide. Mr. Gavin Duffy and myself decided on refusal, war or no war. I preferred war. but, I realised that I dare not aei-cpt that responsibility on behalf of the nation without consulting the nation, so I signed and T am nrepared to stand by my signature." AUTHORITY OF THE KING. Mr. dc Valera, in the course of his speech, said that the Irish Minister* would be the King's Ministers, amid cries of "No." Time will tell," Mr. de Valera replied, "but I hope it will not have the chance, and that you will throw out the treaty. The executive authority in Ireland will be the British monarch and British authority. The army will have to swear allegiance to the English monarch." In conclusion Mr. de Valera quoted Parnell's dictum against attempting to set a boundary to the onward march of a. nation, which was what the treaty entailed. Mr. Austin Stack and Count. Plunkett supported the rejection of the treaty. Mr. Michael Collins said he would stand up for his signature. He had given his word, and would repeat it in the Dail and anywhere else. (Cheers.) "It had been said," he went on, "that the plenipotentiaries went down before the first British bluff. Britain had put, ur> a pretty good bluff in the last two years. and I never browe down before it." (Cheers.) AN IMPOSSIBLE FIGHT." "Acceptance of the invasion to confer on Ireland's association within the Empire,"' proceeded Mr. Collins, "involved a compromise. If we had held out for a republic there would have been no conference. The treaty gives us all the freedom any nation need desire in which to develop. We have substituted common'citizenship with the Dominions for the subjection of Ireland, thus providing adequate guarantees. Are we to continue an iuipossiblc»nght and never stand on our own feeU" The delegation, said Mr. Collins, was confident that there would be goodwill to Ulster, and that eventually Ulster would come under the Irish Parliament. It was unfair to quote the dead against i the signatories. He was convinced that many of those quoted would have realised that the delegates had acted in Ireland's best interests. Mr. Erslcine Childers described clause six of the treaty as most, humiliating. In face of the naval provisions it was useless to talk of Ireland's equality and ability to make treaties. She would be merely an English protectorate. The King's representative would be the centre of authority. The Ministers of the Provisional Government would be the King's Ministers. While Mr. O'Higgins was speaking Mr. de Valera protested against the public discussion of Cabinet secrets. Mr. O'Higgins retorted: "Tn this crisis the nation is entitled to know everything." (Cheers.) Mr. de Valera: I have already asked that my own proposals be regarded as confidential until I bring them forward. Mr. Griffith: Ought the matter we discussed privately in the last three days be withheld from the people? Mr. O'Higgins: The Dail ought not to be asked to reject the treaty without an assurance that better terms are available. Neither honour nor principle demands flinging back the people into war for the differenre between the treaty and the fulness of our rights. Tf the King's representative acts in Ireland it will be on the advice of the Irish Ministers. (Cheers.) The Dail then adjourned. THE RATIFYING AUTHORITY. A most important question has been raised regarding the Dail's power to ratify the Irish treaty, by the terms of which it is stipulated that the treaty musr, be submitted to nn assembly composed of elected members of the House of Commons fi>r the South of Ireland. The Dail does not fulfil these requirements because it includes some Northern Irish M.P.'s and excludes some Southern Unionists who have not sworn allegiance to the republic. It is stated that if the Dail approvee the ratifying resolution a properly constituted assembly will be convoked. Mr. de Valera has decided to introduce his own scheme which further complicates the issue. ORANGE LODGE MANIFESTO. The Grand Irish Orange Lodge has issued the following manifesto: "Brother! Orangemen, this meeting, representative of Orangemen in all parts of Ireland, is of opinion that the so-called treaty will break up the Empire and compulsorily deprive many loyal citizens of their position in the Empire. The Grand Lodge is of opinion that if the Irish Free State is formed Loyalists will be compelled to defend their lives and liberties by force, which is most distasteful, but is the only argument accepted by His Majesty's Government." A COMMUNIST THREAT. A prominent Irish trades unionist, writing to a. British colleague, says:— "Do not worry about the treaty. It will go through all right, but we shall know whom to fight afterwards/ The "Workers' Republic," the organ of Irish Communists, declares: —"The question is not how to liberate the Irish people from the yoke of the British, but, how to liberate millions of toilers for Imperialists in India, Egypt, and Africa. When these are actively participating in the struggle for freedom, and when this struggle is creating such a crisis in Europe, and the whole machinery of the State is threatened with being sprung into the air, then the hope of Ireland will materialise; then she will deliver the death-blow, placed as she is, at the very heart and centre of the Empire."—(A. and N.Z. Cable.)