EIRE'S NEUTRALITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXXI, 14 September 1940, Page 8

EIRE'S NEUTRALITY.

t Your correspondent, "Faugh* »Bal» , lagh" is altogether wronjr in faving I ; merely wanted "a dig" at Mr. de Valera. , W hat I did do was to point out the . danger of this neutral attitude which Eire had adopted: it is somewhat in- ® congruous when we remember that . Britain entered this war because the . people of Poland, who profess the same religion as the people of Eire, were in great danger from Germany. The > Koman Catholic Bishop of Gort, Galway, • stated recently that "we thought that T tlie fact that we were neutral would J save us, but what ha* happened ha? us that neutrality will not save » us if it suits the advantage of one of > the belligerent. Powers to invade us." • lie said further "that any Irishman wl*o I assists a foreign Power' to attack the • authority of our own land is guilty of . the most terrible crime against GodV [ law, and there can be no excuse for that i crime—not even the pretext of solving > partition, or of securing unity." This i« t a hard nut for I.R.A. men to crack! » Your correspondent suggests that I , should leave the imjxirtant matter .of > EireV safety to Mr. Churchill and Mr. , jdo Valera to settle. If this matter were J loft to Britain's present Prime Minister s |lie would soon settle it. in a satisfactory J manner, but. he would ft ml a dilttcujty in , IMr de Valera, who is nlwavs making | unreasonable demands. Britain has Igf.no to the very limit of her patienre in trying to satisfy those demand-. Despite all that Britain has done for [Eire. Mr. de Valera will not allow j Britain a footing in Eire to make the j necessary and urgent plans for its do* .fe.ncp. Ulster has her defence plan* [ready, and is prepared to make unite<l j arrangement* for defence of both North • and South, but Mr. de Valera, by hi* [policy of neutrality, blocks the way to this end. A united Ireland could he 'saved without question, but divided a* it is at present in its defenee measure*there is danger. It is to be feared that Eiro is making the fatal mistake which neutral after neutral has made during the past montlis, of believing their neutrality would save them from tho aggressor. G. W. BLAIK. I think J. D. Doherty should over to Hitler or Mussolini, more C f-o the . lormcr, because that is where £ean jKus*ellis. Otherwise he may find a 'place in an interment camp here, j "because «by his tone he oertainlv seemAX EXGLISII WOMAN*.