BRITAIN AND FREE STATE.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20920, 29 July 1933, Page 11

BRITAIN AND FREE STATE.

MR THOMAS CONCILIATORY. STATEMENT IN HOUSE OF COMMONS. (LJUIED I'RF.SS ASSOCIATION'—B7 tLKCiIiIO UELEGKAPH— COI'YIUGUT.JJ , (Received July 28, 10.15 p.m.) LONDON, July 28. When he was replying, at the end of the debate on Dominion affairs, in the House of Commons, Mr J. H. Thomas, Secretary of State for the Dominions, said that it was madness for Great Britain and the Free State to quarrel, but no opportunity to effect a settlement had been neglected. "If the statement made by Mr Lemass is intended to open the door, I accept it on behalf of the British Government. We will sympathetically examine any overtures the Free State makes." Earlier in the debate, when he was asked whether the Government was aware that discrimination was being shown in the Irish Free State against industries, the bulk of whose capital was held by British shareholders, Mr Thomas said this must be considered in any general Irish settlement. Mr P. J. H. Hannon (Conservative) expressed the opinion that Mr Thomas had done everything possible to solve the Irish problem. It distressed him, as an Irishman, that they were the only people in the Empire without a feeling of responsibility for the Empire's best interests. [Mr Sean F. Lemass, Free State Minister for Industries and Commerce, rc : cently said in the Senate that Irelana was not anxious to maintain her tar;fl barriers, and would remove the emergency duties if Great Britain would do the same. In fact, she would go further, and remove the duties immediately if Great Britain would remove hers within a reasonably short time. A message published yesterday said that a settlement was unlikely, tne conciliatory efforts of General Jan Smuts having failed.]