Evening Post TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1932.

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 74, 29 March 1932, Page 6

Evening Post TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1932.

DE VALERA EMBARRASSED ——; *—■— '■ —— -...'■-;.;; . The celebrations of the Easter rebellion of 19,16 which were organised by the Irish Republican Army throughout the, Free State on Sunday were distinguished, by the expected amount of fierce and extravagant oratory, but:the fact that they were carried out : without violence or disorder is probably of deeper significance than the tall talk and the impossible demands. Fifty of these demonstrations were held in the Free State, and in spite, of the military organisation and the warlike speeches they seem to have passed as peacefully as the secret meetings that were held in Ulster for the same purpose. .We had been told that orders had been issued to all ranks not to carry arms at these demonstrations, but whether or not these orders had originated with the Government was left uncertain. Today's report that no member of the Government was present at the Dublin demonstration suggests .that the Government had observed a benevolent neutrality, but, whether that be so or not, it is clear that the orders were obeyed and that the men were in mufti. There ,is also the testimony of the "Daily: Telegraph's" Dublin correspondent, who may be safely regarded1 as an unwilling witness, that "the Republican troops' bearing and discipline were excellent." Seeing that the I.R.A. has never had any official -encouragement or recognition, that it abandoned its allegiance to the so-called "Government" of Mr. de Valera more than six years ago, that it had since persisted in a propaganda of revolutionary violence which he had ceased to countenance, and. that it had lately been suppressed as a criminal organisation under Mr. Cosgrave's special legislation, the order and discipline observed by the force on its emergence into the daylight at a time of high excitement are a surprise to the public and a credit to the organisers. We referred yesterday to the placarding of walls in Dublin on Friday with the proclamation issued at Easter, 1916, as evidence that the appeal to the people of Ireland therein contained 'Ho unite in a supreme effort to break the connection with the British Empire andestablish a free sovereign Republic" would be renewed. This natural inference is put beyond a doubt by the.express terms of the proclamation, not. of. the de Valera Government but,',, of the. Republican Army Council^; which was read at all the celebrations,1 on Sunday: The opening reference to the determination of the I.RlA,rto, ' combat "Imperialist misrepresentation and terrorism" set one wondering what sort of misrepresentation or terrorism Britain had been gtfilty of since she withdrew her troops and her policemen and left Irishmen free to fight one another just as fiercely as they had ever fought her own administration—a privilege of which they were taking full advantage ten years ago, and which nothing that Mr. de Valera or the I.R.A. can do will induce her to revoke. But our anxiety is relieved and the wisdom of Britain's policy is confirmed by the evidence supplied in the following sentence that the charges are not made against her but against the "alien minority" of Irishmen which has "conducted ten years of terrorism against the Republicans" in order to "place obstacles in the road to freedom." The proclamation of the Republican Army Council proceeds as follows:— The need for the Republican Army will exist as long as Ireland is held forcibly within the British Empire, and the shackles of the so-called "Treaty" remain. Nothing less than, the declaration of 1916 proclaiming the Irish, Republic a sovereign independent State will suffice as a basis of the Constitution. ■ Youth must take thelead and break the connection with looting Imperialism ; and take the ppwer i rom those serving it here. They must actively support; \ Ulster and strive for national unity and ■ independence. , The temptation to digress which is held out by the last remark must be resisted, but we may observe in pass- ; ing that Ulster would much prefer that the kind of "active support" ■ which she might expect from the I.R.A. would continue to be confined as heretofore to that "alien minority" of Southern Irishmen who are fighting her battle in their resistance to the creation of an Irish Republic. Another incidental point of more serious significance is the appeal to a youth to take the lead. In a fore-* cast of. Mr. Cosgrave's prospects which was cabled a week before the election we were told that the public appreciation of the gravity of the issue was all to his advantage, "as the apathy of the electors has been his chief trouble in the past, Mr. de Valera invariably polling his maximum strength because of the youth and enthusiasm of his supporters." The support which Mr. de Valera was thus receiving from youth may ■be presumed to have been enjoyed in | still larger proportion by his military Left Wing. At the time of its detachment from his political control in November, 1925, the Irregular Constitution adopted by the

I.R.A. declared that membership was ' "open to anybody over the age of 16 who accepted the objects." Such an organisation naturally made a strong appeal to boys in their teens, and though the proclamation adjures them to break with "looting Imperialism" a looting patriotism had always been one of its great attractions. The declaration of war against Mr. Cosgrave's party and the British Empire is, of course, only what Mr. I de Valera desired and everybody expected from the 1.R.A., but it is probable that most people are surprised, and it is certain that Mr. de Valera himself must be very painfully surprised, by what is in effect a declaration of war against his own. policy^ It was prophesied by "The Times" Dublin correspondent that Mr. de Valera would be unable to placate his Left Wing "by any constitutional juggling," but he evidently thought differently. To abolish the oath of allegiance as "a purely domestic matter," to leave the Treaty otherwise untouched, and to let the! I.R.A. fade peacefully away for want of a job, was "the constitutional juggling" on he relied. With the impending removal of the °ath.of .allegiance, Baid Mr- de Valera, the Irish Republican Army would have no reason for existence. But the I.R.A. thinks otherwise. It is just getting its hand in and is in no mood to be abolished. As a London message informed us yesterday, If Mr. do Valera fails to fulfil their demands he will find old friends transformed into dangerous' enemies. The Irish Republican Army does not intend to go out of existence. According to Dublin messages, if the oath is abolished it intends to come out in the open. It has enough rifles and machine-guns concealed m-the city to arm its 3000 trained soldiers. The I.R.A. >s strength onnnT L, gr°^ anS approaches sobo regular am^s only It is a very pretty problem. Mr. de Valera now takes his place with King George and Mr. Cosgrave on the I.RiA.'s little list, and their first fire will be directed at him if he does not climb down.