EIRE’S CONSTITUTION

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 December 1937, Page 7

EIRE’S CONSTITUTION

IRELAND’S NEW ERA

DUBLIN CELEBRATIONS

[BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.]

RUGBY, December 29. Dublin messages report the -holding cf Catholic, Jewish and Protestant services there to-day, in connection with the inauguration of the con s '”* tution approved by the Free Stete Parliament in June. Mr De Valera and other Ministers attended the ser vice at the pro-Cathedral. . The occasion was also marked, by military honours, and the Chief Justice took, the oath as prescribed in the Constitution.

SINN FEIN

LONDON, December 29. The black flag was hoisted above the Sinn Fein headquarters in Dublin as a mark of republican disapproval of the new Constitution, which operates from to-day. EMPIRE GOVTS’ ATTITUDE. [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] (Received December 30, 11.30 a.m.) • LONDON, December 29. The Government has issued a statement that it is prepared to treat.the now Irish Constitution as ,. not ing a fundamental alteration in the position of the Free State as a member of the British Commonwealth The Government ascertained that the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa C °lt C does not recognise that the adoption of the name Eire, implies jurisdiction over Northern Ireland, winch will remain an integral part of tl United Kingdom. Eire only app to the area known as the Free State.

THE KING’S PART. (Recd. December 30, 1 p-m.) LONDON, December 29. “The Times’s” Dublin correspondent, describing the new Constitution, savs: The King will not perform any function in internal affairs, but will be “recognised” for the purposes of external representation, presumab y also defence. The first act, in which there are many anomalies, will include the King’s approval of the appointment of an Eire Minister to Italy, and the recognising of the Em perorship of Abyssinia.

PRESS ESTIMATES

(Recd. Dec. 30, 1 p.m.). .. DUBLIN, December 29. The city is beflagged, in celebration of the new constitution. A salute ot 21 guns was fired as Mr. De Valera and his Ministers, with a cavalry escort, drove from the Government Buildings to the Cathedral, w beie High Mass was celebrated.. All denominations held special services. The “Irish Press” says:. Eire : is mistress of her own destiny. The British connection belongs to the dead past. The “Irish Times” says, however, that the removal of the King’s name from the Constitution can be regarded as eye-wash. The citizens of Eire will continue to be treated as citizens of the British Commonwealth of Nations, just as if they were Australians or New Zealanders.

ULSTER’S RELIEF

(Reed. Dec. 30, 2.15 p.m.). BELFAST, December 29.

Lord Craigavon in a statement on the British Government statement, said: Ulster Loyalists welcome with profound satisfaction the emphatic declaration that Northern Ireland will remain an integral part of the United Kingdom, entirely unaffected by the Southern Irish Constitution.