BREAK WITH CROWN: EIRE’S AIM DISCUSSED

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 October 1948, Page 6

BREAK WITH CROWN: EIRE’S AIM DISCUSSED

LONDON, October 18.

As the Government of Eire seems to be deeply committed to the repeal of the External Relations Act, which would sever Eire’s link with the Crown, the purpose of the meeting on Sunday at Chequers with the-British Commonwealth leaders was not to attempt to dissuade Eire from such action. The purpose was to point out the legal consequences and try to discover means of mitigating the situation in which Eire would be placed. The conference was mainly concerned with the legal problem of how to continue the advantages of Commonwealth trading terms for Eire. Solution Unlikely

It is unlikely that the Chequers discussions brought any solution. It is clearly difficult to devise any system under which Eire could isolate herself from the Commonwealth and still justify, constitutionally or juridically, a continuation of the benefits whicl) she enjoys under the existing link with the Crown.

The newspaper Belfast Newsletter, commenting on the meeting _ of the Commonwealth and Eire Ministers at Chequers, said it could be taken for granted that whatever propositions were put to the Eire Ministers, they on their side brought up the question of Irish unity and would seek to drive a bargain on the basis of the absorption of Northern Ireland into Southern Ireland. “If this assumption is correct, the Commonwealth Prime Ministers would do well to beware of stepping upon this political minefield,” the newspaper added. Northern Ireland had no faith in the promises of Eire politicians, said the Belfast Newsletter. “Australia, New Zealand, and Canada have large percentages of Irish origin in populations, but not all of them are sympathisers with or supporters of the Southern Irish Republicans or of separation,” it added. Divided Country Mr de Valera, speaking at Glasgow in his series of speeches against the partition, said that Britain was guilty of continuing aggression against Ireland by, maintaining the partition. “The Belfast Government is trying to govern an area against its will,” he said. Ireland wished to join the Western European security bloc, but “not so long as our country is divided by one of the countries that professes to support unity.” Reuter’s Dublin correspondent says that authoritative quarters there have stated that Eire’s intention to scrap the External Relations Act will not in any way affect Irish persons in Britain or the Dominions because the Irish Citizenship Act of 1935 confers full reciprocity in respect of ctizenship with Britain.