The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1933. MR, DE VALERA IN A QUANDARY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11948, 19 May 1933, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1933. MR, DE VALERA IN A QUANDARY.

Thea-o does not appear to bo much to support some of the wild rumours that are abroad in connection with th 0 future of- the Irish Free State. Tli 0 latest suggests that Moscow is preparing t 0 take a hand in Southern Ireland’s affairs .with--, a view to undermining not only British influence hut also Mr'; Do Valera «n<j his government. On every hand ; this conjecture will be regarded as preposterous. An far as can be made out, the onlv matter; whiclu. at present may give rise to concern is the decision by the Dad to dispense with tlio oath of allegiance to the British Crown, if this .decision goes no further, no great harm will bo .done. There doe-c not appear to be much to he gained in requiring" the De Val-

craitcs to take tlie oath of allegiance if they are not prepared, to do so with sincerity. Their, stand aloof altitude will not have any effect upon all, loyal British subjects in tbo Free State. "What Mr ; .do Valera 'will, however, Had, sooner or later, is that he has not gone far.enough, to suit the extremists iff ltig party who stand fpr nothing short of the abrogation oi the treaty with Britain. In this connection, it is common knowledge’ that even Mr. do Valera' and his Ministers desire to see not merely Southern Ireland but the whole of Ireland become 1 a, republic. Only two methods could be. adopted wjtli the object of attaining that gpal but in tbo end, neither would bo successful. A majority of the people of the Free State might declare at the ballot box in favour of a republic. On the other hand, the Republicans might openly disavow the link which binds the I reo State to the British Crown. It ba s already been pointed out to the extremists by eminent British jurists that ono side cannot render a, treaty bargain void. Unless Britain i s willing that the Free State should be permitted to “cut the painter, 5 ’ it would not matter whether the Free State decided upon a republic either per medium of the ballot box °r by a formal announcement to the world at large. Mr. do Valera lias u °w reached a point when, apparently, he is not willing to make a rash move. lie recently stated that if it were the desire of the electors the. issue as to whether the Free State should declare itself for a republic would be put before them. It is clear that his Government is in a quandary over the matter, because i't does not wish to give offence to the people oi Ulster even if it is not particular as regards giving offence to the Motherland and tbo Dominions. Nothing would be more fatal to the aspirations of the Republicans than to antagonise the people of Lister. But even as matters at present stand. Britain would bo fully entitled to call the attention bf the de Valera Government to the fact that by passing the Removal of the Oatli Act it bad broken the spirit of, if not the letter of, the treaty. It may be taken for granted . that, so far. there has been no substantial abrogation of the treaty with Britain. A s is well-known, Britain, if she so desired, might test the point as to the Free State's loyalty. Under the treaty, the Free State is nuclei' an obligation, ior instance, to provide facilities for the passage of His Majesty's forces. But Mr. do Valera's Government ha s not uotie so fa r as to suggest that such facilities would in future be- denied. If it were to do so. the lat would be in the fire at once and the British authorities would be forced to put the matter to the test. Viscount Hailsham is unquestionably right whes he says that nobody born and residing within the King’s allegiance can rid himself of the obligations that that allegiance- involves. Meantime, the Free State Government may continue to please the Republican element by dispensing with the oath of allegiance and by withholding payment of moneys due to Britain. In this regard, it will merely find that it i,s continuing to de-prive Hie people of the Free State of marketing and other concessions which they formerly enjoyed. Mr. de Valera will not be begrudged the claim that bis Government has been able to produce a balanced Budget. 11 has attained this end only, by increasing taxation, and, sooner or later, it will find that there are limits to the Free State Treasury.