IRISH FREE STATE.

Grey River Argus, 17 June 1922, Page 5

IRISH FREE STATE.

THE CONSTITUTION. “A CO-EQUAL PARTNER.” [A. and N.Z. Cable Association, j LONDON, June 15. The. Irish Constitution has been published. Il says that the Free State is a co-equal member of the community of nations forming the British Commuuwei|i 11 Everyone domiciled in the Eiee .Slate urea, who is of Irish birth, or has been domiciled 7 years is a citizen. The national language is J./i.-ii bur English is equally recognised . s the official language. No religions discrimination is made, and free •expression of opinion is allowed. Parliament consists of the King, a Chamber of Deputies, and a .Senate. Members are to lake an oath to be failhtul to King George, his heirs, in virtue of Ireland’s membership of the British Commonwealth. The executive authority is to be ves!’d in the King, advised by an Executive Council, responsible to the Chamber, consisting of 12 Ministers, of whom four will be members of the Chamber, and eight, non-members of Parliament. These eight will be chosen by a committee of the Chamber, so us io impartially represent the Chamber. Ministers who are members of Parliament shall alone be responsible for external affairs. THE COMPLETED CONSTITUTION. OUTLINE OF PROVISIONS. (Received June 16. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, June 15. Following on the agreement reached al the London Conference, details are published of the Irish Free State Conslit ution, including the following:— The preamble:—The preamble states: The ( (institution shall be construed with reference to The Articles of the Treaty attached to the Constitution, which is hereby given the force of law. ‘‘if any provision in the Constitution, and any amendment thereof, and any law made thereunder, in any resp< ci, shall Im repugnant to the schedule, ihe Treaty shall ,to the extent of such repugnaniy. be absolutely void, ami shall be in operative.” The first four articles define the powers, the terms of citizenship, and the hiii'_;-.mgc of the new State (as already cabled). RESTRICTION ON TITIES. Article Five states: —“No title or power in respect to any servtecs rendered . in relation to the Irish Free .State may be conferred on any citizen in that State, except with the approval and advice of the Executive Council of the Free State. Articles Six and Seveen ordain that Liberty of Person shall be inviolable. “The dwelling of each citizen shall be inviolable, and it shall not be forcibly entered, except in accordance with the law.” RELIGION. Article Eight states:—“Freedom of Conscience and the free profession and practice of religion are the inviolable rights of every citizen: and no law may be made, either directly or in-dir'-cilv, to endow any religion, or to prohibit or restrict the free exercise thereof, or to give any preference, or impose any disability, on account of religious belief, or to affect the right of any child to attend a school receiving public money without attending schools o (‘religious instruction.” FREE SPEECH. Article Nine states: —“The right of free expression of* opinion, right to assemble peaceably without arms, and to form associations is guaranteed for ;all '| urposes m-i opposed to public ■ . * Laws regulating to asso-uiati-’iis shall not contain any political or any religious class distinctions.” “All citizens shall have the right to free claim upon education.” STATE OWNERSHIP. Article Eleven says: —“The rights of Ihe State in the natural resources of which the use. is of national importance. shall NOT BE ALIENATED. Their explotation by private- individuals shall -only be under Stale, supervision.” PARLIAMENT. .Vticlcs Twelve to Seventeen deal with the .Free State Parliament (as already cabled). “’All citizens, without distinction of sex. who have reached twenty-one years of age, shall have the right to vote for the members of the Chamber of Deputies, and to take part in the Referendums on in the Initiative.” ‘•All citizens aged thirty shall have Ihe right to vote for the members of ihe Senate, the voting being by secret ballot. ’ ’ Every citizen of twenty-one and over shall be eligible for membership of the Chamber of Deputies, which shall be known as the Dail Ereann. Articles Eighteen to Twenty-tive deal with Ihe rights, privileges, and methods of condoling Parliament. They include provision for the payment of nrembers, and one for free travelling facilities to any part ♦ of Ireland. rhe Parliament must hold, at ’least, one session yearly, the sittings being in public; but, in cases of emergency, there may be a private sitting with the assent of two-thirds of the memArticle Twenty states:—The total number of members of the Chamber shall be not less than one member to each, thirty thousand of the population, or more than one member to each twenty The members ar* to be elected on the principle of proportional representation. Parliament shall revise the constituencies at least once in every decade. The polls shall be held on the same day throughout the country. Articles Twenty-nine to Thirty-three deal with the. Senate, “which shall be composed of citizens who have done honour to the nation, by reason of useful public service, or who, because of Special qualifications .or aiTainments, represent important aspects of the nation’s life. Each university is to elect, two Senate representatives. The number of Senators (excluding Ihe universities) is to be fifty-six. Each Senator, who must have reached the age of thirty-five, will hold office for twelve years. Article Thirty-one states*—“ On* 1 - .fourth of the members of the Senate,

exclusive of the universities, shall be eiccied every three years, by means of proportional representation, from a panel, for which the whole of Ireland shall consist of thrice as many qualified shall consist of thriccas many qualified persons as the number of members needl'd, whereof the ( hamber shall no* minatc two-thirds, and the Senate onethird. Articles Thirty-four to Forty-live dcai with legislation. The Chamber has exclusive legislative authority to ]»ass bills dealing with taxation and the Public Debt. Every bill passed by the Chamber shall be sent Io the Senate, and, unless a money bill, may lie amended by the Senate, but a bill passed by the Chamber shall, within 275 days after being sent to the Senate, be deemed passed by both Houses in the form in which it is passed by the Chamber. MILITARY FORCES. Article Forty-live gives the Free Slate Parliament the exclusive right to regulate the raising and maintaining the armed forces mentioned in the Ireaty in the territory of the Free Slate, and every such force shall be subject tu the control of the Irish Parliament. Articles Forty-six to Forty-nine deal with, the Referendum ami the Initiative. Any bill passed by both Ileuses may be suspended for ninety days, on a written demand by twotiUlis of ihe members of the Chamber, or a majoiity of the members of the Senate. Such bill shall be then submitted, by referendum, to the decision of the people, before the expiration of ninety days, either by resolution of the Senate, to be assented to by threefifths of the Senators, or by a petition signed by not less than one-twentieth Hi the voters. The decision of the people at such a referendum shall be conclusive. These provisions not to apply to money bills, or such bills as both houses declare necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, Parliament may provide for the Initiation by the people of proposals for laws or lor constitutional amendments. .Such proposals may be initiated on .he petition of fifty thousand voters. Every amendment to Constitution must be submitted to the Referendum, ;i...i it shall not pass unless a majority of the voters on register, or two-thirds of the votes recorded, are in favour oi Hie amendment. FOREIGN WARS. Save in the case of an actual invasion of the country, the Free State shall not be commit.ed to an active participation in any war, without ihe jYrticl'ij Fitly /to Fifiy-aiine. deal with the Executive Council. This will consist of twelve Ministers (as already cabled). SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATURES. Article Fifty-three empowers the Free State Parliament to create subsidiary legislatures not possessing any powers over defence, the post office, Customs, or excise. Clvise Fifty-four empowers the Parliament to establish. Functional or Vocational Councils, representing' any branches of the nation’s social and economic life, with prescribed rights and duties. ELECTIVE EXECUTIVE. Thie Ministers of the Government "b... are not members of Parliament shall be chosen with due regard to invir suitability for office, and, as far as possible, shall be representative of the Irish Free State as a whole, rather than of groups or parties. Should any nomination not be acceptable to the Chamber, a Committee of the Chamber shall propose names until one is found acceptable. The Ministers who are not members of I’ariiament shall bo the responsible heads of '.heir Executive Departments, their term of office being the term of the Chamber, but they will continue in office until successors are appointed. Tb-e salary of the Governor-General shall be the same as that of the Go-vernor-General of Australia. Articles 63 and 71- deal with the judiciary. The decisions of the Supreme Court shall be final, provided that nothing in this Constitution impairs th-o right of any person to petition the King for special leave to appeal from the .supreme Court, tu His Alajesty-iu-Coimcil. The remainder o I‘the- clauses deal with, transitory provisions, including the method of electing the first Senate, which is to consist of University Mcmbms and 28 members nominated b|y tlte president Executive Council, also 28 elected by the Chamber, the voting all being on the basis of proportional representation. GRIFFITHS SATISFIED. (Received June 16, 7.5 p.m.) LONDON, June 15. Mr Arthtur Griffith, first Free State President, interviewed before returning to Dublin, declared that the new Irish Constitution was that of a free democratic State, whereundor Ireland, for the first time in centuries, secures iln- power to con-rol and to develop her own resources, and to lead her own national life. TORY PEERS AND SENATE. LONDON, June 16. Earls Al id dad tun a Donughjmore, and Doctor Bernard (Provost of Trinity College, Dublin) and Air Andrew Jameson, representatives of Southern Unionists, whom Air Churchill has consulted, have issued a statement m which they say:—‘‘While given the opportunity of seeing and discussing the portions of the Constitution affecting the composition and the relations of the two Irish Houses, we never saw the other articles. While we recognise the desire that is shown to meet our views, we regret that, the precedent of the .Senate under the Home Rule’ Act of 1920 has not been followed. We are not satisfied the new .•■'‘rate will afford genuine protection f<>r Irish minorities. TORY PRESS COMMENT. Referring to thp Irish settlement, the 4 ‘Morning Post” says:—‘ 4 There is no previous example of a BrlTis* Dominion receiving its constitution while its forces actually were fighting the British Army. When violence and nothing else is governing Ireland, where is the sense of discussing the terms of the Irish Constitution, which like the Irish Treaty, is a lie and a deception in its very nature, and is

■' J in no wise affecting the Irish situaThe London “Daily Chronicle” says it regards the principles of elective Ministers and other departures from British Parliamentary practice in the ' itution as premature in a country hich has not yet pu the oldek im ds into working order. The paper d( .e> that safeguards for Protestant stand on too thin ground. It sa the Senate will prufcticaily bo i: !v an advisory body, an 1 will only be aide to postpone legi.de - on for 270 The “ Chfoniclej” ;hov < > or, points out that the Dail Ereani is being elected to-day, and it max considerably amend the draft. The * ‘ Wsetminster Gazette” states: —‘‘The Free State Constitution conforms to the Treaty, and that is all. What we want to know is “Has the Treaty made us lrigh> with, Ireland and the rest of the world? If Ireland were worse governed under the old than under the new regime that v. odd bi* her own affair. The ‘‘Daily News” says:—“None whb are honestly willing to see autonomy granted to Inland can well quarrel with the constitution. Conversely those doing so, must, at. heart, ba oppcsed to granting any real freedom to Ireland. The paper adds its doubts as to the wisdom of the referendum and the initiative provision,