THE PROBLEM OF IRELAND.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 3105, 24 December 1921, Page 5

THE PROBLEM OF IRELAND.

FURTHER DEBATE ON TREATY. FORTY SPEAKERS STILL TO COME, By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, Dec. 22. Mi' O'Reilly, Minister of Education. spealdng in Dail Eiroann, strongly opposed ratification of the treaty, IJe could not, ho said, bo false to the outli he hud taken to the Republic. Mr Mulcahy, Chief of the Staff of the Republican army, in supporting the ratification, said the hour of their defeat was not the lime to quarrel about how it should have, been avoided. From defcal had emerged powers which, after Dail Kireann had coaled to exist, would onable the people to follow iheir national aspirations untrammelled and unfettered. Mr Moylan, in an angry speech, said: "If Mr Lloyd George wants a war of extermination,'let him declare it. I may not soo the end, hui, by God, no loyalist in my brigade will see it, cither. Instead ol a republic, Ireland has been offered an oath of allegiance, a Governor-General, with ;: new arm\ entrenched on her flanks, and a ireau 'la consolidate British interests.'' Mr McNeill, who left the chair in order i.o address the Assembly, said tho majority of tie' speeches against the ratification should have been made before the negotiations coniim need, and not _ now. Each nation or commonwealth had the right oi complete national sovereignty in its own domains, lie suggested that the oath commence. ''l swear to bo eternally associated," etc. There were still forty speakers on the list when Mr Collins moved and the Countess Markievicz seconded a motion for an ad journment, which was carried by 77 voles to 44. The voting is no indication of the strength of the parties, as Mr Collins' supporters generally voted against the adjournment, while many irreconcilable.- followed the (buntcss Markieviez's lead. After the vole there was a dispute as to whether a, member representing two con stituencies should have two voteIt ended when Mr Collins impulsively cried: "1 refuse to lake advantage of my position." Tho decision to adjourn is received with considerable dissatisfaction by the general public, but is regarded really as a reference of the matter lo tin people, though somewhat irregular and unsatisfactory, The Daily Chronicle's Dublin correspondent say.-- |luil tho adjournment will nave the advantage ilia) deputies returning home will be bombarded with appeals not to vote against the treaty. At present the parties in Dai! Kireann are equally divided.—A. and N.Z, cable, ROBBERS IN DUBLIN BANK. LONDON, Dec. 22. Nine armed men separately entered the Hibernian Bank in Camden street, Dublin and at a concerted signal they held up the staff at the revolver point, locked thern up in a room and escaped with £I6OO. The raid was completed in ten minutes and attracted no attention in the crowded street. Mr Shercock. the hunk manager, had dispensed with his bodyguard the day before the raid. The raiders did not search him and he had £4OO in his possession.— ,\. and N.Z. cable. MICHAEL COLLINS. "NO TWO-GUN MAN." AUSTRALIAN'S IMPRESSION. "Michael Collins is no two gun man. In fact, he is one of the nicest chaps you could meet in a day's walk." This staleincut, and more like it, was made by Mr Edward J. flempenstall, an Australian business nuui, who recently returned to Sydney from a world's tour. After visiting the Australian battlefields Mr Henipenstall, with his wife, went to Ireland, in company with a party of other Australians.

Mr Honiponstall smilingly deprecated any suggestion about the danger of such a trip. "The truce was on then," ho said, "and we were quite free from any interference or molestation. There were 'Black and Tans' and [.R.A.'s intermingling in the streets, and nobody taking any notice of them." He added that he had personally met nearly all the members of the Dili) Kireann .Ministry, and found them, apparently, decent, respectable, sober-minded citizens. "Michael Collins," declared Mr Hempenstall, ''is one of the most charming charac tors t have ever met. He is quiet, wellspoken, and well-read, with no suggestion of the movie cowboy about, him. During the interview 1 bad with him be spoke enthusiaaticallv about the aims and ideals of Ireland, but did not talk war." "As for Ireland's prospects," went on Mr Hemnoustall, "it is the most wonderful land in the world, and 1 think it will make the most wonderful progress ot any land in the world. Why, I've never such a collection of deep-water seaports along any coastline." \IUX\I BATTLE FRONT. Discussing the effects of the lighting in Ireland, Mr llempenstall said that in many places the war front of Ireland differed little from the war-fronts of France and Flanders. "On Ihe way from Limerick to Killarncy a stretch of 80 miles," ho said. "I counted ol trenches cutting across the roadway and, besides, at intervals, large trees bad been felled across the road, making the going very difficult. On the road from Cork to Castle Blarney the road bridge across a river had been destroyed, and all traßic has to cross by the railway bridge.