THE FATE OF IRELAND.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2000, 16 December 1921, Page 4

THE FATE OF IRELAND.

The fate of Ireland is still hanging in the balance. The agreement that was reached in London has come before the British Parliament and Bail Eireann for ratification. In both cases the agreement has been subjected to scathing criticism on the part of the "Dieharda." So far as the British Parliament is concerned, one can, scarcely conceive anything so tragic as a rejection of the agreement. The Irish Parliament is on a somewhat different footing. The President of that body has opposed the agreement, and the Cabinet is divided. The first discussion was taken in private, and appears to have culminated in a duel between Messrs De Valera and Collins. Bail Eireann has adjourned for a. day without arriving at a definite decision. There is a suspicion among its members that the British Parliament will reject the agreement. That this will be dispelled at a very early date is a matter of certainty. In all probability Bail Eireann will not finally decide the matter until the decision of the British Parliament is known. Should the agreement be ratified by Britain, as everybody expects it to be, the Irish Parliament would scarcely accept the responsibility for rejecting it.