DE VALERA'S REPLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17889, 17 September 1921, Page 7

DE VALERA'S REPLY.

IRELAND INDEPENDENT.

CLAIM REAFFIRMED.

'A. and N.Z. LONDON, Sept. 15. Tht) Sinn Fein reply, signed by Mr. de Talera, state: —" We have no hesitation m declaring our willingness to enter into a conference to ascertain how the associaion of Ireland wuh the community cf i!?'ions known as the British Empire can best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations. We have accordingly summoned the Bail Eireann in order to ratify the names of our representatives, and that they will be in Inverness o September 20- " In this final note we deem it our duty to affirm our position. Our nation has frrmally declared its .independence, and recognises itself as a sovereign State. It '« only as representatives- of that State that we have any authority to act on behalf of our people. "As regards the principle of government by consent of the governed, in the very nature of things this must be the basis of any agreement that will achieve the purpose we have •at heart, that is, the final reconciliation of our nation with yours. We have suggested no interpretation of that principle save its everyday interpn*-tatio-c—the sense, for .example, in which it was understood by plain men and women the world over on January 5, 1913, when yon said : ' Settlement of the new Europe mast be based! on such grounds ol reason and justice as will give some pro--u-se of stability. Therefore we feel that government) with the jof the governed mast be t(he basis of any territorial settlement in this war.' " These words are the true answer to the criticism of our position which your last letter put forward. The principle •was understood then to mean the right of nations that have been annexed to empires against their will to free themselves from the grappling-hook. That is the Sdnse in which we understand it."

PREMIER'S ANSWER.

CONFERENCE IMPOSSIBLE.

FURTHER COMMUNICATION. A. and N.Z LONDON. Sept. IS. Mr. Lloyd George telegraphed to Mr. de Viilera -.—" I informed your emissaries on Tuesday that reiteration of your c'aim to negotiate with His Majesty's Government as representative of an independent sovereign btate would make a conference between us impossible. They brought me a letter in which you specifically reaffirm that claim, stating that your nation has formally declared its independence. I a iked them to warn you of the very sericua effect of such a claim, and offered to regard the letter as undelivered, in order that you might have time to reconsider i*. Despite this intimation, you now publish the letter in its original form, and I must accordingly cancel tbo arrangements for the conference. I must consult my colleagues as to the course of action which the new situation necessitates, and will communicate this to you as soon as possible, but, as for the moment I am laid up here for a few days, delay is inevitable- " Meanwhile, I must make it absolutely clear that the Government cannot reconsider the position which I stated to you. If we accepted a conference with your delegates on the formal statement of claim which you reaffirm, it would constitute official recognition by the Government of the severance of Ireland from th" Knipue and its existence as an independent republic, and, moreover, would entitle you to declare that in preference i association with th< Empire you would pursue close association by treaty with some foreign Power. "There is only ore answer possible to such a claim. The great concessions whi the Government made to the feelings of your people in order to secure a lasting s-cttltraent deserved a more generous response, but so far every advance has been made by us. You have not) come to meet us. by a single step, but merely reiteiated in phrases of emphatic challenge the letter and spirit of your original claim."