THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1921. THE IRISH AGREEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17959, 8 December 1921, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1921. THE IRISH AGREEMENT.

Feom the point of view of the 'Empire— and this is the only test non-hyphenated New Zealanders will seek to apply—the Irish agreement is vastly more satisfactory than has appeared possible at any time for many months. When the British Government entered into negotiations in August it laid down six conditions, four of them of Imperial significance and two of them affecting only Ireland and the United Kingdom.* The first condition was ;hat "the Eoyal Navy alone should ioatrol the seas around Ireland and 3reat Britain"; the second, that ;he Irish territorial forces should be •voluntarily limited; the third reserved to Britain all necessary 'acilities for aerial defence and jommunication; the fourth—if it 3an be called a condition—asked of Ireland a freewill contribution to bhe Empire's defence, with the right af recruitment in Ireland. Of these lour points, the first is embodied in the agreement, though with the modification that Ireland, as an Empire State, may ultimately undertake her own coastal defence. 1. The second, made inoffensive by its relation to international disarmament, is embodied in an even more specific form, the Irish defence forces being limited to the same proportion of British establishments as the population of Ireland bears to that of Britain. The third is not separately mentioned, but it is presumably included in the Irish grant of " harbour and other facilities" required in peace and war. The fourth has been dropped altogether. Ireland will enjoy the same right as bhe Dominions of determining her uontribution to Imperial defence, but it may be observed that the new arrangement hastens the day when lot only Irishmen, but New Zealanders, Australians, Canadians, and South Africans must consider whether they can honourably leave Englishmen and Scotsmen to bear ;he cost of defending the whole Empire. Two other conditions, at irst tacitly assumed by Mr. Lloyd 3eorge, were defined in the later stages of the negotiations, the main;enance of the British connection md the nexus of the Crown. These lave been conceded by the Irish lelegates with verbal changes in,ended to satisfy Irish nationalism. The two other original, conditions iffect only the United Kingdom and reland. It is symptomatic of the lew spirit of conciliation that each ias admitted one: The Irish have idmitted their liability for a share )f the national debt and war penions, and have consented, in the n-ccise terms of Mr. Lloyd George's irst letter, to determine the amount >y agreement or by arbitration. The British Government, on the other land, has conceded the Irish demand for full fiscal autonomy. At

I first it was proposed to condition this by a mutual agreement to impose no protective duties. The Irish will, \ under this agreement, enjoy the right to engage in a tariff war against the United. Kingdom, anil also""Ulster,..if/Ulster chooses a separate destiny, but such action would be mutually injurious, and it may be hoped that by the goodwill and commonsense of all parties it will be avoided, For the rest, the Irish Free State, as the South has elected to call itself, is granted exaotly the same status and the same powers as New Zealand, with the single reservation as to the strength of its citizen forces, a reservation which will sit lightly upon a peaceful Ireland. All that the New Zealand Parliament does the Irish Parliament may do. The only practical differences between the status now agreed upon and the independence formerly claimed by the Sinn Fein is that Ireland gives the United Kingdom the right—a right which is more "obligation than privilege-of defending her, and the power to change the Irish Constitution is reserved to the British Parliament. This follows from the second clause of th'e agreement, defining the relation of the Irish State to the Imperial Parliament to be that of Canada. Unlike New Zealand, Canada enjoys her Constitution under an Imporial Act which cannoF be altered, save in minor details, without calling on the United Kingdom Parliament. No one has ever suggested that the British North American Act has, in practice, limited the liberty or autonomy of Canada. The Irish Act will bo as little irksome so long as the Free State observes the spirit of the present agreement.

§ Among the most interesting and important clauses of the agreement are those affecting Ulster. A very sagacious provision is that which allows Ulster to declare herself outside the scope of the agreement. If she elects to stand outside, her Parliament will continue to function with its limited powers, she will continue to send representatives to Westminster, and be governed in the larger sense a's portion of the United Kingdom. If she chooses .this course "the boundaries of Northern Ireland will be subjected to revision by a commission of three, representing the interested parties, with a British chairman; and will be determined in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants so far as may be compatible with economic and geographical conditions. If there are to be two Irelands, the boundary presents an undoubted difficulty. There is no ideal frontier, and though this provision in the Eill is a tacit admission that the present' line favours Ulster, there will be heartburnings over any that may be drawn. But since the commission has full power-of decision this delicate question will at least be settled*, in a calm atmosphere, and, may be hoped, without a resurgence of racial and sectarian feeling. There is the greater prospect of this because, under the agreement, a separatist decision in Ulster does not bolt the door against future union. All the judicious provisions relating to the Council of Ireland are preserved, establishing an immediate, if slender, bond of union, and preserving in full the facilities'for the gradual enlargement of the Council's functions and. for eventual mutual agreement to terminate partition. Moreover, the two Governments may, by direct conference, anticipate difficulties such as might arise through the maintenance of separatie defence forces, and the exercise by the Free State of its fiscal powers. On the whole, the right of Ulster to remain aloof and 'enjoy her present privileges under the Government of Ireland Act are very carefully safeguarded. Should Ulster elect to join the Free State very interesting provisions apply. ' Ulster will lose her representation at Westminster, but she will gain representation in an All-Ireland Parliament, while retaining the powers of local selfgovernment she now enjoys. In other words, the Ulster Parliament would continue to function, but above it would be the All-Ireland Parliament enjoying the wider powers proposed for it in the agreement, Ulster has thus the choice of two alternatives. She is confirmed in her present privileges of self-government, and at the point where the competence of the Northern Parliament ceases she may, look either to Westminster or Dublin. In either case she retains her identity within the Empire, but in the one event she remains administratively a portion of v the United Kingdom, in the other she becomes a portion of Ireland. The possibility of Ulster following a third course cannot be excluded. She may choose separation from the Free State and subsequently ask for the grant of the same powers as the South will enjoy. Morally it will be difficult to dispute such a claim, but an attempt to satisfy it against the opposition of the South of Ireland may create grave political difficulties. The course of the negotiations suggests strongly that the South hopes to use its-larger powers to force the North into union by customs and other forms of political pressure. If Ukter asks for equal powers to protect herßelf, she will be entitled to them, and denial will lay Britain open to the charge of treating the prodigal much more liberally than the elder son. Yet though there may be no legal difficulties in the way of placating Ulster a change in her status may raise the antagonism of the South. It may, indeed, prove that the present agreement will not bring Irish peace, 'but at least it limits the problem and invokes the healing influence of time. Now, as ever, the peace and contentment of Ireland depend on reasonableness and conciliation. Since the agreement discloses a welcome growth of these softer sentiments the future may be faced with some confidence. Certainly those who have conducted incredibly difficult negotiations to a successful issue deserve well of their countrymen, and the .whole Empire will await hopefully the further developments which mean so much to the Commonwealth of Nations.. A'

IRISH OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. r . ■ "-_4-—-*— .. ■ j • ..:. *- f -.-. ■ i., It has been reported Hhat one of the difficulties in the way of a - settlement of the Irish question was the path of allegiance. Precisely what is the objection to the simple oath we all know no one but an Irish jurist would attempt to explain and then probably nobody but an Irishman would understand. To those who are not Irish the phraseology ,of the oath now a'dopted would seem to suggest that the Irish negotiators were taking meticulous pains to declare that their allegiance is first to Ireland and in some secondary way to the King of Britain. On the other hand it may be that they'merely desired to have their allegiance to their country incorporated and that, on the whole, is the more charitable view to take. The difference between the two I forms is worth noting. The oath as British people know it runs:—

I do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Georgo tho Fifth, his heirs and successors according to law. The elaborate oath embodied in the Irish agreement reads :— I dci solemnly swear truo faith and allegiance to tho constitution of the Irish Free State as by law established, and that I will be faithful to George the Fifth, his heirs and successors, in virtue of the common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain, nnd her adherence to the membership of the group of nations forming the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Thus, while Irishmen in New Zealand and elsewhere in the Empire swear "true allegiance" to the King, the Irish in Ireland swear to be " faithful" to him "in virtue of the common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain," etc. It would also appear that the oath grudges to "George the Fifth" the usual acknowledgment in words that he is King, though this may be an accident in cabling. To a great many Britishers the alteration of the oa.th of allegiance will be the least acceptable phase of the agreement, but they may be consoled by the knowledge that it has been accepted by Mr. Lloyd George and his co-negotiators, and in .particular by Lord Birkenhead, who is Lord Chancellor and an eminent constitutional lawyer.