WRECKERS' LAST EFFORT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17984, 9 January 1922, Page 5

WRECKERS' LAST EFFORT.

APPEAL BY RESIGNATION. DE VALERA'S PLOT FAILS. OUTBURST BY COLLINS. (Received 4.50 p-m.) L and N.Z. LONDON, Jan. 7. A last effort by Mr. de Valera to smash the treaty by resigning beforo a division , was taken, and a flaming outburst by Mr. Michael Collins againtt Tammany Hal methods, were the features of a sensational sitting of the Dail on Friday, though there was an anti-climax when Mr. 06 Vslera withdrew his resignation. The committee of nine appointed on Thursday to try to compose the differences of the two parties had reached a preliminary agreement among themselves, but Mr. de Valera and one or two other extremist* turned down the agreement. This was the situation when the public session of the Dail was opened. It wan well known that the two parties were 60 nearly equal that everything depended upon four or five waverers, who had been chanting their minds from day to day. Mr. de Valera therefore tried appealing to the waverers on their traditional loyalty to the office and personality of the President by resigning in order that he might reconstruct the Sinn Fein Cabins , expelling the ratification ists from it. Thereby he hoped that the new cabinet would bo able to submit " Document No. 2" to the British Government and the Governments of &I 1 the States of the British Empire an a genuims offer of peace from the Irish people His attempt almost succeeded, but Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Collins-, and Mr. Mulcahy prevented a vote on this false issue. The reconciliation committee sat all the morning. When' the Dail reassembled puhlitly in the afternoon Mr. do Valera

immediately had an earnest conversation with the Speaker He then made a long statement, including the announcement of his resignation. Speaking with much solemnity, Mr. de Valera said: "I think it unfair to the country and the Dail that the discussions since the London Conference should be continued. The executive has become completely split. We have been trying to continue nominally a« a united executive but tho time has come when this must bo ended. Very well, I say definitely that I resign my chief executive authority, and with it goes the ministry. If you re-elect me we shall stick to the Sinn | Fein constitution and use every means to make the power of England and anyone else impotent to this country. "I am sure that if this treaty goes through there will bo rebels in Ireland. I am neither technically nor otherwise a British subject, and I thank God I never shall be. Though I have never belonged to the Fenian Brotherhood I hope to get a Fenian's grave." Mr. Griffiths objected that the business of the House was the ratification motion. Another member moved the suspension of the orders of tho day to allow Mr. de Valera to submit his motion. Mr. Collins heatedly protested. "If the treaty is rejected," he declared, "Mr. de Valera can have a united cabinet in 10 minutes. His motion is only a red herring. We won't have Tammany Hall ! here. The submission of the committee's ! report was only prevented by three or , | four bullies." I Mr. do Vaiera objected to this expres--1 sion, and the speaker demanded Mr. ColI lins to withdraw it. I Mr. de Valera : "You can withdraw the expression, but the spoken word remains." Later, Mr. de Valera announced his withdrawal of his resignation on an agreement that a straight-out vote be taken on the acceptance or rejection of the treaty. The motion for the suspension of the ) orders of the day was then withdrawn, I and the debate on the ratification motion i proceeded.