IRISH FREE STATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18019, 18 February 1922, Page 9

IRISH FREE STATE.

URGENCY OF THE MEASURE.

THE BOUNDARY TROUBLE.

DEBATE IN THE COMMONS.

AMENDMENT TO SHELVE BILL

POSITION OF ULSTER. By Tflfgntih-Prcss Aasoeution-Copyrigbt (Received 7.15 p.m.) A. and N.Z. LONDON, Feb. 16. The second reading of the Irish Free State Agreement Bill was moved in the House of Commons to-day, by Mr. Winston Churchill. He pressed its urgency, saying the Provisional Government was not sanctified by law. It was an anomaly unprecedented in the history of the British Empire, and its continnatice one day longer than was necessary would be derogatory to Parliament, the Nation, ar.d the Crown. They cou'd not expect the Provisional Government to restore order until it had proper legal powers. Since the treaty had been sipied, the pos'tion in Ireland had improved. Ireland was now on trial before the world. Six months ago it was Britain who had to justify herself in the eyes of the world. Ulster's position to-day was one of ereaf. moral and military strength. The Provisional Government should receive every possible assistance. While the position on the northern frontier had recently improved, the position in Belfast was horrible. He hoped there •vouJd be some sort of parley with a viow to endin» the vendettas rife in Be'fast.

Alluding to the boundary question, Mr. Churchill said no expression of opinion now conVi affect flip treaty. Had they ■waited to refer t v o boundary question to Ulster tbere would have been no treaty It would havp meant the roconquest of Po'rtnern Ireland at the enormous cost of Wood and treasure, when the only difference was the right of people in certain districts to exercise their option regarding which Oovernment they would live under. It had been agreed that there be a month's option in which Ulster con'd decide whether she would join the Free State or should run from t k e final act of recognising the con. stitntion of tbe Free State. The boundary commission could not begin its work until Anjust.

Sir Frederick Ranburv interjected: They will hav? ki'led each olhcr in Ireland by then. Importanca oJ the Election. Mr. Churchill: On the contrary we hope things will improve. Continuing, he said it would be mnch better to try for agreement, on the boundary question. The endeavonrs of Sir James Craig and Mr. Collins to reach a settlement on outstanding matters, including 'the Council of Ireland, had not been finally abandoned. Surely it- would be better to leave the houndarv question nnlil after the election. Things must be better after the election than now, when the renegade Englishman. Krskine Childers. vas doing his best to poison the relations between the Irish ]pad*rs and his own people. If finallv the British Government saw that T'lsfer was being maltreated or mntilated hv the boundarv commission it was bound to reconsider her whole financial and economic position to ensure that Ulster was not ruined by her loyalty to Britain.

One of the most important results of the Irish Free State Bill, continued Mr. Churchill, -would be the election in Southern Ireland. He hoped the people, through the election, would finally pnt aside the idea of an Irish republic, and also hoped the election would result in securing a fresh, normal and sensible Parliament for Southern Ireland. The men of the pro-

sent Parliament were chosen not because of special fitness, but because they were , thought to be the most obnoxious to British power. If Ireland repudiated the treatv the position of Southern Ireland would be one of ereat weakness, for she would be isolated from the world. It had heen suggested that the present Irish Government would be upset by a coup d'etat and that a Red Soviet would he i created. He thought no people in the world were less likely to turn Bolshevik [ than the Irish. Suggested Boundaries Attacked. Captain C. C. Craig, Unionist member for Antrim South, moved as an amendment that the House do not proceed with the Bill until the Government gave a,surance that no decision of tho boundary commission would take effect without the approval of the Northern Parliament. He argued that the negotiators with the Sinn Fein had no right to include a boundary ' clause in the treaty or make a disposition of the Northern Government's property. It. was like dealing in stolen property. |; He was in Mr. Lloyd George's house the !. night the treaty was signed and could | ; ea*ilv have voiced Ulster's opinion. They j would never settle the issue on the lines j of the proposed treaty. The boundary j commission would lead to nothing but j bloodshed and chaos. | The Attorney General, Sir Gordon . Hewart, said it was no part of the duty; of the law officers to interpret article 12; j it would be for the boundary commission to interpret it. , , I Sir William Davison, Coalition Unionist, | member for Kensington South, said there , bad been a distinct breach of faith with j lister regarding the boundary. Sir William Allen. Unionist member for Armagh North, said Ulster would fight to the death against serious disturbance of the boundaries. Mr. J. Devlin, Nationalist member for Belfast (Falls), said it was the patriotic duty of evorvone to assist in carrying out th e treatv He denounced the criticisms of the Provisional Government for not putting down crime. That Government had only recently come into being, and bad stupendous difficulties to encounter. When the Unionists turned up their eyes I si what was occurring in Southern Ireland they did not mention what was)ping on in Belfast. There were 100.000 Roman Catholics in Belfast out of a population ot 400.000. For 18 months they had been treated as outlaws, been hunted, persecuted, murdered, and attacked by assassins, some of them in uniform. He asked the Northern Government what it proposed to do to end the reign of terror and this saturnalia of hlood and assassination. The debate was adjourned. APPEAL FOR SUPPORT. ULSTER UNIONIST'S PLEA. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. Weed. 8 H p.m.) LONDON. Feb. 17. The Ulster Unionist members of the House of Commons have issued a manifesto to the Unionist party asking for help on the ground that Unionists supported the treaty with the Sinn Fein oidy because they believed the boundary commission would deal only with small rectifications of the frontier which might bo as advantageous to Ulster as to Sinn Fein. Now it was evident that Mr. Collins took a very different view.