DESIRE FOR SETTLEMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18707, 13 May 1924, Page 9

DESIRE FOR SETTLEMENT

IRISH BOUNDARY ISSUE. CRAfG READY TO RETIRE. ; r '' '' '? i'YY V ••• • . . URGES MUTUAL AGREEMENT COMMISSION A, DANGERPREFERS SELF SACRIFICED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received 5.5 p.m.) Sun. LONDON. May 11. Tli© Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir James Craig, in a statement concerning the boundary dispute, says— There are only two courses open. One is to drop the idea. of a Boundary Commission which aims at an arbitrary . settlement of .the matter and. would lead straight to serious trouble. The other is to aim at a settlement by mutual agreement on the principle of give and take. This would' leave no bitterness behind. If a real settlement is wanted, continues Sir James, there is a way. My desire for a settlement is. so great, soj real, that if an agreement of this kind could be reached, even at the expense of .my retiring from public life, I am willing to make the sacrifice. / ENGLAND'S WORD GIVEN. NO COERCION OF ULSTER. LONDON. May ,2. -Advising Ulster to appoint a representative to the Boundary Commission to be appointed by the British Government 1 under the terms of the Irish Free Stat© "treaty to deal with the dispute between Northern and Southern , Ireland, . th» Times says that the purpose of , such n commission is merely to adjust the boundary for the convenience of administration.. "•:/ The root : of . misunderstanding . lies, says the newspaper, in the agreement hurriedly .drafted by statesmen with ' a weakness for political short . cuts. If they had slept on it, instead of signing / it at a time when the country '.was in bed, the wording of critical sentence* might have been altered. T ' The. broad meaning," however, is patent enough., England has given hers word and she will not allow the coercion of Ulster. . Under the Government of Ireland.: Act, 1920,. as amended by the Irish Free State (Consequential ; Provisions}' Act, ■■■ 1922, a separate Parliament was. established y■ in Northern " Ireland, -' which' was to consist, of the Parliamentary/ counties'; of AntrimArmagh, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone, with the 1 Parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry. ' For a month after the passing of the Act, constituting the Free State the ' Parliament of • Northern Ireland was given the power to contract out of the Free State,.* and .in such an event the provisions of, the Act, 1920, i were -to continue .to -be »effective. . Northern .Ireland duly passed Jv; the required resolution, insisting •on its in-, ' dependence from the rest of, the country, and as a result the commission ; was appointed to determine, "in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants ; and: so i far as may be compatible with : eco- • nomic ; an 3 geographical conditions, the true boundary between .Northern Ireland and the Free State. : The dispute , over the* boundary affects the counties of Tyrone" and ' Fermanagh according to one view, and only a rectification of » the existing boundaries according to another. Lord Birkenhead, . who : • was, v formerly Lord Carson's right hand' man in Ulster, i, and has given his .views as to what the : houndary provisions of the; treaty. involve, is now criticised in Ireland . for not having spoken' sooner. ' v v Lord Birkenhead, speaking; at Liverpool recently; said that, as one of th« signatories. to the Irish ; treaty,' it was true that private interviews had; occurred "between ths laip Mr. v Michael Collins, Hr.'' Arthur Griffiui and himself, and the difficulty of his task now was not lessened by the fact that the other two ; were dead. He denied giving " them any assurance inconsistent with, the terms of the treaty regarding the bi BritishGovernment's ; intentions, ;or: in any way. affecting the plain language of the article dealing with a ■ boundarv . commission. Within a few weeks of ; the ;'signingl ofr the treaty he stated in the House of Lords that- a conference ;; for ' the * -redistribution'' of territory was one thing, -but a • conference : for * the 'readjustment of boundaries another. .