IRISH FREE STATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19124, 16 September 1925, Page 11

IRISH FREE STATE.

REPUBLICANS DISCREDITED. DE VALERA'S ADMISSION. LONDON. Sept. 9. That Republicanism is steadily losing ground in Ireland is the main conclusion reached by an investigator who has spent a month there, studying the situation. He says that even the Republican leaders admit that their power is waning, and that the Republican Party is dwindling to a discredited minority. If elections were held to-morrow, they probably would lose half of their present seats. Recent efforts to galvaniso the party into life have only demonstrated its weakness. This was especially marked in the refusal to allow Archbishop "Alahriix to speak at Maynooth College, of which he formerly was president, and finally in the refusal of several Republican towns to grant him their freedom. De Valera's fate has been similar. De Valera confesses. that he has no hope from the present generation. He receives no financial support from Ireland, while his American help has almost ceased. Only their oath to the Republic keeps many of his supporters faithful. The Free State has little to fear from the Republican faction, but 'in Ireland "the unexpected generally happens." It is a question whether the Government will be able to avoid a serious blunder. The Ministers do not lack courage and energy, but mostly they are young and inexperienced. They have done well, however, regarding the army, police and land purchases, and been laudably firm in suspending corrupt or inefficient bodies; but the greatest test of determination has been their decision to' reduce the number of public houses in Ireland.

The chief danger is that the Government is inclined to attempt to achieve too much. It is incurring widespread criticism for embarking on the costly River Shannon hydro-electric power scheme without knowing if the power was wanted. , Secondly, many people consider that compulsory teaching of tho Irish tongue is merely a fad. Thirdly, the decision to ignoro the British Medical Register and initiate a Free State Register has been almost universally condemned.

The vast majority of the people, concludes • the investigator, have economic aspirations rather than political, but tho Government, either under the influence of the Left Wing or hoping to take the ' wind put of the Republican sails, occasionally is inclined to act purely for partisan aims.