REPUBLICANS WARNED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 11

REPUBLICANS WARNED.

DE VAT,ERA'S TOLICY. GRAVE RESULTS LIKELY. RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. By Telegraph—Press • Association—Copyright. (Received March 18. 0.45 p.m.) > Times Cable. LONDON*. March 17. 1 The Dublin correspondent of flic Times expresses the opinion that Mr. dc Valera's ! statement of policy issued yesterday is ' likely to lead to grave consequences. Eyes are now turned on England, where it is expected that official and unofficial opinion will speedily declare itself and ' dispel Mr. do Valera's illusion that the ' oath of allegiance is merely a domestic ■ concern and that the land annuities can ' be withheld from Britain with impunity. Mr. W. T. Cosgrave and other leaders ' refuse to comment. The Irish Times, the only other newspaper which refers to Mr. de Valera's programme, declares that it threatens the welfare and the very existence of the Irish Free State. Tt says i Britain will certainly recover the lost annuities by imposing duties which will kill the Irish cattle trade. The programme will also lend to the practical certainty that the Free State will be excluded from the Ottawa Conference, says the paper, and thus she will lose the benefits of preference. Ultimately it may banish her from the Em- ■ pire. Nevertheless Mr. de Valera, although he has side-tracked the Dail for a month, cannot evade the final reckoning, owing to Labour's support of the treaty. It is most improbable, concludes the paper, that the Dail will connive at proposals which would ruin both the treaty and tho Free State. VIOLATION OF TBEATY. SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. MR. CHURCHILL'S COMMENT. (Received March IS. 11.45 p.m.) LONDON, March 18. The. former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Winston. Churchill, in an interview on his return from his lecturing tour in America, said he took a grave view of'the Irish Free State's intention to abolish tho oath of allegiance and cease the payment of tho land annuities. It was impossible that , Britain could lend tho slightest countenance to such a violation of a solemn agreement between the English and Irish peoples. If Mr de Valera and bis Government repudiated the treaty they would repudiate th 6 title deeds of the Free State, which would become an anomalous body without any status at all, either in or out of tlie Empire.