IRELAND'S TRAGEDY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21325, 28 October 1932, Page 10

IRELAND'S TRAGEDY

The position of the Irish Irce State goes from bad to worse. At a time when Britain and all the other Dominions arc putting into force the Ottawa agreements, which, in spite of some criticism, are creating a new spirit of confidence and cooperation, Ireland, in the hands of fanaticism, persists on a course that is disastrous for the whole people. This sorry contrast is .a tragedy, particularly because it is so unnecessary. Deliberately standing out from the pacts of Ottawa, Ireland faces a general tariff of 10 per cent plus some special duties that bring the impost on some goods to 30 per cent. These are fixed for the sole purpose of returning to Britain a sum sufficient to make good the land annuities that are being withheld.. Since they were imposed the return has been nearly equal to the current deficit in the annuities account, though nothing has so far been collected toward the sum of £1,750,000 already outstanding. The Free State Government is steadily drifting to bankruptcy. From special taxation and the annuities fund it is providing bounties for the farmers, but the sources of taxation are rapidly drying up, and, in any case, no bounty system can possibly compensate the people for the partial loss of their only market. The extent of this loss may be gauged from the returns of cattle exportations to Britain. In the first six weeks after tho tariff come into operation the total of live cattle shipped to Britain was 15,435, a decline of 60,458 on that of the corresponding period of the previous year. Ireland's trade in live cattle is the greatest individual item in her list of exports. Its value in 193 ib was over £14,500,000. Under present influences some curtailment was inevitable, but that recorded gives the measure of the price Mr. de Valera is prepared to make the people pay for his hostility to England. What the end will be can only be conjectured, but the most probable result is that financial incapacity will force the Government to the country to face the- realities that seem to be beyond the ken of the present rulers.