COERCION ALLEGED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21377, 29 December 1932, Page 4

COERCION ALLEGED

' BRITAIN AND IRELAND IWR. DE VALERA'S OPINIONS I ' REPLY BY MR. J. H. THOMAS X FaOM otrß OWN correspondent] : ' LONDON, Nov. 17 W ''We are not an impossible lot of I people," said Mr. de Valera, in a speech I in Dublin, when referring to the Free ! State's" refusal to pay the land annuities I and the retaliatory tariff imposed by j 'Britain against certain Free State proi 'duce. "The present position," he said, ■ "might have arisen from'any cause. England is trying this method because' it suits ; for other reasons. I "If there 1 were no question of a dispute f: on the land annuities, and England I wanted to keep her home market for her- | self, she would have adopted the self-same ; method as she has in the present dispute. : If the British should succeed in boating : us in this fight you will never know freei dom. At every step she can threaten you, : and at every step' you will have to obey I " her will. What is involved is whether or | not the Irish nation is going to be free. "Will Never Be Paid" ' i\-.- . . ' ■ ■: : ■ ; . , . | "Our people are suffering, and will ; Suffer. The British policy is making the i pace so fast as to be full of hardship for j us, but remember there is an end in ! sight. If we stand firm in trying to build I v up our own industries to supply our needs j with the natural resources of the country, by the energies and abilities which our | * people have shown in other lands, then we may feel that, whatever the suffering on the way, the end will be one from jvhich we need never retreat. f "We have not engaged in this conflict unwittingly. We knew perfectly well that the British would bully and coerce us. Fundamentally, our people have no hatred of the British people. But we hate tyrrany and the attempts of a people to dominate ns when they h£ve no right to dominate us. We are prepared to live side by side with Britain as neighbours on terms of equality and friendship, but we are not going to permit ourselves to be exploited. iWe have retained moneys which, in any case, we could not afford to give away. 80 long as this Government is concerned the land annuities will never be paid." Implication Repudiated Mr. J. E. Thomas, Secretary of State for the Dominions, replied to Mr. de IValera's accusations in a speech at Derby. He referred jto the latter's statement that the present. position might have arisen from any cause and that England had tried this method because it suited her for other reasons. "I not only repudiate that implication, but I repeat/ again that we wish nothing ' but the well-being of the Irish Free State," said Mr. Thomas. \'We welcome and desire them as co-equal partners' in the British Commonwealth. If to-morrow Mr. de Valera and his Government were to recognise frankly and fully that there is in existence an agreement legally and morally binding, not only do I say, on behalf of the Government, that these duties will pe removed, but I can and do say that we will be prepared at once to enter into trade agreements whereby the Irish Free State would enjoy, and eDjoy immediately, as we want her to enjoy, all the advantages of the Ottawa Conference and all that it means. ''» . , Friendliness Essential "The economic advantages are unquestionable, so {far as Ireland is concerned, that she should be on friendly terms with Great Britain. Ninety-eight per cent of her exports find a ready market here. Equally, the Irish Free State is a good and consistent customer that we welcome so far as our own industries are concerned. "With the signing of the treaty and the passing into law of the Statute of Westminster, I believe that all the beliefs and ''aspirations of the Irish people can be met in alliance with the British Commonwealth. In every action that I, on behalf of the Government, found it necessary to take, I want to make it clear that the issue was simple and clear. It was to preserve and maintain inviolate, without doubt, the principle of the sanctity of