THE IRISH QUESTION

Otago Witness, Issue 3523, 20 September 1921, Page 15

THE IRISH QUESTION

PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. CONFERENCE TO BE HELD. LONDON, September 11. Lord Dunraven, in a letter to The Times, urged the restoration of the former status of a Kingdom of Ireland under the British Crown as being preferable to a dominion status, which politically expresses the material growth of the Empire, but does not meet Ireland’s case, which never was a colony, and therefore is not an Imperial entity. On the other hand, Ireland has ever protested against its deprivation of its former status of a Kingdom and a Constitution. Lord Dunraven thinks that Sinn Fein, having acknowledged that the two islands are closely linked by physical and historical factors, would make a satisfactory arrangement on these lines which would not bo difficult of attainment, and would meet some idealist objections to the present proposals. THE KING’S EARNEST DESIRE j LONDON, September 14. ■ His Majesty the King, in reply to an I address from the Convocation of York, j Tefers to the depression following the war, ; and says : “ Stable peace is the goal for j which we must unceasingly labour. I feel . confident that Ministers at Home and in the dominions will keep it unwaveringly i before them. I was deeply touched by j the generous and whole-hearted welcome ' which was accorded to the Prince of ! Wales during his dominion tour.” ; “It is a cause of deep and sacred re- I lief,” continued the King, “ for which we ; owe thanks to God, that in answer to my | appeal a new sign of hope has arisen in i Ireland. I prav that the promise of a new era which is held out may he real- ; ised, and that the Irish people may be ■ united one to another in peace and good- | will.” j The Daily Mail’s Dublin correspondent ! reports that the Chamber of Commerce ! adopted a resolution expressing the hope that the Council of the Irish Chambers : of Commerce will be consulted before the final drafting of any solution of the Irish i problem or the drafting of any condition j dealing with the trade and commerce of j Ireland. This resolution, apart from its i own importance, shows the certainty with j which peace is expected. IRISH PLENIPOTENTIARIES APPOINTED. LONDON, September 14. It is reported from Dublin that the Bail ' Eireann, at a special tession to-dav, ap- j pointed Messrs Arthur Griffith, M Col- j lins, R. Barton, Duggan, and Gavan Duffy j plenipotentiaries at a conference to be 1 held with Mr Lloyd George. September 15. j It was previously known that Mr De ' Valera would not be a delegate to the conference. He will direct the delegation’s negotiations from Dublin, where he will remain in touch with the Dail Eireann. Mr Griffith is regarded as the ablest ’ delegate. ! Mr Duggan participated in the Irish rebellion at Easter in 1916, and was interned at Ballykinler, hut was released on parole to enable him, as solicitor for an appellant, to attend a law case before the House of Lords. He was unconditionally released when the present truce was arranged. Mr Barton fought in France as an officer of the Dublin Fusiliers, and also commanded the barracks in Dublin in tire 1916 rebellion, in wbicli the Sinn Foiners wore imprisoned. Subsequently he left the army and joined the Sinn Fein. SOVEREIGN INDEPENDENCE CLAIMED. I MR DE VALERA’S CLAIMS. LONDON, September 15. Mr De Valera’s reply declares his willingness for the Dail Eireann delegates to enter a conference, but only as representatives of a sovereign State. Official: The Inverness Conference has been cancelled. Mr Lloyd George telegraphed to De Valera that the reiteration of the claim to negotiate as an independent sovereign State makes a conference impossible. i The Sinn Fein reply, signed bv Mr De 1 Valera, states: II p have no hesitation in declaring our willingness to enter a conference to ascertain how the association of Ireland with the community of nations which we know as the British Empire can best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations. We accordingly summoned the Dail Eireann in order to ratify the names of our representatives, in the hope that they will be in Inverness on September 29. “In this final note we deem it our duty to affirm our position. Our nation has formally declared its independence, and recognises itself as a soveieign State. It is only as a representative of that State that we have any authority to act on beb.ilf of out people as regards the principle of government by consent of the governed. In the very nature of things this must ho the basis of any agreement that will I achieve tii*- pmpr,,. we have at heart—that is. the final ic: one filiation of our i nation with yours. We have suggested l there, can he no interpretation of that principle save its everyday interpretation in the sense, for example, ill which it was understood by plain men and women of the world on 'January 5, 1918, when you said : ‘ The settlement of a new Europe must be based on such grounds of reason and justice as will give some promise of stability. Therefore it is that we feel that government with the con-

sent of the governed must be the basis of any territorial settlement in this war.’ “These words, if true, are an answer to the criticism of our position which your last letter put forward. The principle was understood then to mean the right of nations that have been annexed to empires against their will to free themselves from the grappling hook. That is the sense in which we understand it.” PRIME .MINISTER’S REPLY'. SINN FEIN CLAIM REPUDIATED. LONDON, September 15. Mr Lloyd George telegraphed to Mr De Valera .- I informed your emissaries on Tuesday that reiteration of your claim to negotiate with his Majesty’s Government as the representative of an independent sovereign State makes a conference between us impossible. They j brought me a letter in which you specifi- | colly reaffirm that claim, stating that I your nation has formally declared its | independence. I asked them to warn I you of the very serious c ffo t of such : a claim, and I offered to regard the letter ! as not having been delivered in order : that you might have time to reconsider | it. In spite of this intimation you now ! publish the letter in its original form, i I must accordingly cancel the arrangements for a conference. I must consult I rnv colleagues as to the course of action I which this new situation necessitates. I will communicate this to you as soon as j possible: but, as I for the moment am j laid up here for a few days, delay is j inevitable. Meanwhile I must make it : absolutely clear that my Government ; cannot reconsider the position which I i stated to you. If we accepted a conference with Tour delegates on the formal statement of claim which you rej affirm,, it would constitute an " official j recognition bv my Government of the ; severance of Ireland from the Empire S and its existence as an independent Republic. Moreover, it would entitle you to declare that, in preference to i association with the Empire, you would : pursue a close association, by treaty, ; with some foreign Power. There is only j -one answer possible to such a claim, j Great concessions have been made by j my Government to the feeling of your j people in order to secure a lasting settlement, and they deserve a more generous response. But. so far, every advance has been made bv us. You have not come to meet us'by a single step, but have merely reiterated in | phrases of emphatic challenge the letter j and spirit of your original claim. ME DE VALERA'S REPLY. j CONFERENCE ACCEPTED, j LONDON, September 18. Mr De Valera has accepted the conference. DE VALERA TO LLOYD GEORGE. FULL TEXT OF HIS REPLY. ' The full text of De Valera’s reply to Mr Lloyd George has been published* It states:. “ We have already accepted the invitation to the conference in the exact words of your letter of the 7th. We have not asked you to abandon any principle even informally, but surely you must understand xve can only recognise ourselves for what we are. If this self-recognition be made reason for cancelling the conference we regret it, but it seems inconsistent. I have already had conferences with you, and in these conferences and in written communications I have never ceased to recognise myself for what I was and am. I If this involves recognition on your part then you have already recognised us. Had ; it been our desire to acid to the solid subj stance of Ireland’s rights the veneer of j technicalities of international usage which you now introduce tve might have claimed already the advantage of all these consequences which you fear would flow from the reception of our delegates now. Believe me, we have but one object at heartnamely, the setting up of the conference on a basis of truth and reality, such as would make it possible to secure the result which the two peoples ardently desire.” DE VALERA’S SURPRISE. LONDON, September 16. i Re Valera telegraphed to Mr Lloyd George : “ I am surprised that you do not see that if we accepted a conference on the basis of. your letter of September 7 without making our position equally clear Ireland’s representatives would enter the conference with their position misunderstood, and we would cause Ireland’s rio-fit to be irreparably prejudiced. Throughout the correspondence you have defined vour Government’s position, and we have" delined ours. If the positions were not so definitely opposed there would be no problem to discuss. It should be obvious in a care like this that if there is lo be any result the negotiators must meet without prejudice, untrammelled by anv conditions, except those imposed bv the facts as they know them. I an UNOFLIfTAL EXPLANATION, j LONDON, September 17. j It is unofficially esplained that the attitude of. the Sinn Fein leaders, interpreted m the light of De Valera’s telegram, is : “We cannot repudiate as a preliminary to the conference our republican declarations,. but if the conference is held and a satisfactory compromise reached it will be possible and timely for us to abandon our republican claims and to tell the Irish people, ‘We have done our best, and compromise is the utmost obtainable. Therefore we recommend you to accept it.’ ’-

It is doubtfui if the Lloyd George j Cabinet will pander to this punctilious attitude, involving the humiliation of waiv- I ing the condition requiring Ireland’s allegiance to the Crown. It is l*lieved that several Unionist Ministers will resign rather than agree to the Sinn Fein proposal for an untrammelled conference. THE VITAL PRINCIPLE. ALLEGIANCE TO THE KING. LONDON, September 17. Mr Lloyd George, replying to De Valera’s ■ letter, points out that to meet the Irish delegates as representatives of an independent State would constitute a formal official recognition of Ireland’s severance from the King’s domains, and would entitle them to make a treaty. It would equally entitle them to make no treaty, and to break off the conference at any point and negotiate a union of Ireland with a foreign Power. It would also entitle them, if they insisted on another appeal to force, to claim from foreign Powers, by England’s implicit admission, the rights of lawful belligerents against the King. If the Government dealt j with them as a sovereign independent State, j England xvould have no right, to complain of other Powers following her example. Tne Government was prepared to discuss how the association of Ireland with the British Empire could best be reconciled with Irish aspirations, but it could not consent to any abandonment, however, informal, of the principle of allegiance to the King, on which the whole fabric of the Empire and every Constitution within it is based. While De Valera insisted on claiming that the Irish Relegates should confer as representatives of an independent sovereign State, conference with them was im possible.

LLOYD GEORGE’S HEALTH. A SIMPLE TROUBLE REMOVED. LONDON, September 16. There is no cause for anxiety regarding Mr Lloyd George’s health, but care will be necessary for a few days. September 17. An Inverness dentist lanced an abscess on Mr Lloyd George’s tooth, which was the cause of his illness. Mr Lloyd George is better. THE POSITION OF ULSTER. LONDON, September 12. Mr De Valera received a deputation from the Derry Corporation presenting the corporation s resolution of allegiance to the Dail Eireann by the City of Derry, thus following the example of Tyrone and E ermanagh in an attempt to vote themselves out of the area of the Northern Parliament. According to a Belfast message, the Ulster Cabinet, under the presidency of Sir James Craig, conferred with the officer commanding the northern area, and at its request expressed willingness to increase the number of troops for the purpose of maintaining law and order. RIOT IN BELFAST. LONDON, September 15. Rioting took place in Vere street, Bel fast, revolvers being fired. When soldiers with a Lewis gun arrived the rioters fled. Two women wore shot. POSTMISTRESS ROUTS BANDITS. LONDON, September 10. Four armed men entered the post office in North Queen street. Belfast, and shouted "Hands up!” The postmistress seized inkstands and threw them at the intruders heads, causing them to flee precipitately. POLICE RAIDS. LONDON, September 16. 'I lie police and military were engaged all night in raids in North Queen street, Belfast, where shooting occurred earlier in the e-vening. Police cyclists last night surprised Sinn | Feiners drilling between Cookstown and I Coagh (County Tyrone) They were fired on, and retired for reinforcements. Meanwhile a party of Loyalists surprised, captured, and disarmed the Sinn Feiners, while a patrol captured three cyclist scouts with loaded revolvers.