Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1937. FREE STATE ELECTIONS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19371, 8 July 1937, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1937. FREE STATE ELECTIONS

The final results of the elections and constitutional referendum in the Irish Free Stale disclose a position that can hardly be regarded as satisfactory from any point of view, and least of all, perhaps, from that of the Government itself. Seeming to have everything in his favour, Mr. de Valera went to the polls confident of an overwhelming victory, but the returns have left him in a position whicli suggests that he will have no alternative but to again appeal to the electors for a clearer mandate one way or the other. It is true that the Government secured 69 seats in the Dail, or exactly half the total, but the remaining seats, divided between the United Ireland Party, the Labour Party, and Independents, all count as votes against Mr. de Valera. If he is to proceed with his policy, therefore, it is essential that he should compromise with some of his opponents, and the most likely move will be an agreement with the Labour Party. There are difficulties connected with this course, however, because in some respects, at least, the Government's policy is not acceptable to the Labour Party, and, in consequence, some planks would require to be jettisoned. It is certain, moreover, that the

Labour members would drive a hard bargain, more particularly since they considered that Mr. de Valera did not treat them fairly after using their votes in 1932. On the other hand, the more the Government concedes to Labour, the more it is likely to antagonise other sections of its supporters and thus prejudice its position if it again faces the electors. An analysis of the voting, so far as it is possible from the bare returns, is not flattering to the Government. At the 1933 elections, Mr. de Valera had 77 supporters returned, an increase of five, while Mr. Cosgrave’s followers totalled 43, a reduction of 17, the remaining seats being divided between the Centre Party, Labour Party, and Independents. To-day the Government ranks have been reduced to 69, a drop of nine, while the strength of the principal Opposition party remains the same. The bare result, therefore, suggests a swing away from the Government, but other factors show that the loss is even more serious than appears at first glance. The new Dail contains 15 fewer seats than the older one, this being due to a rearrangement of the constituencies in a manner calculated to favour Mr. de Valera and the abolition of university seats which were held by the Opposition. Thus the cards were more or less stacked in favour of the Government, but even with this advantage it has not been able to maintain its former position. Of the minor parties, Labour has gained five additional seats, obviously at the expense of the Government, while the independents have been reduced by three. Labour alone, therefore, has made any real gain. The voting on the proposed new constitution is a little more decisive than that for the Dail, but even here there is a serious element of uncertainty. The final figures show 686,000 votes in support of the constitution and 528,000 against it. It i? recognised in all countries that a bai e majority is not sufficient warrant foi making constitutional changes, and the general practice is to require the support of two-thirds of the voters. Had this principle been applied in the Free State is would have meant that 810,000 affirmative votes would be needed to establish the new constitution, or 124,000 more than were actually obtained. It should not be overlooked, also, that the new constitution purports ultimately to embrace the whole of Ireland, but the electors of Ulster, of course, had no opportunity oi expressing an opinion. It seems almost certain that had all-Ireland voted Mr. de Valera’s separatist proposal would have been rejected. As it is, in the absence of detailed returns, it is, not possible to say whether all the counties of the Free State were' in favour of the plan, but in view-of the small majority it seems likely that support was confined to Leinster.

It is the constitutional issue, since it involves the relationships of the Free State with the rest of the British Empire, that is of the greatest interest to the rest of the world, but Qven here it is possible to exaggerate the importance of the proposal and the vote in suport of it. On the face of it, the object of the new constitution is complete separation from the United Kingdom, but the actual effect, at least in the meantime, would be to retain the link with the British commonwealth of nations and to give to the Free State practically the same status as is now enjoyed by other self-governing Dominions. There is even recognition, in a nebulous sort of way certainly, of the status of the King, and Mr. de Valera has declared that the Free State is prepared to resist in every possible way any foreign attacks on the British commonwealth “of which it is a member.” So it is that even the constitutional issue, dramatic though it appears on the surface, is, in reality, little more than another domestic problem. Paradoxically, the proposal to give freedom to Ireland is calculated to detract from the existing freedom cf its people, since under the constitution the President would ge given wide powers of dictatorship. Whether the constitution will ever be put into operation in its present form remains to be seen, but at present another election appears to be inevitable and there is no reason to doubt that ultimately the people of the Free State will discover some means of satisfactorily settling their problems, and it now seems less likely than ever that they will clo anything- to prejudice the relationships with the rest of the Empire.