Terrorism In London

Southland Times, Issue 23736, 7 February 1939, Page 6

Terrorism In London

The present outbreak of terrorism in London, sponsored by the Irish Republican Army, must have taken most people by surprise. Anglo-Irish relations, after several years of failure and bad feeling, showed a sudden and marked improvement last year. In April the signing of the AngloIrish Agreement, which closed a long and unfortunate dispute, was described by The Manchester Guardian as “the best thing that has happened in the relations between the two countries since the treaty of 1921.” It is therefore obvious that the I.R.A. diehards are making a tragic blunder in attempting to coerce British opinion at this particular time. They are reported to have demanded the removal of British troops from Ireland. It seems strange that such violent action should be considered necessary in order to force an issue that has already received the attention of the British and Irish Governments. Under the terms of the agreement Britain has transferred to Ireland the Admiralty property and rights at Berehaven and the harbour defences at Berehaven, Queenstown and Lough Swilly. Ireland

now has the right to organize her own coastal security, and it was generally assumed that the two Governments were preparing to enter an agreement on “the broader issues of defence.” To have achieved so much after so many delays was described in Britain as a triumph for British and Irish statesmanship and as an important step towards a free co-operation between the two countries. It is true that the basic problem of partition remained unsolved, and it is possible that this, more than anything else, is the major grievance of those responsible for the London bombings. As recently as last October Mr de Valera went so far as to say that “no Irish leader will ever be able to get the Irish people to cooperate with Great Britain while partition remains.” The attitude of the British Government on this question is simply that the North and South of Ireland can be united only through the free consent of the North, and Ulster seems certain to maintain its traditional attitude for some time to come. Meanwhile it should scarcely be necessary to point out that the London outrages are the work of extremists (perhaps “fanatics” is the better word) who are not to be associated in any way with the Government of Ireland and who, indeed, are just as likely to take action against their political leaders as against the people and property ' of Britain. Their violence and folly must be as hateful to the majority of their- own countrymen as it is to the British public, for it undermines the new and improved relationship between the two countries and seriously handicaps the attempts now being made to fostei’ co-operation and understanding by constitutional methods.