THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1921. DE VALERA’S POSITION.

Wairarapa Age, 10 December 1921, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1921. DE VALERA’S POSITION.

An extraordinary message received yesterday afternoon stated, that de Valera had rejected the peace terms. We are not sure that this matters. When the negotiations started months ago de Valera was one of the Sinn Fein delegates. After one or two interruptions he finally returned to Ireland and since then has taken no part in the conferences. The delegates who remained, of whom Mr Arthur Griffith and Mr Michael Collins were the principal, continued without him, and it has since been a question what position de Valera now holds in Sinn Fein. To judge by the speeches he was mak ing on the very eve of the agreement he was still irreconcilable, and apparently he maintains that attitude with two of his colleagues. The question is whether Sinn Fein any longer adheres to him, or whether his ceasing to act as a delegate signified the repudiation of his leadership. For some time thgre has been a feeling against him in Irish circles on the ground that his interest in Ireland is purely an academic one. We shall probably learn in a few hours whether his rejection of the terms really affects the position. There are always one or two in such cases who cannot be reconciled, but the hearty acceptance of the terms in all other quarters will probably carry the day.