IRELAND AND WAR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 260, 1 November 1929, Page 6

IRELAND AND WAR

r J _ 'HE Irish Free State, according to its Minister of Finance, Mr Blythe, is ready to stand firm in support of the newly acquired status of the Dominions, but it is not working for a separate Republic. The fear is, however, that the Irish Free State will be dragged into a war which does not concern it because of India or Egypt for instance. If a war were to break out in India or Egypt no Dominion would, or could, be coerced into taking part. That much is quite certain. But if the United Kingdom became involved with a first-class power Ireland would undoubtedly find itself included by the enemy as a part of the United Kingdom and that enemy would act accordingly. Ireland’s proximity to the West Coast of England, which is the nearest coast to her coal areas, would be a vantage which a belligerent would take if he could. Besides Ireland’s economy is exclusively bound up with a larger isle that for economic purposes Ireland must be considered as part of Great Britain. Of its £44,470,000 annual exports £43,405,000 goes to the Empire of which the United Kingdom takes the lot. No enemy would permit a constitutional doctrine to stay his band to prevent the large quantities of food from leaving Ireland for England nor would he accept any other view than that Ireland is part of England for his purpose. The result would be then that Ireland would find herself warred against by England’s foes whether she joined with England or not. It is, therefore, more than likely that this phase of the situation will become increasingly apparent and it would cause no surprise if, when the present nationalistic neurosis wears off that it will be Ireland seeking to strengthen the union with the rest of the United Kingdom because of the very material advantages which union bestows upon Ireland. The great pity is that had Irish affairs been treated with greater appreciation and sympathy the present situation would never have arisen and the unhappy pages of recent history would never have had to be penned.