EMPIRE AND FREE STATE

Waikato Times, Volume 111, Issue 18640, 19 May 1932, Page 11

EMPIRE AND FREE STATE

QUESTION OF THE OATH. TESTING ,TIME FOR SENATE. (From a Correspondent.) DUBLIN, April 10, The concern of Australia, New Zealand /and other Dominions about the question of the Oath shows that the issue is really larger than that of a mere Treaty obligation. It came as a surprise to many that any other Dominion should of its own initiative take notioe of a difference between the two parties. But this, after all, is logical consequence of free association and co-equality of status. The links which bind together the members of the British Commonwealth are so slight that any tendency to weaken or impair them may have far-reaching effects. Australia has its Irish problem, and what happens,here may have internal reactions in that Dominion. The question being one of common interest, it was hoped that our Government might seek conference, and, if possible, mutual agreement. If the general belief is correot, we are to act alone. If Great Britain wants to confer, her representatives must come to 'Dublin. We are told that the popular will—internal security even—demands that the Oath must go, and there is to be speedy legislation to this end. This attitude is not helpful to negotiation, but it Is popular with Government supporters.

What Will Senate Do? It seems likely that the fibre of the Senate may be put to an early test. There is in the House a substantial pro-Treaty majority. The attitude of this House will, however, be determined on national, and not on party, grounds. Mr Cosgrave, speaking for the official Opposition, has said that he will strenuously resist all and any measures calculated to jeopardise our Dominion status. If all the members of the Commonwealth agreed unconditionally to the Oath’s removal, then the Senate would not block the way. This would be hard on ,the late Government, who strove in danger and in honour to observe and enforoe the Treaty. There will certainly be a section who will counsel the Senate to support the Government at any cost. It will be the old cry of unity in the face of "the enemy.” It will bo argued that the Senate is already in jeopardy and that its only hope is to be docile. It will also be said that anything is better than a general election with the Senate in the "dock.” But the position of the Senato can and should be made perfectly clear. It has no voncratlon for the Oath per se; it only wants to be sure of what is likely to follow from its removal. If our Dominion status and material benefits were to remain unaffected, then tho House woukUabollsh this and every other limitation that the popular vote might demand. If it acts cither for party purposes or for motives of self-preservation its Ignominy is manifest and its doom certain.

Unattainable Ideal.

The resumption of the Dail on April 20 —the second day of Punchestown — Is awaited with interest which centres mainly round tho Budget proposals.

Certain sections of the public are alert with hope, still believing that Government possesses some magic powei of rehabilitation. The statement ot the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, in which he pictures the decentralisation of industry, has struck the note that so many feel. He spoke on the question of milling, and expressed the hope that in the place of one or two large mills in the ports we should have 40 or 50 small mills scattered up and down the country. )As an ideal this is admirable. There is nobody who would not prefer to see those local mills that the repeal of the Corn Laws closed working once again. Even as ruins they are picturesque; they were once part of a simple and yet complete rural economy. But the difficulty is to put back the clock and revive that simple idyllic life. It is this very day-dreaming which is .a danger to-day. - There is in the minds of many in power a kind of idealised Soviet where everybody shall be disciplined and yet fre'e—a kind of eclectic civilisation in which the best only shall be allowed to take root. All this is the outcome of excessive brooding over the wrongs of Ireland and poetic vision of what she might under sympathetic rule become.

Less Sense of Reality. The late Government were nurtured in this same atmosphere, bub at the outset were/ met by the stern realities of civil war, and then had to face up to the difficult task of reconstruction. They had lo take things as they were and mainly to follow accepted practice. The present Government is presented with a going concern, with finance, a civil service, and all the machinery of Government. It ha's no preliminary and practical obstacles to surmount. Its sense of reality is less and Its temptations greater than than its predecessor’s. There are greedy mouths open wide up and down the country. Every town is looking for something —a mill, a factory, an Institution. It is to this end that the policy of protection is directed. Here our fate is assured. Powerful interests are already busy behind the scenes. The benefits are alluring, the dangers hidden and remote, and no practical difficulty of finance lies In the way of operation.

A Great Congress

The Eucharistic Congress which, it is hoped, wljl provide an easy and practical fillip in these hard times. Preparations are well in hand. The Archbishop of Dublin has Issued invitations for the various functions during Congress week. This opens on Monday, June 20, with the reception of the Cardinal Legale, and closes on Sunday, the 26th, with Pontifical Mass in Phoenix, Park. During these days there will he sectional meetings of more than 20 national groups, t