The Ulster Boundary

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 28, 2 July 1924, Page 21

The Ulster Boundary

"s President Cosgrave gave his views on the situation to ;; v -a special correspondent of the Giucciyo T/tutt/i <3, who has i j. been in Dublin, Mr. Hugh Kennedy, K.C., Attorney- ' < ‘General, was present during the interview. ' . Sir James Craig may have automatically and unwit- ; tingly ended the partition of Ireland by his refusal to carry but the clause in the Treaty providing for the appointment ; of three Commissioners to- delimit the boundaries in the : event of “Ulster” deciding to take advantage of her right - to vote herself out of the Free State. “The words of the Treaty are so clear on this point that it is amazing no one has raised the point before, and that it has apparently been overlooked by the Ulster lawv yers,” President Cosgrave said. “Oup position is the Treaty, the . whole Treaty, and nothing but the Treaty, We have carried out our part in face of the greatest difficulties, and we intend to continue .-V‘ v to do so. England has carried out-her part, and we expect her to continue to. * “Let me direct your attention to the language of the Treaty on the points in dispute with the North-Eastern Government. The Treaty was made, not with a part of ■ Ireland, but with the whole of Ireland, for whom our plenij potentiaries spoke. But to satisfy the fears and prejudices of some Irishmen in the North-East they were given in Article 12 the right to keep out of the Free State by presenting an address to the King to this effect. - “Reverts to Saorstat.” “Article 12, however, goes on to make an important provision. It says: Provided that if such address is so pre- ‘ sented a Commission consisting of three persons, etc., shall determine the boundaries. We hold the whole situation is governed by that word provided.’ . r “If Ulster -persists' in refusing to appoint a Commisl_ sioner ‘her process of opting out becomes incomplete, and of the Free State. “It will be our duty then to provide for the Government of Ulster as far as our powers go. Under the Treaty, of bourse, Ulster retains her separate provincial Parlia- - / liament with 'control of certain of her public services. The only difference is that the reserve powers now exercised by , the British Parliament would be exercised by the Irish Parliament, and the members elected in Ulster to the British Parliament would sit in Dail Eireann. “Our first duty would be to provide for the elections ■of members of Dail Eireann from the Ulster area, and that will be done as soon as the position is clear. It would be the duty also of the British Parliament to dismiss the Ulster members now sitting there, as they would have no status in that Parliament. <: : Claim Unsustained. ' “We expect England to carry out the Treaty as scrupulously as we have done, and we are sure she will. M;.- , “I 'would also point out,” declared President Cosgrave, “that Ulster’s claim to be a party to the bargain is incorrect. There are only two parties to that bargain —lreland and Great Britain, and Ulster is part of one or the other. The Act of 1920 which Ulster claims as a , bargain with her, was not a bargain; it’was the Act of a i) - ruling country imposed on a province which Ulster, as a .subordinate, had to accept. There was also a clause in 1 that Act expressly excepting Treaties from its scope. ‘r; 't I still hope that Sir James Craig will see his way to |^|hk a share-in the Boundary Commission. We do not v want to be unfair. I do not want unwilling citizens in |the Free State; but, on the other hand, I do not want Ulster to retain large sections of our people against their Ipg:; will.' ' It " -j. \ Not By Coercion. " ; i “I look forward to the time when boundaries will disappear, but it must be by the goodwill and consent of the V people and not by coercion. Until that.: time comes we ; ; must live as^neighbox’s, and, I hope, as good neighbors. ": -

“Let us, therefore, not quarrel about fences, but agree, and let us use the machinery, put in our hands for reaching agreement. It is hard to see Ulster’s reply to this legal position. 1 ' : “If England carries out the letter of the Treaty according to this interpretation Ulster' must either accept the legal position or resist by force. / In that event she would be rebelling not only against Ireland but the British Empire, to which she professes passionate loyalty. CRAIG’S REPLY. Suggested Exchange of Territory. Speaking as Grand Master at a meeting of the Grand. Orange Lodge of Down in Newtownards, Sir J. Craig said he proposed to say a few words about the situation as it stood that day after what had appeared in the press respecting the pronouncement of Mr. Cos-* grave. After a lapse of a considerable time, Mr. Cosgrave had fired a bombshell, as it were, into their midst, or per*haps he might, be modest and call it a shot of a revolver. Mr, Cosgrave’s contention now was because the Boundary Commission was likely to break down, or because they had refused to appoint a representative they automatically reverted to a Government of --the whole of Ireland under those in Dublin (laughter). The Constitution under which they were now* living was given to them by the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, as modified by the Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1922. The British Government had recognised that position, appointing a separate Governor and Privy Council for “Ulster.” Mr. Cosgrave was assuming that by their refusal to appoint the Commissioner “opting out” which was carried out by the “Northern” Government in December, 1922, had become void and of no effect. Mr. Cosgrave appeared to assume that the Boundary Commission could not bo set up unless “Ulster” appointed a Commissioner, which was the Ulster Government’s contention. If that contention was sound, as the Northern Government maintained, then equally Mr, Cosgrave could have refused to nominate a member of tho Commission, and on his argument now put forward he could by that method have brought “Ulster” back into the Free State. . -- Sound Reasoning. Mr. Cosgrave, therefore, to accomplish his ends, should immediately have recalled. Mr. McNeill and refused to the British Government what they had refused—to appoint any Commissioner to the Boundary .Commission—and if he was legally right the Boundary Commission disappeared, not by their action in this case, but by his action, and then “Northern” Ireland, as he held, immediately became part of the Free State. The thing, said Sir James, was absurd, and it must be absurd—why otherwise did they appoint Mr. Mac Neill as a member of the Boundary Commission? His answer to Mr. Cosgrave was, as it was to all those who talked about ‘Ulster” going into any combination in Dublin, that the people had determined and the people would maintain their determination (applause). Back to Birkenhead. ‘ Since the Buckingham Palace conference, and it was remarkable that at the last conference they had been on practically the same subject—Tyrone and Fermanaghit was remarkable that no fewer than ■ five British Prime Ministers had passed across the stage.- Since then no less than three so-called leaders of the Irish Party had also passed across the stage. He was the only one left there to keep on reiterating over and. over the'impossibility of any Government, British dr; otherwise,- coercing the people of > “Ulster” against their will - and wish (applause). V Mr. Kevin O’Higgins, Sir -James went on, had made a >very exhaustive statement from the Free State point of view, - and he had attempted to show inconsistency in two statements made by Lord Birkenhead a .few days/ago in

Liverpool. 1 He (Sir James) had occasion to reply vigorously . to both of those speeches, but at the same time it was only v fair ; to state that he saw no inconsistency between the . % speeches Lord Birkenhead had made. &There was, he said, a portion of President Cosgrave’s y statement he wanted to quote: “I still hope Sir James ■y Craig will see his way to take his share in the Boundary Commission. AA do not want to be unfair, and do not ; want unwilling citizens in the Free State; but on the , other hand, we do not want 1 Ulster ’ to retain any section 1 . of our people against their will. '"■l That, Sir James declared triumphantly, was exactly what Lord Birkenhead said and exactly what he must have meant when he made both speeches, and that was exactly what he (Sir James) replied to Mr. Cosgrave. In other wo-ds, bv agreeing they could undoubtedly meet the wishes of Lord Bukenhead and of Mr. Cosgrave by giving to them certain portions of their territory—Homan Catholic from top to bottomwho, possibly, would be acceptable to the Free State, and who would, be welcomed by Mr. Cosgrave, and who by their departure from the “Ulster” area would ensure Protestant occupation of those territories to which Lord Birkenhead referred, and ensure that the County Council and other local authorities would be all Protestant. He had, he said, met the point of Mr. O’Higgins. If it were a matter of swopping— knew no better word Loyalists who were only desirous of going with them along the Empire’s path and flying the Union Jack and coining into their territory, they would swop those who were de- ' sirous of going along the line of the Free State, hut he was going to be no party to the driving out of anyone, no matter what their creed might be if they wanted to remain with them. ■ “Quite Welcome.” He, as head of a Government that had to govern all creeds and classes inside their boundary—he would insist upon the same respect for the law from the Orange brethren as he would from the Catholics who lived in their midst — ' must take cognisance of the fact that if any of those men' -wanted loyally to remain with the “Ulster” people—they were, Ulstermen as much as his hearers —they would be quite welcome. No act on his part would drive them out. Therefore, at the eleventh hour, for there was no doubt that grave question was. approaching finality of some sort or another, he would speak a message in a very short sentencehe would say to Mr. Cosgrave and his Government and to the people of “Northern” Ireland : Either drop the Boundary question or let us settle the matter by agreement (applause). v SIR JAMES CRAIG’S INTERVIEW. The icago Tribune published the following account of an interview which a special correspondent of that journal had with Sir James Craig during the week-end; “We are the two leaders of Ireland. Somehow or other we reached that position. For God’s sake, let us'lead. I am willing to get out of public life to-morrow if by doing so; I can bring peace to Ireland. I am sure Mr. Cosgrave is no less willing to do the same. Why not let us get together, and settle this boundary question, regardless of the -extremists of either side I had gone to ask him for a reply to Air. Cosgrave’s suggestion that Ulster would legally become a part’ of-the. Free State by failure to appoint a Boundary Commissioner' under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. He brushed the question aside. ; - A “Man to Man.” rt “I am not a lawyer. My legal advisers tell me that Mr. Cosgrave is wrong, but I am not much interested. I ao not like the idea of two sets of Irishmen using slim legal tactics against each Other, but please do not represent me -saying that Mr. Cosgrave is doing so. |t: p ments. ,1 am convinced that if Mr. Cosgrave and Ir 4,; get together, man to man, with freedom to act, we ■y■ could soon arrive at an agreement. f / “It is said that I have my extremists and he Iqjs his V ignore them. Let us get together, man to man, and settle whom we must both : consider. - Very. well, then; let . us

ignore them. Let us get together, man to man, and settle this question of boundaries. It would not be hard'. 1 am not unreasonable. ~ ' I_. , ' Exchange of Areas. - / “There are substantial areas oil the Ulster side of the boundaries inhabited by person's who would rather belong to the Free State. I do not Want to keep them if they express a desire to go, but I will not turn them out if they desire to stay. There are other areas now in the Free State which 1 think wish to join Ulster. I do not think Mr. Cosgrave wants to keep them. • “Then there are places along the border where the boundary needs straightening outa parish here, a townland therethat can be done by two men who want a fair settlement, better than by any formal Commission.” . I asked Sir James if, in case Mr. Cosgrave consented to such a meeting, he would be willing to abandon the demand that Clause 12 of the Treaty (which provides for the Boundary Commission) be scrapped in advance. < “You mean, would I say- to Mr. Cosgrave— ‘ Let us try to agree, and, if we fail, you still retain your rights under Clause 12? I should like time to think that proposition over before answering. • Imperial War Debt; “What I do suggest is that we get together and settle the matter, and then together approach the British Government to secure the abrogation of that clause in the Treaty which calls for. Southern Ireland to assume a small part of the Imperial Debt charges. If we both demand this, it will be easy to secure the necessary British legislation. “The whole present trouble is due to the vagueness of the terms of the Treaty and the promises made to both sides by third parties-. Let us, Irishmen in Ireland, settle the matter between ourselves, even if it involves the sacrifice of our political careers.” MYSTIC SILENCE. It is significant that no Belfast newspaper has made any mention whatever of the remarkable interview given by Sir James Craig to the representative of the Chicago Tribune. It will be remembered that in the course of the interview the Northern Premier advocated the ignoring of extremists, and added; “There are substantial areas on the Ulster side of the boundaries inhabited by persons who would rather belong to the Free State. I do not want to keep them if they express a desire to go, but I will not turn them out if they desire to stay. There are other areas now in the Free State which, I think, wish to join Ulster. Ido not think Mr. Cosgrave wants to keep them.”