THE IRISH PROBLEM.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 February 1922, Page 3

THE IRISH PROBLEM.

[by TELEGRAPH— PER PREB3 ASSOCIATION] MORiE RELEASES SECURED. BY FREE STATE GOVERNMENT. LONDON, February 16. in the House of Commons, Mr W. ■'* Churchill said that 26 more kidnapped .persons have been released, owing to the exertions of the Irish Free S a 6 Government.

CH URCHILL’S ADVOCACY. LONDON, Feb. 16. lii the House of Commons, Mr W. Churchill, moved the second reading of tilt Irish Ffee State' Agreement BUI. Mf Churchill impressed on the House tot, Bill’s The Provisional Irish Government, he said, was jret unsahetified by Ihw. ihus it was an anoinaly, ahd one unprecedented in the history of tHe British Eihpire; Its continuance thus for one day longer than was necessary was derogatory to the Parliament, and the nation and the Crown. They could not expect the In. - Provisional Government to restoie order in Ireland until it had «ts proper legal powers. One of the most important results of this Bill would be the holding of an election m Southern L land He hoped that the people Kugh that election, would finely put aside the idea of an Irish Republic. He also hoped that the election ™ildjesult in the securing of a fresh, mal, sensible Parliament for Southern Ireland. The men at present m tha Parliament, he said, were chosen not 7 +i,pir snecial fitness, hut bebecause of then speo n ’ cause they had been thought to be t.ie ones most obnoxious to Britishpove . If Ireland repudiated Die eaty ’ contended, the position of Southern I land would become one of great weakness for she would then become isolated from the world. . It had been suggested that the present Irifeh Government woidd be upse by a coup d’etat, said Mr Churchill. It had been suggested that a. Rec vov would he created. He thought that no people in the world were less likely to turn Bolshevist than the Irish people. Since the Irish Treaty had been signed, the position in Ireland had improved Ireland, he said was now on trial before the world. Six months ago it was Britain who had to justify lieiself in the eyes of the world. * Ulster’s position to-day, he declared,

. was one of great moral and great military strength. The Irish Provisional Government should receive every possible assistance. While the position of the northern frontier had recently been improved, the position in Belfast wa.s a horrible one. He hoped that there would bo some sort of a- parley, with a view to ending the vendettas that were rife in Belfast. , THE BOUNDARY. Alluding to the boundary question, he said: “No expression of opinion now could affect the Treaty.” Had they waited to refer the boundary question to Ulster, there would have been no

treaty. . , Continuing, Mr Churchill said that it would have meant the reconquest of Southern Ireland, at an enormous cost of blood and treasure ,when the only difference was the right of the people in certain Ulster districts to exercise their opinion, regarding which Government they prefer to live under. It had been agreed that one month’s option, in which Ulster should decide whether to j join the'Free State, should run from . the final Act on the recognising of the constitution of the Free State. The Boundary Commission could not begin work until August. : Sir F. Banbury interjected: “They will all have killed each other in Ireland by then!” Mr Churchill: “On the contrary, we hope that things will improve.” Mr Churchill said that it would he much better to try for an agreement on j the boundary question. The endeavour of Sir Jas Craig and Mr M. Collins to reach a settlement of the outstanding matters, including the Council of All Ireland, had not finally been abandoned. Surely they had better leave this • boundary question until after the Irish j election. Things must he better after the election than now, when one renegrade Englishman. Mr Erskine Child- . ers, was doing his best to poison the relations between Die Irish leaders and his j own people. If, finally, the British Government saw that "Ulster was being , maltreated, or mutilated by the Bonn- i dary Commifesion, they would he hound to reconsider her whole financial and economic, position, so as to ensure that j Ulster would not be ruined by her lov- < alty to Britain.

Captain Craig moved an amendment: “That the House do not. proceed with •this Bill, until the Government, gives an, assuratnce* that no decision of the Irish Boundary Commission is to take effect without the approval of the Northern Ulster Parliament.” The mover argued that the negotiations with the Sinn Fein leaders had no right to include the boundary clause in the Treaty, or to make a disposition of what he termed the Northern Government’s property. It was like dealing with stolen property. He was in Mr Lloyd George’s house on the night when the treaty was signed, and he • could easily have voiced Ulster’s opinion that they never would settle the issue on the lines of the proposed treaty. V Boundary Commission, he said, would lead to nothing but bloodshed and chaos. Sir Gordon Hewart (Attorney-Gen-eral) said it was no part of the duty of the law officers to interpret Article Twelve of the Treaty. It would be for the Boundary Commission to interpret the article. Sir William Davidson said there had a distinct breach of 'faith with Ulregarding the boundary, while Sir * William Allen said Ulster would “fight to 'the death” against any serious disturbance of boundaries. DELVIN’S ATTITUDE. Mr Joseph Devlita (Nationalist member for West Belfast) said it was the patriotic duty of everyone to assist in ’carrying out the Treaty. He denounced the criticism of the Irish Provisional Government as not putting down crime. They had recently come into being, and had stupendous difficulties to encounter. When the Unionists, he said, turned

up the white of their eyes at what was ocrurring in Southern Ireland they did not mention what is going on now in Belfast City. COLLINS’ ADVICE TO ENGLAND. DELIVER THE GOODS. LONDON, Feb. 17. Mr Michael Collins last night telegraphed to Mr Churchill as follows: — “The best way in which the. British Government can help us, at the present time is not by suspending the carrying out of the Treaty regarding the military evacuation, but by so adhering to its spirit and letter that Ireland will be convinced that Britain is really delivering the goods this time. Many people in Ireland believe that England will again trick us. This belief is being issued to our disadvantage. We, who put| our hands to the Treaty, do not intend to turn hack, but we tnu?t insist that the other side shall also slio .v absolute goodwill.

“In this regard, it is high tiirie that the English people should view the socalled Ulster question iii its true perspective, and protest strongly against the campaign of slander that is proceeding in connection with the trouble between the east and west of Ulster. It was inevitable that Ulster’s detention of the I.R .A. officers who were going to a football match, and also the failure 'to notify, in time, the reprieve of the Derry prisoners, should be met locally by the recent seizure of prominent Unionists. It is equally unavoidable that the Nationalist minority in Belfast- City should now defend themselves.. I, and my associates, are working in the teeth of many difficulties. We are ready to settle all matters in a spirit of peace and of goodwill. We have already proved our sincerity by our withdrawal of the boycott on Ulster. There will he no real peace until the Ulsterites have displayed the same spirit as this.”

THE CLONES SHOOTING. LONDON, February 16

In the House of Commons, Winston Churchill said that both the Northern and the Free State Provisional Governments- in Ireland desired an impartial inquiry into the Clones railway station shooting outbreak. The British Government, therefore, had offered a suitable judicial officer to conduct a public inquiry.

DEVLIN ON BELFAST TERROR LONDON February 17.

In the House of Commons, Mr Joseph Devlin (Belfast West) said that there are 100,000 Catholics in the city of Belfast, out of its total of 400,0-. < population. These Catholics for 18 months, have been treated as outlaws. They have been hunted and jiersecuted, murdered and attacked b v assassins,. some of thorn in uniform.” I ask the Northern Government,” In said “what they propose to do to end the reign of terror and this saturnalia of blood and assassination?”