IRISH ANNUITIES

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1932, Page 5

IRISH ANNUITIES

MORE DISCUSSION

SIR J. SIMON’S STATEMENT(British Official Wireless.) ■RUGBY, August 6. An important reffcr„-iiea io- the dispute was ■ made by Sir John J.'Simon, an.a speech «to-r.i o at: He particu.arly dep.-ortvl the coutioversy because a!V--r a long histoiy of misunderstanding,, the hash Treaty signed ten yeans ago formed a basis ©a which clone harmonious relations- were being built up. The essential elements of the land annuities question were very simple. Annuities were based on actual transactions .entered into by .1 li-h farmers for the • purpose of buying their holdings. He British . Qovernmeat .Bor'.Jfnved "from individual lenders the money by which the . land was bought, guaranteeing repayment, on the faith in the promise that the instalments, paid by the purchasers, representing interest and sinking fund, would be regularly forthcoming. The annuities thus represented the means by which hundreds of thousands of Irish tenants were becoming owners of farms by payment of instalments which were a little -more than half the amount payable as Vint, prior to ■ the purchase. Before Mr do Valera came into office, the annuities were collected from the borrowers by the Free State Government and paid tp 4 the British Commissioners, who distributed them to the 1 1909;” The . agreement was published March* 26tih-, provided “the Government of the Frio Stat e to uhde-rtake to, pay the British Government ,at agreed intervals, -the full amounts of annuities d: ’. under the Irish Land Act, 18311909.”, 'The agreemen was published and discussed in -the Dail.: Mr de Valera, however, while still collecting, instalments from Irish farmers, contend-d there was no obligation to pay the money oyer with the consequence that the British Government had been obliged out. of its\owii’ resources, to find the money due to the lenders. It was obvious that the case had no sort of analogy with war debts. Indeed; Ireland was the only country in Europe, besides' Belgium, which had been forgiven a sha-re in the war debts. altogether. The British Government had to protect the budgetary position by imposing certain dutti'ss on Irish imports to make up for the loss.

It was clear that tli e esse might be adjusted in two ways, arbitration oi negotiation. Ine ' British Government earnestly truiste'd one or other would lb» speedily adopted;*'; Mi* d e * Valera contended there was good arguments to prove the Irish'/Government; .should keep the money. The British Government did not agree that the way to end such a disagreement was by an arbitral award, by which both sides would be bound. He denounced as false any suggestion that the Prime Minister had refused even negotiation un’e&s land annuities were first paid over.

‘‘Progress is possible,”- said Sir Ji ■Simon, “through -arbitration, such as ■we proposed either on the basis that in the meantime both -sides continue what they are doing now, money being impounded and ’duties being collected, or by the basis that both sides x> back to -ths course of practice, they were following before the instalments were withheld,- but whatever procedr ure is followed, men of goodwill on both side’s of the Channel, who want to see bargains kept and disputes settled, will hope that means will soon be found to end the controversy, every believer in Ang’o-Irish co-op'eration most deeply deplores.”

FREE STATERS’ DESPAIR. LONDON, August 8. “The Times” . Dublin emt says-; Free Staters, after a most depressing week,' are Bewildered ' almost to the point of despair at the Dail not re-assembling until October. De Valera’s speech in the Dai! has made the. position even more, obscure.. The citizens resemble passengers of a ruddgjiliiss, storm-tossed .ship, officers and crew standing i-dle, ' waiting the end of ' the one way trade. Mr de Valera advises the farmers to avoid amy panic, but nothing is being done to remove the deadlock.