AGREEMENT WITH EIRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 May 1938, Page 8

AGREEMENT WITH EIRE

BILL BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS DEFENDED IN THE LARGER VIEW. MR CHAMBERLAIN’S SPEECH. (Recd This Day, 11.25 a.m.) RUGBY, May 5. Moving the second reading in the House of Commons of the Bill confirming the Anglo-Eire Agreement, the Prime Minister( Mr Neville Chamberlain), first reviewed the history of Anglo-Irish differences over many years. He said that to get' a complete settlement, four subjects demanded discussion. Partition had to be laid aside after both parties made their position clear, but agreements had been reached on the other three —defence, finance and trade. After describing the trade agreement, which, he said, might be considered equally beneficial to both parties, Mr Chamberlain; came to the agreements on defence and finance, of which he admitted it could not be said for either that, on the face of it, it constituted a good agreement from the point of view of the United Kingdom, since both made a very large and impressive concession to Eire without offering any corresponding advantages in return. “Indeed,” he continued, “I say frankly that if you are to find any such advantages you must look outside the agreement and seek those intangible and imponderable, but nevertheless invaluable fruits, which on various occasions in the past have rewarded liberal and unselfish acts of generosity by a great and powerful country towards a State weaker and poorer than itself.” After discussing the finance agreement in greater detail, Mr Chamberlain added that they should recollect they were dealing, not with a foreign country, but with a partner in the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Defending the concession made to Mr de Valera, Mr Chamberlain referred to the difficulties of defending ports in an unfriendly country and said that after the most careful consideration of all the.circumstances and after due consultation with its chiefs of staff, the Government came to the conclusion that a friendly Eire was worth far more to the United Kingdom, both in peace and war, than rights which could only be exercised at the risk of maintaining and perhaps increasing ill-will. They had surrendered the ports as an act of faith, firmly believing that the act would be appreciated by the people of Eire and would conduce to good relations. The Anglo-Eire Agreement Bill passed its second reading without a division. LIFE DEFENCES MR CHURCHILL CONDEMNS TRANSFER OF PORTS APPROVAL BY ADMIRALTY QUESTIONED (Recd This Day. 12.38 p.m.) LONDON, May 5. In the House of Commons, Mr Winston Churchill said the ports that were being handed over were the sentinels of the western approach through which

the people of Britain got their food and carried on trade. They were England’s life defences. The Government claimed Admiralty approval, but this was contrary to the expert opinion placed before the Government which negotiated the Irish Free State treaty.