The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-10
GEORGE IS
 SUPREME AGAIN
 AZ TER SLIGHT SLIP
Premier's Failing Popularity Restored By Threat of War of Secession-Nigger In
 Irish WoodpiIe
By K. walter


 London, September s@(Reciprccal News Service )-Disagre as it may be for any Englishmen with Irish sympathies to admit, nobody in this country could avoid recognizing the fact that English opinion has rallied to Lloyd Georges threat of an Irish war Of secession contained in his sec ond letter to DeValera. With the polit ical luck and adriotness of which he Is supreme exponet his own failure is being turned to Lloyd Georges ad- vantage In appearance he had gone the whole way, had offered Ireland everything that could reasonably be given to her; therefore. if Ireland s refusal stands, he will have the sup port of English opinion behind him in whatever measures he may see fit to take.
 In the words of the cynical, Lloyd George has now got the Irish where he wanted them. In appearance he has offered them full dominion status, or, as General Shuts calls it, the freedom which is working with com plete success in all parts of the Brit tsh League" The six conditions or, reservations, attached to the offer did not include any fundamental consti- tutional reservation.
 Status Intact
 In spite of the reservation of the control of the seas around Ireland and Great Britain. and the stipulation regarding facilities for the British air force, the conditions left the offer of dominion status constitp- tionally intact; they were all condi- tions which might have been written in treaty such as that governing the relations between the United States and Cuba. For Ireland to refuse such an offer, therfore, to the casual Brit ish mind-and the national mind O. Britain like that of any other country is casua1-seems unreasonab1, fanat- ical, fully warranting employment of force as the only possible alternative in dealing with such inflexiole ex- tremists. Very few in England real ized that, unspecified and scarcely even implied in the termc of the offer, there had been behind it all the time reservation which people so deeply concerned with their consti- tutional status as the Irish must have considered fundamental.
 Smuts Intervenes
 DeValera and his followers had en- tered upon these negotiations through the wise and trusted inter- vention of General Shuts, who for his part had taken up practically intact the terms of the settlement advoca- ted by Sir Horace Plunkett and the Irish Dominion League. Being, as always, most closely in touch with all the swaying factors of the Irish situation. Sir Horace Plunkett had some months ago declared that Ire Hand would accept an offer of the full dominion status.
 But Plunkett and Shuts both rec ognized, and publicly stated, that fu,i dominion status today implies the constitutional right of secession. Tie admission of this right, indeed by such authorities as Bonar Law and Lord .Milner was the very factor which made possible positive de- elaration that the dominion status would be acceptable to republican Irelard. Long and important dis cussions on this very point had taken place with Sim Fein leaders; and there is no reason to suppose that MT. Lloyd George and~ the British gov ernment were ignorant of them Dominion status" might mean any, thing, but henceforth full dominion status could mean nothing less than the status claimed by and admitted for Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, including the cor stitutional right of secession.
 Publishes Letter
 Fortunately a letter Shuts wrote to DeValera on August has now been published, so we know with certain ty and accuracy what Kind of domin- ion status had been in question be- tween the South African and the Irish leaders when the former persuaded the latter to enter into negotiations with Lloyd George. Shuts was con- cerned to persuade DeValera that Irelandscould obtain the realities of g lA minion. Shuts had seenAhe terms of Lloyd Georges offer, and in urging it's acceptance on DeValera he de- scribed it as offering Ireland posi- tion identical with that of the free nations of the British League. 1t was specifically the full dominion status that Smuts was talking and writing about; he even added, to n.ake it clear beyond question that he definitely un- derstood the right of secession to be included in it:
 Terms Must Satisfy
 Important British ministers have described dominion status in terms which must satisfy all you could le- ultimately wish for. MT. Lloyd George in his historic reply to Gen. eral Hertzog at Paris, Mir, Bonar Law in a celebrated declaration in the House of Commons. Lord Miner, as secretary of state for the colonies, have stated their views, and they CO., incide with the highest claims which dominion statesmen have ever put forward on behalf of their free na- tions." Later in his letter Shuts ra- fers to it again as complete dominion status, subject to certain strategic safeguards which you are asked to agree to voluntarily as free do- minion and which we South Africans agreed to as free nation in the union of South Africa"
 Invited to Join "British League"
 Ireland was being invited to join the British League" on terms of ab- solute equality with the other mem bers of the League. That was how Struts interpreted the offer. What is good enough for these nations ought surely to be good enough for Ireland, too" he added. For Irish men to say to the world they will not be satisfied with the status of the great British dominions would be to alienate all that sympathy which has 70 far been the main support Of the Irish cause.'' w
 Ireland is refusing Lloyd Georges offer and she is unquestionably alien ating . vast amount of sympathy in the world. But was full dominion status ever offereds Clearly, after, his private conferences with Lloyd George, Devalera had some reason to doubt whether 1t was even in ques- tion reasons beyond any which can be discovered in the text of the offer, beyond any discovered in 1t by Gem eral, Shuts or, we must presume otherwise known to him-for Shuts is an honorable man. So Devalera in his answer. referring to the/ free dom which the British dominfons en- joy, comes to the point with this sem