The New York herald., 1921-08-28
JAN SMUTS'S LETTER
TO irish LEADER
Full Text of South African
Statesman's Note to
EamOn de Valera.
WARNS ABOUT ULSTER
No Solution Based on Her
Joining New State Will
Succeed.
THINKS TIME WILL HELP
Advises Concentration on Free
Constitution for Rest
of Ireland.
THINKS TIME WILL HELP

vi lICIdDus
HereUith is published the teTt OF
Gen. Jan C. Snuts's remarkable let
ter to Eomon de Valera on the ques-
Mon of peace in ireland. Only brtet
extracts haze been printed in this
country.
Special Correspondence to THE New YORK
LONDON. Aug. 17.-Gen. Smuts's let
ter to Eamon de Valera follows In full:
SAVOY HOTEL. London.
Aug. 4, 1921.
EGnaon de Valera, Esq, Mansion
House, Dublin:
ny DEAR DE VALERA: Lane duly re-
ported to me tho substance OF his con-
versations with you and handed me
your letter OF the s1st July. He told
me Of your anxiety to meet and dis
cuss the situation with Ulster repre-
ssntatives. Since then I have, as I
wired you yesterday. done my best to
bring about such a meeting, but Sir
James Craig, while willing to meet you
b . conference with Mr.. Lloyd George.
still remains unwilling to meet you In
his absence, and nothing that I have
bean able to do or say has moved him
from that attitude. II you were to
request q meeting with him he will
reply. setting forth his position, and
saying that Ulster will not be moved
from the constitutional position which
she occupies under the existing legis-
lation. She Is satisfied with her pres
ent status, and will on no account
agree to ally change.
Force Out of Question.
On tho other hand, both in your con-
versation with Lane and in your letter.
you insist on Ulster coming into a United
Ireland Constitution, and unless that is
done you say that no further progress
can be made There Is therefore an
Sn,posse, which do not at present know
how to get over. Both you and Craig
are equally immovable. Force as a So
luton of the problem is out of the ques-
ton. both on your and his premises.
The process of arriving at an agreement
will therefore take time.
The result is that at this stage I can
bt- of no further use In this matter, and
have therefore decided to adhere to
my plan of sailing for South Africa to-
morrow. This I regret most deeply. as
my desire to help in pushing the Irish
settlement one stage further has been
very great. But I must bow to the in
evitable.
I should like to add word in refer
ence to the situation as l have come to
view II. / have discussed 1t very fully
with you and your colleagues. / have
also probed as deeply as I could into the
Ulster position. My conviction is that
for the present no solution based on
Ulster coming into the Irish State will
succeed. Ulster will not agree, she can
not be forced. and any solution on those
lines Is at present foredoomed to failure.
Believes Time VIII Decide.
believe that 1t Is in the interest OF
Ulster to come in. and that the force OF
community of interests will over a pc
riod of years prove so great and conf
pelling that Ulster will herself decide TO
join the Irish State. But at present an
Irish settlement Is only possible IL the
hard facts are calmly faced and Ulster
is left alone. Not only will she not con-
sent to come in, but even IL she does, the
Irish State WILL I fear. start under such
handicap of internal friction and dis
cordance that the result may we'll be
failure once more.
My strong advice to you is to leave
Ulster alone for the present, as the only
line along which a solution is practica-
BILE to concentrate on a free Constitu-
tion for the remaining twenty-six coun-
ties, and through a successful running
OF the irish State and the pull of eco
ncmic and other peaceful forces, event
ually to bring Ulster Into that State.
know how repugnant such solution
must be to all Irish patriots. who look
upon Irish. unity as a sine qua non OF
any Irish settlement. But the wise man,
while fighting for his ideal to the utter
most learns also to bow to the inevita-
BILE. And a humble acceptance of the
facts Is often the only way of finally
overcoming them. 1t proved so in South
Africa, where ultimate unity was only
realized through several stages and a
process OF years. and where the Repub-
iican ideal for which we have made un-
heard of sacrifices had ultimately to
give way TO another form OF freedom.
ireland Like south Africa.
4 Ny belief is that ireland is travelling
the same painful road as South Africa,
and that with wisdom and moderation
In her leadership. she is destined to
achieve no less success. AS / said to
you before. I do not consider one single
clean cut solution of the Irish question
possible at present. You will have to
pass through several stages, of which
a free Constitution for Southern Ireland
is the first, and the inclusion OF Ulster
and the full recognition of Irish unity
will be the last Only the first stage
will render the last possible. as cause
generates effect. To reverse the process
and TO begin with Irish unity as the
hret step Is to imperil the whole settle
ment. Irish unity should be the ideal
to which the whole process should be
directed.
do not ask you to give up your
ideal, but only to realize IL in the only
way which seems to me at present
practicable. Freedom will lead newt
ably to unity: therefore begin with free
dom--with n free constitution for the
20 counties--as the first and most i'm
portant step In the whole settlement.
AS to the form of that freedom, here
too. you are called upon to choose be-
tween two alternatives. To you. as you
say, the Republic is the true expression
OF national self determine ton. But II
fs not the only expression; and IL Is
an expression which means your final
and irrevocable severance from the
British League. And to this. as you
know. the Parliament and the people
of this country will not agree.
The British Prime Minister has made
voti an offer of tho either form of free