The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-02-23
NATIONAL MEETING OF S|NN FEN IS SUDDENLY ENDED Adjournment for Three Months Means No Election Can Be Held Before End
 of That Period
By Associated Preea

OuDnn, February 22.-With dramatic suddennness, peace agreement, reached at the eleventh builard, Lieut.. Gov. Nathan L. Mil llcan leaders, was sprung on the Ard Fheis, or national Sim Feln conveh- ton, today, and the huge gathering Of delegates, impatient that any de- lay might endanger the treaty with Great Britain, gave 1t unanimous approval and adjourned for three months. The general feeling was that in preserving intact the party organization, something like a mir acle had been worked.
 The net result of the tvo-davs' meeting is to insure that no election can be held in Ireland for the next three months, and when it is held the issue will not simply be for or against the treaty, but to determine the Judgment of the Irish people on the actual terms of constitution in "nicn the treaty will be embodied.
 Want Points Clarified
 0NPPCA tCh . Oi the Free State have contended throughout that the treaty enables Ireland to frame for herself a constitution giving all the essen tials of freedom, but the repubIicans have denied this and have quoted in expectations placed upon the treaty In speeches by Prime Minister Lloyd George and other British cabinet ministers All the objections to the agreement raised on the floor today after Ramon DeValera had announced its terms emanated from prominent republicans, and despite MT. DeVa- leraS assurances that he had care fully considered every point and was quite satisfied with Arthur Griffith's emphatic declaration that no rela- tlon must be forced upon the country during the coming three months, the republicans decided to hold a meet ing this evening in the mansion house to insist upon clarifying certain bious.
 So far as was known late this aft ernoon, no similar meeting was con templated by the leaders of the other side. The point on which the repub- licans particularly demanded assur- ances was what the agreement meant by the Free State constitution to be submitted to the electorate. Was 1t merely the constitution as drafted by the provisional government on it's own interpretation of the treaty, or was it to be a final constitution which the British government could not alter? MT. DeValera's estimate of the effect of the agreement took the latter view. However. tho result was regarded by leaders as showing there
 l. L. file of both sides were overjoyed that a divi sion had been avoided.
 Griffith Committed
 By the terms of today's agreement Arthur Griffith is as strongly com mitted as MT. DeValera not to appeal to the electorate, except with sanction of the Dail Eireann, and the majority favoring the provisional government within the Daii is admittedly so small and so precarious that no resolution promoting elections to which the De- Valera faction would be strongly op- posed could be carried.
 Different opinions were expressed tonight as to which sections reap the most advantage from the adjourn ment. On the one hand MT. DeValera's friends claimed he had stopped stampede and had given the electors time to consider and vote on a definite issue. On the other hand. it was pointed out that meanwhile the pro- visional government will have com plete control of the whole machinery of the Irish administration.
 Can't 0ust Supporters
 The provisional government will be subject to criticism in the Dail, but today's agreement provides that a Dali majority cannot put the sup porters of the provisional govern ment out of office. It is hoped the agreement will check the lack of dis cipline in the republican army. and regardless of the views of the individ- ual members, it is believed the army will obey the high command, of which Richard Mulcahy, minister of defense in the provisional government, is the head.
 MT MuIcahy has declared that all though he was supporter Of the treaty he would maintain the army as & republican body, and it was he who was mainly instrumental in bringing about today's peace agree ment-
 How serious the position had be- come regarding the army was evil denced within the last day or two by announcements in newspapers that certain brigades in Tipperary and Limerick pronouncing against the treaty, declaring the Free State gov ernment inimical to the established i epublic and repudiating allegiance to the present Dail- Eireann.