Evening star., 1922-01-08

kline Childers against attacks. He said
Chflders had done as much as any
man and more than most men TO arm
the Irish people. =.
Objects to Oath to King.
He tBurgess) objected to the oath
In the treaty on the ground that 1t
was an oath Of allegiance to the
king. He also objected to allowing
England to defend the Irish coasts.
and had spent their last shilling and
their last man was on the ground.
that man, If asked to join the British
empire. would say. mo, ! will not:
He explained Mr.. De Valera's al
Tentative plan. which he likened TO
with another for specific purpose:
A firm did not sacrifice it's individual
independence by so doing. The Irish
were prepared to recognize the Brit
ish king as head of an association;
they were in favor. not of common
citizenship, but reciprocal citizenship.
They were prepared, said the min
lister, to give England safeguards
that Ireland would not. If she were
at war, attack her food ships with
submarines. and they would not build
submarines.
really wanted the treaty, Mr.. Burgess
asserted. was Arthur Griffith. In 1917
at a Sim Fein convention 1t took
them three nights to get Griffith to
agree to resolution OF recognition
of the Irish republic. II Griffith had
public life today. He had not abided
by that. but had brought back a
treaty and said the war was won.
S~nr>. Ulovd E.or~~
The Sim Fein movement could not
have lived. continued Burgess. except
that men like himself. who had spent
had agreed to come into 1t. He had
been opposed to sending delegates to
London because OF the influences to
which they would be subjected. The
negotiations were maneuvers by
Lloyd George to get the better of
them. Lloyd George had tried ter
rorism. and, when it failed resorted
to WiieS
The irish delegates had agreed to
their instructions. which were that
first submitting the matter to the cab
met. They had been broken: for more
than month before the treaty there
were forty conferences confined to
two of their five delegates. and that
made him suspicious.
subconferences had been held and
asked who arranged them. and Mr.
Griffith replied that it was the British
government. Then he had asked who
picked the two. Griffith and Collins.
and the answer was. the British gov
ernment. The British governmen mt
knew these two men were the weak
est of the team.
No wonder there~was jubilation in
England when the treaty was signed
He hoped the dali would not consent
All the delegates had to do was to
recommend the treaty, and they need
not vote for il at all.
Boland Also Speaks.
Harry ]. Boland explained that he
had learned from the president that
the minimum was external associa-
rion: he thought when he heard of
the treaty in America that the mini
mum had been achieved and ireland
had come within the comfy of ma
tions. But when he saw the text of
the treaty in the papers he knew
that it was not so, and he opposed it.
At this point Mr.. Collins inter-
jected: 1T won't do. Harry"
Arthur Griffith then arose to finish
the debate.
Before he went to London. said
Mr.. Griffith. he told the cabinet he
would try for a republic, but did not
believe he could get it. If they were
guilty of treason to the republic. let
them be tried. He believes they were
right. and would do the same thing
again. The president had not added
that in his correspondence with the
prime minister he had never asked
for recognition of the republic. The
delegates were sent to make A COM
promise; otherwise they would have
finished in Downing street in five min
utes.
The treaty freed Ireland from any
aggression. said Mr.. Griffith. and any
form of association with the British
empire involved some form of oath:
De Valera had suggested one form.
Many men in that assembly had taken
oath after oath to the King. of Eng
land. all of whom were going to vote
nagainst the treaty because they OBJ
jected to the oath. This hypocrisy
was damnable.
Another Angry Scene.
There was an angry scene when Mr..
Griffith said that they could not go on
any platform in their constituencies
and disapprove of the treaty. Where
was elf-determination? Hostility to
the will of the people was as great an
usurpation as Dublin Castle, and, he
added emphaticaIly. my power will be
used against it,"
If the dali rejected the treaty the
irish people would throw them out
for incompetence. He would not agree
to cruelty the Irish people for a form
Irish, with a monarchy. II he could
rot have it with republic.
The division was then taken. the
speaker ruling that no deputy repre-
sc nting two constituencies should vote
twice.