Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-09

Threaten to Act as Rebels
The task of the new provisional gov
ernment, faced by opposition from
old republican colleagues, will be diff
ficult Some deputies, including Miss
MacSwiney. have declared their inten-
| ton TO act as rebels against the pro-
visional government.
1t is taken for granted that the pro-
yisional government will certainly in
clude both Arthur Griffith and Michael
Collins. Their associates are less
clearly marked. but among members
of the dali cabinet supporting them is
William Cosgrave, minister of local
government.
1t will be a nice problem for the
ministers of the new provisional gov
ernmant to determine how far they will
use the machinery of the British gov
ernment officials in Ireland and how
far they can rely on the cooperation
of the machine which they constructed
in conflict with these officials. Under
any circumstances. the transition per-
iod would be time of great difficulty.
That difficulty will be increased if the
new ministry must resist an attack
from the surviving republic ministry.
Question Of Sovereignty Pends
The dali Monday will consider res
olution proposed by Speaker MacNeill.
affirming Ideland's sovereign status
and the complete authority of the
Irish people.
De Valeras attitude as to the re-
public and the dali is that both must
continue in being until dis-established
by the Irish people.
1t is considered extremely improb-
able that the dali will dissolve itself.
The majority for the treaty included
many who expressed dislike for it and
only accepted it as an alternative to
war.
On any motion founded on purely
republican principles. it was said that
in the dali. Though it was admitted on
all sides that the great majority of the
Irish people favored accepting the
treaty and giving the free state govern
ment a trial. there is technically no
machinery whereby the dali could for
the present be replaced by an election.
Britain Must Summon RatIfiers
There is none of the customary ma
chinery for holding regular elections
BY the treaty its ratification can only
be effected, not by the dali. but by a
meeting of the members elected to the
southern parliament.
Under the treaty, it is the function
of the British government to summon
the ratifying body, but all steps were
postponed until it should be seen from
the division of the dali whether it was
worth while. 1t is assumed now that
the ratifying body will be summoned
~. k,,t In 40
81 opposing members will desire to at
tend. 1t is supposed that their COM
plete reputation of the treaty may
lead to their abstention as a body.
In that case it is possible that the
treaty might be unanimously ratified
by such members as meet: they would
number II out of membership of
1870.
British Must Now Evacuate
The British premier has promised
that the British army would evacuate
after ratification. and it is expected
that when the preliminaries have been
settled. the British soldiers will be
withdrawn Another outcome of the
treaty will be the release of all polit-
ical prisoners.
Prior to the private meeting in the
Mansion house. De Valera received an
illuminated address voted him Decem-
Der 81, by a convention representing
10000 members of the Hibernian Cath
olic benefit societies in Australasia.
The presentation was made by DR..
O'Reilly, who said that the feeling in
Australasia when he left that country
was altogether republican for Ireland.
Republic Still Exists Says De Valera
De Valera in reply said:
Let no man say that the Irish peo-
pie have self-determined themselves
within the British empire as British
subjects. The heart Of the Irish peo-
pie is as republican as ever. The
wonderful opportunity of securing
lasting peace between two great coun-
tries. one of which has been the
mother country Of Australia and Can
ada. and, in large part of the United
States. has been definitely lost once
more by the triumph Of British force
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