Evening star., 1922-06-04

Ireland.-on May 81 Winston Churchill ad-.
dressed the house of commons on the situation
created by the Collins-De Valera agreement
He condemns that agreement as fundamental
ly opposed" to the London agreement. 1.-The
Irish people will not be able. to say (through
the elections proposed by the Collins-De
Valera agrecment) whether they accept or re-
ject the treaty offered by Great Britain e. e..
the London agreement. A certain number of
labor independent candidates may secure
election. but it is difficult to how the
parliament resulting from the elections and
the government to be based on that parlia-
ment after the elections, can have either rep
resentative or democratic quality or author
ity as it is usually understood"
Yet. in view of the apparently insuper-
able obstacles to freely contested elections,
Churchill seems to contemplate acceptance by
the British government of that parliament as
having authority to act in fulfilment Of the
London agreement-to act, in fact. as to con-
stituent assembly He confirms (what needed
%f,asl Sfeial confirmation9 that the cG,iins.De
ent provisional government of the Free State
shall be superseded by the cabinet of the new
parliament (dail. it is called in the agree
ment) Here. now. is the crux of the whole
matter. The agreement provides for cab
met to be composed of five champions of The
Free State. four opposition members (enemies
of the London agreemenD and one member
these ministers sign a declaration of adher-
ence to the London agreement. as required by
bers of the provisional government have done
we will have no grounds of complaint-but If
ment without signing that declaration, the
treaty is broken by that very fact"
There's the rub. Will the gentlemen of the
opposition sign? If they don't Britain will
be at liberty to resume the powers that have
been transferred and to reoccupy the territory
evacuated. Questioned by a member. Churchill
admitted that British troops being held
in Dublin with the possibility of reoccupaton
in view.
II the new ministers sign the declaration of
adherence to the London agreement and all
goes forward in good faith, the new pro-
visional parliament will act upon the consti-
tuition of the Free State (already drafted)
and. after adopting it presumably with modi-
fications). will submit it to the British parlia-
ment. Assuming its approval, in due course.
by the British parliament Che instrument Is
latter will pass an act confirming it and the
Free State will then have full legal status
most formidable-if De Valera and the other
opposition ministers will sign. and supposng
devastating fact that the Irish y people have
not expressed themselves upon the London
have been after all along. to prevent anv such
expression. so that hereafter they may de-
nounce the Free state as lacking validity
since it never received the peoples mandateo
1t is to be assumed that Mr.. Churchill spoke
for the British government. and his speech
has been approved. not only by supporters. but
also by enemies of the government. The Brit
ish government must make a definite stand
somewhere. The conferences between Irish
leaders committed to the London agreement
and members of the British government.
which have been going on intermittently since
Friday week. not yet concluded. Collins
and Griffith listened to Churchilrs speech
from the DISTINGUISHED visitors gallery and
reported to have pronounced it eminent
ly fair" and lin accordance with the facts"
Discussion of the Ulster situation, hardly
less important than the situation created by
the Colins-De Valera pact. must be postponed
The Belfast horrors accumulate On May 81