Evening star., 1933-12-17
ever advantages it hopes to derive

ever advantages it hopes to derive
from it.
The common citizenship, for example,
goes. Irlshmen will be aliens in Eng
land and EngliShmen will be aliens in
Ireland. A dual nationality is out of
the question. No doubt the difficulty
could be gotten over in the case of
1rishmen already settled in England and
by Englishmen settled in Ireland. They
could make their choice by renounc-
ing one nationality and adopting the
other. But for the rest, the present
equality of both in each country would
disappear. Irishmen would only come
into England on an alien permit and
vice versa. 1t would mean, for example,
that De Valera's recent election to the
North7 Ireland Parliament would be
canoe d, for he would be an alien in
Ulster.
This mutual loss of status would of
course hurt Ireland more than England.
Few Englishmen, owing to the infinitely
greater opportunities at. home, seek q
career in Ireland, but the professions
and civil service in England swarm with
Htshmen and the closing Of this outlet
would seriously curtail the openings for
educated IriShmen. 1t would stop, too,
that great seasonal flow of labor from
Ireland to England which has been so
important a source of income to the
peaSantry of Ireland.
But there is another phase of the
question which is even more difficult.
What world be the position of IriShmen
in the overseas Dominions? In many of
these countries, notably Australia, the
Irish are numerous and politically pow
erful. viii they be both Irish nation
ais and citizens of the British common
wealth? And If not, what will be their
status in England? Suppose an Irish
premier Of Australia, who has refused to
renounce his Irish nationality, comes to
a commonwealth conference in London;
is he an alien or q British subject?
No one is more fully aware of the
dilemma than De Valera himself. He
knows that a Republican Ireland would
create a new discord throughout the
Dominions and doubtless reckons on the
influence of the irreconcilable Irishmen
overseas making British citizenship in
valid as a test Of loyalty to the COM
monwealth.
The greatest snag in the path of De
is not one Ireland, but two Irelands. He
wants republic, but ne does not want
republic of the 26 counties Of the
Irish Free State. He wants an all-1re-
land republic. In pursuit of this aim
he has become a member Of the Ulster
Parliament, not with the intention OF
sitting in it, but as an assertion OF q
common Irish citizenship. One Of the
objects of the questions he addressed to
the British government was to discuss
how far he would have free hand for
the prosecution of his campaign for the
conversion of the Protestant North to
the Republican an-Ireland OF his
dreams.
This Is the hardest nut the Irish
President has to crack. If Ulster would
not throw in its lot with the Free State
under the British commonwealth nag,
1t Is still less likely to join an Irish
republic which would cut 1t of from
that commonwealth. And it is not con-
ceivable that it can be coerced into an
association which it does not want.
De Valera's two ideals, q united Ire
land and q Republican Ireland, are
mutually destructive. He might ulti-
mately accomplish o united Ireland
within the British commonwealth. He
cannot hope to establish . united Ire
land outside the British commonwealth
(copyright, 1880