It is clear from the Prime Minister's statement on the subject of the Anglo-Irish negotiations which resulted in the settlement of a number of outstanding questions between the two countries that agreement was reached by the adoption of a policy of surrender by the British Government. Mr. Chamberlain admitted that it could not be said that either the agreements on the subject of defence or on finance constituted good agreements from the point of view of the United Kingdom, since both of them made very large and impressive concessions to Eire without receiving corresponding advantage in return. Thus in the finance agreement. settlement was reached by the payment by Eire of £10,000,000 against British claims the capitalized value of which amounted to £100,-
000,000. The returns are apparently to be, to quote Mr. Chamberlain's own words, those "intangible, imponderable, but nevertheless invaluable fruits, which have, on various, occasions in the past rewarded liberal and unselfish acts of generosity by a great and powerful country towards a State weaker and poorer than itself. If Mr. Chamberlain thinks that by the sacrifice of some £90,000,000 and the granting of concessions all round it will be possible to offset the hatred of England which has been so sedulously nourished-for centuries past, it is to be hoped that from it he will acquire considerable self-satisfaction. If the Irish, themselves believe any such thing, they are victims of self-illusionment. Fortunately, with their sense of humour they will hug to themselves the satisfaction that in this particular deal they have "put one over" the English, and that, indeed, is what appears to have been the case. In the circumstances it is just as well that Mr. Winston Churchill showed the matter up {n its truer light, and he is undoubtedly right in his contention that the agreement will not end the Anglo-Irish quarrel, be-cease Mr. de Valera will not rest until the question of partition had been settled along lines to be dictated by Eire. But, perhaps, it is just as well that the whole matter has not been completely adjusted, If that were indeed effected another injustice would have been done to that unhappy country, for, being without any cause for quarrel, Eire would be plunged into the depth of misery.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.