Discussions yesterday between the North Ireland delegation, Mr. de Valera, the Prime Minister of Eire, and Mr. McEntee, the Irish Minister for Finance, lasted for nearly four hours. A statement on this meeting is expected to be issued shortly.
Earlier in the day Mr. Malcolm Macdonald, Secretary of State for the Dominions, conferred with Mr. de Valera on the questions of tráde and finance. An announcement by Mr. Macdonald following the conference stated that there was to be no plenary meetings of the two delegations that day.
Later, the entire Irish delegation, apart from Mr. de Valera, participated in further trade talks at the House of Commons.
Four Nationalist leaders from Northern Ireland called on the Irish Prime Minister to press the case against partition.
Viscount Halifax, Lord President of the Council who is at present in charge of the Foreign Office, defended the Government's decision on the Anglo-Italian conversations in the House of Lords to-day.
The Government, he declared, was not prepared to let slip an opportunity from which peace might spring. It might be disappointed, but that did not necessarily prove that it was wrong. Lord Halifax emphasized that the British policy was unchanged.
Referring to Abyssinia, he said that, provided the consent of the League of Nations was obtained, Great Britain should be willing to consider the recognition of the Italian conquest.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.