The Anglo-Irish Conference to be held on London, commencing on Monday next will be heartily welcomed by those who" desire to see an end of the bickering between Britain and the Irish Free State. The agenda to be followed has not yet been prepared, and will bot be until preliminary discussions prove that there is some possibility of satisfactory results emerging from the conference. On a number of|subjects it should be comparatively easy, give good will on both sides, to arrive at solutions which would remove some causes for mutual criticism. It has not yet been announced whether the question of northern Ireland will be discussed, but, if it is, there is little real prospect of Mr. de Valera having his demand for the union of Northern Ireland with the Irish Fre State met in the way he would like. The ohly way iñ which the two portions of Ireland can be brought under one government is by the consent of the majority of the voters in Northern Ireland. At the present moment those in favour of maintaining the status quo predominate, and it is unbelievable that Great -Britain would accept any request such as Mr. de Valera is expected to make. To agree to fusion of the two states would be the height of disloyalty to people who have so steadfastly stoód by Great Britain and would amount to the handing over of a prosperous and industrious minority to a majority which only wishes for the union on purely economic grounds. It is true that there are Nationalists in the north, and itis shown in one of the telegrams published elsewhere that there will be a severe internal struggle concerning the question of reunion with the south. Suggestions which have been made that union might be effected by force do not particular: commend themselves, for it would be Britain's stern duty, if anything of the sort were attempted, to intervene in behalf of the north, to see that that liberty to which it clings so tenaciously should not be taken from it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.