There is no use remembering these things with bitterness. All powerful States behaved badly during those black centuries, But it is necessary to understand such things in order to realise how difficult it is to uproot the widespread Irish—as I think, mistaken—suspicion of England.
Even during the last war, when Ireland sent 500.000 soldiers into the British Army, there were anti-Irish influences at work in this country determined te defeat, not only Germany, but Ireland.
As for the Protestants of Ulster many of them are equally suspicious of their Catholic fellow-countrymen. After the rebellion of 1798, propaganda about Catholic atrocities performed its purpose, and a great Ulster leader, the Rev. Henry Cooke, re-lit the sectarian fires of the seventeenth century with results that have lasted.
At the beginning of the last war many people hoped that the two sections of Irishmen would be brought together by their common interest in preventing a German conquest of Ireland. There were leaders on both sides, however, who could not forget their hereditary suspicions even in face of that deadly threat to their common country.
"God Save Ireland"
Hence, when the Anglo-Irish Treaty came, the Six Counties demanded the partition of Ireland as a price. If it had not been for this, we should probably have seen Mr. de Valera, not holding on to neutrality today, but playing a similar part to that played in 1914 in South Africa by General Botha and General Smuts.
Personally, I thing it is an error io raise the question of partition just now. If the Nazis won—as they will not—a much worse fate would befall Eire than separation from the Six Counties. Similarly, if the Nazis won, a much worse fate would befall the Six Counties than union with the rest of Ireland.
In the circumstances, is it wise for Mr. de Valera or Lord Craigavon to refuse to meet the other and to cooperate in defending Ireland against possible invasion except on his own conditions?
It seems to me'that this is a time when the South should adopt, for all-Ireland purposes, the Northern slogan. "No Surrender!" and when the North should reply by adopting the old Irish slogan, "God Save Ireland!"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.