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General, Timothy Healy, they had insisted successfully on the appointment of their own nominee-James MacNeill, brother of Eoin. And, over stubborn opposition from the British, they had succeeded in gaining a seat at the League of Nations. They had established diplomatic relations with other countries, and they had issued their own distinctive coinage and treasury notes. They led the way also in winning from Britain the powers gained by the Dominions embodied in the Statute of Westminster, which recognised as unquestionable the right of each Dominion to legislate for itself in all matters-in contravention of any British statute. Under the Cosgrave régime Ireland made marked progress.

The second General Election was held in 1927, showing a de cided gain for the Republicans. The figures were: Cumann na nGael (Free State party) 46 seats out of 153, Fianna Fail (Republicans) 44 seats. The remaining 63 seats went to various parties, Labor taking 22, and a milk-and-water party headed by John Red mond's son, 8 seats.

Fianna Fail still declined to sit because of the oath of allegiance to a British King, and things seemed about to progress as before. But on Sunday, July 10, 1927, Kevin O'Higgins, Vice President and Minister for Justice, was assassinated.

It was naturally assumed that this was the work of Republican extremists; so, the government passed a Public Safety Act aimed at the Republicans; under which they took power to arrest on suspicion and to hold trials without jury. Also, a measure was passed under which no candidate for the Dail would be accepted unless in advance he declared his willingness to take the oath of allegiance.

Faced with the alternative of seeing his party denied all power to register the amount of popular support accorded them, and being determined to embark on a constitutional movement, Mr. de Valera, after publicly declaring that he attached no binding power to an oath that was forced on them, led his party into the Dail and went through the form of oath-taking-on August 12, 1927.

Soon after, another General Election took place resulting in Cumann na nGael getting 61 seats, and Fianna Fail 57. The smaller parties lost heavily. From 1927 until 1932 Cosgrave's party ruled with a narrow majority, constantly confronted with an unyielding opposition.

During all these years the entire metropolitan press and the vast majority of the provincial newspapers, though critical at times of some of the measures enacted, strongly supported the Govern ment as against the Republicans. The latter had to depend on successive weekly sheets to disseminate their views among the people.

But in 1931 they established The Irish Press, a daily newspaper which was at once a success-its circulation, within six months, rivalling that of the leading Dublin newspaper.

Early in 1932 the Cosgrave government was defeated on a vote in the Dail and a General Election was called. De Valera's platform called for the removal of the oath of allegiance, the abolition of the position of Governor General, the withholding of the payment of land annuities to England, the cessation of appeal from Irish Courts of Law to the British Privy Council, the restoration of Irish ports still held by the British, the ending of partition, and the initiation of a new economic system by which the Irish people should be enabled to feed and clothe and house themselves from their own resources; this to be brought about by applying the greater part of the annuities hitherto paid Britain, to aid Irish farmers, and by a rigid tariff protection of agriculture and industry.

De Valera took 72 of the 151 seats against Cosgrave's 65, and assumed office forthwith. He at once introduced a bill to remove the oath of allegiance and with the help of the Labor party carried it through the Dail. The Seanad, however-which was still largely Cosgravite threw out the Bill; and the oath remained for 18 months longer, till the Senators' veto expired. In 1933 the clause embodying the oath ceased to operate, as did also the right of appeal to the British Privy Council.

The Fianna Fail government ignored the Governor General and after various rebuffs, Mr. MacNeill, finding his public protests vain, resigned from the post. Donal Buckley, a member of de Valera's party, took over the position, and, instead of living in the official residence, took up his abode in a private house until the office finally went out of existence in 1938.

From the time the Fianna Fail party took office, payment of the land annuities to Britain was withheld, leading to a bitter quarrel between the two countries and developing into an economic war.

These annuities came into existence first as a result of the Land Purchase Acts. To enable the tenant farmers to become owners of their land, interest-bearing land bonds, guaranteed by the British government, were issued to the public, and the landlords were compensated by being paid land bonds equivalent to 20 to 24 years purchase, 20 to 24 times the annual rents. The tenant then became the owner of his farm, and repaid the cost of his land by paying annuities extending over a period of 60 to 80 years.

Mr. de Valera and his legal advisers held that not only had Britain abrogated her claim to these annunities by the Act of 1920, but that she also had liberated Ireland from all sums supposed to be

due under the British debt by the financial settlement which accompanied the Boundary settlement. However, de Valera offered to submit the question to international arbitration. This the British refused, stipulating that the arbitration court should be confined to the Empire.

The British thereupon imposed heavy punitive tariffs on Irish produce entering Britain, in endeavor to recover the nearly six million pounds annually involved. These tariffs began at 20% and were subsequently raised to 40%. The Irish government replied by imposing heavy tariffs on British goods (including coal) entering Ireland. This destructive economic war continued for six years. It all but ruined the Irish farmers, and it added vast numbers to the already unemployed miners in the Welsh and English coalfields.

In 1938 the British government called a halt, and began negotiations for settlement of the dispute. Mr. de Valera refused to enter the negotiations unless the whole general field of relations between the two countries was brought into review. In the result, the British accepted the sum of ten million pounds in lieu of the annuities—a small fraction of their worth-and agreed to hand over the reserved ports of Cobh, Berehaven and Lough Swilly to the Irish government. The British refused, however, to negotiate on the question of Ireland's partition and that problem remained outstanding.

The economic war, however, enabled the government to speed up the work of making the country as far as possible self-sufficient. Tillage was encouraged to such an extent that the imports of food and foodstuffs, which had amounted to eight million pounds worth annually, entirely ceased. The acreage under beet grew until all the sugar requirements of the country were met, the wheat acreage increased from 20,000 acres to 600,000 acres, big ranches were broken up and economic small farms were created from them, hundreds of small factories were established for the production of clothing, textiles, boots, hats, furniture, etc.; the power from the Shannon electricity scheme was absorbed and the river Liffey harnessed to meet the growing demands.

In 1938 came one of the greatest achievements of the Irish government-the enactment of the new Constitution.

The Constitution asserts that Ireland is a sovereign and democratic state, that all powers derive under God from the people, who are the final arbiters of any and every question. The principles of social justice which are set forth in the Constitution are of the highest order.

By the Constitution, the right of private property is protected

but the State is to direct its policy so as to secure that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community may be so distributed among private individuals and the various classes, as best to serve the common good, and that the operation of free competition shall not result in concentration of ownership or control of essential commodities.

In the Constitution, the family is recognized as the natural unit of society and as a moral institution possessing imprescriptible rights. Mothers should not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labor to the neglect of the home.

The Irish Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession and practice of religion. Free schools are built for Catholic, Protestant and Jews alike. These schools are staffed and maintained by the Government, and, where necessary, free transportation is provided, to enable children of all denominations to attend the schools of their choice.

Shortly after de Valera came to power, it was the turn of Ireland's representative to preside at the League of Nations. De Valera did so with distinction and credit. He created a sensation by refusing to read the "canned" speech put in his hands, and speaking his own mind, instead of the deceiving prepared platitudes. Later, in 1938, he told the world, through the medium of the League, that civilization was heading for disaster and destruction in another world war. He said that if and when that war came and was over, there would be another "Peace" conference-but why should not a real peace conference come first? so that the world might be saved pain, misery, disillusionment and destruction. His words were not listened to.

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