A Chinn Chomhairle, it is with feelings of joy mixed with sorrow that I rise to propose the following resolution:—
"That the Dáil returns thanks to the Governor-General for his speech and approves of the legislative programme of the Government as outlined therein."
I say it is with feelings mixed with joy and sorrow. Joy, because to-day in the meeting of the Oireachtas the last touches have been put to the work for which the late President Griffith and the late Commander-in-Chief sacrificed their lives. Sorrow, because to-day we have still that mad minority bringing destruction on the country. And hope, I may say, because I believe that that minority will soon either come to or be brought to their senses. I was very pleased with the stress that was laid in the Governor-General's speech on the restoration of order, because undoubtedly until order is restored in this country no progressive work can be done, and recent happenings show that we are dealing now not with idealists, but with fanatics. I think that no thrill of horror, although we have had many thrills of horror, could have been as strong as that which ran through every sane man and woman who read of the dastardly occurrence at Deputy McGarry's house. That shows the necessity, to my mind in any case, for strong measures to restore order in the country. I am also very pleased with the intimation that a Franchise Bill will be brought in, because the one argument that was used against the Treaty in the old Dáil was that every adult, man and woman, had not a vote. Under this Franchise Bill every adult, provided he is of good behaviour, will have a chance of pronouncing on the destinies of his country. Reference to the reform of the judiciary also appeals very much to me. There is no doubt that the old judicial system, i.e., the pre-Dáil Eireann judicial system, was to my mind hopelessly inadequate and incompetent. The judges did the best they could, but they were dealing with an obsolete and effete system. The old Dáil, the second Dáil, established a system of its own. That was purely a war measure, and everybody knows that it was. We know that decrees were given behind which there were no executive powers and they were not worth the paper they were written on. I understand that while a Committee will immediately be constituted to reform the judicial system, that Committee will also see that provision will be made for enquiry into these decrees, and that those that should be validated will be validated and that a general enquiry will be made into them. The portion of the speech dealing with the sanction for Local Government I presume deals with the legislation of the amalgamation of Unions. There is no doubt about it, the second Dáil did marvellous work for economy in the amalgamation of Unions, but there is no doubt now that we have an Oireachtas and a Dáil that that economy that was effected will have to be reviewed and such of it as was proper will have to be legalised by legislation. I would also like to draw attention to the portion of the speech dealing with the Amnesty Proclamation by the late Commander-in-Chief, General Collins. Some dastardly occurrences happened in this country after that Amnesty Proclamation. I think the worst of all happened in my own constituency, Galway, but I must say that if it happened in Galway it is notorious it was not done by any man from Galway. This Amnesty should be absolutely frank and honest, but I think the other side should be just as honest and entire about the Amnesty as we are. I have a particular interest in this matter, being a Connaught representative, in the Connaught Rangers, and I think if we are honest and above-board on our side in the Amnesty the British should be just as honest and above-board on their side. I was very pleased to hear there would be legislation introduced to provide pensions for the wounded National soldiers and for the dependants of those who were killed. I think this Dáil can never realise what we owe to those noble, gallant men who are going around at the risk of their lives every day. No infamy is big enough to try and kill them—mine-traps of the most diabolical kind, unarmed soldiers shot, everything possible that can be done is done against these gallant defenders of their country's liberty, and I think it is about time, when we hear so many protests against anything done in a legal way by the Government——.
