I think it would not be unfair to summarise the speeches that were made from the opposite benches last night into the single point that we should have been represented at the Imperial Conference at present being held in London. It was suggested by speakers that there were matters in which we were interested being discussed at this conference, and that accordingly so long as we remain associated with the States of the British Commonwealth we should have been there. Now, I am not going to deny for one moment that there are matters in which we are interested being discussed, but there are matters which affect us much more nearly and directly which will not be discussed there, matters which are clearly matters to be settled between Great Britain and ourselves, matters in which the other States of the British Commonwealth would be slow indeed to interfere.
It was clearly understood by the people when we were being elected in 1932 that we proposed taking advantage of the situation—whatever advantages were to be got from it—for the benefit of our own people. It was in that spirit that we sent a delegation to Ottawa in 1932, shortly after we were elected. But what did we find? Whilst our representatives were on the way, the British Government imposed penal tariffs on our produce, with a view to compelling us to hand over moneys which we were satisfied were not due. Indeed, when they arrived there, the question had to be decided as to whether, in view of the imposition of those tariffs and the change in the situation from the time they had left, our delegates should not immediately return. They would have returned were it not for the fact that they had gone to Canada not on the invitation of Great Britain but on the invitation of the Canadian Government. I want to say that, so far as our delegates were concerned, the Canadian Government did everything in their power to ease what was a very difficult situation. Our delegates were treated as if they were delegates from a country that could not be depended on to keep its word; that we were outside the Pale; that we had no regard for treaties or agreements, and, therefore, that it would be idle to make agreements or treaties with the representatives of such a people. Now, that was a humiliating position, and it would not have been tolerated at all were it not for the fact that the invitation on account of which our delegates had been sent was an invitation from a Government and a people with whom we had no quarrel of any kind.
It may be that certain advantages might be derived for our country by our being represented at the conference going on in Britain at the present time, but there would have been very grave losses in doing it, and I do not think that it would make either for the settlement of the outstanding disputes between Great Britain and ourselves or for peace between the two peoples that our representatives should run the risk of being put in the same humiliating position in which they were put at Ottawa. Besides, our being there would be open to very grave misunderstanding. Those who are meeting there at the present time are representatives of Governments who have settled whatever disputes existed amongst themselves. There is no outstanding point of difference between them; there are no disputes to be settled. They are there in a common effort to do certain things which will be for the general benefit. If we went there, it would be assumed that the position between Great Britain and Ireland had reached such a point that we also could sit in as people who had settled their own differences, people who, having settled their differences, were then prepared to co-operate in their mutual interests. But that is not the situation, and we must be quite clear that that is not the situation. There are outstanding matters between Great Britain and ourselves which will have to be settled before there can be, between the people of this country and the people of Great Britain, the co-operation and the good feeling which I at any rate would wish to see brought about.
Before I go into the details about those matters in dispute, I want to repeat what I have said many a time —that, from the time at which I had first any responsibility placed upon my shoulders in regard to the relations between Great Britain and Ireland, I have uniformly sought to bring about good relations between the two peoples on the only basis on which those good relations could rest, and that is justice and fair play between the two peoples. You have no other foundation on which you could secure goodwill and co-operation between the peoples except that. There has not been justice done to our people, and until that justice is done it is vain for any individual to hope to bring about between the peoples of the two countries the relations which every right-minded person would like to see brought about.
Now, what are the outstanding things? There are three outstanding things as far as the people of this country and the people of Britain are concerned. There is first and foremost the fundamental question of the partition of our country. On no plea that I can see can the partition of our country be justified. Deputy MacDermot has frequently tried to make a case for it by suggesting that that was due to something here, and was not the result of British action at all. I deny that; I deny it absolutely. I say that the partition of our country would not have been dreamt of were it not for the action of British politicians. What is the basis for the plea that this country should be divided? We will suppose there were some people in Ireland who wanted it. What is the basis which they can make for the claim for the partition of our country? Unfortunately, I have no statistics that I can rely on except those of religion. I regret that very much, because fundamentally, in my opinion anyhow, this is a political and not a religious question, but it does happen that very largely those who are Protestant are Unionist and those who are Catholic are for the independence and unity of this country, for the political separation of Great Britain and Ireland. Those form the only basis, the only statistics, available for a comparison.
