I ask the Dáil to substitute for the prescription that this document is to be announced by Proclamation of His Majesty, as it says here — meaning His Britannic Majesty, I suppose, the words, "by Proclamation in the Official Gazette/ Iris Oifigiúil." The Minister for Home Affairs, in introducing this Article, spoke of the thin-skinned temperament that would object to His Britannic Majesty announcing to the world that our Constitution was through. I suppose he used that expression in much the same way as he called his own Ministry a knock-kneed Government, the other day. I can set one against the other with equanimity. He said that it was important to us to have a specific act of renunciation by His Britannic Majesty, and that Act of renunciation would be contained in this Proclamation. Personally, I attach very little importance to acts of renunciation, because one knows that they remain in force just as long as it suits the party who made them to let them remain in force. I admit they will have a moral estoppel, but you can get that estoppel in the fact that His Brittanic Majesty has to sign a British Act of Parliament registering this Treaty. However, that should hardly be a reason for requiring him to sign something else approving of the Treaty. So far as the English parties to this Treaty are concerned, it is perfectly right that His Britannic Majesty should announce to them that the Treaty has gone through this Parliament, and that His Britannic Majesty's Government agrees that the Treaty is not infringed by the Constitution going through this Parliament, but, so far as we are concerned, it is not the fact that His Britannic Majesty puts his name to the Proclamation that gives force and effect to the Constitution here. It is a fact that after being passed by this Constituent Assembly of the Irish people, that "Iris Oifigiúil" should announce to the Irish people, that this Constituent Parliament with its Ministry has passed such and such a Constitution. One facet of that message, one aspect of it, is this Provisional Government aspect, but fundamentally it is the Dáil Government, the Dáil Ministry, and what the Irish people will want to know is that the Ministry, and the Irish people to whom they are rsponsible, have passed that Constitution. It would also interest them, no doubt, to know that His Britannic Majesty had no fault to find with the Irish Government, but that is not the issue. That is another issue. Let His Britannic Majesty announce these things to His loyal subjects in England. Very properly. I do not quarrel with that, but I do object to our Constitution having a phrase which does suggest to ourselves and to those who come after us that the final act which gave effect to this Constitution was the signature of His Britannic Majesty. That is not a fact. This thing is an international Treaty, and again we are surrendering the national position by bringing His Majesty in. Now, I take it that this Draft Constitution was taken to London, that John Bull was in a very bad temper, and he decided he would pay out these gentlemen who brought over the Irish Constitution for having dared to bring such a thing to Downing Street, by forcing in the name of His Britannic Majesty wherever he could. Consequently, you have his name in this Proclamation. I ask the Ministers and I ask the Dáil to observe that it has never yet been suggested that this Constitution was a gift from England, and I ask them to observe further, that there is no Dominion precedent for this proposal, none whatever. I have looked through the Dominion Constitutions here, but there is no sign of any such thing in any of them. I ask why should we go out of our way to drag in His Britannic Majesty in cases and in places where there is no compulsion on us to do so?