I would very much regret if it was supposed to be the duty of the Members of the Dáil to read everything that occurs in the official reports of the Seanad in order to find out what the views of the Senators are. I think it would be equally unfair to expect that the Seanad should toil through the reports of the debates here in order to find out what the views of this Dáil were about Bills that were being sent up to them. There are, as I think everybody here knows, Standing Orders or Regulations of some kind in preparation for regulating the intercourse between the two Houses. These have not yet been adopted. I believe that they are under consideration in conjunction with some Committee from the Seanad—so that we may take it that they will be submitted to them at any rate—so that we may by mutual agreement devise some means of getting official information from one House to the other of circumstances which it is deemed advisable the second House, whichever it may be, should be fully informed about. Those Regulations have not been completed yet, and now what has happened is this: We have sent up a Bill to the Seanad which is regarded by the Government, I suppose with justice, as a Bill that is rather urgent. The Seanad, not knowing what the views of this Dáil are, what the views of the Ministry are upon the subject, have adjourned it for a period, which may be 270 days. As far as their Resolution goes, they have adjourned it sine die, until a certain event happens which may never happen. At any rate, they have adjourned it. In the absence of any Standing Orders of either House surely it is not unreasonable that we should give them information in the only way in which information can officially be conveyed, that is by a Resolution of this Dáil, conveyed by the Officer of this Dáil to the Officer of the Seanad, of what our views are upon this subject. I have no doubt that means will be devised, and that before very long, by which these things will be done without such a cumbrous method as we are adopting now. At any rate until they are, the only way in which they can be informed of anything that happens here is by a Resolution passed here and properly conveyed to them. It seems to me that the only ground upon which this Resolution could fairly be challenged would be that it amounted in form to a dictation to the Seanad of what they were to do. Looking at this Resolution I cannot see that it can be tortured by anybody into an attempt to dictate to them upon a matter that everybody must admit is entirely within their own power. They can pass this Bill at once; they can reject it at once; they can postpone consideration for 270 days or whatever period it may be. We are not asking them to do anything. We are merely conveying to them the view of this Dáil that the object that both Houses have in view would be best attained by the speedy passage of this Bill. That is only an expression of our opinion. The only other question remaining is this— whether that is our honest opinion or not. Upon that we have the assurance of the President. We did not want that to-day, because we had the same assurance before we passed the Bill, when the same objection that has been raised in the Seanad was raised in this Dáil by some body. I do not know who it was, but I have a distinct recollection that somebody suggested that we should postpone the passage of this Bill until the English Government had released, or had given a definite promise to release, these prisoners. That objection was overruled because we accepted the assurance which the President gave us then, that the object of this Dáil would be best attained by passing this Bill, and showing to the English Government the attitude that we were prepared to adopt towards those people who were charged with offences against this country. We have had that assurance repeated by the President here, and that being so, can we have any doubt that it is our opinion that this object would best be attained by the speedy passage of this Bill? That being so, why should we not inform the Seanad courteously and officially that that is the opinion of this Dáil? If they do not choose to act upon that opinion the responsibility, as far as the prisoners are concerned, rests with them. But is it not our duty, if we believe that to be the fact, to let them know that that is our opinion? They can reject our opinion if they please but I cannot myself see— you having ruled the question of order— any objection on the ground of form or policy to the passage of this Resolution.
