1938: Ireland (Eire)

The first year of the new state of Ireland (Eire) was a typically tumultuous one for the island, being marked by the setting up of the government under the new constitution, a treaty marking the end of the protracted trade war with England, the selection of a new President, a general election, and a violent dispute with Ulster over the long-smoldering partition issue.

Relations with Great Britain.

Prime Minister Eamon De Valera went to London on Jan. 15, 1938, to open negotiations with the British Cabinet for a settlement of the outstanding issues between the two countries. After several days of discussion the conference struck a snag in De Valera's uncompromising demand for union between Northern Ireland and the former Free State. Tension was increased by the action of Viscount Craigavon, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, in calling a quick general election to demonstrate Ulster's opposition to De Valera's demands. Finally, after a further delay occasioned by the British ministerial crisis following the resignation of Anthony Eden, the Irish leader agreed to withhold his demands for a united Ireland temporarily in order to obtain an agreement on other points.

The outcome was a new treaty of peace and friendship and trade agreement, signed at London on April 25, 1938, between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The treaty provided for a lump sum payment by Ireland of £10,000,000 to the British Government as a final settlement for the land annuities and other British claims against Ireland. Ireland also pledged itself to resume payments of £250,000 a year under the agreement of Dec. 3, 1925. In return, Great Britain assented to the final surrender of its treaty rights over the Irish ports of Cobh (Queenstown), Bere Haven, and Lough Swilly. Both countries agreed to drop the six-year trade war which had wrought such serious damage to Ireland's economy. Britain granted Ireland the preferential position it would have held under the Ottawa agreements of 1932 if the trade dispute had not broken out in that year. Ireland abolished the retaliatory tariffs it had imposed following the 1932 break. Provision was made for consultation in the event either country found it necessary to impose further trade restrictions. While Ireland made no definite commitments on defense, it was generally understood that it would take immediate steps for strengthening its defenses by the development of an Irish navy and that these steps would be taken in cooperation with Great Britain. Restoration of friendship with Ireland was generally regarded as indispensable to Britain's defense.

Despite opposition from Irish industrial interests, the Dail Eireann ratified the treaty on April 29 with but one negative vote. The treaty was approved by the British House of Lords and given the King's assent on May 17. The Cork Harbor forts and Spike Island, one of the strongest fortified areas in Southern Ireland, were officially taken over from the British on July 11. The new trade agreement granting Ireland preferential status came into effect on Dec. 31, 1938. (See also GREAT BRITAIN.)

Presidential Election.

The position of President of Eire, which many persons believed De Valera had created in his new Constitution with a view to filling it himself, was raised above partisan strife on April 21 when De Valera and William T. Cosgrave, leader of the Fine Gael opposition, agreed to nominate Professor Douglas Hyde, who, at 78 years of age, was generally recognized as the country's most distinguished living Gaelic scholar. The fact that Professor Hyde is a Protestant and has not been connected actively with nationalist political affairs was widely interpreted as a bid for Ulster sympathies. Dr. Hyde was elected President without opposition on May 4, and was inaugurated with appropriate ceremonies on June 25.

To the astonishment of almost everyone, including many of the leaders of his own party, De Valera took advantage of the favorable situation created by the Anglo-Irish treaty and the election of a new President to ask for a dissolution of the Dail on May 28. The new general election, Ireland's second within ten months, was set for June 17.

General Election.

Despite pessimistic forecasts from most political observers, De Valera scored the most notable popular political triumph in his career at these hastily summoned elections. Final returns gave De Valera's Fianna Fail party 77 seats in the Dail. William T. Cosgrave's Fine Gael party obtained 45 seats; Labor 9; and Independents 7. This gave De Valera a majority of 16 over all other parties, by far the largest he had obtained in any election since assuming office in 1932. The Fianna Fail made a net gain of ten seats over its position in the previous Dail, while both the Fine Gael and Labor were heavy losers. In the previous Dail, De Valera had been able to rule only with the support of the Labor party, under the leadership of William Norton, but in the election campaign the Labor party had come out openly in opposition to the Prime Minister, with disastrous results to its own representation.

At the opening session of the Dail on June 30, De Valera was reelected Prime Minister by a vote of 75 to 45 after a three-hour debate. The Fine Gael voted solidly against De Valera, while the Labor party and most of the Independents abstained from voting. Francis Fahy, who has been Speaker since Fianna Fail first came to power, was reelected without opposition. Following his official appointment to office for the new term by President Hyde, De Valera announced that his Cabinet would remain unchanged. In addition to the position of Prime Minister, De Valera retained his portfolio as Minister of External Affairs. Sean O'Kelly was renamed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government, while Sean Mc-Entee was reappointed Minister of Finance.

Attempts at Unification of All Ireland.

The series of striking political triumphs achieved during the first half of the year by Prime Minister De Valera did not cause him to yield an inch in his determination to unify Ireland. In a formal address delivered at the inauguration of President Hyde, De Valera expressed confidence that the 78-year-old President would live to see the union of all Ireland under his rule. Three months later De Valera took advantage of the Czechoslovakian crisis to revive the demand for 'self-determination' for the Catholic portions of Ulster. A group of Ulster Catholics even went so far as to appeal to Chancellor Hitler for 'aid in their campaign for union of Ireland.' There is no evidence, however, that the German Government seriously considered such action.

Seizing the opportunity afforded by the 'settlement' of the Sudeten German minority problem as a result of intervention by Prime Minister Chamberlain, De Valera appealed on Oct. 6 for a plebiscite in certain areas of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Nationalist members of the North Ireland Parliament had met at Armagh on Sept. 30 and asked the Government to 'press a just claim on Britain for immediate liberation of Northern Ireland, and the application here of those principles of peace, justice, and democracy professed so loudly elsewhere.' Unwilling to press the British Government to the point of anger, De Valera chose to utilize modern methods of propaganda rather than threats of force to gain his end. He circulated quietly throughout the world a 40-page report of an inquiry into the 'legal dictatorship' of Craigavon as made by the National Council for Civil Liberties, an English organization. Special appeals were made to Irish in the United States to join in the drive for liberation of the six 'captive' counties, an appeal which was taken up by the American-Irish organizations.

De Valera did not ask for direct annexation of the Protestant sections of Ulster. He suggested rather that a 'Council for Ireland,' as foreshadowed in the Act of 1920, be established which would be composed of the members of the two present Irish parliaments. This Council would deal with the common legislative problems, but each parliament would continue to legislate for its own area. Speaking before the Fianna Fail party on Nov. 25, De Valera said that he was well aware of the fact that Belfast has 100,000 unemployed and that union might create a serious economic problem for the South. He expressed confidence, however, that neither the South nor the North would suffer permanently from a reunion of the two Irelands.

Each new demand for 'unity' was firmly rejected by Viscount Craigavon, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, who declared on Oct. 26 that 'we have learned in Northern Ireland to place no value whatever on Mr. De Valera's promises or even his guarantees.' He was particularly bitter in his denunciation of De Valera's proposal for an All-Ireland Council in which, he declared, the Northern Ireland representatives would be completely swamped by representatives from the South.

In the closing weeks of the year a number of disturbances occurred in Northern Ireland and along the border between the two countries which greatly exacerbated feelings between the rival political camps. One of the most serious of these occurred on Nov. 30 when two young men, allegedly members of the Irish Republican Army, were killed on the Eire border immediately preceding a series of explosions which wrecked six customhouses belonging to the Government of Northern Ireland. Three weeks later, on Dec. 22, Ulster police arrested 34 men, said to be members of the Irish Republican Army, charged with plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Craigavon and preparing to stage a series of uprisings during the holiday season. The precise significance of the reappearance of Irish Republican Army activity after months of inactivity was difficult to evaluate. It suggested, however, that extremist elements were becoming impatient with De Valera's gradualist tactics and were threatening to complicate the situation by renewed outbursts of violence.

Financial Situation.

In the financial and economic field, Ireland had a relatively good year in 1938. As a result of the Anglo-Irish treaty, exports were substantially higher during the last half of the year than in the same period of 1937. This was a considerable aid to agriculture, long depressed as a result of the trade war with Britain. Imports were lower during most of the year, but drew abreast of 1937 figures during the closing months of the year. Living costs were slightly higher, presumably because of the increased outlet for agricultural exports. Despite provision for the importation of additional British manufactured goods, De Valera continued his plans for subsidized industrial development to increase the degree of Ireland's self-sufficiency. However, the primary impetus for such plans disappeared with the signing of the treaty with the United Kingdom, and it is doubtful whether the program will be pushed with its former vigor.

The 1938 budget, introduced in the Dail on May 13 by Sean McEntee, Minister of Finance, provided for no new taxes, but allotted an extra £600,000 for national defense out of estimated revenues of £31,505,000. The total expenditures for the forthcoming year were set at £31,500,000, leaving an estimated surplus of only £4,010. The 1937-38 revenue was £31,208,583, or £296,417 less than the new estimate. Expenditures were £32,052,541, leaving a deficit of £843,958.

At the close of December it was announced that Prime Minister De Valera would pay an official visit to President Roosevelt on May 7, 1939. He is scheduled to open the Irish exhibit at the New York World's Fair on May 10.