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Dáil Éireann - Volume 4 - 14 September, 1921

SECRETARIES TO DELEGATION

PRESIDENT proposed Mr. Childers, Mr. H. Boland and Mr. K. O'Higgins be appointed secretaries.

[97] J.J. WALSH said he would like to mention that one of the secretaries should have a knowledge of Irish. Lloyd George often reminded them they were not an Irish speaking nation. He had no objection to the three names suggested. He did not want to be accused of holding up the programme but he urged the appointment of P. Béaslaí.

K. O'HIGGINS agreed with Mr. Walsh that someone with a knowledge of Irish should be chosen. It would be a matter of considerable personal inconvenience to himself if he had to go.

PRESIDENT accepted the suggestion that one of the secretaries should have a knowledge of Irish.

P. Ó MÁILLE proposed that Mr. Childers and Mr. Boland be nominated as secretaries.

P. BÉASLAÍ said it was not necessary to have the secretaries ratified by the Dáil at all. He suggested that their appointment be left to the Ministry.

PRESIDENT said he would withdraw his motion and ask the Dáil to leave it to the Ministry to appoint secretaries.

SPEAKER said this was hardly necessary. It would be taken as a matter of course.

S. ROBINSON said there was no representative of the Army on the delegation. Did the Cabinet consider the advisability of having the Minister for Defence on the delegation?

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE said there was no necessity for him to go. He had more useful work to do in Ireland at the present time. The representatives whom they were sending were bound by the replies already given.

PRESIDENT said they could expect from developments there would be a campaign against them on account of the second paragraph of the reply and an attempt to get at our own people and make it appear they were asking for recognition of the Republic as a precedent for entering the conference.

In order to meet that properly it would be necessary for them to show they were in earnest and that it was a letter with a purpose and to show the sincerity of their purpose they should publish at once that plenipotentiaries had been appointed as follows. He thought that should be published to-morrow at the same time with the announcement that the Dáil had considered and confirmed the reply sent to Lloyd George.

S. ETCHINGHAM suggested it would be better to publish a statement this evening.

PRESIDENT said the Director of Publicity had a communication ready to give to the Press which was as follows:

“PEACE CONFERENCE

Dáil Éireann met in private session in the Mansion House at 11 a.m.

The Cabinet reply to Mr. Lloyd George was read and unanimously adopted.

In view of a possible conference with Representatives of the British Government, the following Plenipotentiaries were unanimously ratified:

Mr. Arthur Griffith, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Chairman.

Mr. Michael Collins, Minister of Finance.

Commandant R.C. Barton, Minister of Economic Affairs.

Mr. E.J. Duggan, representative of Meath and Louth.

Mr. George Gavan Duffy, Irish Envoy at Rome, representative of Dublin County.

The Private Session ended at 2.30.”

W. SEARS asked if the Director of Publicity could have an understanding with the two nationalist papers not to allow the correspondence columns to be open to defeatist letters.

MISS MACSWINEY said some representation should be made to the papers on the point of how they referred to the enemy government. They never used the word “President” before the name of de Valera and they referred to their Cabinet as “Irish Leaders”.

PRESIDENT said he had already made representations. It was a difficult thing to do; they did not want to muzzle the Press but to give it as much liberty as they [98] possibly could without interfering. He realized the harm they were doing and it was very difficult to make themselves realize it. Public discussion would be forced upon them about those issues and they could not muzzle the public in those matters. If they attempted to do it there would be a rising tide that would sweep the barrier. It was better to let the water trickle through.

G. GAVAN DUFFY asked could not the correspondence be published in Irish as well as in English.

PRESIDENT said that could be done.

M.P. COLLIVET asked why not compel them to give equal freedom to both sides.

PRESIDENT said as far as he knew there was perfect freedom on both sides now.

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