October 11 1924
The line taken by the Lords is just as easily understood as the motives which inspired Lord Balfour to resurrect Lord Birkenhead’s letter and which were present to the minds of Lords Cave, Grey, and other titled and untitled Britons when they wrote letters or delivered speeches. One object was to influence Mr Justice [Richard] Feetham. The members of the House of Lords acted in accordance with a well-thought-out policy and plan. They said those who conspired with their leaders knew that, in the words of the Westminster Gazette –
“People in Ireland, whether in the North or the South, will now conclude that the House of Lords has attempted to sway the judgement of the Boundary Commission. If it decides in favour of the narrower meaning of Article 12, Free Staters will be tempted to question the impartiality of the decision; and if, on the other hand, it takes the wider view of its functions, Orange extremists will be the more disposed to resist its findings, because they will be able to argue that in the opinion of the House of Lords those findings are illegal”.
Lord Balfour, Lord Cave, Lord Grey, Lord Carson, and the rest wanted to discredit the Commission before it came into existence: and their letters were written and their speeches delivered in the hope, perhaps under the conviction, that their infamous interferences with the working of the Anglo-Irish Treaty would provoke angry and reckless action on the part of those in Ireland who stand pledged to the maintenance of the Pact for all it is worth. The letters and speeches and the resolution passed in the House of Lords as an addendum to the craven peers’ confession that they did not dare go a step farther were direct incitements to the rejection of the Irish Free State (Confirmation of Agreement) Bill by the Dail Eireann.
In simple terms, the British Tories want to see the Treaty broken, but they are afraid to break it themselves. They anticipate an electorate victory and return to office and power: their way would be smoothed, and the world would hold them blameless, if the Treaty was repudiated in Ireland during the progress of the British General Election.
