GRANTING VISAS
SIR.—Mr. Curtin's letter (Spectator, March 27) about immigration formalities touches on a point of vital importance for the shaping of Britain's policy in relation to other Western nations. The reasons usually given in Britain for the maintenance of the present system of immigration control, namely, security and the avoidance of unemployment, do not bear rational analysis, and one is left with the conclusion that the system is grounded in an irrational desire to separate the sheep from the goats. At any. rate, the present writer has been unable to discover any grounds for assuming that an Irish subject entering the UK is less likely to settle and to endanger security than, say, a Dutchman. Are we to believe that IRA activities are just harmless blow-ups be- tween friends, while if a Dutchman did a similar thing (though why he should want to only the Home Secretary knows) it would be a serious matter? If Britain's pharisaism had not prevented her from taking the leadership in Western Europe after the war, the influence and prestige would have been im- mensely greater.--Yours faithfully,
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