The new Irish Governor-General, Mr. Healy, standing by the side
of the Speaker, at a special meeting of the Dail, which included Senators and Deputies, held in Leinster House on Tuesday, read a message received from the King welcoming the birth of 'the Free State. The King expressed his earnest hope that by the faithful observance of the Constitution the peace and prosperity of Ireland might be secured. The message, composed in a style dignified and yet straightforward, ends with the words With all my heart I pray that the blessing of God may rest upon you -and upon the Ministers of the Irish Free State in the difficult task committed to your charge." The Governor-General's reply was conceived in a similar vein., After declaring that the terms of the message will touch all hearts and that the thought which inspired those terms must everywhere evoke the admira- tion of men of good will, the Governor-General joined "in beseeching the Almighty that the reign of freedom which has now been established in Ireland will bring with it an early peace and an assured prosperity, as well as a lasting reconciliation between the British and .Irish nations."
