THE IRISH OATH
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—Mr. J. A. Eddison reads a good deal more into your Note on the Irish Oath than I imagined you to imply. I should certainly agree with him that the submission to the Hague Court of the broad question of the desirability or other- wise of an Oath of allegiance, much more the still broader question of loyalty to the Crown, would be wholly improper. But since there appears to be a difference of opinion on the purely legal question of whether the Treaty of 1921 did or did not make the taking of an Oath by members of the Dail mandatory I see no disadvantage, and some advantage, in submitting this legal point—and this alone—to a Court whose unique authority on such matters as the interpretation of treaties is generally recognized. Personally, I have not the slightest doubt that the Court would rule against Mr. de
[The purport of the Note in question was precisely as sug- gested by our correspondent. Of course, nothing but the purely legal question could be submitted to the Court.—En. Spectator.]
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