NEWS OF THE WEEK.
AT last something more definite has happened in the Irish negotiations. Mr. De Valera has written another letter, full of his resounding phrases which may mean much or little, but he made at the end, inconsequently but none the less oppor- tunely, the suggestion of another conference. Mr. Lloyd George, on receiving this letter in Scotland, summoned a special Cabinet meeting at Inverness. On Wednesday the meeting was held in the Inverness Town Hall, and it was decided to send a reply to Mr. De Valera proposing that a conference should open on September 20th. The text of this reply has not been published when we go to press on Thursday, but it has been made known that only one essential condition for the conference has been laid down. It is that Ireland must remain within the Empire. A Committee of the Cabinet consisting of the Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, Lord Curzon, Lord Birkenhead, Mr. Winston Churchill, Sir L. Worthington Evans, Sir Hamar Greenwood, Mr. Shortt, and Mr. Munro has been formed, and has been given Plenary powers to deal with whatever situation may be created by Mr. De Valera's next move.
