Lest we may seem to do Mr. De Valera an
injustice, we quote the salient passage from a conversation between him and the correspondent of the 'Manchester Guardian, whose admiration for Sinn Fein is well known. He was asked about the I.R.A. :—
" Question 5: Is this army entitled to use force to prevent the election and to suppress free speech, whether it be viva ,voce or in the Press ?
Answer : The army, as the last defence of the nation, is entitled, in the last resort, to prevent elections such as those proposed, which may-well be regarded as the device of an alien aggressor for obtaining under threat of war an appearance of popular sanction for his usurped authority. If Britain were to remove the threat of force and were to pledge herself to respect whatever decision the Irish people arrived at, and if the register were a valid one, then I would say, but not till-then, that intervention by the army would be tyrannical and immoral."
The " army " is that section which follows Mr. De Valera. The elections are to be held by Mr. Collins, with the support of a majority of Dail Eireann. The " alien aggressor " has nothing to do with them, except in Mr. De Valera's heated imagination.
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