Mr. de 'Valera's dispatch was not the compilation of an
experienced statesman, but a document plainly intended to please his followers as much as to carry on business of State. The vague charges of ill-faith in the past did not draw the Government in London into an argument. The answer of the Cabinet, sent by the Secretary of State for the Dominions, after reminding Mr. de Valera of the advantages gained by Southern Ireland from the "Treaty," and drily rebutting the accusation that the Treaty "divided the people of Ireland into two hostile damps by the "outrage of Partition," goes on to affirm that the Oath is "an integral part- of the Treaty. Settlement," by which the Government "stand absolutely:" In regard to -the Land Annuities which Mr. de Valera says that he will net pay over to the National Debt Commissioners for the holders of the . stock (whose money the Irish were glad enough to borrow), the dispatch puts the position clearly and quotes the undertakings. of the Free State to collect and pay the interest, undertakings that are "binding in law and honour on the Irish Free State."
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