On Monday, in reply to the message just summarized, Mr.
De Valera telegraphed yet another letter. It opened with a state- ment which, in our opinion, should be taken up by Mr. Lloyd George, for it puts on record the fact that Mr. De Valera does not expect the independence and sovereignty of Ireland to be recognized in advance. From the standpoint of the Govern- ment, these are the most important words in the whole corre- spondence. We quote them in our leading article. No doubt Mr. Dc Valera intended the most important part of his letter to be that in which he proceeds to say that he is prepared to negotiate a treaty. The significance of this passage is that it goes back to a proposal—a dangerous one, as we think, since the power to make a. treaty implies sovereignty—which was originally made by the Government. Mr. Lloyd George said :—
" The British Government propose that the conditions of settlement between Great Britain and Ireland shall be embodied in the form of a treaty to which effect shall in due course be given by tho British and Irish Parliaments. They look to such an instrument to obliterate old conflicts forthwith, to clear the way for a detailed settlement in full accordance with Irish conditions and needs, and thus to establish a new and happier relation between Irish patriotism and that wider community of aims and interests by which the unity of the whole Empire is freely sustained."
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