NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE course of the Irish negotiations is as doubtful as when we wrote last week. On Thursday, when we go to press, the only certain thing is that Dail Eireann is considering the Govern- ment's offer in a secret session. On Wednesday the Sinn Fein leaders drafted their reply at the Dublin Mansion House, and if this reply be formally approved at the secret session, it should reach Downing Street by Friday morning. The general opinion in Ireland seems to be that the negotiations will be continued and may last a considerable time. It is said that the main objection of Mr. De Valera and his colleagues is that the Govern- ment have not really offered the kind of Dominion Home Rule which was assumed by General Smuts in his letter. It is further said that Mr. De Valera argues that the offer fails partly because the Sinn Feiners are not given the full right to separate themselves from the Mother Country which is inherent in the constitutions of the overseas Dominions, and partly because they are not given the right to bring in North-East Ulster.
