[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In your last issue,
Sir Henry Page Croft complains that the new Constitution of the Irish Free State abolishes allegiance to the Crown, and with it the duty of citizens of the Free State to take part in any war in which the United Kingdom may be engaged. Sir Henry overlooks the duties imposed upon the Free State _and its citizens by membership of the League of Nations. The British Government has undertaken never to engage in a war of aggression, and in any war of defence it will be able to call upon the Free State, as a Member of the League, not only. not to assist the enemy, but also to give material assistance to Great Britain. Sir Henry will be the first to agree that assistance, given under an obligation volun- tarily assumed, is more likely to be effective and valuable than assistance required by allegiance to the Crown, which, whether we like it or not, appears to repel rather than to attract a sub- stantial proportion of the citizens of the Free State. Yours, &c., LEONARD F. BEHRENS.
159 Barlow Moor Road, Diclsbury, Manchester,
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