The Conversations with Eire It is unfortunate that in the
interval between the breaking off of the conversations between Great Britain and Eire and their resumption this week little advance has been made towards a general settlement. Indeed, the conversations re-open with prospects of strictly limited success only. Mr. de Valera has shown himself extremely reasonable on questions of trade, annuities, and defence, and prepared for any agreement which would end these problems for ever. But it was clear that in return he hoped, not un- naturally, for some gesture, even if it was only limited to a declaration of sympathy, by the British Government which would assist him in achieving the unity of Ireland. The British Government has found it impossible to make such a gesture, for the problem of how to include Northern Ireland in a virtually independent Republic without excluding it from full partnership in the British Commonwealth has yet to be solved. Mr. de Valera himself has now stated that there is no possibility of a general settlement. It is probable therefore that any agreement reached will be restricted to ques- tions of trade. If it cannot be extended to cover defence, the British Government may eventually find itself in a position of considerable difficulty ; the problem of defence is as important to Great Britain as the problem of partition to Mr. de Valera, and can less easily be left to time to solve.
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