THE BOUNDARY QUESTION.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sur,—Free State advocates invariably ignore two important points in discussing the Boundary question ; first, the fact that until the " Treaty " was ratified by the Imperial Parlia- ment there was no " Free State " with which to make any bargain or agreement, and secondly, the fact that Parliament would never have created the Free State except for the distinct assurance of Ministers that the Boundary Commission was to be set up for the purpose of delimitation, not of annexation, The Free Staters, with a view to an independent republic. demand a plebiscite of selected portions of the Northern counties, but the 'Ulstermen naturally object on the ground that such a referendum is opposed to the terms of the treaty and also because any large transfer of territory and population would make—as it would be intended to make—the political and economic existence of Northern Ireland impossible.
After the War it was suggested by some simple-minded people that it would be nice to give the peoples of Alsace and Lorraine the opportunity of saying whether or not they wished to be transferred to France. This suggestion the French Government indignantly refused to consider, holding that the possession of Alsace and Lorraine was essential to the safety of France. In precisely the same way Northern Ireland considers that no territory smaller than the Six Counties would be sufficiently strong, economically and politically, to be safe against foreign aggression.—I am, Sir, &c., C. F. RYDER. Thurlow. Sidjolk.
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