Lord Craigavon and General O'Duffy Irish rhetoric takes many strange
and baffling forms, both in the North and the South. We are aceustomed to the extravagances of Mr. de Valera, but what are we to make of the words of his political opponent, General O'Duffy, when he declares that his policy is " the only ray of hope for Irish unity," and almost in the same breath talks of an invasion of the Free State from. Northern Ireland and of his Blueshirts rallying to resist it ? When General O'Duffy, thinking only of showing Irishmen that he is as good a patriot as Mr. de Valera, makes utterances of that kind, it is not surprising that Lord Craigavon and his colleagues in Ulster should more earnestly than ever declare their allegiance to the British flag. That is what we should expect. But when Lord Craigavon declares that " a united Ireland is not only impossible but unthinkable, and from the highest of Imperial interests undesirable " that is sheer nonsense. Unity is obviously " thinkable," and few people in this country doubt that, in happier circumstances, it is necessary to the best interests of Ireland and the Empire. But how can the circumstances become happier when leaders like General O'Duffy talk unity in one sentence and disunity in another ?
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