Saor Éire

THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT TO THE DÁIL

10 April 1919

. . . There is in Ireland at this moment only one lawful authority, and that authority is the elected government of the Irish republic. . . .

Our attitude towards the powers that maintain themselves here against the expressed will of the people shall then, in a word, be this : We shall conduct ourselves towards them in such a way as will make it clear to the world that we acknowledge no right of theirs. Such use of their laws as we shall make will be dictated solely by necessity, and only in so far as we deem them for the public good.

In order to secure for our own de jure government, and for the Irish republic which the Irish people have willed to set up, the necessary international recognition, we shall send at once our
accredited representatives to Paris to the peace conference and to the League of Nations. . . .

We shall send also to other countries a number of duly accredited ambassadors and consuls to see that the position of Ireland is understood as it truly is, and not as English propaganda would represent it, and in general to see that the interests of Ireland in these countries are in no way neglected. We shall thus resume that intercourse with other peoples which befits us as a separate nation, that intercourse which it has been the chief aim of English statescraft to cut off and which indeed English power has succeeded in cutting off for over a century.

At the present time of general world-reconstruction it is most important that the internal interests of this country at home be also looked after, and by Irishmen. It will he the duty of our ministry to secure co-operation and to co-ordinate the activities of the various bodies which have taken voluntarily to themselves the safeguarding and advancement of these interests. Towards English legislation interfering with these interests we shall act in accordance with the general principles I have already indicated, that is, we shall act as we think best for the general good.

To measures such as the English Ways and Communications bill, designed, as regards Ireland, to prevent Irishmen from using the natural resources of their own country to benefit their own nation, handing over on set purpose to an English bureau complete control of the communications of this country, so that they may he used solely in the interests of England—to such measures we shall
offer all the resistance we can command as being both injurious and unjust- It shall be the especial duty of our director of trade to examine, in co-operation with public bodies, how best to make our
resistance effective.

The ministers and directors at the heads of the other departments —labour, industries, agriculture, local government—will similarly be charged with seeking co-operation with all interested in their departments. The minister of national defence is, of course, in close association with the voluntary military forces which are the foundation of the national army.

It is obvious that the work of our government cannot be carried on without funds.

The minister of finance is accordingly preparing a prospectus, which will shortly he published, for the issue of a loan of one million sterling—,500,000 to be offered to the public for immediate subscription, £250,000 at home and £250,000 abroad, in bonds of such amounts as to meet the needs of the small subscriber.