Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 13 Rhagfyr 1973.
I beg your pardon, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps I may endeavour to continue my speech with your indulgence and that of the House. I felt slightly unwell.
The sooner the Chief Constable of the RUC and the Commissioner of the Civic Guard in the South are authorised by their respective Governments to get together and co-ordinate the activities of two forces between which there is a great degree of mutual admiration and respect—the better it will be not only for the peace of the whole of Ireland but for the success of what was done at Sunningdale.
My hon. Friends and I, paying our visit to the forces on the border, found that the co-operation which undoubtedly exists at the moment between the security forces on our side and the Gardaí in the Republic varies from place to place. It is much better on the border with County Donegal, for example, than it is on the border with County Monaghan. Some of the officers of the Armed Forces to whom we spoke said their local problems would virtually be solved if the present closing of unauthorised roads was complete. This is now going ahead. At Pettigoe, for example, it has been done with the full understanding of the public and the cooperation of the Garda.
They mentioned a second difficulty, the need to make speedy progress in the matter of extradition, or an efficacious equivalent of extradition. Reference has been made earlier to the declaration made by two sovereign Governments regarding the future of North-South relations. It is a notable fact that the Government of the Republic has concurred in the words of the British Government that the present status of Northern Ireland cannot be altered until a majority of its people desire a change in their status.
I hope my right hon. Friend understands the concern which some people must feel about the passage that followed that statement, namely that if in future the majority of the people of Northern Ireland should indicate a wish to become part of a united Ireland the British Government should support that wish. I need not go further into the misgivings on that score. I am sure my right hon. Friend understands them.
As has been pointed out by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Down, South (Captain Orr), the tripartite agreement which was solemnly deposited at the League of Nations was soon overtaken by a change of Government in Dublin. I hope that diplomacy will be successful in persuading the Government of the Republic to attempt an amendment of their constitution. I rather regret, in view of the religious views that I hold, the deletion from the Constitution of the Irish Republic of the true statement that Catholicism is the religion of the majority, and the retention of the untruth that Dublin has sovereignty over the whole island of Ireland, its islands and territorial seas. The separation of the Six Counties was as much an act of self-determination as the establishment of an independent Government in the South of Ireland.
If we are speaking of the unification of Ireland we must realise that it is quite as unrealistic to expect to plant a Tricolour on Stormont Castle as, in present circumstances, it would be to plant a Union Jack on Dublin Castle. In June 1937 Mr. de Valera said that the Northern Ireland problem stood in the way of what he called a "flat, downright proclamation of a republic." It is a pity that some of his successors were not so wise. That second statement from Sunningdale, following the reiterated commitment to maintain the status of Northern Ireland—the statement that the British Governmen might support the wish to become part of a united Ireland—is certainly not reassuring.
It follows on what was done in the new Constitution which this House has given to Northern Ireland, the abolition of oaths of allegiance, the Governorship and the Privy Council. The Assembly has shown a wise instinct in reviving some of the symbols of loyalty. The former Secretary of State, replying to our pleas not to abolish the Governorship, gave us to understand that there might well be Royal visits not long delayed to Northern Ireland and that Hillsborough might become something like Holyrood.
My speech and the numbers in the House tonight are not adequate for the importance of this occasion. The people of Northern Ireland are fellow citizens and fellow subjects who have suffered grievously in recent years. We are, of course, entitled to look to Northern Ireland politicians for constructive statesmanship. That has been manifested by many of them, at Darlington, Stormont and Sunningdale. But sometimes the impatience, condescension and indifference shown in this House seem to be not only inappropriate but indecent.
The people of Northern Ireland have no small claim upon the affections of this House. But for the existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom and the steadfastness of her people, offering us bases still strategically necessary, we would have lost the Battle of the Atlantic and gone down into slavery and shame.