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H.V. Evatt, Australia and Ireland’s departure from the Commonwealth: a reassessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2016

Frank Bongiorno
Frank Bongiorno*
Affiliation:
School of Classics, History and Religion, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales
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Extract

On 7 September 1948 the newly appointed Taoiseach, John A. Costello, the leader of a coalition government in which his party Fine Gael was the senior partner, announced in Ottawa that he intended to repeal Eire’s External Relations Act, and thus sever its final tenuous link with the crown. The External Relations Act ‘empowered the Executive Council of the Irish Free State to authorise the use of the king’s signature on the letters of credence to be presented to heads of foreign states by Irish diplomatic representatives’. Eamon de Valera, Costello’s predecessor, had introduced the External Relations Act in 1936, and had regarded it as a device that might help to end partition. The measure magnified Ireland’s constitutional ambiguity, but with its repeal the twenty-six counties would assuredly become a republic outside the Commonwealth.

Type
Research Article
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 32 , Issue 128 , November 2001 , pp. 537 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 2001

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References

1 Mansergh, Nicholas, The Commonwealth experience, ii: From British to multiracial Commonwealth (2nd ed., London, 1982), p. 138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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17 Brook to Attlee, 8 Oct. 1948 (P.R.O., CAB 134/118). Dean, ‘Final exit?’, p. 406, is correct in pointing to Evatt’s failure to understand the Irish position.

18 Evatt to Attlee, 12 Oct. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3962).

19 Cable 105, U.K. representative to Éire to Commonwealth Relations Office, 12 Oct. 1948 (ibid., DO 35/3960), quoted in Quirke, ‘Australia’s role’, p. 292.

20 Attlee to Noel-Baker, 13 Oct. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3962).

21 Machtig, note, 13 Oct. 1948 (ibid.); Cable 106, U.K. representative to Éire to Commonwealth Relations Office, 15 Oct. 1948 (ibid.).

22 Machtig to Noel-Baker, 15 Oct. 1948 (ibid.), quoted in O’Brien, ‘Ireland’s departure’, p. 187.

23 Machtig to Noel-Baker, 15 Oct. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3962).

24 Louw to MacBride, 26 Oct. 1948 (N.A.I. DT S14387A). See also Noel-Baker, ‘Record of conversation with Mr Louw of South Africa, 15th October, 1948’ (P.R.O., DO 121/18).

25 MacBride to Evatt, 15 Oct. 1948 (Flinders University, Evatt collection, Evatt — Overseas Trip — 1948).

26 Downey, ‘MacBride tells of steps which led to Republic leaving Commonwealth’.

27 Fanning, ‘Response’, p. 95.

28 O’Brien, ‘Australia & the repeal of the External Relations Act’, p. 258.

29 Cablegram Special E17, Evatt to Chifley, 14 Oct. 1948, Special ‘E’ Series (Historical Documents Project Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, now at National Archives of Australia (N.A.A., A9420, 5)). The word ‘Canada’ has been added to the original cable, presumably by someone in the Department of External Affairs, Canberra.

30 T. J. Kiernan to F. H. Boland, 25 Oct. 1948 (N.A.I., DFA, Canberra Embassy, D/l/11).

31 Cablegram Special El8, Evatt to Chifley, 17 Oct. 1948, Special ‘E’ Series (N.A.A., A9420,5).

32 Aide-mémoire, 22 Oct. 1948 (N.A.A., A1838/283 TS 899/6). See also aide-mémoire, 20 Oct. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3964).

33 Kiernan to Boland, 25 Oct. 1948 (N.A.I., DFA, Canberra Embassy, D/l/11).

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36 O’Brien, ‘Australia & the repeal of the External Relations Act’, p. 258.

37 Cable 1022, U.K. high commissioner in Canada to Commonwealth Relations Office, 24 Nov. 1948 (P.R.O., CAB 129/31 Part 1); Cable 523, U.K. high commissioner in New Zealand to Commonwealth Relations Office, 24 Nov. 1948 (ibid.). For Australia’s response see Cable 768, acting U.K. high commissioner in Australia to Commonwealth Relations Office, 22 Nov. 1948 (ibid.); Cable 772, acting U.K. high commissioner in Australia to Commonwealth Relations Office, 23 Nov. 1948 (ibid.).

38 Sunday Independent, 24 Oct. 1948; Cable 60, Department of External Affairs to Kiernan, [received 27 Oct. 1948] (N.A.I., DFA, Canberra Embassy, D/l/U); Cable 47, Kiernan to Department of External Affairs, 28 Oct. 1948 (ibid.); Kiernan, minute, 24 Jan. 1949 (ibid.).

39 Brien, ‘Ireland’s departure’, p. 186. A copy of the proposed British reply is at P.R.O., DO 35/3964.

40 Quoted in McCabe, Diplomatic hist. Ire., p. 73.

41 Cable 390, Shawcross to Attlee, 12 Nov. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3964).

42 McCabe, Diplomatic hist. Ire., pp 53-4.

43 Cable 390, Shawcross to Attlee, 12 Nov. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3964); Cable 391, Shawcross to Attlee, 12 Nov. 1948 (ibid.); Brook to Attlee, 12 Nov. 1948 (ibid.). See also McCabe, Diplomatic hist. Ire., pp 73-4.

44 Downey, ‘MacBride tells of steps which led to Republic leaving Commonwealth’.

45 CM (48) 72nd Conclusions, ‘Extract from conclusions of cabinet meeting held on Saturday, 13th Nov. 1948’ (P.R.O., DO 35/3964).

46 Downey, ‘MacBride tells of steps which led to Republic leaving Commonwealth’.

47 CP (48) 272, ‘Éire’s future relations with the Commonwealth’, 17 Nov. 1948, Annexe A: ‘Note of meeting held at the British Embassy, Paris, on Sunday, 14th Nov., 1948, at 11 a.m.’, p. 7 (P.R.O., CAB 129/31 Part 1).

48 CP (48) 272,17 Nov. 1948, Appendix II to Annexe B, Draft declaration, pp 13-14 (ibid.).

49 CP (48) 272, 17 Nov. 1948, ‘Memorandum of the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations’, p. 3 (P.R.O., CAB 129/31).

50 Thomas O’Brien to Costello, 22 Oct. 1948 (N.A.I., DT S14387A).

51 G. Wright to Costello, 19 Nov. 1948 (ibid.).

52 See letters in N.A.I., DT S14387 A-B. See also Pritt to Younger, 4 Nov. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3947 B), for concerns of Irish residents in Britain.

53 CP (48) 272, 17 Nov. 1948, ‘Memorandum by the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations’, 17 Nov. 1948, p. 3 (P.R.O., CAB 129/31).

54 CP (48) 272,17 Nov. 1948, Annexe C: ‘Note of a meeting held in the offices of the Right Hon. H. V. Evatt at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris, on Tuesday, 16th November, 1948, at 5 p.m.’, p. 16 (ibid.).

55 Cablegram 4469, Evatt to Chifley, 17 Dec. 1948 (N.A.A., A1838,851/4/1/3).

56 Extract from a speech of the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. J. B. Chifley, in the Australian House of Representatives, 26 November 1948, outlining Australia’s reaction to the secession of the Republic of Ireland from the British Commonwealth’, printed in Mansergh, Nicholas (ed.), Documents and speeches on British Commonwealth affairs, 1931-1952 (London, 1953), p. 811.Google Scholar

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60 J. G. Laithwaite, ‘Note for record’, 3 Sept. 1948 (ibid., CAB 21/1818).

61 Note of a discussion at the Hotel Vendôme, Paris, at 10 a.m. 17th November, 1948’(ibid., PREM 8/1008).

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65 U.K. representative to Éire to Commonwealth Relations Office, 19 Nov. 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3961).

66 Edwards, Owen Dudley, ‘Britain’s reaction to Irish leaving Commonwealth’ in Irish Times, 1-2 Jan. 1979Google Scholar; see also O’Farrell, Patrick, ‘Irish-Australian diplomatic relations’ in Quadrant, no. 151, xxiv, no.3 (Mar. 1980), pp ll–12Google Scholar; McCabe, Diplomatic hist. Ire., p. 79.

67 Kiernan, minute, 28 May 1948 (N.A.I., DFA, Canberra Embassy, D/l/5).

68 O’Brien, ‘Australia & the repeal of the External Relations Act’, p. 257.

69 Crockett, Peter, Evatt:a life (Melbourne, 1993), pp 73, 229, 325Google Scholar; Boland, T. P., James Duhig (St Lucia, 1986), pp 309-15.Google Scholar

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71 Kiernan to Boland, 5 Dec. 1946 (N.A.I., DFA, Secretary’s Office, P15 (ii)).

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73 Kiernan, minute, 3 Feb. 1950 (N.A.I., DFA 313/17).

74 Kiernan, minute, 24 Jan. 1949 (ibid., DFA, Canberra Embassy, D/l/11).

75 Evatt to Mannix (draft), [Jan. 1949] (Flinders University, Evatt collection, External Affairs — Ireland). It is unclear whether Evatt actually sent the letter.

76 Kiernan, minute, 1 July 1949 (N.A.I., DFA 313/17).

77 Kiernan, minute, 10 Mar. 1949 (ibid.).

78 O’Brien is thus mistaken when he remarks that Evatt ‘was not of Irish extraction’ (‘Ireland’s departure’, pp 179, 184). See Crockett, Evatt, pp 32, 73; Tennant, Kylie, Evatt: politics and justice (Sydney, 1970), pp 3, 34.Google Scholar

79 Quoted in O’Brien, ‘Australia & the repeal of the External Relations Act’, p. 263.

80 [Kiernan], ‘Bishop Eris O’Brien’, [late Jan. 1949] (N.A.I., DFA 313/17/2).

81 Gordon Walker to Attlee, [Jan. 1949] (P.R.O., DO 130/105).

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83 Kiernan, minute, 30 May 1949 (N.A.I., DFA, Canberra Embassy, D6).

84 Cable 255, U.K. high commissioner in Australia to Commonwealth Relations Office, 3 May 1948 (P.R.O., DO 35/3929).

85 Cable 249, Commonwealth Relations Office to U.K. high commissioner in Australia, 20 Apr. 1948 (ibid.).

86 McCabe, Diplomatic hist. Ire., pp 14,51.

87 Tobin, G. M., ‘The sea-divided Gael: a study of the Irish home rule movement in Victoria and New South Wales, 1880-1916’ (unpublished M.A. thesis, Australian National University, Canberra, 1969), pp 298-9.Google Scholar

88 Cablegram Austdel 275, Heydon to Burton, 23 Nov. 1948, Document 82, printed in Andre, Pamela (ed.), Australia and the postwar world: the Commonwealth, Asia and the Pacific: documents, 1948-49 (Canberra, 1998), p. 136.Google Scholar

89 I am indebted to the Australian Research Council and the Managers of the Smuts Memorial Fund, University of Cambridge, for funding for this research; to the Historical Documents Project Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia, for access to their files; and to Mr Ian Hancock and Dr Nicole McLennan for their helpful comments on a draft of this article.