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/ TS . °
THE REPUBLICAN FUNDS, THE SECUND DAIL und Mr. Du VALERA.
In the Free State DAil, on the 5th July, 1933, wr. De Valera
made the following statement :-
"Hy ottitude wos that that money had been subscribed for ean
Irish nepublic, 4 Republic for 911 Ireland; that the Free
State was not thot Republic, and that at least the balance
of the Funds should not go to that State. Tht wes the
attitude we took up in the Courts. To whom did it belong,
Iwes °sked, “nd my onswer was thot if I had to state what
body it belonged to £ would s«y it belonged to the Sccond
Dil which was not ayer properly dissolved, which was pre-
ventcd by & coup dtétet of the Leputics on "the Opposite
side from functioning, If thet body could, in 1924 or
1927, heve becn convened, then I would say “that to that
body the money belonged. i
AppGrcently tht was the evidence @lven by wr. De Velers in the Supreme
Court, New York, in the Spring of 1927. He was #ske@, he sys, to
whom did the money belong, «nd his «nswer was i-
"If th t body (the Second D4il) could, in 1924 or 1927,
heve been convened, then I would sey that to that body the
money belonged."
If he made thet stetemcent on oath in the witness cha ir, or ‘
affidavit, it wos deliberste perjury. It meuns that the Second Déil
could not hive been convened either in 1924 or in 1927, or in the
intervening yesrs. and, of course, it means that the Second Deil hed
O83 in fect, held any aecting whatever from 1924 to 1927. The year
1924 is mentioned, obviously, bec&use in that your the sum of 10 , O00
dolisrs of thc Punds wos the subject of litigation in the Free Stete
Court -t Dublin, 2nd the your 1927 is mentioned becuse Mr. De Valera
geve oral evidence in the New York Court in thot year. Henec, he
says, in the statement quoted i: "Theat woes the attitude we took up
in the Courts.
Now ict us look et the facts. On the 25th October 1922, a
meeting of the Sccond De “il wes held et Dublin, and Mr. De Valera was
appointed President a the Republic, with a sa hlary peynble ,out of the
Republicen Funds He wes peid that salary by the Second D‘il from
the 25th Octobe r, ,i922, to the 28th Merch, 1926. On the last-named
date the Second ie $41 pissed Y vote of no éonfidence in him, «nd he
wes obliged to resign his position «s fresident. He continued, how=—
ever, to attend the mectings of the secord Dd4il until he went to New
York’ in 1927 to Sive evidence in the Bonds' case It wes the Second
D#il thet sent him to Bive evidence on its behalf, end his expenses
were paid by the Second Dai
?
On the 28th Dicember, "1923, there wes © mecting of members of
the Second D*il et Dublin. Nr. Sedn 7. C'lelly was in the Cheir.
Mr. De Velera, who wes then imprisoned at arbour Hill, “sent to each
member of the Council of State copy of his “ppointments to the
C&binet." Here ere the Sppointments which he had made :-
aug hin stack minister for rinénce
cin T. ¢! Kelly Minister for Local Government
Robert Barton dinister for sconomic Affairs
P.J.Rkutlcdge Minister for Home afrairs
Lim Mellows (?) winister for lcefence
and Mr. De Velere took on, himsclf, the duties of Minister
for rorcign affsirs.
cid m tr 4 he * .
Mr. Scen T. O'Kelly, «t this mecting mede the following
stetement :-
"It would be better not to formally cell a mecting of D121
ireonmn ot the moment. ket it be 2 Mecting of the elcicted
T.Ds. where we can get the opinions of members from the
country ¢nd our people in «nd out of joil end understand