| Boundary Commission (ireland) |
Article Index for Boundary |
Website Links For Boundary |
Information AboutBoundary Commission (ireland) |
|
When the Commission decided on a very small net transfer of land to Northern Ireland (the reverse of what was expected), its conclusions were leaked to the '' Morning Post '' in 1925 , causing protests from both the Unionists and nationalists. In order to avoid the possibility of further disputes, the British, Irish and Northern Ireland governments agreed to suppress the report, and the existing ( Government Of Ireland Act 1920 ) border was ratified by W.T. Cosgrave , Sir James Craig and Stanley Baldwin in December 1925. THE PROVISIONAL BORDER 1920 – 1925 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was enacted during the height of the Anglo-Irish War and Partitioned the island into two separate Home Rule territories of the United Kingdom, to be called Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland . In its determination of this border, the Parliament Of The United Kingdom heard the arguments of the Irish Unionist Party – but not those of most of the elected representatives of the nationalist population. Sinn Féin refused to recognise any legitimate role of that Parliament in Irish affairs and declined to attend it, leaving only the minuscule Irish Parliamentary Party present at the debates. James Craig's brother told the British House Of Commons unambiguously that the six north-eastern counties were the largest possible area that unionists could "hold". ARTICLE 12 OF THE TREATY After a clause providing for Northern Ireland (as defined by the Government Of Ireland Act 1920 to opt out of the new Free State, the remainder of Article 12 declares {Link without Title} ''Provided that if such an address'' the opt out, as expected ''is so presented, a Commission consisting of three persons, one to be appointed by the Government of the Irish Free State, one to be appointed by the Government of Northern Ireland, and one who shall be Chairman to be appointed by the British Government shall determine in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions the boundaries between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland, and for the purposes of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and of this instrument, the boundary of Northern Ireland shall be such as may be determined by such Commission. '' THE COMMISSION Due to the delay caused by the Irish Civil War , it was not until 1924 that the Commission was appointed. The Northern Ireland government, which adopted a policy of refusing to cooperate with the Commission since it did not wish to lose any territory, refused to appoint a representative. Ultimately the Labour government in Britain legislated to allow itself to impose a representative on their behalf, in order to enable the procedure to go ahead. The Commission was convened in 1925 , consisting of:
NEGOTIATION The Commission's report has never been officially released, continuing to be withheld by both Governments. However, some of the negotiating positions are known. The nationalist interpretation of Article 12 was that the Commission should redraw the border according to local nationalist or unionist majorities at the finely granular District Electoral Division level. Since the 1920 local elections in Ireland had resulted in outright nationalist majorities in County Fermanagh , County Tyrone , the City of Derry and in many District Electoral Divisions of County Armagh and County Londonderry (all north and east of the "interim" border), this might well have left Northern Ireland unviable. Unionists were content to leave the border unchanged. Although Justice Feetham might have used the Parliamentary Constituency boundaries, he evidently decided to maintain the status quo. His casting vote meant that the border created in the Government of Ireland Act 1920 was to remain unchanged. SEE ALSO
BIBLIOGRAPHY
|
|
|