Letter from John J. Hearne to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
'Conversations with Field Marshal Smuts'
(14/E/40)

I have the honour to refer to my telegram No. 75¹ in which I reported two conversations with Field Marshal Smuts² on Thursday and Friday the 28th and 29th June. I was present at the Rockcliffe Airport to meet the Prime Minister of South Africa on his arrival in Ottawa on the morning of the 28th June. I attended all the functions held in his honour: a dinner at Government House (28th June); laying of a wreath on the War Memorial, a Canadian Club luncheon and a reception by the Acting Accredited Representative of the Union (29th June).

Field Marshal Smuts was very pleasant on all these occasions; and on the two occasions on which we had something more than a formal conversation he expressed his great affection for Ireland. He referred to his conversations with Mr. Arthur Griffith prior to the Treaty of 1921. 'We South Africans were the first Nation', he said, 'to dynamite British Imperialism; your people hold on too much to the old ideas about British imperialism. It's dead. But Ireland will come right. I believe Ireland will come right. Griffith worked in South Africa. I knew him when I was Attorney General of the Transvaal. He was a good man. He took a long view of things.' Marshal Smuts gave me the impression that he had prevailed upon Mr. Griffith to accept the British Commonwealth idea.

At the War Memorial on the morning of the 29th June he said to me, somewhat jocularly, 'And how is ould Oireland today'. As my smile was, doubtless, wan (for all the lovely morning) he added quickly: 'Ireland is in all our hearts. So long as I can remember Ireland has been dear to us all in South Africa. Ireland will come right.' Mr. Mackenzie King didn't appear to like the reference to 'poor ould Oireland'. He remained with me for many minutes after the Field Marshal had gone down the line to talk to others who had come to the ceremony. We spoke about the Canadian Prime Minister 's plans for the future lay out of the Federal Capital centreing around Parliament Hill and the Memorial.

It was at the South African Acting Accredited Representative's reception that Marshal Smuts spoke to me of the number of Irishmen serving in British Forces in the present war. 'More Irishmen are serving with British Forces in this war than in any previous war ' he said. 'Ireland will come right: that is my belief. It is a pity that the present Irish Government's policy is not in line. But Ireland will come right. I have always said so.'

The expression 'not in line' could be interpreted as meaning not in line with the views of those Irishmen who joined British armed forces during the war, or as meaning not in line with the policy of British Commonwealth countries.

I did not point out to Field Marshal Smuts that Ireland was more united on its neutrality policy than was South Africa on its Government's policy of participation in the war.

I confined myself to saying that our people would always remember with gratitude the services General Smuts had rendered to Ireland prior to the negotiations of 1921.³ He seemed very pleased at this. I then emphasised the unique solidarity of our people behind our Government and Parliament at every stage of the war, and added that no Government in the world had been returned to office so repeatedly both before and during the war. So completely were our people united on their attitude to the war that all parties had agreed to fight the wartime general elections on domestic issues only. I referred to the benevolence of our neutrality in so far as the United Nations were concerned.

Lastly, in this brief conversation, I referred to partition. I said that no Irish Government could prevail upon our people to crusade around the world for the independence and integrity of small nations so long as Ireland was broken in two in the interest of the same Imperialism against which South Africa fought so successfully nearly fifty years ago. I expressed the hope that Commonwealth statesmen would bring their great influence to bear upon the question of the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ireland in accordance with the elementary democratic rights and the wishes of the Irish people.

Marshal Smuts was very friendly indeed.