Exchange of minutes between Sheila Murphy and Frederick H. Boland concerning anti-partition policy

Secretary
You will see that Dr. Kiernan has again asked for instructions as to the propriety of his making public references to Partition. There would be no objection, I assume, to his describing Partition as the 'still unsettled major issue.' The question is whether he can go further without giving offence to the Australian Government. As you know, it is not the practice of the High Commissioner in Ottawa to refer to Partition in his public statements. His recent letters to the 'Ottawa Citizen' (on gerrymandering etc.) were the first evidence I have seen of any official intervention on his part.

We delayed replying to Dr. Kiernan's first letter because, at the time, there seemed to be a possibility of a new approach to the Partition problem. Whatever about the propriety of public criticism of the British Government by our Representatives in Commonwealth countries, it seems to me that there could be no objection to their making full use of the Minister's statements about the necessity for the economic re-integration of the whole country.

Miss Murphy.
I discussed this matter with the Minister yesterday. His policy on the point may be set out as follows:-

1. The Minister wishes all the representatives abroad to regard it as the primary object of their missions to keep the question of Partition before the mind of the Government and people of the country to which they are accredited, and, by so doing, to make the utmost contribution they can towards the solving of the Partition problem. The representatives abroad should take every possible opportunity presented to them, in official conversations, private gatherings, personal correspondence, etc., to spread a proper understanding, not only of the injustice of Partition and the iniquitous methods by which it is maintained, but also of its harmful political consequences from the point of view of the relations between Ireland and Britain and (having regard to the extent to which people of Irish race are spread throughout the world) the internal harmony and cohesion of the democratic countries.
2. It is extremely important that our representatives abroad should use every opportunity offered to them by their official positions to hammer home the question of Partition in this way. The job should be tackled in a real missionary spirit. Special attention should be paid to people like Cabinet Ministers, leading politicians, newspaper editors, University Professors, prominent clerics, and others who, by virtue of their positions, have an opportunity of creating and moulding public opinion.
3. On the question whether the representatives abroad should make public speeches, write letters to the papers, or otherwise engage in public activity connected with the Partition question, the Minister must rely on the personal judgment of the individual representatives abroad themselves. If any foreign representative feels he can safely do work of this kind without imperilling the success of his official mission, the Minister would certainly wish him to do it. On the other hand, by virtue of their official positions, the representatives abroad have opportunities (access to Ministers, personal contacts with leaders of public opinion, etc.) which, properly used, can be of the greatest value in spreading understanding of the importance and urgency of the Partition problem. If, by public activity in connection with the Partition problem, the local representative were to lose these opportunities by incurring unpopularity or the displeasure of the local authorities, more would be lost than gained.
4. Summing up, therefore, the Minister wishes the representatives abroad to regard it as the primary object of their mission to do what they can towards building up opinion in favour of the ending of Partition, but, on the question of public activity in connection with the Partition issue, he wishes the representatives abroad to use their own judgment on the understanding that, if work of this kind can be usefully done without endangering the success of their missions, they will do as much of it as they can.

Perhaps you could frame a general Circular to the representatives abroad on the basis of the indications contained in the foregoing paragraphs.¹