Extract from a letter from William P. Fay to Frederick H. Boland (Dublin) concerning a meeting with Paul Henri Spaak
(11/-) (Secret)

[matter omitted]

I then passed on to remark that I assumed he had met Mr. MacBride at Paris. He said he had. I supposed that he had seen Mr. MacBride's remark that there could be no question of our joining Western Union while we were partitioned. He said he had not, and as he appeared interested, I took the opportunity to say a few words on Partition. He interrupted me to ask, what was our Constitutional status. I quoted the classic definition given by Mr. de Valera in reply to Deputy Dillon (as he then was) in the Dáil.¹ I said that I was sure our Minister said what he said about Western Union with regret because enlightened opinion in Ireland was strongly in favour of a greater union of Western Europe. But it would be politically quite impossible for us to join such a Union while Partition remained. I explained in a few words what Partition meant, and how important the North was to us from the industrial and Foreign Trade points of view. He asked who was it who maintained Partition - was it not a fact that the majority in that area supported it? Could Britain do anything in the circumstances? I said that while it was true that there was a majority in the Six Counties for Partition, that majority was really concentrated around Belfast: four out of the Six Counties were favourable to us. Britain could not change that, but she could do a lot to alter the situation in our favour by showing sympathy for our point of view. We admitted that the majority in the Six Counties talked about loyalty to the Crown and said they would not come under a Dublin Government: but their so-called loyalty was a very conditional one, and as for the 'Dublin Government' our solution was that the Belfast Parliament should continue with its present powers, and that the powers over External Affairs, Communications and above all Foreign Trade which were at present exercised from Westminster should be transferred to Dublin. It was a Federal solution that we proposed. He seemed quite impressed by this as something reasonable.

I excused myself for taking up his time talking about our problems: but I felt that there was a great community of feeling between Belgium and Ireland - at least we in Ireland liked and respected them: he said at once that we could certainly assume that the feeling was mutual. I said that, feeling that, we should greatly appreciate it if he ever found the occasion to drop a word of sympathy for our point of view in the right quarter: I realised that he could do no more than that.

He did not commit himself, but I felt that what I had said had sunk in and that I had at least created a favourable atmosphere.