I have shown your secret report of September 8th¹ on the discussions in London to the President. He directs me to inform you that you should let the British officials know that it is useless considering a solution of the outstanding questions between the two countries unless the solution will be acceptable to the Irish People. The President has no doubt whatever that a solution which does not involve the unity of Ireland would be unacceptable. He is very anxious that this position should be clearly understood.

He notes from your report that the British regard the constitutional questions and the defence questions as interdependent, and that the economic and financial questions are likewise interdependent. It is observed that Sir Warren Fisher stated 'that whatever arrangements might be made on the financial and economic questions those arrangements should not in any sense even appear as a consideration in return for possible agreements on the constitutional question.' Is it to be assumed, therefore, that the two sets of questions are regarded as separate, and that a political solution is not a condition precedent to the settlement of economic and financial questions?