ABSTRACT
The nature of the settlement achieved in 1921 was indicated by the continuation of this ministry. Its function and new title—the Ministry for External Affairs—were confirmed by the Ministers and Secretaries Act. In the first place, the department is the normal channel for inter-imperial communications ; in the second it deals with international relations. In the Treaty it was provided that “Ireland shall have the same constitutional status in the Community of Nations known as the British Empire, as the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa and shall be styled and known as the Irish Free State.” The nature of the reforms in the legal structure of the Commonwealth has been indicated in dealing with the executive and legislative functions of the representative of the Crown and with the Privy Council appeals. In International affairs, the activity of the Free State has centred at Geneva.
