ABSTRACT
A Committee to draft the new Constitution of the Free State was appointed by the Provisional Government a short time after their accession to office. The assembly of the new Parliament was fixed for July 1st. The elections, held in the previous month, materially strengthened the supporters of the Treaty. But the assembly of the new Legislature was postponed till September 9th, owing to the outbreak of the Civil War. The framing of a Draft Constitution was undertaken shortly after the Treaty had been ratified by the Irish Parliament. The provisions governing this constitutional Referendum are not identical with those governing the ordinary Referendum. In the former case a simple majority of those voting is not sufficient. The whole process appears excessively complicated, but it has as yet received no practical trial. In the Constituent Assembly it was felt that the experimental, somewhat eclectic form of Constitution evolved would necessitate a considerable number of constitutional amendments within a short period.
