Subject: Re: [BoundaryPoint] Timely article about IE (ROI?)-UK
Date: Sep 24, 2004 @ 23:13
Author: Lowell G. McManus ("Lowell G. McManus" <mcmanus71496@...>)
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Meynell" <knm@...>
To: <BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 5:07 PM
Subject: Re: [BoundaryPoint] Timely article about IE (ROI?)-UK
> Lowell,
>
> >Would you argue that Canada, Australia, Belize, and dozens more members of
> >the Commonwealth aren't separate nations?
>
> They are now, but legally they weren't before 1931. Australia, Canada,
> South Africa and Ireland originally only had dominion status and retained
> significant constitutional ties to the UK. The Commonwealth Conference of
> 1931 established the principle of a 'Commonwealth of Nations', which is
> when the dominions can rightly be said to have become independent
> countries, albeit with a common head of state. However, unlike the other
> dominions, the Irish Free State never ratified the accord and instead moved
> towards becoming an independent republic by adopting a new constitution in
> 1937.
>
> Even then, the UK still technically retained certain legislative powers in
> Canada and Australia which were finally only abolished in 1980 and 1986
> respectively. For this reason, some people claim that they didn't become
> independent countries until those dates, but as these powers were rarely
> exercised, and only at the request of those countries, I don't think these
> claims can be seriously entertained.
>
> The other Commonwealth countries such as Belize, were colonies or
> protectorates and were granted outright independence at various times
> between 1947 and 1997.
>
> >If commercial laws and taxes differ at all between or among the member
> >nations, then smuggling is free to be practiced and entirely to be expected.
>
> It has to be remembered that the partition of Ireland was rather messy and
> many properties ended-up straggling what became an international frontier.
> Even if there were efforts to regulate the border, there are plenty of
> cross-border barns for moving people and goods ;-)
>
> Regards,
>
> Kevin Meynell
>
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