Letter from Frank P. Walsh to the American Public, 1 October 1919

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Letter from Frank P. Walsh to the American Public, 1 October 1919

1 American Commission on Irish Independence
FRANK P. WALSH Chairman IRISH BOND-CERTIFICATE
DEPARTMENT New York, Oct. 1st, 1919. To the American Public:- Upon request of the President of the Republic
of Ireland, Eamon De Valera, I take great pleasure in
submitting to you for friendly and careful consider-
ation, a $10,000,000 Bond-Certificate issue of the
Republic of Ireland. Attached hereto, is a letter of
President Eamon De Valera to me, describing the issue. In the name of Liberty, I recommend it to you. Very truly yours,
Frank P. Walsh, Chairman,
Ammerican Commission on Irish
Independence. 2 GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND Office of the Presiden
EAMON DE VALERA September 28th, 1919 Mr. Frank P. Walsh, Chairman,
AMERICAN COMMISSION ON IRISH INDEPENDENCE,
NEW YORK CITY. My dear Sir:- There has been duly authorized by an Act of DAIL EIREANN (Irish
Congress) an issue of $10,000,000, Bond-Certificates of the Republic of
Ireland for disposition in America. The Bond-Certificates will be issued as of December 1st, 1919, in
denominations of $10, $25, $50, $100, $1,000, $5,000
and $10,000. They will be non-negotiable and non-interest bearing, but
will be exchangeable at para for Gold Bonds of the Republic on presenta-
tion at the Treasury of the Republic one month after the Republic has
received international recognition and the British Forces have been with-
drawn from the territory of the said Republic of Ireland. Six months after
date of issue, these latter Gold Bonds will bear interest at the rate of 5% per
annum, payable semi-annually, and will be redeemable at par one year there-
after. The Gold Bonds and interest thereon will be a first charge on the
Revenues of the Republic. The Bond-Certificates will be issued on application at 100% of the
amount set forth therein and payable as follows:- Certificates for $10,
cash; Certificates of $25 and over, 25% on application; 25% in thirty days;
25% in sixty days; and 25% in ninety days. Applications for Certificates may be made to the President of the
Republic of Ireland or his duly authorized agents. Every applicant will be supplied at the time of initial payment with
a receipt in which the total amount of the subscription and the amount
paid shall be duly recorded, with space for recording subsequent pay-
ments. The receipt will specify the limited liability of the Bond-
Certificate as set forth hererin. Sincerely yours, Eamon De Valera.

Eamon de Valera (1882-1975) was born in Manhattan, New York. He fought in the 1916 Easter Rising, and in 1919 escaped from Lincoln Jail with the help of Michael Collins and Harry Boland. He was President of the Executive Council, the first Dail in 1919. On 1 June 1919, he left Ireland for America. He had three objectives to be achieved while in America; seek recognition for the Republic of Ireland, dissuade the American government from pledging to maintain Ireland as an integral part of the UK and to launch an external loan in the form of bonds. The first two objectives were not actualised, however he succeeded in raising nearly $6 million. Frank P. Walsh (1864-1939), was an American lawyer and political reformer. He was one of the chief architects of the legislative struggle against industrial exploitation of children and an advocate of Irish and anti-imperialist causes. He also fought for civil liberties and was a labour partisan and staunch New Dealer. Walsh was a member of the Irish American delegation (along with Michael J. Ryan and Edward F. Dunne) who were appointed to represent Ireland at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. On 10 April 1919 the delegation arrived in Paris. The men returned to America in July 1919 where Walsh began working with the Dail External Loan (Bond Drive). In the letter, Walsh informs State Chairmen, and the public, that Bond certificates will be available to buy upto the value of $10,000,000. Attached is a letter from de Valera to Walsh describing the instructions to be followed in the issuing of bonds. In the enclosure, de Valera informs Walsh that the Dail has authorised $10,000,000 worth of bond certificates which can be issued from 1 December 1919. They were in denominations of $10 to $10,000. Walsh is informed that interest will not be earned on the bonds, however they will be exchangeable as gold bonds of the Republic. Bonds must be presented to the Treasury to avail of this; this will be available when, and only when, the republic has gained international recognition and all British forces have been removed from the territory of the republic. The gold bonds will earn interest at 5% per annum. A system for administering bonds is out in place in the letter – for bonds of $10, payment in full (cash) must be made before the bond is received. For amounts over this, 25% of the cost is to be paid at monthly intervals.

Frank P. Walsh
American Public
1919-10-01
Politics Industry and Public Administration

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Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__6710.html)