Ireland's Founding Ceremony (2)
The protracted War of Independence, lasting several years, inflicted immense destruction on Ireland. Almost every village in the base areas had fallen, and in fiercely contested areas, nearly every house was burned down. Although the Federation consistently adhered to the principle of simultaneously promoting revolution and production, a large number of able-bodied men had joined the army, leaving agricultural labor largely to be carried out by women, the elderly, and children. Furthermore, the Britain frequently interfered, implementing their "scorched earth" policy, further damaging agricultural production. If it weren't for the selfless support of the France, Ireland would have long since suffered a famine.
Therefore, Ireland's primary task now is to restore agricultural production.
Therefore, the Irish Independence Army will undergo a large-scale demobilization, reducing its size by half. Only the most experienced and combat-ready soldiers will remain in the army. A portion of these most combat-ready soldiers will also assume their international responsibilities—to continue fighting to overthrow British imperialism.
Ireland has many swamps, so it has a lot of peat. This is also a fuel used by many Ireland households. However, peat has a very low calorific value; it's fine as cooking fuel, but not very suitable as industrial fuel. Some low-grade peat can also be used as fertilizer. The France consider this to have little economic value. But for Ireland today, it is very important. In particular, the mining of low-grade peat is crucial for the recovery of Ireland agriculture. Therefore, peat mining is the first important direction.
In addition, according to Britain exploration, Ireland also has some copper and silver mines, but the reserves are quite limited and the grades are not very good. Lead and zinc mines, however, are quite good. This will likely be a key focus for Ireland's future mining development.
Ireland's mineral resources lack the most crucial coal and iron mines, making the development of heavy industry extremely difficult. But what need does a country positioned as a fierce dog have for heavy industry? What dog has to buy its own bones? Anyone who has to buy their own bones is actually a fat pig who doesn't even qualify to be a dog.
However, Ireland has good water resources. In the mountains of southern and northwestern Ireland, there are many rivers with large drops, which are very suitable for hydropower development. With electricity, not only will agriculture be greatly benefited, but the development of many light industries will also be possible.
"The next most important thing for Ireland is economic reconstruction. Due to the lack of coal and iron resources, Ireland is not suitable for developing heavy industry, but as far as I know, the mountainous areas in the south and northwest of Ireland are indeed very rich in water resources. Relying on the moisture brought by the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland has abundant rainfall, and the difference in elevation between the southern and northwestern mountains and the central plains provides us with very favorable conditions for building cascade power stations."
As many may know, France boasts the most secure agriculture in Europe today. Water and drought are controlled by human intervention, and famine is a rare occurrence. What's the secret? It's their electric irrigation system. With electricity, during droughts, we can pump water from rivers and even groundwater to irrigate farmland; during floods, we can pump excess water into rivers. This has multiplied the resilience of France agriculture against natural disasters Ireland France establish a similar hydroelectric irrigation system, the Ireland would also enjoy bumper harvests year after year.
Ample electricity will also enable the development of light industry. The textile and food industries will be able to develop rapidly, and the development of these industries will make Ireland richer.
Comrades, friends. At this moment, I am suddenly reminded of something I said a few years ago, when my brother Napoleon, after defeating the reactionary forces on the Europe continent who were interfering with the France Revolution, spoke at the France National Assembly about the fundamental task of the revolution. He said, "The France people want to win a rich and happy life! Their right to a good and prosperous life can no longer be trampled on by those greedy feudal rulers." Similarly, comrades, why did the Ireland people revolt? Ultimately, wasn't it also for the pursuit of a good and prosperous life?
Comrades, the battles of the past few years have fully demonstrated how adept we are at destroying an old world; and in the future, an even greater and more arduous goal awaits us: to prove to the world how adept we are at building a new world!
At the preparatory meeting for the founding of the nation, Joseph's speech was met with enthusiastic applause from the delegates.
In the days that followed, through Joseph's connections, the Roman Bank provided Ireland with substantial interest-free and low-interest loans to support Ireland economic development. At the same time, Joseph, on behalf of the French Academy of Sciences, the University of Paris, and Ireland, finalized an educational assistance program.
"Education is the foundation of a nation's development. 'Education should never be neglected, no matter how poor we are.' Frederick Great was able to lead Prussia to prosperity by vigorously developing education. Today, if Ireland wants to achieve good development, it also needs to attach importance to education. For example, if we want to build a large number of hydroelectric power stations, we need a large number of electrical engineering personnel. In the short term, we can solve the problem by hiring France engineers, but in the long term, Ireland must train enough of its own builders. Therefore, education is of paramount importance, and we cannot afford to ignore it."
When the Britain colonial rulers ruled Ireland, they not only refused to establish schools Ireland, but also prohibited Ireland from studying abroad and from applying for degrees and scholarships at Britain universities. Why did they do this? Simply to make us stupid so they could continue to exploit and enslave us.
Our France comrades are willing to provide us with selfless assistance in this regard. Our two countries will jointly establish an education fund to promote universal education. Our France comrades will send a group of teachers to us every year to support our basic education and help us establish a complete primary education system.
In addition, our France comrades will provide our outstanding students with opportunities to study abroad on full scholarships. Each year, a certain percentage of our high school graduates will be allocated to such scholarships. After several years, the cultural level of our people will be greatly improved, and our culture and economy will experience significant development.
Of course, our France comrades have given us such selfless help, and we cannot go unrewarded. Although our France comrades did not think of these things when they helped us, we Ireland are not ungrateful bastards. Our abilities are limited, and we cannot help our France comrades, but we are willing to fight alongside them at all times. Friends of France are friends of France; enemies of France are enemies of Ireland. Therefore, I request the Federation to authorize me, on behalf of the Federation, the new Ireland government, and the government of the French Republic, to sign a Franco-Irish Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and Ireland based on equality and mutual assistance." At the final preparatory meeting, President Russell made this request to the entire Congress.