Sir, – If the people of Scotland vote Yes to independence but the majority of the people in the northeast, say the Grampian district, vote No, would those unionists be entitled to partition the country?
If they did not want to be called Scottish they could call themselves Northern Scottish or Grampians. – Yours, etc,
PEADAR DALY,
Tuamgraney,
Co Clare.
Sir, – Your editorial "Scotland's Moment" disappoints me. You imagine Ireland in the personage of our Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan telling Scotland with confidence that we've "been there, done that". You make the troubled course of Ireland's independence seem like a jaunt on a luxury coach to the Palace of Versailles. Such grandiosity, sir, needs to be challenged.
We have paid a very high price for our independence and the burden of that price has been disproportionately borne by the ordinary people of Ireland.
Scottish independence, rather like Irish independence, will be a marvellous boon for those who are well heeled and middle class.
As for the rest, they will have to make themselves familiar with the street plans of London, Manchester and Birmingham. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN RYAN,
Buckingham Road,
London.
Sir, – Your edition of September 9th presented an interesting divergence of opinion on Scotland's forthcoming referendum. In your editorial "Scotland's moment" you conclude, "Scotland's desire to forge its own direction should be supported". While in your Business section Paul Krugman ("Why Scotland should think hard about going it alone") succinctly points out the huge risks of an independent Scotland using England's pound sterling.
Surely, Mr Krugman’s case is correct, because the Scottish economy would remain totally controlled by the interest rates set by the Bank of England, and there could be times when the two economies would be heading in completely different directions.
We have only got to cast our minds back a few years when the rates set by the ECB did not suit Ireland’s economy.
Scotland’s economy is tightly integrated with the rest of Britain’s, which would seem to suggest a new government in Edinburgh would have little room to manoeuvre, and little chance of Mr Salmond delivering the goodies he is promising in return for a Yes vote. – Yours, etc,
MIKE CORMACK,
Ardagh Close,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – After spending some time recently in the UK, I've just returned to read the editorial "Scotland's moment". The difference between the treatment of the debate about independence for Scotland in the majority of the newspapers in the UK and your commentary is glaring. The calm, considered, informed and balanced tones of The Irish Times contrast with the one-sided, strident disparagement meted out by the UK press to the Yes side. – Is mise,
NIALL Ó MURCHADHA,
An Spidéal,
Co na Gaillimhe.
Sir, – One week to go and the outcome is in the balance.
I am nearly 70 and I notice that most of the older age-group is firmly in the No camp. Why is this? Is it only because they selfishly fear for their pensions and savings, as some Yes people have dismissively claimed?
Or could it be that they can transcend such considerations, have travelled a bit, and understand better the importance of good relationships among this family of nations?
Could it be that those in the older generation have a better sense of how unstable our modern world is, economically and politically, and how the union, for all its inadequacies, has served people well? – Yours, etc,
PADDY McEVOY,
Ardmore Road,
Holywood,
Co Down.