There are six letters in 1921, four in 1922, seven in 1923, and then the pace drops off. Here I abstract them in sequence, with comments where appropriate.

January 21 1921: Garnier acknowledges that they had received 100 copies of JJ's Report from University College London (UCL), for distribution to members of the Cercle. He complements JJ: '..vous nous apportez une serieuse contribution à l'étude de l'Inde sociale et de la Chine..'.

Garnier goes on to report on the recovery of the Cercle Autour du Monde since the war; meetings take place, the newsletter is re-appearing, people are travelling to Japan, Uruguay, Brazil; the Fellowship is now worth 40,000 francs.

He then goes on to ask forgiveness for not having taken up JJ's offer of 'discussions amicales sur le Traité de Versailles'. This would have been at the time when the Irish independence movement was attempting to get itself on to the agenda, without success. JJ must have tried, unsuccessfully, to promote this via the Cercle.

Garnier then goes into a long analysis of the Treaty, which he describes as not the idealist forgiving one that they would have wished. All the world gold supply ends up in the US; there are imperial aspirations in Persia and Constantinople...(I find the arguments hard to decipher).

Then he gets on to Ireland, expressing profound concern about the current struggle, and undertaking to write about it in the next issues of La Vie des Peuples, with which G de Lapradelle, a member of the Cercle, is associated. He undertakes to send a copy.

He concludes by asking how JJ is passing 'ces mois si agités'; does he have news of the co-operative movement and AE? And what is Yeats doing? He had learned of the death of Mrs Shorter the eldest Sigerson(1) daughter. And 'when will journalism bring you again among us?', implying that JJ was actively promoting the Irish cause in articles here and there (none of which I have yet tracked down RJ Dec 99).

JJ noted on the Garnier letter that he had replied to it on Jan 28.

February 25 1921: Garnier comments on JJ's war of independence news, to the effect that we have gone back a century, if not two. He comments that Trinity College has had good treatment from the Government and wonders why this can't be extended to the whole country. He wishes JJ well in his projects, which at that time included his trip to the London School of Economics (referenced in the TCD thread; he was in process of preparing to switch career from classics and ancient history to commerce and economics, and was promoting the development of the School of Commerce).

Garnier is finding his earlier Irish experience (he had travelled widely there in the 1890s, during his period of study of Parnell and aftermath) in demand, and a series of travel articles was in process of becoming a book. He wants to capture his experience of interacting with the 'young enthusiasts' and the poets: Yeats, Russell(2), JP Quinn(3) etc and asks JJ to respond to a series of questions, on an enclosed paper. This probably was background knowledge that he lacked, getting names right and so on. This must have taken JJ time, because he did not reply until April 2.

He goes on to ask JJ for reports on what he has been doing, for his Cercle newsletter. He expresses surprise the Lionel Johnson(4) is Irish only 'de coeur' and not 'de parenté ou d'éducation'. JJ in the margin of the letter queries this. Garnier finds his 'neo-catholic mysticism' alien. He ends by asking for Yeats' address. JJ marked the paragraphs where he needed to take action.

June 12 1921: This letter of three pages, which occurred about 4 weeks before the Truce was declared on July 9, is almost totally dedicated to literary and academic matters: an honorary degree from TCD for the mathematician Borel (who it turns out is a member of the Cercle), the poetry of AE, which it seems has been studied in depth by Garnier's protégé Allarg. There is comparison with Shelley and Wordsworth. There is mention of a projected 'societé litteraire et scientifique franco-irlandaise', but this is deferred due to 'd'autres soucis à Dublin', a passing reference to the war still going on. He thanks JJ for the response to his earlier questionnaire. He mentions meeting regularly Philip Carr(5) who is 'au courant de l'effort dramatique irlandais'. He concludes that things seem to be going badly in Ireland, and awaits with anxiety the result of the elections for the 'parlement du sud', asking can this organism work?

JJ does not get around to answering this until August 7, by which time the Treaty negotiations were in progress.

August 20 1921: Garnier's next letter is from Engenthal (Bas-Rhin), where presumably he is on vacation; he acknowledges JJ's 'excellent letter of Aug 7' and then plunges into his book on Ireland of 25 years previous, three years after the death of Parnell, Home Rule accepted by the Commons but rejected by the Lords. He admits to having been totally Parnellite at the time of the split, and had nothing to do with J McCarthy, Tim Healy or TP O'Connor(6); he never understood how they could have abandoned their Chief in England's orders. Sigerson(1) was on the fence, and he ranked him with the 'federationists' in favour of dominion status. Had Sigerson published anything since his 1893 'Revival of Irish Poetry'? He was attached in some capacity to the Catholic University; was he Catholic himself? When was this founded?

After expressing concern about my mother's illness, he goes on to enquiry about Gogarty whom he wishes to meet; likewise 'vos amis comme Mr Rowe'...'comptez sur moi pour M Borel..'. This mathematical flavour suggests that the 'franco-irlandaise' project retained its 'litteraire et scientifique' objective; Rowe was, to the best of my recollection, a mathematician.

Garnier then gets into the Dail debates: 'where will it go in its intransigence?'; he regards public opinion in the Dominions as being the limiting factor. He regards the move to bring the Dominions into the politics of the Empire as the most important event since the Armistice. It would appear that JJ's objective, as expressed in Civil War in Ulster, of all-Ireland Home Rule within the UK has evolved towards dominion status within an imperial confederation, and that Garnier has bought this idea.

Garnier goes on to reflect on the importance of agriculture, and having the right agriculture-industry mix, as in France and Ireland, England having become over-industrialised, as Germany in 1914 also had become, '..et ce fut une raison de sa déraison'. He then mentions meeting Tagore(7) who has joined the Cercle; the latter regards Yeats and Russell as 'poètes frères'.

He then empathises with JJ on his move to the 'cottage' in Stillorgan, to which JJ has invited Garnier. The book is developing from a book of 1895 impressions into a history of Ireland from 1895 to 1921, followed by a third part indicating the way forward, as soon as he has had a chance to study the post-Treaty scene. He expresses a desire to see Belfast. There is mention of JJ passing through France to go to Switzerland, in August 1922, and how this may influence 'ce vague projet' (presumably Garnier's visit to Ireland). Mrs Humphrey Ward was indeed the daughter of Thomas Arnold, sometime Catholic University professor. He had learned that Parnell had dealt with 'beaucoup d'habilité et d'astuce' with 'Clan na Gael', and he want to know more about the latter. Presumably JJ in his next letter delivers this.

After mentioning his marriage to a daughter of Ernest Lichtenberger, he wishes JJ good luck on his coming trip to Ulster, where he hopes he will not have 'discussions trop passionées'; he regrets not having been there.

There is a cutting among JJ's papers, from the front page of the French newspaper 'La Victoire', dated August 18 1921, which contains a report, signed André Lichtenberger, headed 'Le Destin s'Irlande'. Garnier probably enclosed it with the foregoing letter for JJ's attention. This is post-Truce and relates to the Treaty talks then beginning in London. It makes the case that the French should not unduly defer to the British despite the Irish-German connection, and urges the British to come to a generous political solution to the Irish problem, the historical background of which he briefly outlined. The probable Lichtenberger family connection suggests Garnier influence.

November 2 1921: The letter from Garnier attempts to re-activate JJ in correspondence; he wonders did his earlier Alsace letter get lost. He gives notice that his Dublin will appear in the August and September issues of Vie des Peuples. He declares the intent of doing an Irish feature every two months.

There is a reference to sending two tickets in an envelope, which he asks JJ to address and put in the post. The purport becomes clear in the next letter.

December 12 1921: Garnier encloses a copy of his book (alas I don't seem to have it; maybe it will turn up with my sister's stuff). JJ must have replied by return, and deal with the tickets, which were for Douglas Hyde(8) and wife, presumably to go to Paris to the AK centre.

He hopes to continue to keep up to date on Irish affairs, though he expresses dissatisfaction with la Revue de Lapradelle, which he describes an impoverished 'grande dame', with a mainly subscriber readership. The 'Traité du 6' had been received with 'grand emotion... c'est un pas immense fait par l'Irlande..'; he goes on to say '...Les Anglais font bon marché des formules s'il leur reste le tangible...'

January 31 1922: Garnier thanks JJ for his letter of Jan 11. There is a cryptic reference to a 'green book' which JJ had received, whose author was in TC (Trinity College?) under a different name one or two years ago.

Garnier then goes on to describe his coverage of the 'Congress Mondiale irlandais', encountering, as though in a dream, Yeats, Maud Gone and Douglas Hyde (all of whom he had met in Ireland decades previously), and having long conversations with Miss Maxine and de Valera, who '..'a l'air' (he puts 'seems' in quotes, as though sceptical) de saisir très vite l'importance de questions pourtant éloignées de la politic pure comme celle des rapports intellectuals directs entire nos deux pays..'.

La Vie du People wants immediately an article on de Valera, and Garnier has nothing to hand. Could JJ oblige by return of post?

JJ replied to this on Feb 3, noting the fact on Garnier's letter.

June 8 1922: Garnier explains the arrival of a package which JJ should have received without explanation some days previous. It contained the proceedings of the meetings of a political and social studies group which met weekly, in the Cour de Cassation, under Albert Khan auspices. This material is not commercially available, being reserved for 'centres de documentation' in educational and research centres. It seems Albert Kahn would like such a centre to be established in Trinity College, in a small reading-room, accessible to qualified researchers.

(There is no reference in the TCD records of any attempt by JJ to set this up; it is probable that he felt he did not have the political clout in the TCD environment to take such an initiative. It seems subsequently he attempted to get this set up in Plunkett House; see below.)

Garnier goes on to put JJ in contact with Mrs Oona H Ball, the widow of Sidney Ball(9), of Oxford, who had been an AK Fellow, now deceased. The widow lived in 21 Longford Terrace, Dolphins Barn. Sidney Ball '..avait beaucoup de vos préoccupations sociales..'. (Here is Garnier doing his best to set up an international network of socially concerned intellectuals.) He had met Mrs Ball recently in Paris and mentioned JJ as a contact.

Was there anything published about de Valera? What did JJ think of Joyce's Dubliners?

There is then a page added subsequently, in which he refers to '...les catastrophes publiques qui se prolongent de terrible manière...si difficile a expliquer...mysterieuses et lamentables...'. We are now into the civil war. He sends a copy of his Vie du Peuples article on Arthur Griffith and he wants immediately to be briefed about Michael Collins. He asks JJ has he stopped writing in journals and revues, and asks him to think of the Cercle and the AK Bulletin for his writings. He invites JJ to come in the summer to Normandy with his family and his brother. (This could not have been Sam, who had died of TB when they were living in Ranelagh; Sam left his family, Alec, Tommy and Geddes, for fostering with JJ; this prompted the move to Stillorgan. It could have been one of the Indian Civil Service brothers, home on leave.).

JJ replied to this on June 28.

July 3 1922: Garnier is engaged in writing his book, which is appearing piecewise as articles in Vie du Peuples; he is in dispute with Lapradelle which is neglecting Ireland. He thanks JJ for taking up the Documentation Centre idea with the Co-operative Reference Library.

(There is no trace of this in the Plunkett Foundation record in Oxford, nor is it on record accessibly in the Plunkett House library, though it may be buried somewhere there, due to lack of effective maintenance. RJ Feb 2001)

Garnier empathises with JJ regarding how the civil war has interrupted JJ's 'projects de conférences' by which he must mean the Barrington Lectures. A visit to Ireland remains on the agenda.

There is no record of when JJ replied to this. There is then a long gap until April 1923, when Garnier writes the following letter, but after sealing but not yet having posted it, it the next day gets a letter from JJ, to which he replies on the back of the envelope.

April 6 1923: Garnier refers to a postcard from the Midi, to which JJ probably replied. He returns a document lent him by JJ which contained background material on Michael Collins. The attention of the public is now turned away from Ireland. He looks forward to his book nevertheless finding a market in the post-civil-war period of economic growth and civil stability. He regrets the long silence, and enquires about JJ's projects.

He then goes on to describe the French political scene, which is dominated by the conservative and reactionary 'Bloc National' elected in 1919 under the threat of Bolshevism. He regards Herriot as the man of the future, and the radical-socialist bloc. They have recently recruited to the Cercle Mr Port '..le nouveau secrét anglais de la Fondation AK..'(10). (This I find cryptic RJ Dec 99).

Garnier then reads JJ's letter, and is moved to add, on the back of the envelope, a note in which he acknowledges JJ's concern with the economic depression in England and Ireland, but finds it surprising that JJ holds France rather than Germany responsible. This is Garnier's almost chauvinistic French response to JJ's economic analysis, which is under Keynes influence: all the gold is in the US and Germany is bankrupt, thanks to the 'reparations' aspects of the Treaty of Versailles, on which France is insisting. We have here what could develop into a break between JJ and Garnier, hitherto the best of friends. We must watch this space.

June 22 1923: The storm hinted at in the previous letter seems to have blown over, as Garnier organises for JJ and family to have red carpet treatment at the Cercle, where they are soon due to arrive. Garnier plans to go to Dublin in September, thereby (he hopes) avoiding the elections.

JJ replies to this on July 20. On August 10 there is a short note from Garnier enclosing documentation for JJ's Paris visit. Then on August 30 a note in response to a telegram; unable to find Murphy's phone number, but he will call to see him early at rue Parquet. He hopes JJ arrives in Newhaven before the 'bourrasque' (squall) which has been very violent here. (Are we talking politics or weather?).

Then on August 31 there is another note; Garnier was present for the arrival of President Cosgrave, met by two government representatives and a sympathetic crowd. Cosgrave looked 'extremely young and smiling'. He went on with the 'caravane' to the Grand Hotel and had some talk with Dr Mac Neil (sic) whom he found friendly, and who undertook to facilitate him when in Dublin in September.

It would appear that the telegram was to tip off Garnier about Cosgrave's visit. Garnier went on to congratulate the young Free State on the trouble-free elections.

September 28 1923: Garnier writes to JJ on his return to Paris after his trip to Ireland, basically to thank JJ for taking care of him when in Dublin, and for facilitating his subsequent stay in London. It would appear that JJ arranged for him to be met at Euston by 'M Nesbitt' who had arranged a place to stay. This was the family network; Bob Nesbitt from Belfast would then have been courting my mother's younger sister Isabel. He must have been in London at the time, and JJ would have produced him for Garnier to help him get a feel for the Belfast Protestant world-view.

Garnier paid a visit to University College London where he met his AK contact Mr Port(10), who assured him that TCD was on the list of institutions invited to apply for AK Fellowships. (There is indeed evidence of this in the TCD Board Minutes on several occasions.)

The foregoing intense Irish contact must have kept Garnier occupied and supplied with raw material for some time (it is on my agenda to seek out what he published in French RJ Dec 1999). There is a gap now until..

April 16 1925: Garnier wrote to JJ from Strasbourg, thanking him for telling him about the death of Sigerson(1), who has been reference previously. He thanks JJ for having set up the opportunity of meeting him during his 1923 visit, as a result of which he was able to write about him in the Revue Anglo-Americain. He expressed sorrow it the condition of my mother, which JJ must have conveyed. At this time the family was under great stress, in Stillorgan, with the two grandmothers and all of Sam's orphans, and this probably accounts for the hiatus in the correspondence. He talks of 'new arrangements' which probably relate to finding additional accommodation for the grandmothers.

Garnier goes on to mention Cosgrave's visit to Paris some three months previous (this is an indication of the extent to which they had lost touch) and attendance at an event which was presided over by a French bishop. Garnier noted that he was surprised '...de voir le chef de l'Etat ployer les genoux devant le représentant de l'Eglise...'.

This must have alerted Garnier to JJ's predicament in what he now saw as a Church-dominated State, and the correspondence re-opens. There is a fragmentary letter which from internal evidence seems to be in 1925, and which suggests another visit. The following names and concepts occur in the fragmentary text, more or less in sequence: Arthur Griffith, the Collins article, a history 1895-1915, a projected history 1915-1925, 'does JJ think this feasible between Aug 25 and Sept 25?...' How much would it cost? possibility to work in the library? Garnier clearly wants to pick up on his Irish contacts with a new publication in mind.

October 3 1925: Garnier writes to thank JJ and my mother for all they have done during his Irish visit. He mentions also MM Ferguson, MacSwiney and Gogarty(11). He mentions reading Stephen Gwynn's History of Ireland. He concludes by asking JJ '..songez à vos plans pour la France.' A further French trip for JJ is now in prospect.

There is a gap now in the correspondence which is on record; there are references in the AK record, and JJ's visit took place, because my sister remembers it. It remains to piece together what happened; there was I think a link with the Rockefeller episode.

In his Rockefeller application JJ emphasised the French aspect, and he went to the trouble to get from the Department of Foreign Affairs a letter of commendation, specifically naming the Rockefeller Fellowship. This letter, written in French, and signed by JP Walshe, Secretary, dated August 18 1926, remains among his papers. In his SSISI paper on 'Distributive Waste', which appears to some extent to be based on the objectives of his Rockefeller Fellowship, there is in the full text only a passing reference to the French experience. He did however make extensive use of his French experience in his Addendum to the Report of the 1926 Prices Tribunal.

Gilles Baud-Berthier has unearthed a paper by JJ in the Bulletin Autour du Monde dated December 31 1926 entitled 'Some Political Experiments in the Irish Free State'. This however is unrelated to the objectives of the Rockefeller project. It is intended simply as an update for the members of the Cercle on the situation in the Irish Free State. He bewails the lack of political philosophy reflected in the reforms of local government, and the persistence of English procedures. Most local government bodies had been suspended, and power vested in commissioners, a consequence of the post-civil-war situation. He also is critical of the 'financial purism' of the decision to back the Irish £ at 100% with assets held in Britain; this he regards as a free loan from a poor person to a wealthy neighbour.

I don't attach much significance to the foregoing; it has the appearance of a courtesy paper accorded to his hosts, while he got on with his economic analysis of the distributive system in France. I suspect that he may have found it unrealistic to complete what he had set out to do, and the results presented in the SSISI paper were what he fell back upon. This question however remains open.

The next letter is dated October 6 1928, and seems to be subsequent to a real-presence encounter.

It starts off with 'je viens enfin de finir - et de vour renvoyer - le livre de James Connolly Labour in Irish History. Je vous remercie de me l'avoir fait connaitre. Il est clair, fortement documenté et bien écrit. Quel dommage d'avoir anéanti une intelligence pareil! He then goes on to reflect on the savagery of the Great War.

Garnier is still apparently struggling with his book on Ireland, being continually diverted by the need to travel for the Foundation. He mentions an invitation to lunch from one Ferguson which he had been unable to take up; he mentions that Ferguson was with Professor Henry(12) 'de l'Evolution du Sinn Fein'. He goes on to ask JJ for anything he can find on the life of Connolly, and what is JJ's opinion of him.

JJ had passed this letter on to someone, with the Connolly passages marked, asking the recipient to return it to him at 36 TCD, where he then had rooms.

There is again a long gap until March 2 1929 when Garnier replies to a letter from JJ which apparently must have informed him about my mother's pregnancy with me. This came unexpectedly, and posed my parents with problems, in that they had moved some distance from Dublin, to Dundalk, in order for JJ to have hands-on access to an agricultural environment. JJ must have explained this to Garnier, who empathises.

JJ must also have regaled Garnier with news of Irish political developments, which the latter found '..pas rejouissant..', responding with some analogies from the 3rd Republic. He is however primarily concerned with the financial scene, where he estimates that 4/5 of all private investments have been annihilated, and '..la democratie chez nous comme partout est en sommeil, empoisonnée par les méfaits de la guerre..'.

The next letter is dated August 29 1930 and begins with a reference to receiving a photo of the present writer, not yet one year old. After the appropriate family compliments, he gets down to business; JJ has sent him his paper on 'national transport': I have abstracted this in the SSISI thread. Garnier accepts this as an addition to the raw material for his Ireland book (still chronically in gestation!) which he has now begun to focus on the 'urban civilisation' aspect, with La Cité Irlandaise in mind as title.

Turning to global politics, Garnier notes the resistance in Britain and Ireland to the European Federation project; Garnier regards this as necessary to keep Europe significant as between America and Asia (a foretaste of current EU thinking).

Garnier notes with regret the demise of the Irish Statesman and asks after 'le brave AE'(2), hoping he remains a pillar of Plunkett House.

In a footnote Garnier gives advance warning of a festive AK meeting on June 14, involving the British 'Boursiers', at which he hopes to see JJ.

(Although the correspondence gets more sparse from now on, we continue to treat it in a Garnier stream.)

Notes

1. (Note on Sigerson)

2. George Russell (AE)

3. JP Quinn

4. Lionel Johnson

5. Philip Carr

6. These all were leading figures in the anti-Parnell camp after the split.

7. We need a note on Tagore.

8. Note on Douglas Hyde.

9. Sidney Ball as an AK Fellow: see if Baud Berthier knows him.

10. Who is this Mr Port and what was his AK role? Again, Baud Berthier.

11. Note on Gogarty.

12. Note on Prof Henry, perhaps cross-referencing to Civil War in Ulster; was he not in the 1913 deputation to Asquith referenced in the introduction?

Some navigational notes:

Copyright Dr Roy Johnston 1999