Sir, - James McCumisky (December 8th) repeats the often-heard inaccuracy: "The Northern statelet came into existence because Michael Collins (under threat of an all-out war) was forced to sign the treaty creating it." In fact, Northern Ireland was brought into existence by Act of Parliament in 1920. Before the treaty talks even began, Northern Ireland had a parliament and a Prime Minister.To blame Collins, forced or otherwise, for partition is not only inaccurate, but ignores other important realities. Among these is the determination of Northern unionists not to be ruled from Dublin. It would seem that most Irish politicians of Collins's day had a collective blind-spot in this area. Unionists were viewed as puppets who would collapse when the hand of the English puppeteer was withdrawn. Whatever the mind-set of republicans back then, with all the evidence before us today there is no excuse for anyone who thinks similarly now.Clinging to the inaccurate version of the birth of partition also avoids examining the origins of that version. In the Treaty debate, the opposing sides clashed on the four issues: the oath of loyalty and the Governor Generalship were the principal issues, the British control of Irish ports and partition as less contentious matters. This is not to say either side thought partition was unimportant. It would seem, however, that in their collective myopia neither side could comprehend that partition would last beyond the 1920s. F.S.L. Lyons and Eoin Neeson have documented all of this ably. And De Valera's biographers, Longford and O'Neill, tell us: "The most remarkable feature of the Treaty debates including President De Valera's speeches, was the lack of emphasis on the partition clauses."In later speeches, having withdrawn from the Dail, De Valera went on to speak of "wading through Irish blood" to achieve republican aims. Yet by the late 1930s the main sticking points in the Treaty debate had been resolved, thanks in part to De Valera's invocation of the Statute of Westminster (to whose formulation Kevin O'Higgins had contributed significantly). De Valera could hardly tell the electorate that he had spoken of wading through Irish blood for issues that were so readily resolved. Partition, therefore, became the issue with which to whip his opponents, with the truth once more a casualty.The problems of Northern Ireland cannot be resolved by approaches based on mythology or dishonesty. And the creation of partition by Collins is as mythical and as ugly as asses' ears on O'Leary.Yours etc.,Des Johnson, Forest Hills,New York.