19133 "Hands across the Sea 



4 



My personal acquaintance with British conser- 

 vatism is, I must confess, rather limited. At a week- 

 end house party to which Mrs. Jordan and I were 

 invited, the main topic of political discussion was 

 Lloyd George, 1 held responsible by the majority of Lloyd 

 the wealthy for the most distressing of financial 

 woes, the taxing of great landholdings. It would 

 be now quite impossible, they complained, to live in 

 their former generous fashion. Moreover, the dis- 

 establishment of the Anglican Church in Wales had 

 dispossessed many needy curates and obliged the 

 faithful to maintain chapels at their own expense, 

 even as the Dissenters. 



A dinner guest spoke confidentially to me in regard A weary 

 to his political aspirations. He contributed largely to candldate 

 the Conservative party funds, and had thrice been 

 named to stand for Parliament. But being badly 

 beaten each time, he was then almost convinced 

 that the party council did not want him elected 

 anyhow, and had picked him to lead forlorn hopes at 

 his own cost. The curious feature of the matter 

 seemed to me to be that it took him so long to get at 

 an obvious truth. 



A conspicuous sufferer from the recent tax ad- West- 

 justments was the Duke of Westminster, who holds minster 

 title to about one ninth of London - - enormously 

 valuable property, of course, but hitherto assessed 

 and taxed as cow pasture. Times have changed. In 

 taking over the hundred-year lease on the Red House, 



1 According to a story current in Conservative circles, the rescuer of a man 

 seen to be drowning in the Thames at Westminster Bridge denied all credit to 

 himself, simply saying: " I saw the man in trouble, I swam out, turned him over 

 to see that it wasn't Lloyd George, and then hauled him in." 



C 479 n 



