1902] Wyndham's Plans for Ireland 31 



Beach has resigned and Lord Cadogan, so George Wyndham will get 

 his step whether he stays in Ireland or not." 



The first fortnight of August was spent by me in making my annual 

 driving tour, this time through East Sussex, and afterwards for a 

 month at Fernycroft, writing my play, " Fand," with other poetry. I 

 find nothing of political importance in my diary for many weeks. In 

 November I was for a week at Gros Bois and Paris, where I found 

 everything in a state of political quiescence, all that was being talked 

 of being a certain growth of Socialism. On the 22nd, being about to 

 start finally for Egypt, I went to see George Wyndham in Park Lane, 

 and he gave me a full account of his plans for Ireland. Next session he 

 is to bring in a bill to deal finally with the land question on the basis 

 of compulsory purchase, aided with English credit. He has got a ma- 

 jority, and more than a majority of the Irish landlords to agree to it, 

 and thinks he can carry it through at a cost, if I understand him 

 rightly, of about seventy millions. The extreme cost he put at 

 £120,000,000, the security for which from the English taxpayer is to 

 be got out of the Public Aids given to the local rates, which will be 

 stopped if the tenants of the County aided fail to pay their yearly 

 rent. He intends to deal very liberally with the readjustment of the 

 financial relations of England with Ireland, and the money thus paid 

 annually to Ireland will be the security of the Land Purchase settle- 

 ment. Lastly, he will endow a Catholic University. I asked him what 

 he thought would be the outcome of all this if it was, effected. Home 

 Rule or a closer Union. He admitted that it would probably lead 

 to Home Rule, but said it was not his business to look so far ahead. 

 Indeed if he carries out all he talked of he will have done enough 

 for one man. As to coercion, he said his revival of it was the price 

 he had had to pay for obtaining a free hand from his colleagues in the 

 Cabinet. He had made large use of the London press, and the sup- 

 port of the " Times " could only be bought by coercion. George 

 was in his most sanguine and optimist vein, and felt certain of success. 

 We were interrupted at this point, and he promised to look in on me 

 at Chapel Street in the afternoon. This he did, but we were no 

 longer alone, and the Irish talk was not renewed. 



