1903] George Wyndham 45 



George seems to have presented his case splendidly, and so far has 

 met with no opposition. It is a very daring scheme, and follows closely 

 all he told me about it last autumn. I never thought he would be 

 allowed to have it so much his own way — for it involved a hundred 

 millions sterling — especially after Brodrick's antics at the War Office 

 and the reaction for economy. 



" 2gth Anarch (Sunday.) — Lunched in Mount Street. Windsor and 

 Lady Windsor — nobody else — our talk mostly about George and the 

 Irish Land Bill, all in high praise. Then to Wentworth House, where 

 Judith is staying, and all there too in high good humour about Ireland. 

 Lastly to Belgrave Square where new raptures about George and his 

 bill — how could it be otherwise ? George wants to see me. 



" 30th March. — Lady Windsor came this morning. She has seen 

 George since yesterday, and brings me a message from him to the effect 

 that I could help him with the Irish members about the bill. Of course 

 I shall be delighted to do this, and it is all the easier because Redmond 

 wrote some weeks ago asking me to let him know as soon as I returned 

 to England. I must see George however first. 



" 31^ March. — Found George at his breakfast in Park Lane at the 

 hour appointed yesterday and he began at once about his Irish Land 

 Bill. He told me what a desperate fight he had had to get it adopted 

 by the Cabinet and how nearly it had more than once been wrecked. 

 Even within forty-eight hours of his bringing it forward in the House 

 all had seemed lost, and it was only the splendid support given him by 

 Arthur Balfour that had carried the day, as I understand him, by a 

 single vote against Chamberlain's opposition — he did not mention 

 Chamberlain by name. Ritchie too had supported him, and the silent 

 vote of Akers Douglas and the Tory phalanx. 



" Then he gave me a brief historical account of how he had engi- 

 neered the whole affair during the autumn and winter. The first thing 

 had been to secure the ' Times,' without which nothing could have been 

 effected. He would not say exactly how this had been done, though 

 he promised to tell me that and every detail some day, but I imagine 

 Arthur Balfour must have promised Walter his long expected peerage. 

 Then George had used his personal influence on the landlords, had gone 

 to stay with Dunraven, had encouraged Mayo, and had expostulated 

 privately with the leaders of the Landlords' Convention when they 

 proved obdurate. The result had been the agreement come to at the 

 Land Conference. He spoke in high praise of the Nationalist leaders 

 and said O'Brien had behaved splendidly, quite justifying the character 

 of patriotism I had given him when we had last talked about him. It 

 was to help O'Brien to get out of his difficult position towards the 

 evicted tenants that he had inserted the clause in his Bill providing for 

 their reinstatement. 



