58 The Bill in Committee [!9 3 



the horses, ?.nd I went over with him to Crabbet. He is an extremely 

 well informed man, and gave me an excellent account of the way 

 the emancipation of the Russian peasantry is working out. He is him- 

 self a very large landowner, and cultivates 30,000 acres of land with 

 4,000 yoke of oxen. The peasants work their own land mostly on the 

 communal system, preferring it. This the officials have been trying to 

 alter, but the Emperor has just issued a decree confirming the peasants 

 in their rights. There is a rule that they are unable to sell, or mortgage 

 their land, which protects them against the usurers. All this is very 

 analogous to what is proposed for Ireland, and I have promised to take 

 him to see George who will be pleased to hear his account. 



" $th June. — Margaret Sackville came to Chapel Street with her 

 friend Katharine Horner to talk about ' The Celt.' I urged her to put 

 her own name to the little venture as its only possible chance of success. 



" nth June. — The great Ministerial crisis is over for the moment, 

 and Chamberlain has been reduced to silence. The Government eot a 

 vote last night of 425 against 28, the whole Opposition and the Irish 

 Party voting with them, against Chaplin and the Protectionists. 



" 13//J to 15th June. — At Newbuildings — a very delightful party. 

 Margaret Sackville, Katharine Horner, 1 who is a very pretty and clever 

 girl of sixteen, and a writer of poetry, and is quite charming, the Poet 

 Laureate and Meynell. The P. L. was in his best form, and Meynell 

 amused us all with his anecdotes of Dizzy and other heroes. 



" iyth June. — Looked in at Belgrave Square where I found Madeline 

 just back from the House of Commons, much excited about the Irish 

 debate in Committee. This was stormy, and things are ticklish for the 

 Bill. She was enthusiastic about the speaking of the Irish members, 

 especially Redmond's. George had looked up twice to the Ladies' Gal- 

 lery when it was over. She takes it as a sign he is satisfied. 



" i8tJi June. — To George in Belgrave Square where he is staying, 

 and we walked together to the Irish Office. He told me the situation, 

 and the danger there was from Chamberlain and from the landlords — 

 and complained that the Nationalists had not kept to their agreement 

 at the Landlords' Conference. However, he considers the worst risks 

 over now. ' My position,' he said, ' is that of peace-maker in the Cabi- 

 net, of trying to persuade everybody that they all have really the same 

 opinion — at any rate until my Bill is through. I take no side on the 

 Preferential Tariff question till this is safe, being a practical politician.' 

 All the same, he says, it will be very necessary for him to have a 

 talk soon with Redmond, and he says it had better be at my house. 

 He will let me know more in a day or two. 



" ioi/? June. — A letter from Redmond saying that affairs are very 

 critical for the Bill, and that, unless George Wyndham adopts a more 



1 Afterwards Mrs. Raymond Asquith. 



