176 {Harding e His Special Man [1907 



Continent. In nearly all of this we are agreed. I told him the history 

 of the intrigue four years ago against Cromer, and of the arrange- 

 ment then made that Gorst was to have Cromer's succession in Egypt. 

 He had not heard of it, but he knew that Cromer was anything but 

 pleased at Gorst's appointment. He gets his news of the Cairo Agency 

 through his son Horace, who was there till last January, and through 

 Findlay, with whom he is intimate. 



" 31.?/ July. — The Cromer debate has come on more successfully than 

 we could have hoped six weeks ago, as 107 voted against the grant of 

 £50,000, a minority of 147. Willy Redmond made the speech I wrote 

 out for him, or one closely like it, and Kettle, who had also written to 

 consult me, spoke strongly, Grayson, the new Socialist member, making 

 a third. Robertson and his friends of the Egyptian Committee held 

 their foolish tongues. 



" Speaking of the King the other day, Horace Rumbold told me that 

 Hardinge, of the Foreign Office, is his special man, going everywhere 

 abroad with him, and fulfilling the functions hitherto appertaining to 

 the Secretary of State as Cabinet Minister. All diplomatic appoint- 

 ments are, in fact, made by the King through him. This makes Hard- 

 inge's taking young Errington as his private secretary the more signifi- 

 cant. 



" 1st Aug. — To London and saw George Wyndham. He tells me 

 the opposition to the Cromer vote was even more of a victory for us 

 than I imagined. Not only did some sixty or seventy Liberals and 

 Labour members vote against the Government, but a hundred Liberals 

 walked out without voting, while the Government was only saved from 

 defeat by the Tory vote. Willy Redmond's speech was very effective, 

 and he congratulated me on the result, though he himself had of course 

 voted for Cromer. 



" 2nd Aug. — Willy Redmond writes : ' The division was very good 

 on the Cromer grant, and the fact that both front benches could only 

 muster 250 out of 670 members is very striking. I know no better 

 report of your speech than the ' Freeman's Journal ' of yesterday. . . . 

 The house was really worked up over Denshawai, and I am sure the 

 prisoners will be released.' 



" $th Aug. — Father Tyrrell came to lunch with me, and I had some 

 interesting talk with him. His position now is a very difficult one to 

 maintain. As an ex-Jesuit he is debarred from receiving ' faculties ' 

 from any bishop without the Jesuit Provincial's leave, and they im- 

 posed on him a promise to submit all private letters he might write 

 to anyone to Jesuit censorship. This he refused, and so is unable to 

 say Mass, hear confessions, or perform any priestly office. His men- 

 tal attitude is very nearly, if not quite, one of revolt. 



" I asked him if he thought it would be possible to keep the Liberal 



