280 The G.O.M. and Mrs. O'Shea [1909 



the Italians have done since, and as we did before the rise of the 

 Mullah's power.' Winston recommends the second. Churchill's sec- 

 ond minute, that about Cyprus, dated 19th Oct., 1907, recommends the 

 expenditure of the revenue being devoted to the improvement of the 

 island, and that the tribute which goes to the holders of the Turkish 

 loan should be paid by the English Exchequer, which is responsible 

 for the Turkish loan it guarantees. 



" 12th Oct. — George Wyndham and Mark Napier have been here 

 to shoot. Last night we discussed the Indian question. George dis- 

 approves now of the Japanese alliance, and praises that with Russia. 

 He says that it is quite impossible India should be made self-governing 

 under two hundred years, or that the English democracy will ever 

 consent to a withdrawal. But at the same time he is inclined to agree 

 with me that England would be better without her Indian Empire. 

 In old times, when England was governed by an oligarchy, the admin- 

 istration of India might have been gradually transferred to the natives, 

 and so the country be set adrift, but not now. A Minister proposing to 

 do so could not remain a month in office. This, of course, is true, but 

 it is the same thing as admitting what Gordon said, that no reform 

 was possible in India except by a revolution. 



" Conny Lytton and Mrs. Brailsford have been arrested with other 

 suffragettes and mean to starve themselves, and Brailsford telegraphs 

 to me asking me to get George Wyndham to take up their case. George, 

 however, of course would not do this, though he says he is opposed to 

 these violences in prison against women, and we discussed the case 

 of the treatment of political prisoners. He is more enlightened on this 

 point than Mark, who takes a plain lawyer's view. I have written to 

 Brailsford in this sense. 



"15th Oct. — Conny and Mrs. Brailsford have been released by 

 order of the Home Secretary, and Conny has written an extremely able 

 letter to the ' Times ' about her case. It will, I think, force their hand 

 into altering the law about political prisoners. 



" 25th Oct. — George Leveson Gower has been here shooting. Talk- 

 ing about the G.O.M. (Mr. Gladstone) whose private secretary George 

 was from 1880 to 1885, he told a good story. At the time of the Kil- 

 mainham Treaty he had undertaken to expostulate with his master 

 on the danger he was running by carrying on the negotiation through 

 Mrs. O'Shea. He and Eddy Hamilton (his fellow private secretary) 

 had talked it over together, and Eddy had said he did not dare ap- 

 proach the subject with Mr. Gladstone, but had no objection^ to 

 George doing so. George opened the matter with what delicacy he 

 could, mentioning Parnell's connection with the lady ; but the old 

 man fired up at once, and made him an oration which George repeated 

 to us, imitating exactly the old man's voice and manner : ' You do not 



