1909] J° e Chamberlain Paralyzed 283 



mained to the last the rough lout he began life as, with a veneer of sham 

 romance added, which made his later life so despicable. Neverthe- 

 less, as was the case with Burton, his brutality gained him the devotion 

 of a superior woman far too good for him. There are many points of 

 resemblance between the two men revealed in their base countenances, 

 though Stanley's is the more ignoble of the two. 



" Morley's Indian reforms are published, poor things in truth, for 

 though an unofficial majority is in name conceded to the Provincial 

 Councils, it is not an Indian majority, the Anglo-Indian non-officials 

 being counted in, so that there remains everywhere an English majority. 

 Also the Government grants itself a power of vetoing the candidature 

 of any Indian ; this, with new powers of arbitrary arrest and of seizing 

 newspapers and printing presses, leaves native India in a worse position 

 than when Lord Morley came into office. Nevertheless, his sham re- 

 forms are a long step towards real revolution. 



" 23rd Nov. — The Abbe Bremond, Tyrrell's friend, who performed 

 his funeral rights, has recanted his errors publicly and made apology 

 at Rome, so poor Miss Petre is left out in the cold. I did not like the 

 man when I saw him at Storrington. 



" 24th Nov-. — Lunched with George and Sibell. They had all been 

 attending the debate in the Lords (about the Budget), the House 

 crowded with peeresses and, George said, the most representative as- 

 sembly he had ever seen, representing as it did very grade of society 

 from royal princesses down to Rosie Boote, Marchioness of Headfort. 

 George quite approves the fighting attitude of the peers and believes 

 in his party winning at the General Elections. He has been doing a 

 great deal of the fighting himself. George has written an excellent 

 sonnet which he sent me a day or two ago. 



" 25 th Nov. — Called on Frank Lascelles. Talking about the Budget 

 quarrel he told me he had a long conversation yesterday with old Joe 

 Chamberlain. Chamberlain is paralysed but quite clear in his mind, 

 though he has a difficulty in speech being unable sometimes to pronounce 

 his words rightly. He assured Frank that the Tories would return 

 to power with a large majority. In England, whatever it might be in 

 Scotland, they would sweep the board. Then to luncheon with Winston 

 and Clemmie. I told him of Joe's prediction, but he declared the Gov- 

 ernment would remain with a clear majority of sixty after the election, 

 independently of the Irish. About Somaliland he told me things had 

 been arranged according to his wishes. The troops are to be moved to 

 the coast. ' I don't call it evacuation,' he said, ' but concentration, it 

 sounds better.' This is satisfactory. I gave him the first copy of my 

 ' India under Ripon,' which reached me on Monday, and we discussed 

 the whole question of Empire over again and I find him much more 

 favourable to my anti-Imperial views than he was two months ago. In- 



