CHAPTER VIII 

 king edward's death 



' ist Jan., 1910. — Colonel Louis Gordon came to luncheon, bringing 

 with him several interesting papers of his uncle's. He is the family 

 depositary of these, and is helping me with my proposed new volume, 

 ' Gordon at Khartoum.' 



" 16th Jan. (Sunday). — The General Elections began yesterday. 

 George Wyndham is in by an increased majority at Dover, and Belloc 

 keeps his seat at Salford; but Eddy Tennant is out at Salisbury, which 

 means that he will be made a peer. The popular feeling seems not 

 very strong against the Lords, but democracy is a foolish, fickle thing. 



" 23rd Jan. — Newbuildings. Belloc was here yesterday, much 

 pleased with having retained his seat, and anxious to know my opinion 

 whether he should accept a place in the Government if they should 

 offer it. I said, ' Of course.' Why, indeed, should he refuse? He is 

 a clever fellow, and wants to get on, and has no particular principle to 

 sacrifice, except his beer. 



" On Wednesday two Indian Mohammedans, Sa'id Mahmud and 

 Nasir ed Din Hassan, spent the afternoon here, and gave me a deal of 

 information about things in India. They are excellent young men, and 

 are anxious that I should help them to found a society for the Moslems 

 in London, especially the Indian Moslems, which should have nothing 

 to do with Amir Ali and the Government. I agreed to do what I could 

 about it. We might call it the Moslem Patriotic Club or something of 

 the kind, and co-operate with the Hindoos. 



" I have written a line to George Wyndham, in which I say : ' I 

 think you have a great policy now to take up. Cannot you come to 

 terms with Redmond by which, in return for Home Rule, he should 

 join you in a Tariff Reform amendment to the Budget? What the 

 elections show more than anything is that England, apart from Scot- 

 land and Wales, is an entirely Conservative country. ... If at the 

 same time you would give Home Rule to Scotland and Wales you 

 would box the compass and remain in office for the next twenty years.' 



" 2$th Jan. — I have recorded my vote at the election for Winter- 

 ton, the Tory candidate, his opponent being one Owthwaite, an Austral- 

 ian land nationalizer, a carpet bagger sent down from London. 



" 26th Jan. — There is a new assassination in India, this time of a 



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