1910] Redmond on Irish Chances 289 



of getting the King to coerce the Lords, and that I did not think Asquith 

 or Grey or Haldane was really in earnest about Home Rule, though 

 Churchill and Lloyd George were. He said he quite agreed with this 

 view. He believed in Asquith to the extent that he would trust him if 

 he made a promise in so many words, but he had not quite done so 

 about Ireland. What he had promised was full self-government, sub- 

 ject to the control of the Imperial Parliament. Churchill, he believed, 

 was quite sincere. He had a very high opinion of him. Churchill had 

 told him once that it was the ambition of his life to bring in a Home 

 Rule Bill as Chief Secretary. How his own Irish party would vote 

 on the Budget would depend upon whether Asquith kept his pledge of 

 making the House of Lords Veto Bill the first question for the new 

 Parliament. They had no idea of voting the Budget first and waiting 

 for the House of Lords Bill. If that was decided upon in the Cabinet 

 they would move an Amendment and vote against him. He said he did 

 not see there was any good to be got by keeping Asquith in office if he 

 could not give them Home Rule, or anything much to be feared by 

 letting Balfour into office. Unless the Liberal party could abolish the 

 Lords' Veto there was as much to be hoped from the Tories as from 

 them. He told me as a great secret that when Dudley was Lord Lieu- 

 tenant he had sent for him, Redmond, one day, and had proposed that 

 he should join the Tories on Tariff Reform. Redmond said he was 

 quite willing, but would want Home Rule in exchange. Whereon 

 Dudley had said it was no good going on with the argument. But all 

 the same, he believed the Tory rank and file would make no insuperable 

 difficulty. In Ireland the defeat of the Government would be hailed 

 with delight. ' There will be bonfires lit on every hill in Ireland.' The 

 alliance with the Liberals was very unpopular, and the people wanted a 

 fighting policy again for Home Rule. He also explained to me 

 O'Brien's attitude as largely a personal one. His hatred for Dillon was 

 greater now than if they had never been such close friends. His gen- 

 eral attitude was the same as Dunraven's Devolution and Reform ; but 

 if it came to a question of real Home Rule they could, of course, count 

 on him. As to the influence of the Clergy it was nothing to what it had 

 been twenty-five years ago ; wherever the Clergy had opposed an elec- 

 tion the election had been won. He promised to send Dillon to see 

 me. I am sure he has told me the whole of what he thinks. 



" 15^/1 Feb. — The changes in the Cabinet are announced. Winston 

 gets the Home Office, and I have written to congratulate him and re- 

 mind him of his promise to reform prison discipline. I shall send him 

 a memorandum of what I think ought to be done. 



" 16th Feb. — Winston has telegraphed thanking me for my letter, and 

 asking for the memorandum about prison reform. 



" Edith Lytton called to-day. Talking of the new Viceroy who is 



