T "DARKEST ENGLAND" SCHEME. 311 



you direct." All the while, Mr. Stead knows per- 

 fectly well that I was withheld from making pub- 

 lic use of his letter of the 10th by nothing but 

 my scruples about using a document which was 

 marked " private "', and that he did not give me 

 leave to quote his letter of the 10th of January 

 until after he had written that which appeared 

 yesterday. 



And I add: — 



As to the subject-matter of Mr. Stead's letter, 

 the point which he wishes to prove appears to be 

 this — that Mr. Bramwell Booth did not make a 

 false statement, but that he withheld from the 

 officers of justice, pursuing a most serious criminal 

 inquiry, a fact of grave importance, which lay 

 within his own knowledge. And this because he 

 had promised Mr. Stead to keep the fact secret. 

 In short, Mr. Bramwell Booth did not say what 

 was wrong; but he did what was wrong. 



I will take care to give every weight to the 

 correction. Most people, I think, will consider 

 that one of the " main pillars of my argument," 

 as Mr. Stead is pleased to call them, has become 

 very much strengthened. 



