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3, Temple Gardens, Temple.
Feb: 20: 06
Dear Miss Markham
I read your letter before I read the King's Speech, as I only came back from Scotland this morning from attending a relative's funeral.
It is bad - but, I think, not quite so bad as you suppose. The revocation of the Letters Patent only means that the Govt. prefer this way of doing it to issuing amending letters patent. They do not
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commit themselves to tamper with the franchise (which was the real danger we feared) and the fact that they mention that the elections will be held "a few months" after July, seems to me to imply that they will not accept the population basis. They are much more likely to try experiments with a Second House or with proportional representation - experiments which, so far as I can judge, would not damage our cause. So far as I can hear they are quite
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alive to the need for haste in whatever they do, and I personally have no objection to a Commission, if they will only be quick about it. Our case is so good that we court inquiry. This also is Lord Milner's view. One horrible scare I got lately. There was a rumour that after the grant of responsible government the Govt. here intended to "reserve" the labour question for special supervision. This course would land them in such awful difficulties that I cannot believe it possible.
My frame of mind just now
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is purely destructive. I want to break men & things. So I have ceased to be a Tory & call myself frankly a "Goth."
My only free time on Thursday - Friday is lunch on Thursday. Will you lunch at the Savoy on Thursday at 1.30. If so, please send me a wire
Yours ever
J.B
