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[L.S. Amery]

[JAS - JB's reply to this, 24 May 1927, is in the Amery Papers, File G86]

Dominions Office, Downing Street S.W.1.

[ST - Empire tour] May 21st 1927

My dear John

The more I think of it the more certain I am that you and Susie ought to come with us. I do think it is important to make a real sucess of this Empire pilgrimage of mine and you would be invaluable to me in stimulating me with ideas for speeches and in helping with speeches of your own when required, as well as with your personality. I will say nothing about the pleasure of having you as a companion.

From your own point of view, too, I cannot but think it would help greatly. Your strongest line after all is the Imperial one. On that you have a considerable body of past experience which however no one in the House knows anything about. By going round the whole Empire with me you will be definitely marked out as someone specially entitled to intervene on Imperial questions and you will as it were give new value to your old experience. With your wonderful power of writing you

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might also find time on your sea voyages to write a book of your impressions of the Empire revisited.

To kindle your more human tastes I will just mention the South African programme as roughly sketched out with Clifford last night. To Pretoria immediately on arrival, to spend a few hours with Hertzog, and on to Pietersburg. By motor through Tzaneen and the new Orange country to Messina and on to Victoria. Thence by train to Salisbury for a couple of days there, a couple of days more at Bulawayo, a day and a half at the Falls, back to Bloomfomtein and Maseru. From Maseru by car across Basutoland to Leribe. From there the ladies would go back to Maseru and rejoin the special coach and round by train to Ladysmith, while the more active would go over Mont aux Sources down to a camp right under the Berg on the Natal side and do another two days climbing from there. Rejoin the ladies at Ladysmith to go for a couple of days to Durban, then Maritzburg, and then a week with headquarters at Pretoria seeing ministers and doing business generally with them and the High

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Commissioner who gets back to Pretoria from German South West early in September. From Pretoria direct to East London, Port Elizabeth and then by car and train as convenient to Sundays River, the Knysna and the South Western orchard country to Cape Town for a final three or four days before sailing on September 23rd. There will be plenty of work and speech making thrown in but I think there are things in between that ought to make your mouth water.

Do decide to come. If you don't you and Susie will spend the next 30 years at least regretting it.

Yours ever, [initials] LSA

[ST - We were unable to accept this invitation]