r Michael Hicks-Beach, but I will not undertake
to be sure--said: "It is no secret that Mr. Balfour's opinions
are those of a majority of Her Majesty's Government."

I went to Paris, and wrote at once the letter that had been
agreed upon, of which I have in my possession a copy. I
at once secured an introduction to M. Fougirot, the Member
of the French Assembly who had drawn and procured the signatures
to the resolution to which I just referred. That is, I am
told, a not uncommon way in France of declaring the sense
of the House in anticipation of a more formal vote. He entered
heartily into the plan. He thought Germany would at once
agree, at any rate, he was sure that Belgium, Spain, Italy
and all the European commercial powers would come into the
arrangement, and that the whole thing would be absolutely
sure if Great Britain were to agree. I waited a week or two
for the letter from Mr. Balfour. In the meantime I got a
letter from Mr. Frewen, who told me that Mr. Balfour had
shown him the letter he had written to me; that it was admirable,
and eminently satisfactory. But no letter came. I waited
another week or two, and then got another letter from Mr.
Frewen, in which he said that he had taken no copy of Mr.
Balfour's letter, and had returned the original, and asked
me, if I had no objection, if I would give him a copy of it.
I answered that I had heard nothing, whereupon Mr. Frewen
wrote a note to Mr. Balfour, telling him that I had not heard.
Mr. Balfour said that he had, after writing the letter, submitted
it to a meeting of his colleagues; that one of them had expressed
his most emphatic disapproval of the plan, and that he did
not feel warranted in taking such a step against the objection
of one of his colleagues. I gathered, from what I heard afterward,
that Mr. Balfour wished he had sent he letter without communicating
its contents. But of this I have no right to be sure. Mr.
Balfour sent Mr. Frewen the following letter, which is now
in my possession. It was, I suppose with his approval, sent
to me.

10 DOWNING STREET, WHITEHALL, S. W.
August 6, 1896.

DEAR MORETON FREWEN.

I think Senator Hoar has just reason to complain of my long
silence. But, the truth is that I was unwilling to tell
him that my hopes of sending him a letter for publication
had come to an end, until I was really certain that this was
the case. I am afraid however that even if I am able now
to overcome the objectio