LORD RIDDELL'S INTIMATE DIARY OF [Apr

and lost hundreds of thousands of lives in the process. At that
time there were differences of opinion in the North as to the
wisdom of what was being done. To-day everyone agrees that
the right decision was arrived at. I believe that history will say
the same of Ireland if we fight it out. A republic at our doors
is unthinkable.

R. : It would not be a republic of a combined nation. The
republic would represent only two-thirds of the Irish popu-
lation.

We had some interesting talk about Disraeli, Gladstone,
etc.. L. G. said, " If I were advising a young man, I should
advise him to study John Bright for platform work, Gladstone
for Parliamentary debating, and Disraeli for amusement. No
man but a genius could speak like Burke and Disraeli. Every-
one would laugh at him, but in a small way everyone could
copy Bright or Gladstone."

Burnham told an amusing story of Gladstone's regard for
rank. At some private dinner, he insisted on following the son
of a baron, that being the right order of precedence.

L. G.: The old man was rather snobbish in these matters
—a mixture of snobbery and old-fashioned courtesy.

In the morning I had rather an interesting talk with L. G.
regarding the new members of the Government.

L. G. : Hilton Young is perhaps the most interesting of
the new men. He has had a wonderful career. Before the war,
he was financial editor of the Morning Post. Fisher told me a
good story about him. After he had lost his arm at Zeebrugge,
he turned up at the Admiralty one day and volunteered for
Archangel. He was told they did not want one-armed men
there. He replied, " If you will come with me to Trafalgar
Square, I will show you a little one-armed man who did some-
thing for his country." His appeal was not in vain. He got
the job. Whether he will be a success at the Treasury one
cannot say. He may be too theoretical. At the same time one
must have intellectual men in the Government. In the old days,
John Morley was very useful from that point of view. He used
to sit quietly and listen. Then he would come out with some-
thing fresh and original, brought up from the depths of his
knowledge and intuition—something quite different from our

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