Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II MY RELATIONS WITH SIR W. HARCOURT The success of my Times letter was complete. In writing it I had a double purpose in view. I knew the importance of putting myself right with the public; but I wished also to make a covert appeal to Sir William Harcourt. For I had confidence in his fairness and generosity, and I wanted to recall to his memory matters which I felt sure he had forgotten. Here is his letter to me, to which I referred; and the only comment I need make upon it is to repeat that among the " modes of procedure " about which we differed, my arrangements with informants held a prominent place:— " Private. "MY Dear Anderson, " I am sorry to find from your letter that you think I have not duly appreciated your indefatigable exertions in the disagreeable duty which has fallen to you. " I assure you that is altogether a mistake, and I pray you to dismiss it from your mind. See p. 16, ante. Chap, ii] A FRESH ATTACK ON ME 19 " If we differ sometimes as to modes of procedure, that is a thing which must be looked for. " Pray go on as you have done in your useful work, and you may rely on entire sympathy and support from me. I am always most grateful for your reports and advice. " Yours truly, "W. V. Harcourt." But though my letter killed the " Affaire Le Caron " so far as I was concerned, it was made the ground of a fresh attack upon me. The doctrinaire Radical has peculiar ideas about liberty and fair play, and Mr. Labouchere's indignation was great at my daring to defend myself against charges that were both false and scandalous. He brought up the matter twice at question time; and when the House reassembled after the Easter recess, it was made the subject of a set debate. It is germane to my present purpose to notice that on t...