The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke Volume II Part 9

Later in the year there are entries as to the annexation of Bechua.n.a.land:

October 4th, 'Bechua.n.a.land was discussed, as to which Chamberlain wanted to go to war with the Boers, and had written to me.'

And on November 11th 'there was a Cabinet called on the Bechua.n.a.land trouble, and we discussed votes of money for the Gordon and Bechua.n.a.land expeditions.'

II.

During this year the Central Asian question, always of first-rate interest to Sir Charles, constantly claimed his attention.

'On February 22nd there was a meeting at the Foreign Office which was intended to be a meeting about my Central Asian scheme, but which developed into a virtual Cabinet. There were present Mr.

Gladstone, Hartington, Kimberley, Northbrook, myself, Fitzmaurice, and J. K. Cross, Undersecretary of State for India. The delimitation of the Afghan frontier was further considered and pretty much decided.

'Pleasures of Office. I dined with the Dean of Westminster, and was called away in the middle of dinner to make a speech about Central Asia, and got back again for coffee.'

'On March 5th Hartington suggested that we should recommence the Quetta railroad, and it was decided to give a hint to Lord Ripon to ask for it.'

'August 5th.--Lord Granville informed us that the Shah was alarmed at the Russian advance upon the Persian frontier, and asked us for promises.

'August 7th.--There was a meeting of the Central Asian Committee....

Lord Granville, Hartington, Kimberley, I, and Fitzmaurice were present, with Philip Currie. As to the amount of support to be given to Persia Lord Granville wrote an excellent despatch, while we were talking. It was settled that we were to repeat our statements at St.

Petersburg at a convenient opportunity, but to ask the Shah that, as an earnest of his good intentions towards us, the Persian rivers should be thrown open to our trade--not a bad touchstone. We discussed the Afghan boundary, and decided that, if the Russians would not agree to our proposed starting-point for the delimitation, we would send an Afghan British Commission without them to make our own, delimitation.'

'November 18th.--Edmond Fitzmaurice consulted me as to Central Asia.

The Russians had agreed in principle to the delimitation, but ...

had made much delay in questions of detail.'

On the Committee Sir Charles and Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice were unequally yoked with the lethargic Secretary of State for War. Lord Fitzmaurice has vivid recollection of Lord Hartington's entry at one sitting half an hour late, after his fashion. The question turned on the probable action of some Afghan chiefs, whereupon Lord Hartington broke silence by observing reflectively: "I wonder what an Afghan chief is like." Sir Charles, with a glance at the high-nosed, bearded, deliberate face of his colleague, pushed a scribbled note to Lord Edmond: "I expect an Afghan chief is very like the Right Honourable the Marquis of Hartington."'

Sir Charles's interest in this Central Asian question, where political and military interests lay so close together, led to a correspondence, and the correspondence to a friendship, with Lord Roberts.

'In March I received a letter from Sir Frederick Roberts, not yet personally known to me, in which he enclosed a memorandum by him called "Is an Invasion of India by Russia Possible?" In his letter he said that he had given up the idea of returning to Kandahar, and only desired that we should make ourselves secure upon our new frontier, improve our relations with the Afghans, and clearly show that we could not allow the Russians to establish themselves in Northern Afghanistan. In his printed paper he showed that Persia might be looked upon as virtually Russian, and that what we had to do was to prevent Afghanistan falling into the same position. He incidentally admitted the strength of the view of those of us who had advocated the evacuation of Kandahar by saying that the Afghans "must be a.s.sured that we have no designs upon their country, and that even should circ.u.mstances require a British occupation of Kandahar, the direction of all internal affairs would be left in their hands; we must guarantee them the integrity of their kingdom."

He strongly supported my view that no time should be lost in defining the northern boundary of Afghanistan.

'Roberts went on to lay down the principle that the main body of a Russian army destined for the invasion of India must advance by Herat and Girishk on Kandahar, whence, if not defeated, the Russians must move by Ghazni, Kabul, and the Khyber. Sir Frederick Roberts pointed out that India could not place in the field, under the then conditions, more than 40,000 men, with from 130 to 140 guns. Part of the native army could be relied on, but, writing as Commander-in- Chief in Madras, he pointed out that the Southern Indian Sepoys had not the courage and physique to fight against Russian troops, or even against natives from the north. On the other hand, many of our northern native troops would be of doubtful loyalty in the event of Russia becoming predominant in Afghanistan. "Sir Fred" laid down the principle of completing railway communication to a point near Kandahar, with a bridge across the Indus near Sukkur, and generally described the plan of a vigorous offensive on the Kandahar side and a defensive on the Khyber line, which has since been adopted.'

'At the end of May I received from Sir Frederick Roberts a letter in reply to mine, acknowledging the receipt of the Defence of India papers which I have named. I had told him that the real danger was that Russia would detach Herat by local intrigue without appearing, and that I did not see how we could prevent this alarming danger.

Sir Frederick admitted the truth of my view, and again pointed out the importance of trying to win the friendship of the Afghans. He favoured my proposals for the delimitation of the northern frontier of Afghanistan. "But I much doubt Russia's now agreeing to any proposal of the sort." He ended by expressing his gratification at our issue of the order for the completion of the railway to Quetta and Pishin.'

Discussions preliminary to the Budget occupied the Cabinet in January, 1884, and Mr. Childers announced that the Army and Navy Estimates would leave him with a deficit, chiefly because the newly introduced parcel post had been 'a disastrous failure.'

'In the course of this Cabinet of January 24th, I for the first time stated my views on the subject of army reform. I have a slip of paper which pa.s.sed backwards and forwards between Chamberlain and myself, headed "The condition of the army." I wrote: "Do you remember my saying one night in our cab to you that I could not go to the W.O. because of my views upon this very point?" Chamberlain wrote back: "But that really is the reason why you should go. I have the lowest opinion of army administration wherever I can test it-- contracts, for instance. It is most ludicrously inefficient." To which I replied: "The Duke of Cambridge and the old soldiers and the Queen would make it very nearly hopeless."'

The War Office never tempted Sir Charles as did the Admiralty, where, he wrote to Lord Granville in 1885, 'I fear I should be extravagant.'

III.

A holiday home in the South of France had ceased to be easily accessible to the 'most hard-worked member of the Government.' Though for many years he retained his little villa of 'La Sainte Campagne' near Toulon, nestling in its olive groves with, from windows and cliff, the view of the red porphyry rocks across the deep blue of the bay, he had for some time been negotiating for the purchase of strips of land by the riverside near Shepperton, and among the pines at Pyrford.

In 1883 the building of the cottage at Dockett Eddy was begun, over the door of which he set this inscription:

"Parva sed apta mihi, sed nulli obnoxia, sed non Sordida, parta meo sed tamen aere, domus."

[Footnote: Thus rendered in English by the Rev. W. Tuckwell:

''Tis tiny, but it suits me quite, Invades no jealous neighbour's right; 'Tis neat and clean, and--pleasant thought-- I earned the cash with which 'twas bought.'

(It was bought out of his official salary.)]

This was to be always his riverside home, and in it he always slept, even after the larger house had been built near by. There he was one of the river's most jealous guardians, and in this year notes that he

'gave evidence before the Select Committee on the River Thames, and was instrumental in securing the insertion of a clause in the Bill, afterwards produced by the Committee, which put an end to shooting on the Thames, and did a great deal to protect the quiet of the river.'

The Dockett cottage was not finished till 1885, and:

'On Sat.u.r.day, March 21st, I took a holiday on the river, starting down with my punt from Taplow Court, and bringing her down to Dockett Eddy, of which I now took possession, the little house being now finished.'

On May 22nd, 1884,

'I settled to go on Whitsun Tuesday to look at Lord Onslow's land at Pyrford, for a winter house. I had forgotten that my ancestor Sir R.

Parkhurst had been Lord of the Manor of Pyrford, and that my ancestor Sir Edward Zouche had lived even nearer to my new purchase, at old Woking St. Peter, whence I hear his bells.'

Late in the year

'I settled on my motto for my cottage at Pyrford--a line of Ruskin, "This is the true nature of Home,--it is the place of Peace."

'The selection meant in my mind that home was about to exist once more for me.'

'In July, 1884, Mrs. Mark Pattison had been left a widow by the death of the Rector of Lincoln College. She went to live at The Lodge, Headington, near Oxford.

'Later in the year we became privately engaged, and told Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pattison, Mrs. Westlake, Mrs. Earle, and Mrs. Grant Duff, as well as Chamberlain, but no one else. It was decided that others should not be told until much later, and to Lord Granville, who (without mentioning a name) congratulated me, I had to feign ignorance of what he meant. Mrs. Pattison settled to go to India in February, March, or April, 1885, to stay with the Governor of Madras and Mrs. Grant Duff in the hills, and to return in September or October for our wedding, which before her departure was fixed for October. Before the return there happened Emilia's typhoid fever at Ootacamund, and our terrible misfortunes; but the date of October, 1885, was fated to remain the date, and Chamberlain, who had, before Emilia left, consented to be best man, was best man still. The place of the wedding alone was changed--from Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, to the parish church of Chelsea. Mrs. Grant Duff wrote to us on being told a most pleasant letter.

'Chamberlain wrote the best letter of his life to her.'

This was the letter:

'40, Prince's Gardens, S.W.,

'November 5th, 1884.

'My Dear Mrs. Pattison,

'Dilke has told me his great secret, and I sympathize with him so warmly in the new prospects of happiness which are opening for him that I have asked leave to write to you and to offer my hearty congratulations.

'I venture to think that we are already friends, and this adds greatly to the pleasure which this intelligence has given me.

'For many years I have been on the most intimate terms with your future husband; and while I share the general opinion of the world as to his talents and force of character, I have better reason than any other man to appreciate his generosity and goodness, and the chivalrous delicacy which a natural reserve conceals from casual acquaintance.