10 MAY 1913, Page 14

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR, —I came upon the

following passage quite by accident yesterday when reading one of Scott's novels :-

" When a man of talent shows himself an able and useful partisan, his party will continue to protect and accredit him, in spite of conduct the most contradictory to their own principles. Some facts are, in such cases, denied—some are glossed over—and party zeal is permitted to cover at least as many defects as ever doth charity."

It has a striking bearing upon recent events, and doubtless anticipates the Committee's findings. Your readers will easily