Sir H. H. Raphael, the Liberal member for South Derby-
shire, having been criticised by Mr. Harry de Pass, one of the promoters of the new land agitation, for his attitude towards that movement, has replied most effectively in a letter to the Derby Daily Telegraph. Mr. de Pass had suggested that Sir H. Raphael's proper place was on the other side of the House. To this Sir H. Raphael retorts that his critic is using the well-known argument of all faddists, that "every person who does not agree with their particular nostrum should be driven out of the party." All that Sir H. Raphael had sug- gested was that if important land legislation were to be under- taken, it should be done "on the recommendation of an authori- tative body, such as a Royal Commission, and not on the report of a party and partisan committee such as the one appointed under the auspices of the Chancellor of the Exchequer." Personally he would greatly like to see Mr. de Pass's scheme worked out in its application to the taxation area of the borough of Derby. " I rather think the little stir my action has caused would be but as the ripple of the sea to the wave of universal disapprobation which would surge over the com- munity affected by the proposals." Mr. de Pass's sneer at landlords, he concludes, leaves him cold, for in Derbyshire they had before them the example of the Duke of Devon- shire and many others who devoted their lives to the fulfil- ment of the duties of their station and property. " We are not going to deny them the privileges of an ordinary criminal and condemn them unheard." Sir H. Raphael's letter, which is chivalrous as well as sensible, will be welcomed by all moderate men. But he forgets that the extremists on his side regard dukes not as ordinary but as extraordinary criminals.
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