Mr. O'Brien in the course of a speech at Cork
last Saturday read out a letter which be declared had been addressed by him to Mr. Lloyd George, and which purported to summarise the results of some interviews between them. The most important paragraph of the letter alleged that Mr. Lloyd George saw "no insuperable difficulties about relieving Ireland from the increased spirit duties, brewery licenses, stamp and succession duties, and land taxes (so far as they affect the property of Irish tenant purchasers) which were proposed in the Budget of 1909, and also from the proposed general revaluation." On Sunday night Mr. Lloyd George made the following statement to a Press representative :— " I never received the letter nor was it read to me. The statements made in it are grossly untrue, and the whole affair is a disgraceful breach of confidence." Mr. O'Brien maintains his ground, and the whole question is accordingly to be raised in the House on Monday night. Mr. Lloyd George's denial may be substantiated up to the hilt on Monday, but we are bound to say that it reads uncommonly like the remark of the lady in the story. " You nasty horrid thing, to tell such dreadful lies and say what I never did say. Besides, you promised faithfully when I told you to keep it secret." Another analogy is the statement of defence made by a man accused of stealing a kettle :—(1) He had never had the kettle in his possession or even seen it. (2) It was lent to him. (3) He returned it. (4) It had a hole in it.
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