SHEIL AND THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
ITO THE EDITOR OF TIM " SPECTATOR.1
BIR,—I thought that Mr. Reginald Lucas's letter, in yourisaue of the 14th inst. would have brought a reply from some abler pen, and therefore hesitated to write to you. Will you allow me to draw attention to another side of the question he deals. with ? Mr. Lucas states that Lord Lyndhurst had spoken of the Irish as " aliens." . Lyndhurst denied that he ever made such a statement. The whole incident is fully treated in chap. 14 of Sir Theodore Martin's Life of Lord Lyndhurst (1883). Those of your readers who enjoy reading about the battles of political giants will be amply rewarded by perusing the above chapter. Lyndhurst was a mighty !miter, and he gave as much as, sometimes more than, he received. The quotation from Sheil's speech is often quoted as a specimen of Parliamentary, oratory, and the statement contained therein passes unchallenged. My reason for troubling you is to Show that the accuracy of that statement has been diSproved.—I am,
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