Copy of a letter from [Joseph] Austen Chamberlain (9 Egerton Place [London]) to WSC, writing that he had received WSC's letter [on the Irish question] with infinite regret, and had hoped that WSC might have a different message for him after seeing the Prime Minister [Herbert Asquith, later 1st Lord Oxford and Asquith]. Chamberlain adds that he would do nothing to harm national defence, and would remain at the Government's disposal for as long as the war lasted, but could not appear on a public platform with a member of the Government, when Asquith had broken the political truce, "trading on the patriotism of his opponents, to carry a most controversial Bill in its most controversial form". He tells WSC that he should realize the passionate resentment roused by the Government's actions, as Chamberlain and his allies could not use the means to defeat them because of the war. While suspicion was aroused by the Government's delay in announcing a decision, Chamberlain had still affirmed that as men of honour the Government could not take this course: finding himself mistaken, he says that he was "almost as much grieved on personal as on public grounds". In a postscript, Chamberlain informs WSC that he had sent a message to the Mayor of Birmingham, letting him know that he and WSC would not be able to come to a meeting, which must be indefinitely postponed. Typescript, sent by Sir Charles Petrie for inclusion in his biography of Chamberlain.