19th May.
I replied to this in the following letter to The Times, which was published in the issue of 13th June, 1905:
Sir,
I have seen to-day, in The Times of the 20th inst., Lord Robert Cecil’s letter in reply to mine, which appeared on the 18th inst. As his letter contains a reflection on my action in publishing extracts from the late Lord Salisbury’s letters to me, I hope you will allow me to make an explanation.
Mr. Chamberlain had claimed that the late Lord Salisbury had approved of his policy of preferential tariffs, while the present Lord Salisbury held that his father “had profoundly dissented from Mr. Chamberlain’s fiscal policy.”
As Lord Salisbury and his brothers had published their father’s private opinions, which may have referred more to the time and method and details of Mr. Chamberlain’s action than to the general principle of preferential tariffs, I had no reason to think that there could be any objection to publishing the late Premier’s own written words on the subject. The letters from which I quoted, although not intended for publication at the time, contained his views on a great public question, and did not relate to any person, or any private matter, and as he was not here to speak for himself, I felt that it was desirable to publish the extracts in order to show clearly what his views were.
Lord Robert Cecil says that it would have been more courteous in me to have consulted with his father’s representatives before publishing, but in view of their own action in publishing his oral, private opinions, it would seem discourteous to assume that they could, under the circumstances, desire to suppress positive evidence on a matter of grave public importance to our Empire.
Yours, etc.,
George T. Denison.
Toronto, Canada, 31st May, 1905.