I am unable to accept your reference to my speech as quite accurate, but I adhere on every point to the words of the original report. I quite admit that Mr. Gladstone has given ample assurance that he will not hold any member who may vote for the Second Reading as committed thereby to a similar vote for the Second Reading of the Bill when reintroduced in October, but the question still remains whether such members will not be obliged to take this course in order to preserve their own logical consistency. Up to the present time Mr. Gladstone has given no indication whatever that the Bill to be presented in October will be materially different from the Bill now before the House. On the contrary, he has distinctly stated that he will not depart from the main outlines of the present measure. It is, however, to the main outlines of the present Bill that the opposition of my friends and myself has been directed, and it appears to me that we should be stultifying ourselves if we were to abstain at the last moment from giving effect to our conscientious convictions. We are ready to accept as a principle the expediency of establishing some kind of legislative authority in Ireland subject to the conditions which Mr. Gladstone himself has laid down, but we honestly believe that none of these conditions are satisfactorily secured by the plan which has been placed before us. I share your apprehension as to the General Election at the present time; but the responsibility for this must, I think, rest with those who will have brought in and forced to a division a Bill which, in the words of Mr. Bright, "not twenty members outside the Irish party would support if Mr. Gladstone's great authority were withdrawn from it."--I am, yours very truly, J. CHAMBERLAIN. _P.S._--As I understand that many Radical members are cognisant of your letter, I propose to send it together with my reply for publication in the _Times_. {356} _Mr. Labouchere to Mr. Chamberlain_ 10 QUEEN ANNE'S GATE, June 5, 1886. MY DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Yes, I thought of publishing if you were to agree--but if not--I rather think it would not conduce to the Second Reading. It might even if you said that you would advise others to abstain, or something of that sort. The G.O.M. will die rather than withdraw his Bill, but he might perhaps be induced to adjourn the debate until autumn, if you were to suggest this. I am off to Twickenham, as I have Palto and Ellen Terry coming down, who (thank God) probably have never heard of the infernal Bill. Randolph is, I believe, coming, but I suppose it is no use asking you to join such frivolous society. My conviction is that the Radicals are damned for years if we are defeated to-morrow. If you can write anything comforting, and send it here tomorrow morning, I will tell some one here to bring it down at once to Pope's Villa.--Yours truly, H. LABOUCHERE. [1] The _Times_, January 4, 1886.