Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. [Illustration: RT. HON. DAVID LLOYD GEORGE] THE MIRRORS OF DOWNING STREET SOME POLITICAL REFLECTIONS BY A GENTLEMAN WITH A DUSTER (Harold Begbie) "_Right and wrong are in the nature of things. They are not words and phrases. They are in the nature of things, and if you transgress the laws laid down, imposed by the nature of things, depend upon it you will pay the penalty_." JOHN MORLEY. _ILLUSTRATED_ G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The Knickerbocker Press 1921 COPYRIGHT, 1921 BY G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS _Printed in the United States of America_ PUBLISHERS' NOTE America and England have worked and fought together and have brought to a successful conclusion the great war in defence of civilization against a military imperialism which was threatening to dominate the world. They have now responsibilities together in connection with the measures needed to assure the continued peace of the world and to secure, particularly for the smaller states and for communities not in a position to become independent nations, the protection of their liberties, to which they have as assured a right as that asserted by a state of first importance which can support its claims with great armies. In this work of helping to adjust the present urgent problems of the world, England is demanding cooperation from America. America could not if she would, and would not if she could, escape her responsibilities, as the strongest nation in the world, a nation standing for the rights of men, for leadership in the family of nations. With these joint responsibilities resting upon England and America, the personalities of the men who have during the past few years had in their hands the direction of the affairs of the United Kingdom and of the great British Commonwealth must possess an assured interest for every intelligent American.