In particular, you have omitted to quote the first and most material part of my letter of yesterday. Yours very sincerely, (Sd.) H. H. ASQUITH. In the meantime, I feel sure that you will see the obvious necessity, in the public interest, of not publishing, at this moment, any part of our correspondence. WAR OFFICE, S.W. _December 5th, 1916._ MY DEAR PRIME MINISTER, I cannot announce my resignation without assigning the reason. Your request that I should not publish the correspondence that led up to and necessitated it places me therefore in an embarrassing and unfair position. I must give reasons for the grave step I have taken. If you forbid publication of the correspondence, do you object to my stating in another form my version of the causes that led to my resigning? Yours sincerely, (Sd.) D. LLOYD GEORGE. As to the first part of your letter, the publication of the letter would cover the whole ground. 10 DOWNING STREET, S.W. _December 5th, 1916._ MY DEAR LLOYD GEORGE, It may make a difference to you (in reply to your last letter) if I tell you at once that I have tendered my resignation to the King. In any case, I should deprecate in the public interest the publication in its present form at this moment of your letter to me of this morning. Of course, I have neither the power nor the wish to prevent your stating in some other form the causes which led you to take the step which you have taken. Yours very sincerely, (Sd.) H. H. ASQUITH. APPENDIX C THE PEACE CONFERENCE THE CRITICAL RUSSIAN DEBATE OF JANUARY, 1919 _Bullitt Exhibit No. 14_ McD. I.C. 114. Secretaries’ notes of a conversation held in M. Pichon’s room, at the Quai D’Orsay, on Tuesday, January 21st, 1919, at 15 hours (3 p.m.). _Present:_ _United States of America._—President Wilson, Mr. R. Lansing, Mr. A. H. Frazier, Colonel U. S. Grant, Mr. L. Harrison. _British Empire._—The Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, the Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, Lieut.-Col. Sir M. P. A. Hankey, K.C.B., Major A. M. Caccia, M.V.O., Mr. E. Phipps. _France._—M. Clemenceau, M. Pichon, M. Dutasta, H. Berthelot, Captain A. Potier. _Italy._—Signor Orlando, H. E. Baron Sonnino, Count Aldrovandi, Major A. Jones. _Japan._—Baron Makino, H. E. M. Matsui, M. Saburi. _Interpreter._—Prof. P. J. Mantoux.