John Morley: “Can it be supposed that in these circumstances they will long refrain, or possibly refrain at all?”

Could ministers justify abandonment, without far stronger evidence than they then possessed that they could not govern the Transvaal peaceably?

My desire is thoroughly to shake up all the materials of the question.

This is no mere case of barren wrangle and verbal recrimination.

If I were going to remain Indian Secretary for some time to come, my every effort would be devoted to an abatement of that enormous amount of writing.