Letter from John W. Dulanty to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(Secret and Confidential)

I¹ saw Mr. Thomas at his room in the House of Commons today and informed him that Mr. Joseph McGrath² had given an undertaking that the issue of the circulars complained of by the British Government would cease forthwith. I asked to be supplied with copies of the seized circulars and Mr. Thomas promised to do this.

That matter having been disposed of, Mr. Thomas said how sorry he was to see the line that the President had taken in reference to his Constitutional Club speech. I said that since Mr. Thomas himself had initiated the conversation on this point I took the liberty to say how amazed I was at the matter and the tone of his Constitutional Club speech. He would remember that he had recently asked me to turn over in my mind his own suggestion that he might meet the President privately. How in the name of reason could he expect the President to waste time or thought on such a suggestion in view of the Constitutional Club speech?

Mr. Thomas seemed greatly disconcerted at this. He got up from his chair, and pacing to and fro in his room asked that some consideration should be had to his difficulties. At the Constitutional Club he was in the enemy's camp. They and many others in the Conservative party had attacked him for what they described as weakness in his attitude towards the Irish question. He had considered very carefully what he should say and he was very disappointed to find the President taking the line he did. He had in mind the suggestion of a private conference and he quite thought that the President might have said 'I too believe in the sanctity of agreements', and then, said Mr. Thomas, 'I should have said - ?very well, let us meet quietly and privately and let us see whether we cannot bridge the gulf between us.?' He seemed rather depressed, and I did not feel that at that moment any good would be gained by entering into argument with him. I had expressed myself in fairly strong terms at the beginning and Mr. Thomas said that just before I had entered his room he had promised to go down to Mr. MacDonald as soon as he possibly could. I got the impression that he was reluctant to discuss the subject.

He walked with me part of the way out of the House and said that he had not yet received the memorandum which he had suggested I should submit to him on the question of an adjustment of the cattle duties. He said that he was a little doubtful whether the figures I had quoted (figures supplied by the Departments of Finance and Agriculture) were accurate, but he would like to explore the question further and for that reason would be glad if I would submit the memorandum for which he had already asked. At this point Mr. Ramsay MacDonald joined Mr. Thomas and no further conversation took place.³