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24 Feb 16 LANSDOWNE HOUSE, BEKELEY SQUARE, W. Dear Lady Londonderry You will
have been disappointed at
the Dorsetshire decision, but I think it
was inevitable. Shaftesbury was ready to give up
Antrim, and could therefore not be ruled
out, because he was already L.L. of that
County. This obstacle once removed, I am afraid
it must be admitted that Shaftesbury's
claims were stronger than Stavy's He was heavily
backed in the county, and , in these days
when the L.L. has so much to do with
the Territorial Force, his military position
as a cavalry Brig. Genl could not be
overlooked - If he had been passed over
in favour of Stavy, I am afraid there
would
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would have been a good deal of
squealing. This requires no answer, but I
wished you to know that I was not
indifferent. Yours ever Lansdowne
A letter from Henry Charles Fitzmaurice (1845-1927) to Lady Londonderry (1878-1959).
This letter refers to Lansdowne's expectation that Lady Londonderry will have been
disappointed by the 'Dorsetshire decision'. He writes so that Lady Londonderry knows
that he is 'not indifferent'. This letter is part of a series of correspondence belonging
to Lady Londonderry, the wife of Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1852-1915),
sixth marquess of Londonderry. Lady Londonderry was appointed colonel-in-chief of
the Women's Volunteer Reserve also an active figure in British politics. Her correspondence
includes many important figures in literature, the arts, the military, law and the
church. This letter was written by Henry Charles Keith Petty Fitzmaurice, fifth marquess
of Lansdowne, a prominent British politician who served in the wartime coalition ministry
of H.H. Asquith. Lansdowne came to believe that victory in the war was impossible
and his views o the matter led to the collapse of the government in December 1916.
On 29 November 1917 he published his views in the 'Lansdowne Letter'.