Letter from C.P. Scott to L.T. Hobhouse (1864-1929), social philosopher and journalist, noting that he declined the Chair at the first meeting of the Friends of Russian Freedom, offered by a Mrs Weirs, due to his wife's ill-health, describing in detail the seriousness of her current condition. Scott discusses a meeting with Charles Williams, gardener and politician, with Williams denying that any unnecessary killing by the British troops [in South Africa] had occurred.
Scott notes how [Joseph] Chamberlain, politician, was told by Dr Clarke, concessionaire of the legality of the dynamite monopoly according to the London Convention [1884] and it providing a means of manufacturing explosives within South Africa, with Scott promising to raise the issue with Montagu White, representative of the government of the South African Republic. He talks of moving the adjournment of the House [of Commons] if necessary to raise attention to the issue, noting how White views [Alfred] Milner, public servant and politician, rather than [Joseph] Chamberlain, politician, as the real danger. Asks for advice on choosing a secretary for gathering material for the forthcoming debates, positing either Clarke or [J.A.] Hobson, social theorist and economist, for the role.