Chamberlain, and Mr. Goschen.
My conversion was not in any way sought by my new friends and chiefs at
_The Spectator_ office, though they at once took the Unionist side.
I have no doubt, however, that my intercourse with Hutton and Townsend
had its effect, though I also think that my mind was naturally Unionist
in politics. I was already a Lincoln worshipper in American history and
desired closer union with the Dominions, not separation. I was for
concentration, not dispersion, in the Empire. In any case, I took the
plunge, one which might have been painful if my father had not been the
most just, the most fair-minded, and the most kind-hearted of men.
Although he was an intense, nay, a fierce Gladstonian, I never had the
slightest feeling of estrangement from him or he from me. It happened,
however, that the break-up of the Liberal Party affected me greatly at
_The Spectator_. When the election of 1886 took place, I was asked
by a friend and Somersetshire neighbour, Mr. Henry Hobhouse, who had
become, like me, a Liberal Unionist, to act as his election agent. This
I did, though, as a matter of fact, he was unopposed. The moment he was
declared elected I made out my return as election agent and went
straight back to my work in London.
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