WCP664

[1]

Private

August 8/[18]62

My dear D^r Wallace

I am extremely obliged for your long & very kind letter of yesterday¹; I am extremely sorry to hear that you will be unable to attend on Monday— I regretted this when I began your letter, I regretted it still more when I had finished it as I am quite sure that the presence of any one who takes so dispassionate & unbiased a view of the points in dispute could not fail to exercise a very beneficial effect on the tone of the discussion— Could you get off your existing engagement? Of course not, if there is a lady in the case, but otherwise if I were you I would certainly make the effort. — If the offer of a bed here on Monday night, would be any inducement one shall readily be at your service — & you need not on that account consider yourself in anyway bound to support my views one iota further than you like[.]

With respect to your explanations of your views I would simply make a few general remarks[.]

The Council has not asked the General Meeting to express any view on the subject & consequently had furnished no data— Who it was that asked the members to express an opinion at all, I cannot say, unless it was the Curator[.]

The Council had not dismissed him, they had simply passed a resolution implying they were [2] about to dismiss him — they were quite willing to listen to any amount of argument & expostulation & had never given the slightest intimation that they would not do so.

So shoot certain people out of the Council for fear that they should otherwise condemn a man unheard, was to do that very act, which it was feared might otherwise be committed. It was a case of hanging on suspicion that the man might commit murder — rather an Irish proceeding.

There may be force in what you say about it more prudent to have avowed the true reason of our motion; the fact was we wished to be as little unpleasant as possible to M^r Janson² & it was Professor Westwood³ who suggested the report of the Library & Cabinet Committee as a basis of action.

I have no doubt from what I know of M^r Janson’s peculiar idiosyncrasies, he would have considered in either case that the very course adopted would be the most unpleasant to him[.]

I consider my notice of motion will serve as a peg on which to raise a discussion which will exhaust the subject, I am not so wedded to any particular phraseology as to deem it incapable of alteration & improvement, but trust that the collective wisdom of the Council may devise some plan of restoring the Society to a state of peace & harmony.

Again thanking you for your letter in which there is nothing at which the most fastidious could take offense.