LORD CARSON
• [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Doubtless Mr. Rees does not mean the references to Lord Carson which he makes in his criticism of the play Oscar Wilde to be interpreted very strictly ; none the less it seems to me that they should not pass without protest.
"Carson, who was always on the side of wrong, in the Queensberry trial was on the top of his form," he writes. That is an assertion which a moment's consideration should have corrected. Was Lord Carson upon the side of wrong when he defended young Areher-Shee against the harsh and autocratic treatment of the Board of Admiralty ?
"Upon the side of wrong" is more than saying upon the wrong side ; it implies a deliberate preference for evil, and this in connexion with a man of Carson's calibre is iust ridiculous. And further, leaving out of the question all reference to his politics, though I am myself a passionate admirer of them, upon what grounds does Mr. Rees claim that Lord Carson was upon the side of wrong in his defence of Lord Queensberry?
It is not in any way to condone the savage treatment meted out to Wilde, to point out that in attempting to send Lord Queensberry to gaol for saying what he perfectly well knew to be strictly true, he was guilty of hypocrisy and abuse of justice. Lord Carson accepted Queensberry's brief with reluctance, and, after the first trial of Wilde, actually interceded on his behalf with a view to obviating fresh proceedings.
But, apart from all such detaiLs, throughout a long and arduous life Lord Carson proved himself a man of the very highest principles and devotion, ever loyal, ever chivalrous, without thought for himself, without fear, and without reproach. He, just as much as Oscar Wilde, is entitled to the defence of his reputation.—I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
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