[Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Austen Chamberlain.') to his neighbour 'Mr Kynnersley', declining to part with 'a piece of the meadow', suggesting that his tenant acquire an allotment instead.

Author: 
Austen Chamberlain [Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain] (1863-1937), Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer [Thomas Clement Sneyd Kynnersley (1803-1892) of Moor Green, Moseley, Birmingham]
Publication details: 
6 November 1889. On letterhead of Highbury, Moor Green, Birmingham.
£56.00
SKU: 22532

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded twice. The letter, which deals with domestic matters, but has some interest considering the writer's father's views on land reform, is written a year after Chamberlain's return from his studies in Germany, where he had been alarmed by the rise in Prussian militarism, and with him on the verge of his entry into politics in the footsteps of his father Joseph Chamberlain. (He was also the older half-brother of the future Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.) It begins: 'Dear Mr. Kynnersley, | I cannot see my way to parting with a piece of the meadow as wished by your tenant, & I still think that his wants would really be met by an allotment. They are within half a minutes walk of his cottage & some of the present holders grow roses & other flowers on them.' Chamberlain's offer is for the tenant to consider, and he only made it 'because I was anxious to meet your wishes as far as possible'.