Edinburgh. - Have received Mr Balfour's opinion on the Memorial which was submitted to him for Sir Charles Trevelyan; encloses copy [no longer present]. Since his opinion is favourable, he has prepared a draft note of suspension and interdict against Messrs Edmondston & Douglas and their printers Messrs Thomas and Archibald Constable; a telegraph should be sent if the interdict should be applied for at once. Date of Lord Macaulay's will also requested.
Edinburgh. - Thanks for the letters and copy correspondence; think they now have 'sufficient information... to get a satisfactory opinion from Mr [John?] Balfour, to whom they are sending the papers today with a request that he give it 'with the least possible delay'. Think that the court will not require the production and discussion of each separate letter but that a 'general assessment as to the character of the letters' should suffice; asks however for the date and place of writing for each letter, for the purpose of identification.
Edinburgh. - Have received yesterday's letter and the copy correspondence accompanying it. Sets out how Scottish law seems to differ from English in respect to copyright, with an extended quotation from George Joseph Bell's Commentaries. They have made enquiries and believe that Edmonston & Douglas are Napier's publishers, and that they are currently communicating with their printers 'with a view to publishing some of the letters [by Lord Macaulay] in question]. To prevent this, 'the legal remedy afforded by our Courts is an Interdict against the Publishers'; 'distinct particulars of the letters in question' are requested in case this course must be taken.
Before taking any definite action, they wish to 'lay the whole matter before some good counsel here, such as Mr [John?] Balfour. They will watch for advertisements put out by Napier.
Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Has given the poem to Caroline. Glad to hear that Julian is all right. Thinks the garden here is currently 'as splendid as any garden [he has] ever seen'; Keith 'takes an artist's pleasure in it'. Will not be able to send game for a while, as Sir George can only manage two or three hours grouse shooting now and Charles will not be here this week. Asquith has 'done magnificently'. Future dangers are 'national bankruptcy and disorder'. He and Lord Kinross once got through a long coal strike in the West of Scotland without one breach of order, though it drove the Chief Constable to suicide. Disorder should 'never be allowed'.