Letters to Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott from various family members, September 1913 - September 1930 - Part 9

4.
I thought this trip would
be good for Patty. She is
having a trying time - I am
afraid Martin though he
worked like a nigger all the
Summer at a Mine has
only gained health by it
& no money. It is too high
up to work ther any longer
as the snow has come & he
has gone off to see what the
Dry Belt of B.C. is like.
It is not easy to get a job
but I have some hopes that he
may get a job with some big
people who are interested
in Mining as their Engineer
However nothing will be done
now out there till the Spring.
It is hard on both Martin
& Patty to have to write
 

& to be separated but I
hope something will turn up
before very long -

Now I hope you will not be
tired of reading all this
& will write me a nice
long letter all about
your affairs & your family
With very kindest rememberances
from us all &
the best possible wishes for
Xmas the coming year.
Yours affecly Cousin
Emily J. Lloyd Edwards.

Dear Cousin Harold.
I have more leisure for writing
than usual this afternoon, so will

start a letter to you, beginning with
thanks for yr. last to me, dated Nov.1 s^st.
This winter has been rather a trying one-
first a long spell of damp, not v. cold
weather (wh personally makes me feel v. slack)
then a lot of frost and a certain  amount
of snow, wh I much preferred, tho' we feel
the cold a good deal in this little
house - Now we are having hot sun and
biting winds, regular March weather.
Nurse & I have been able to start gardening, 
and the place looks fairly tidy - A good
many of the spring things -(violets &c.) have
been spoiled by the frost and wind but
flowers are beginning to open - I have a nice
lot of Iris Stefosa (white), wh. don't always
bloom - and a few Iris Ruticulata (dark
blue & gold) wh. we always prize very much,
as they come so early. They are about a
month late this year. I wonder how
[* release. Everybody thought our Miss O. would be worn out
& die first. I was
v. glad to hear
you were all well
and the children
getting on well with
their studies. I hope the same
happy state of
things continues.
Do they grow
fast ? I expect
Neil will be a
big man like
yourself. Nurse
wishes to be kindly
remembered to you.

She is as energetic
as ever.
yr. affecate Cousin
Martha T

your garden is doing - I suppose it looks
like a long-established one by this time
if the trees &c grow so fast. I wonder if
you have finished your tours in the
other states - it must have been interesting
work I should think and I hope
yr. investigations were satisfactory-
The Committee of Public Accounts sounds
rather dull (!) but is no doubt a  very
important and necessary. I hope you
managed to appease yr. partners. It
must indeed be difficult to carry on
both public and private duties and, do,
justice to both. I see that yr. Coalition
Govt. is dissolved - at least so I gathered
from yesterdays "Times" - How long does
you Senatorship last? I suppose you
will stand for re-election when the time
is up. Our politics are in rather a
queer condition now - It seems absurd
to have a Party in power without a
majority, and I think the Labour Party
have been treated with too much indulgence
by the others. There seems to me,
a sort of air of watching an interesting
experiment, or a new dog trying to do it's

tricks, and ' let the poor fellows have a 
chance, they can't do much harm' - In the
meantime Mr. Ramsay Macdonald is lying
low & pretending that his principles are
everything  they are not, no doubt hoping

2
(Domestic Science)(County Council) school
near Shrewsbury this winter to try to
learn household matters (cooking and so on)
but had to return to look after her
mother. Lily is much about the same
I believe. The baby is said to be a darling
and has teeth. Alicia Carter spent
Xmas in Switzerland - she went there to
meet her son & daughterinlaw & family
who were spending a short leave there from
India - Poor Alicia had been in bed with
bad sciatica in the autumn, so it was
rather brave of her to go - They had horrid
weather and Alec's wife got a v. bad
chill & had to spend some time in a

Nursing Home. Martha Hammersley & her
husband hope to return to England in the
summer for a time. M. must miss the
children dreadfully, but has been having
a good time at Simla & touring much

with Harold. Anne had a nasty accident
a month or two ago - she slipped on
the stairs on her dog's ball & slithered
down to the bottom and bruised her back

v. badly. She had to go to bed for a time.
Fortunately there was no serious damage, but
she still feels the effects of the fall.

Our old governess, Miss Ottaway, who has been
nursing an older sister for years, is coming
to live with me again- The sister died
a week or two ago - a most merciful

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that at the next General election he will

be returned with a majority in view of 

his good record. The fact that there is 

a Socialist Govt. in power is encouraging

Labour unrest too- it seems hard that 

just when Trade was beginning to revive

a little, all these strikes and threats of 

strikes should nip it in the bud- it was 

a pity Mr. Baldwin didn't let Protection
alone - I gather that you are in favour of
it, but whatever its merits for other countries
I feel sure it would do harm in 
England. I saw a letter in some paper
from an American not long ago, wh said
that we ought to be thonkful that Protection
didn't win the day, for Protection was
largely responsible for a great deal of the
corruption in American politics - However
after all, a Socialist Govt could probably
do even more harm.
Emily Edwards has been laid up for 5 or
6 weeks with influenza & laringitis-
but I hear has at last been able to
get downstairs - They have had even severer
weather than we have, so she was wise
I think not to try to leave her room too 
soon. but Patty was beginning to feel
a little anxiety at her staying in bed
so long. When I last heard, she had
not recovered her voice, but I hope she
has by this time. Patty went to us
2DRL/0513

Cross-park
Mortonhampstead
Devon. 
Nov. 18^th 1926.
Dear cousin Harold,
I think it must be about 
time to write and wish and
yours a very happy Christmas
and New Year- This has been
rather a trying year for England,
but I hope Australia has been

more fortunate - I seem to have
v. little time to study the papers
now.a.days, so dont know much
about what has been happening
Overseas and in foreign parts- S
Sometimes something about strikes
catches my eye, but I hope they
are only fleeting ones - it is too
bad that our working men let
themselves be led by the nose by
[*these drawbacks. I am very anxious to use Empire
products as much as possible,
especially from 
those parts of it
in wh I am especially
interested.
This is a long 
letter - I doubt if
you will have
time to read it.
The very best  of
wishes to yrself
and your family
from
yr. affecate cousin
Martha T.*]

mischievious 'Bolshevists' such as
have brought about the continuance
of the present Coal Strike - They say,

with some justice I suppose, that 
they haven't time to study for themselves
and pay these people to
think for them - but they might
use a little commonsense - I
think the General Strike did teach
a few Leaders some lessons
but they are too afraid of each
other to have the courage of their
convictions - of course Mr. Cook and
his like are delighted to think
that some of the coal fields will
have to close down and so many
more peop men thrown more or less
permanently out of work. They
thrive on discontent and distress.
Everything seems topsy turvey now.a.days.
I wonder what our practical
forefathers would have thought
if they could have seen their
descendants financing and enabling
the men who were trying to ruin

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country to [[?]] hold out. That
is what it really comes to.
Everyone is hoping that the Govt. will 

amend the Trade Union laws,

but they are taking a long time a.

bout it. I intended, where in Wales

to write and tell you the latest 

news of the Trevor people. I was there

for nearly 7 weeks, but had not 

much time for writing- Emily Edwards 

was bothered for months with a 

badly inflamed eye, wh prevented 

her from reading or writing. Hardly

almost entirely- so those with her 

had to do that for her- Finally

she went to a good eye specialist

at Shrewsbury, who discovered that

she was suffering from 'Iritis' and 

that it was brought on by septic

teeth- She had her mouth X-rayed

and 3 taken out, and spent a week

in a Nursing Home at Shrewsbury for

treatment. Emily has been getting 

better ever since- when I left the 

improvement was v. marked, tho'

she still was not allowed to read 

or write, and now I hear that her

eye is so much better that she will

not have to go to the Oculist again

for some weeks. I felt a wretch to

leave her, but I could not remain

for an indefinite time as I had 

lots of things to see to at home.

She would not hear of getting a 

companion as long as I stayed and 

it was really necessary that she 

should, so I came home on Oct 28^th

E. has a girl now ^ to help her a friend of 

Dora's (Mrs. J.C.), and is I am sure

finding the comfort of having a 

secretary & someone to read to her.

My own eyes and throat are so 

weak that I was not as useful

in that way as I could have wished.

I liked J.C.'s wife very much-

I had only seen her for a couple of 

days before, so she was practically

a stranger. She seems a very

sweet and gentle- natured girl &

they are very happy at Bryn Oerog.

Perhaps you didn't hear that 

Major Edwards decided to leave

Oerog, which was rather too much