London, 7 October 1870. My dear Fox You will not be surprised that as I am on the point of leaving a heap of things come to my mind which I should like to put down in writing, as I am pretty sure to forget them on the way out. However, they must all take their chance; nor is there anything, that I know, of much importance that has not been attended to. I notice that in the Financial debates Vogel said the Commissioners would probably be instructed to try for another short guarantee for the whole four millions instead of the long actual guarantee given. I do not envy the ambassador who goes to the Treasury here with that proposition, especially if he has the misfortune to be at all sanguine of success. But the mere fact of the idea being entertained by you all shows as plainly as possible that you think there was really no difficulty in our getting the million guaranteed, and that we should only have to ask for the other three in order to get them. We must of course accept this, but I should not be doing right if I encouraged any hope of the man who comes next being able to obtain anything more. I see from Vogel's letter that came by last mail (dated early August) via California, that he blames us, apparently, for not having completed the Nelson & Cobden. Railway affair. You will have long ago heard how Brogden and Lancaster went off at the last: but you should realise the fact that the fault was really Curtis's, not ours. If