A collection of letters charting a turbulent period in British politics will be sold at auction after being found in an old filing cabinet.

The 44 letters, dating from 1882-86, were written by leading radical Liberal politicians during the turmoil over Irish Home Rule which caused a split in the party.

They were discovered in a cabinet bought by a Moray pensioner for only £10.

The notes give an insight into the bitter in-fighting in the Liberal Party and criticise the then prime minister William Gladstone over his stance in advancing Irish Home Rule.

They were written by leading political figures of the day, including government minister Joseph Chamberlain – the father of wartime prime minister Neville Chamberlain – Sir Charles Dilke, John Bright and Henry Labouchere.

All were sent to Francis Schnadhorst, a Birmingham draper who became the first secretary of the National Liberal Federation.

The collection will go under the hammer at the Elgin Auction Centre, in Moray, next Wednesday.

Manager Gordon Pirie said: "These letters were found in an old filing cabinet a customer bought somewhere else for £10. He is 73 years old and has not been in good health recently, so he feels it is time to sell them.

"They are a fascinating snapshot of the politics of the time and there has already been interest shown in them."

In one letter, dated April 1886, Mr Chamberlain states: "The Liberal Party is going forward to certain disaster unless some steps are taken immediately to reunite us by mutual concession."

Within two years he had resigned from the government and created the rival Liberal Unionist Association where he continued to pursue his radical policies.