" In the same spirit Mr. Austen
Chamberlain, in a speech at Skipton a fortnight later, ridiculed any
concession that fell short of the exclusion of Ulster from the Irish
Parliament, and asserted that what the policy of the Government amounted
to was that England was to conquer a province and hold it down at the
expense of her friends for the benefit of her enemies.[59]
Public attention was, however, not allowed to concentrate wholly on
Ireland. The Radicals, instigated by Sir John Brunner, President of the
National Liberal Federation, were doing their best to prevent the
strengthening of the Navy, the time being opportune for parsimony in Mr.
Lloyd George's opinion because our relations with Germany were "far more
friendly than for years past."[60] The militant women suffragists were
carrying on a lively campaign of arson and assault all over the country.
Labour unrest was in a condition of ferment. Land agitation was exciting
the "single-taxers" and other fanatics; and the Tariff question had not
ceased to be a cause of division in the Unionist Party.
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