But the real fact was, as every member of the House of
Commons fully realised, that Mr. Asquith was not a free agent in this
matter. The Nationalists were not at all pleased at the attempts already
made, trivial as they were, to satisfy Ulster, and Mr. Redmond protested
against the promise of an Amending Bill of any kind. Mr. Asquith could
make no proposal sufficient to allay the hostility of Ulster that would
not alienate the Nationalists, whose support was essential to the
continuance of his Government in office.
On the same day as this debate in Parliament the result of a by-election
at Grimsby was announced in which the Unionist candidate retained the
seat; a week later the Unionists won a seat in Derbyshire; and two days
afterwards crowned these successes with a resounding victory at Ipswich.
The last-mentioned contest was considered so important that Mr. Lloyd
George and Sir Edward Carson went down to speak the evening before the
poll for their respective sides. Mr. Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, made his appeal to the cupidity of the constituency, which
was informed that it would gain L15,000 a year from his new Budget, in
addition to large sums, of which he gave the figure, for old age
pensions and under the Government's Health Insurance Act.
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