A passage in Mr. Balfour's speech on Mr. Cave's amend-
ment seems to have caused some remark. Mr. Balfour noted that the charge had been brought against Unionist leaders that " we supported this idea of the Referendum suddenly, without adequate reflection, and under the stress and im- mediate necessities of the General Election. Hon. gentlemen below the gangway might be ignorant of the true facts of the case, but the Prime Minister could not be so ignorant. He knows perfectly well that the subject of the Referendum was a matter anxiously considered by the leaders of the Unionist Party for months before the General Election." These remarks were greeted with cries of " Now the cat's out or 0, bag 1" and " At the Conference !" To these remarks le,
four added: "I referred to the Referendum long before the Conference."
Previous page
