Lord Curzon, who spoke, also made a spirited defence of
Lord Lansdowne's Bill. We regret to say, however, that he described as an absurd misconception the notion that it might be possible to have some form of compromise by which the Government accepted the Unionists' Reform Bill and the Unionists accepted the Government's Parliament Bill. Of course, if by this Lord Curzon means that the Unionists are to pretend that they like the Parliament Bill, and that they do not mean to substitute for it the Referendum at the earliest possible date, then Lord Curzon is quite right. If, however, he means that the Parliament Bill plus the creation of five hundred peers is better than the Parliament Bill plus Lord Lansdowne's Bill but minus the creation of five hundred peers, then we hold him to be absolutely wrong.
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