The Prime Minister next vehemently repudiated the insinua- tion that
the Government were provoking conflict with the Lords for party or tactical purposes. They were in deadly earnest, and would rather go down in the assertion of their rights than linger on as the shadow of a Government without authority or power. The time for expostulation had gone by; they must give the House of Lords to understand that, whilst they were perfectly ready to legislate with due deliberation and give every weight to their representations, the British people must be masters in their own house. Speaking at Exeter on the following day in reply to an address presented by the local Liberals, Sir H. Campbell. Bannermanobserved that there was no reason why they should be "hustled and bustled into a General Election." The sentiment is legitimate enough, but it fails to meet the
criticism that the Government are deliberately adopting a plan of campaign which makes Dissolution in the near future a matter of necessity.
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