Mr. Asquith dealt respectfully with the arguments of Lord Hugh
Cecil, but maintained that though serious they had all been used in the discussion of the Irish Church Bill and, with one exception, had all been overruled and overridden by con- siderations of policy. That exception was the argument that the Church of England was being dismembered, but he regarded it as unthinkable that after Disestablishment and the separation of the Welsh dioceses there would be any serious obstacle to an intimate co-operation and friendly union for all Church purposes. He admitted that the Church had done excellent work in the lifetime of this generation, but she had lost her golden opportunity; some opportunities never recurred ; and for more than a generation the people bad shown by their persistent demands that they were determined to secure complete religious equality.
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