Lord HUGH CECIL, like _Harlequin_, smote everyone impartially, one
of his most telling strokes being the remark that the PRIME MINISTER
could not distinguish between the art of winning an election and the
art of governing a country; but otherwise his performance was about on
a par with that of Mr. JACK JONES, who spoke against the Amendment
and voted for it. Mr. BONAR LAW'S declaration that the Bill, however
unacceptable to Ireland at the moment, furnished the only hope of
ultimate settlement, coupled with the Ulster leader's promise that,
much as he loathed the idea of a separate Parliament, he would work
it for all he was worth, carried the day. Mr. ASQUITH'S Amendment was
knocked out by 259 to 55.
In subsequent Amendments other Members attempted to emphasise the idea
of ultimate union by calling the statutory bodies "Councils" instead
of "Parliaments," and by setting up a single Senate to control them
both. But they did not meet with acceptance. Captain ELLIOTT thought
the first as absurd as the idea that you could make two dogs agree
by chaining them together, and Mr. LONG dismissed the second with the
remark (which shows how rapidly his political education has advanced
since the Parliament Act) that he was in great doubt as to whether a
Second Chamber was in itself a protection for minorities.
[Illustration: A PROTESTING CONVERT.