On July 20th Mr.Asquith sent a letter to Mr.
Balfour stating that the King had guaranteed that he would exercise his prerogative to secure that the Bill should be passed substantially as it left the Commons.

On the 24th the extreme section of the Tory party, headed by Lord Hugh Cecil, refused to allow the Prime Minister a hearing in the House of Commons.
From an Irish point of view the episode was noteworthy.

At the outset of this critical session Redmond had cautioned his party to abstain from giving provocation and from allowing themselves to be provoked.

The counsel was the harder to follow because some of the most vehement of the younger Tories sat below the gangway, almost in physical contact with Irish members, and hot words passed.

Still, it was grounded into all that we should not allow the great issue then at trial to be represented as an Irish quarrel.