Question 1
Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages.
Explain which you think is more convincing as an explanation of the attitude of the Liberal
government to Home Rule in the years from 1908 to 1912.
Passage A
The Liberal Party since 1900 had remained committed in principle to Home Rule for Ireland, despite some sections of the party regarding it as an irritating distraction. What the party leaders wanted was a more practical and less ideological approach to the issue, especially as they realised that Home Rule was impossible while the House of Lords retained its traditional powers. But it was crystal clear to the Liberal government that half-measures would not suffice – nothing less than Home Rule would be acceptable. It has been argued by many historians that Asquith’s introduction of the Home Rule Bill in 1912 was due to pressure from the Irish Nationalists and their reliance on Irish votes in the House of Commons to maintain the government in power. However, Liberal policy was, on the contrary, the logical consequence of a long-standing commitment to Ireland. Liberal leaders since the days of Gladstone’s last ministry had consistently supported Irish Home Rule in principle. Augustine Birrell, the Irish Secretary, had told Redmond, the Irish Nationalist leader, in 1909 that Home Rule was the ‘live policy of the Party without limitation or restriction’. The Liberal government was not dependent on Irish votes. Only an overwhelming belief by the Liberal Party that, for the sake of honour and conviction, it must attempt to secure Home Rule for Ireland, can explain why over the next two years it was prepared to endure the storms and stresses of another and greater Home Rule Crisis.
Paul Adelman and Robert Pearce, Great Britain and the Irish Question, published in 2005.
Passage B
The priority for the Liberal Party was not the issue of Ireland; the priority for the Liberal government was social reform and how to deal with an obstructionist House of Lords. Ireland was not a burning issue for the electorate. For the Liberals, the best policy was a gradualist approach. Liberal legislation for Britain and Ireland in this period was focused on social issues, as well as budget proposals which would, in Lloyd George’s words, hit the rich.
Following the rejection of the 1909 Liberal budget, Asquith called a General Election. He made promises to Irish nationalists in the election campaign, but this was nothing more than a tactic used to maximise the support of the Irish in England. Even this was not enough to protect the Liberal majority. As a result, the initiative was back with the Irish Party and fellow nationalists who now controlled the balance of power in Parliament. From 1911, Irish nationalists were motivated by seeing that the most significant obstacle to the passage of Irish Home Rule had been removed. The leader of the Irish Party, John Redmond, also had a personal influence with the Liberal government. Therefore, by 1911, it seemed as if the Irish nationalists were in a position to call the shots. Consequently, it could be said that the Irish nationalists, not the Liberals, were leading the policies of the Liberal government on Ireland in 1912.
Martin Collier, Britain and Ireland, 1867–1922, published in 2008.
[30]
Answer
