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Your Lordship's offer would.. be supported by the votes
the Officials and would thus
be carried..
I have been told that
even had the official members
voted they would have voted against
the proposal. Of course I am
unable to say
what would have
been the result had a division
taken place, but as a matter
of abstract conjecture it
d... appear to be a matter
of regard to a
Civil servant aware of the
ordinary practice in
matters having the weight of
the initiative of the Secretary
of State and his promised..
sanction, the probabilities were
all the other way, more
especially as the result of the vote would
not have been to bind any of
the members opposed to the proposal on personal grounds to
its acceptance in their
case, but merely to enable
Your Lordship's offer to
become effective in the case
of those who desired to accept it.
I have the honour to
point out to Your Lordship that the offer being of a give and take kind required promptitude.
was