ABSTRACT
The Duke of Devonshire believed that the reception accorded Balfour's introduction of the Education Bill was 'just right, certainly without too much enthusiasm' but his view was not shared by others. l Sir William Anson felt the Bill was 'somewhat sketchy and half-hearted' while another observer thought that the measure 'bristles with difficulties' and would be beyond the power of the government to pass.2 Gorst, going to Cheltenham to recuperate from a debilitating attack of influenza which had prevented his contribution to the Bill's introduction, told Jebb that he wondered if the Cabinet had the 'pluck and steadfastness' to ensure that it reached the Statute Book.3 And Jebb, sharing Gorst's fear and with it the spectre of a possible repetition of 1896, instigated a meeting of Unionist MPs in mid-April which then forwarded a resolution to Balfour urging him to take the Second Reading as soon as possible while, at the same time, pledging him their complete assistance to ensure that the Bill was a success.
