Had the War Office made up its mind what to do with General Gough and the other cavalry officers when they arrived in London?  The inference to be drawn from the correspondence published by the Government makes it appear probable that the first intention was to punish these officers severely pour encourager les autres.  An officer to replace Gough had actually been appointed and sent to Ireland, though Mr. Asquith denied in the House of Commons that the offending generals had been dismissed.  But, if that was the intention, it was abandoned.  The reason is not plain; but the probability is that it had been discovered that sympathy with Gough was widespread in the Army, and that his dismissal would bring about very numerous resignations.  It was said that a large part of the Staff of the War Office itself would have laid down their commissions, and that Aldershot would have been denuded of officers.[74] Colonel Seely himself described it as a “situation of grave peril to the Army."[75]

Anyhow, no disciplinary action of any kind was taken.  It was decided to treat the matter as one of “misunderstanding,” and when Gough and his brother officers appeared at the War Office on Monday the 23rd they were told that it was all a mistake to suppose that the Government had ever intended warlike operations against Ulster (the orders to the fleet had been cancelled by wireless on the 21st), and that they might return at once to their commands, with the assurance that they would not be required to serve against Ulster Loyalists.  General Gough, who before leaving Ireland had asked Sir A. Paget for a clear definition in writing of the duties that officers would be expected to perform if they went to Ulster,[76] thought that in view of the “misunderstanding” it would be wise to have Colonel Seely’s assurance also in black and white.  Seely had to hurry off to a Cabinet Meeting, and in his absence the Adjutant-General reduced to writing the verbal statement of the Secretary of State.  A very confused story about the subsequent fortunes of this piece of paper made it the central mystery round which raged angry debates.  This much, however, is not doubtful.  Seely went from the Cabinet to Buckingham Palace; when he returned to Downing Street the paper was there, but the Cabinet had broken up.  He looked at the paper, saw that it did not accurately reproduce the assurance he had verbally given to Gough, and with the help of Lord Morley he thereupon added two paragraphs (which Mr. Balfour designated “the peccant paragraphs”) to make it conform to his promise.  The addition so made was the only part of the document that gave the assurance that the officers would not be called upon “to crush political opposition to the policy or principles of the Home Rule Bill.”  With this paper in his pocket General Gough returned to his command at the Curragh.