BLACKBOROUGH.  It is inevitable.

FARRANT.  He sees that.  But then he says ... to go to the country again having bolstered up Education and quarrelled with everybody will be bad enough ... to go having spent fifty millions on it will dish us all for our lifetimes.

HORSHAM.  What does he propose?

FARRANT.  He’ll offer to draft another bill and take it through himself.  He says ... do as many good turns as we can with the money ... don’t put it all on one horse.

BLACKBOROUGH.  He’s your man, Horsham.  That’s one difficulty settled.

      HORSHAM’S thoughts are evidently beyond BLACKBOROUGH, beyond the
      absent PERCIVAL even.

HORSHAM.  Oh ... any of us could carry that sort of a bill.

      CANTELUPE has heard this last passage with nothing less than horror
      and pale anger, which he contains no longer.

CANTELUPE.  I won’t have this.  I won’t have this opportunity frittered away for party purposes.

BLACKBOROUGH. [Expostulating reasonably.] My dear Cantelupe ... you’ll get whatever you think it right for the Church to have.  You carry a solid thirty eight votes with you.

      HORSHAM’S smooth voice intervenes.  He speaks with finesse.

HORSHAM.  Percival, as an old campaigner, expresses himself very roughly.  The point is, that we are after all only the trustees of the party.  If we know that a certain step will decimate it ... clearly we have no right to take the step.

CANTELUPE. [Glowing to white heat.] Is this a time to count the consequences to ourselves?

HORSHAM. [Unkindly.] By your action this evening, Charles, you evidently think not. [He salves the wound.] No matter, I agree with you ... the bill should be a comprehensive one, whoever brings it in.

BLACKBOROUGH. [Not without enjoyment of the situation.] Whoever brings it in will have to knuckle under to Percival over its finance.

FARRANT.  Trebell won’t do that.  I warned Percival.

HORSHAM.  Then what did he say?

FARRANT.  He only swore.

      HORSHAM suddenly becomes peevish.

HORSHAM.  I think, Farrant, you should have given me this message before.

FARRANT.  My dear Horsham, what had it to do with our request to O’Connell?

HORSHAM. [Scolding the company generally.] Well then, I wish he hadn’t sent it.  I wish we were not discussing these points at all.  The proper time for them is at a cabinet meeting.  And when we have actually assumed the responsibilities of government ... then threats of resignation are not things to be played about with.

FARRANT.  Did you expect Percival’s objection to the finance of the scheme?

HORSHAM.  Perhaps ... perhaps.  I knew Trebell was to see him last Tuesday.  I expect everybody’s objections to any parts of every scheme to come at a time when I am in a proper position to reconcile them ... not now.