turned out for it. He has to vote every day for things which he
strongly disapproves, and this makes the position difficult. He says
that my position was wholly different from that of Fawcett and
Courtney, because I was a party to the decision of the Cabinet, and
that custom binds the minority in the collective decision of Her
Majesty's servants. This is undoubtedly the accepted theory. Poor
Hibbert was made to vote. [Footnote: Sir John Tomlinson Hibbert (d.
1908), at this time Financial Secretary to the Treasury, was an able
administrator, and held office in Mr. Gladstone's four
administrations. He assisted materially in the passing of the
Execution within Gaols Act, Married Women's Property Act, and Clergy
Disabilities Act, and was keenly interested in the reform of the
Poor Law.] I fear the Cabinet put the yoke, not of political
necessity, but of their personal prejudice against woman suffrage,
on the necks of their followers.'

The matter came up at a Cabinet on June 14th, and was made worse because
a letter from Lord Hartington, 'offensive in tone,' had been circulated
by accident. However, Mr. Gladstone issued a minute about my walking out
on woman's suffrage, which concluded by a proposal, if his colleagues
concurred, to request me to remain in the Government. Thus ended a
personal crisis which, to use the French phrase, had been 'open' since
my letter to Mr. Gladstone dated 'Antibes, Easter Eve.'

'Chamberlain wrote to me: "It is settled"; and I wrote back: "It is
settled. I would not have asked you to stand by me, as I have no
constitutional case, and your conduct in so doing could not be
defended. I always count on your friendship, but this would have
been too much." He replied: "We are both right. You could not ask
me, but if you had been requested to resign I should have gone too."