st government resigned, and the king sent
for Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who in a few days formed his cabinet.
Lord Rosebery, who until a short time before had seemed likely to
co-operate, alone held aloof. In a speech at Stirling on the 23rd of
November, Sir Henry appeared to him to have deliberately flouted his
well-known susceptibilities by once more writing Home Rule in large
letters on the party programme, and he declared at Bodmin that he would
"never serve under that banner." Sir Henry's actual words, which
undoubtedly influenced the Irish vote, were that he "desired to see the
effective management of Irish affairs in the hands of a representative
Irish assembly. If an instalment of representative control was offered
to Ireland, or any administrative improvement, he would advise the
Nationalists to accept it, provided it was consistent and led up to
their larger policy." But if Lord Rosebery once more separated himself
from the official Liberals, his principal henchmen in the Liberal League
were included in the cabinet, Mr Asquith becoming chancellor of the
exchequer, Sir Edward Grey foreign secretary, and Mr Haldane war
minister. Other sections of the party were strongly represented by Mr
John Morley as secretary for India, Mr Bryce (afterwards ambassador at
Washington) as chief secretary for Ireland, Sir R.T. Reid (Lord
Loreburn) as lord chancellor, Mr Augustine Birrell as education minister
(afterwards Irish secretary), Mr Lloyd-George as president of the Board
of Trade, Mr Herbert Gladstone as home secretary, and Mr John Burns--a
notable rise for a Labour leader--as president of the Local Government
Board. Lord Ripon became leader in the House of Lords; and Lord Elgin
(colonial secretary), Lord Carrington (agriculture), Lord Aberdeen (lord
lieutenant of Ireland), Sir Henry Fowler (chancellor of the duchy of
Lancaster), Mr Sidney Buxton (postmaster-general), Mr L.V. Harcourt
(first commissioner of works), and Captain John Sinclair (secretary for
Scotland) completed the ministry, a place of prominence outside the
cabinet being found for Mr Winston Churchill as under-secretary for the
colonies. In 1907 Mr R. McKenna was brought into the cabinet as
education minister. There had been some question as to whether Sir Henry
Campbell-Bannerman should go to the House of Lords, but there was a
decided unwillingness in the party, and he determined to keep his seat
in the Commons.

At the general election in January 19