<P> On 28 September 1912, Carson led 237,638 of his followers in signing a Solemn League and Covenant saying that Ulster would refuse to recognise the authority of any Parliament of Ireland arising from Home Rule . When Parliament resumed in October after the summer recess, the Home Rule Bill was passed by the Commons . As expected, the House of Lords rejected it 326 to 69, and under the provisions of the Parliament Act it could only be passed if it was passed twice more by the Commons in successive Parliaments . </P> <P> The end of 1912 saw the end of a year of political struggle for Law . As well as the problem of Home Rule, there were internal party struggles; supporters of the Church of England or military reform lambasted Law for not paying attention to their causes, and tariff reformers argued with him over his previous compromise on food duties . Despite this, most Conservatives realised that as a fighting leader, Law could not be bettered . The results of by - elections throughout 1913 continued to favour them, but progress on the Home Rule Bill was less encouraging; on 7 July it was again passed by the Commons, and again rejected by the Lords on 15 July . Parliament rose for the summer recess on 15 August, and Law and the Unionists spent the summer trying to convince the King to voice an opinion on the issue . Their first suggestion was that he should withhold the Royal Assent on it, something that horrified Law's constitutional law adviser A.V. Dicey . The second was more reasonable--they argued that the Liberals had put the King in an impossible position by asking him to ratify a bill that would infuriate half of the population . His only option was to write a memo to Asquith saying this and requesting that the problem of home rule be put to the electorate via a general election . After thinking on this, the King agreed, and handed a note to Asquith on 11 August requesting either an election or an all - party conference . </P> <P> Asquith responded with two notes, the first countering the Unionist claim that it would be acceptable for the King to dismiss Parliament or withhold assent of the Bill to force an election, and the second arguing that a Home Rule election would not prove anything, since a Unionist victory would only be due to other problems and scandals and would not assure supporters of the current government that Home Rule was truly opposed . </P> <P> King George pressed for a compromise, summoning various political leaders to Balmoral Castle individually for talks . Law arrived on 13 September and again pointed out to the king his belief that if the Government continued to refuse an election fought over Home Rule and instead forced it on Ulster, the Ulstermen would not accept it and any attempts to enforce it would not be obeyed by the British Army . </P>

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