<P> Asquith had as chancellor placed money aside for the provision of non-contributory old - age pensions; the bill authorising them passed in 1908, during his premiership, despite some objection in the Lords . Jenkins noted that the scheme (which provided five shillings a week to single pensioners aged seventy and over, and slightly less than twice that to married couples) "to modern ears sounds cautious and meagre . But it was violently criticised at the time for showing a reckless generosity ." </P> <P> Asquith's new government became embroiled in a controversy over the Eucharistic Congress of 1908, held in London . Following the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, the Roman Catholic Church had seen a resurgence in Britain, and a large procession displaying the Blessed Sacrament was planned to allow the laity to participate . Although such an event was forbidden by the 1829 act, planners counted on the British reputation for religious tolerance, and Francis Cardinal Bourne, the Archbishop of Westminster, had obtained permission from the Metropolitan Police . When the plans became widely known, King Edward objected, as did many other Protestants . Asquith received inconsistent advice from his Home Secretary, Herbert Gladstone, and successfully pressed the organisers to cancel the religious aspects of the procession, though it cost him the resignation of his only Catholic cabinet minister, Lord Ripon . </P> <P> Disestablishment of the Welsh Church was a Liberal priority, but despite support by most Welsh MPs, there was opposition in the Lords . Asquith was an authority on Welsh disestablishment from his time under Gladstone, but had little to do with the passage of the bill . It was twice rejected by the Lords, in 1912 and 1913, but having been forced through under the Parliament Act received royal assent in September 1914, with the provisions suspended until war's end . </P> <P> Asquith had opposed votes for women as early as 1882, and he remained well known as an adversary throughout his time as prime minister . He took a detached view of the women's suffrage question, believing it should be judged on whether extending the franchise would improve the system of government, rather than as a question of rights . He did not understand--Jenkins ascribed it to a failure of imagination--why passions were raised on both sides over the issue . He told the House of Commons in 1913, while complaining of the "exaggerated language" on both sides, "I am sometimes tempted to think, as one listens to the arguments of supporters of women's suffrage, that there is nothing to be said for it, and I am sometimes tempted to think, as I listen to the arguments of the opponents of women's suffrage, that there is nothing to be said against it ." </P>

Cohen (1985) mentions that the main british reform group the howard league once called for steps to