In one respect it certainly was successful.

The Home Rulers, or Irish party generally, were left without an inch of standing ground.

Their support was not needed, and therefore they were not courted.

For the moment there was not even a necessity to pretend that Home Rule was anything but an absurdity from beginning to end;--so much so that one or two leading Home Rulers, men who had taken up the cause not only that they might become Members of Parliament, but with some further ideas of speech-making and popularity, declared that the Coalition had been formed merely with a view of putting down Ireland.

This capability of dispensing with a generally untractable element of support was felt to be a great comfort.