Unfortunately, the "responsible and sober-minded persons" referred to were taken by the _Westminster Gazette_ (and many readers) to be the Ulstermen and their aiders and abetters; and the _Manchester Guardian_ feared that the King had been "unduly alarmed by the reports of certain of his unofficial counsellors," with consequences that might be serious (for the Constitution) unless he henceforth listened to his official advisers only. Unionist papers pointed out that a host of prominent people, independent of party politics, had talked of civil war, and the Prime Minister, in reply to questions, expressly took the responsibility for the speech, and interpreted His Majesty's words as meaning merely that apprehension of civil strife had been widely entertained and expressed by responsible and sober-minded persons, "among whom I may, perhaps, include myself." The House laughed, but the Liberal objectors were not wholly satisfied. There was some resentment felt, too, at the selection of Buckingham Palace for the Conference. But this, at least, protected the members from journalistic enterprise. While the Conference was sitting the House of Commons took, among other business, the Report stage of the Finance Bill; but the minds of members were mainly elsewhere. Among the unsuccessful attempts made to obtain alleviations of the income-tax law we may mention proposals (_a_) to exempt lands and property occupied by any charity, which was asked for especially in the interest of residential hostels at the newer Universities; (_b_) treating income arising from capital earned by the recipient as unearned income; (_c_) providing that income from British Colonial investments should be assessed to income-tax and supertax after deduction of any Colonial income-tax; (_d_) providing for deduction from the taxed income of sums spent in the education of children; making provision for the case of insurance against death duties; (_e_) exempting income neither taxed nor received in the United Kingdom. Some slight concessions, however, were made by the Government; but a fresh attempt to avert the abolition of the settled estate duty was also unsuccessful. On the first day, complaints were made of the absence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer; but, on his arrival, he explained that he was detained by a duty not of his own seeking, but which he had no option but to accept.