commanding the support of 556 MPs, as opposed to just 58 opposition members, his main task was to ensure that the government stayed together and was able to pass contentious legislation without risking a major breach within the government. That proved tricky several times, as different sections of the National combination came to denounce areas of government policy. Margesson adopted a method of strong disciplinarianism combined with selective use of patronage and the social effect of ostracism to secure every vote possible. An example of his methods was his letter to the House of Commons' youngest member, the future minister John Profumo, after the Norway Debate, in which Profumo had opposed other Conservatives. Margesson's letter included the following extraordinary passage: "And I can tell you this, you utterly contemptible little shit. On every morning that you wake up for the rest of your life you will be ashamed of what you did last night." On that occasion, his methods failed. Despite such behaviour, Margesson remained a much-liked individual, with many members expressing personal admiration for him. Away from his duties he was known to be quite sociable, and within the parliamentary party; few bore him ill. However, a major faultline lay over the question of introducing protective tariffs on imports as a prelude to negotiating a customs union within the British Empire. The proposed policy had deeply divided the Conservatives over the previous 30 years, but by then, they, with most of the National Labour and Liberal National members of the government, had become in favour of the policy during the Great Depression. However the Liberal Party remained committed to the principle of free trade and were deeply reluctant to compromise. Whilst the Liberals themselves barely commanded the support of 33 MPs, they were one of only two parties in the government with a long independent history, and there were fears that their withdrawal would turn the National Government into a mere Conservative rump, something that National Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald wished to avoid. At one stage, it was agreed that members of the cabinet would suspend the principle of cabinet collective responsibility and agree to differ on tariffs. Matters were complicated again by the question of Cabinet appointments. When the Liberal President of the Board of Education Sir Donald Maclean died, Margesson insisted that to appoint another Liberal, merely on the basis of party balance, would inflame tensions