 At the time, the governing Liberal Party was mostly absorbed with problems of social reform, and it was not guaranteed that there would be time to present a defence bill.At the beginning of the year, however, Haldane discovered that a bill scheduled for the session was not yet ready, and offered "a small Bill of his own which might conveniently fill the gap".On 25 February Haldane introduced the new Army Estimates, which showed a saving of slightly over two million pounds, and discussed the forthcoming reforms, stating that the critical problem was to ensure continued recruitment for line regiments from the Militia and to provide financial support for the stability of the Volunteer units.