Sentence:  But was it responsible governance to <WSD>pass</WSD> the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to become valid or effective; to obtain the formal sanction of (a legislative body).