Suffragettes and votes for women [2 ed.] 9780582221253, 0582221250

Citation preview

THEN&THERE••

30 1 .

41 2 S1~£

L E SNELLGROVE

..

.

I

I

-- . ·----

·- -·-----

_ __,__,.

ITEM

r;1

.

008 227 032

11 11111111

rn

11 111

UXRBJDfiE CQLLF;'iE J,EARNJN'i CESTRE P:irk Ro:id . Uir.bridgc, Middlesex UBS tNQ Telephone: 01895 853326/8 .' Plt:l.'IC r.etu rn thi s item 10 the Leaming Ctf''tC ?1'I

or before the lut d~te s11mpcd below:

1 '

22 OV 2001 SNELL

------And Votes For - --=-- .-..~-

OVE, L. E.

Suff r agett es Women.

>

LONGMA N

.

LONGMAN GROUP UK UMITED

Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow,. Essex CM20 21£, England and Associated Companies throughout the world.

© L. E. Snellgrove 1964 This edition © Longman Group Limited 1984 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers. First published 1964 Second edition 1984 Founh impression 1988

Set in 11 I 12½ pt. Baskerville, Linotron 202 Produced by Longman Group (FE) Ltd Printed in Hong Kong

ISBN 0-582-22125 -0 C over: W ording from cove r of'firs t issue of Vol.es fo r vVomen news pa pe r, ()c to be r, 1907 ( M a r y Eva ns Pic ture Libra ry) a nd lh C' 'vVS PU sy n1bol designed by Sy lvi a Pa nkhurs l, 1908 ( Fa wcett Libra ry, City of Lo ndon Polytechni c).

Contents

rfO THE READER page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6

EM l LY WILDING DA VI SON page 5 FRANCH I SE AND SU FFRAGE page 10 THE SUFFRAGETTES page 26 SUF' FRA G I STS, NO T SUFF RAGETTE S p(lge53 W~R AND THE VOTE AT LA ST page 70 STEPP I NG STONES TOWARD S WOMEN 'S EDUCATION page 84 7 STEPPING STONES TO FREEDOM page 87 THINGS TO DO page 90 GLOSSARY page 92 IND EX page 96

To the Reader

'Votes for ,,·on1en' " ·as once a battlecry that could lead to argu n1ents, riots, court cases, imprisonments. ,,·indo,,· sn1ashi ng and house burning. The baule ended finally in 1928 " ·ith complete ,·ictorv, for " ·on1en a nd today. "e " ·onder "·hac all the fuss ,vas about. This book atte1npts co describe the fuss and explain " ·hy it happened. \ \'hen you ha ,·e finished reading it you n1ay ,,·ish to kno,,· 1nore about this ,,·01nen·s re,·olution. If so. go to your local library and see if they ha,·e any of these book-: ·\·ores for \\.omen' by Roger Ful fo rd , ' \\'on1en 's Suffrage· . ·\\'on1en·s \·iccory· and '\\.hat I R cn1en1bcr' by ~1rs Henry Fa"-cett. ·L· nshackled· by Christabel Pankhurst, '~1rs E1nmcline Pankhursc· and 'The Suffragette ~1o, -ement· by Syh·ia Pank h urst. ·The Cause· by Ray Scrachey and ·Laugh a D efi ance' by ~1ary Richardson. \ ·arious ,,·on1cn·s ne"·spapers like 'The Comn1on Cause' ,,·ill be found stored at the London ~1useun1 (sec T hings to Do on pa~e 90). The In1pcrial \\'ar t\1useu111 at l ,an1beth has thousands of photographs and o cher articles connected ,,·ith " ·on1en·s ,,·ork in che First \\°orld \\'ar. ~los t large libraries ha,·e old copies of ·The 'l'in1es· for the years 1903- 1+, probably photographed on 111icrofiln1. "·hich can be examined: H erc you ,,·ill find the scory told as it happened. 'The Dictionary of National Biography' contains inforn1ation about 1nany of the fan1ous people n1entioned in these pages: so do rnost l:irgc encyclopaed ias. :\ bo ,-e all keep your e) es and cars open. Be a good de tective. A.sk questions. Perh aps your o\\·n district " ·as the scene of some e,·en t dcscribrd hrrr. Find ou t " ·hat Great-granny " ·:is doing during the years 1903 - 1-1-. She ma_r ha,·e been a suffragette! \\.ords printrd in italics arc explained in the Glos ary on page 92.

4

7

1 Emily Wilding D avison

We are at the Derby horse race held on 4 June 1913. No doubt you have an idea of what the D erby is like. Perhaps you have been to Epsom and seen it. If not, you may have watched th e r ace on television. Proba bly it brings into your mind a picture of sleek horses a nd gaily dressed jockeys, of top-hatted gentlemen and bookmakers waving their arms, of traffic jams and cam eramen perched on scaffolding. But all those years ago it was different in many ways. Instead of the ,, lines of car s, nose to tail on the roads or packed like sardines in the parks, you would have found thousands of carriages pulled by every variety of horse, from large drays to satinbacked thoroughbred s and tiny p onies. Now it is Fords, Rovers, Ren aults, and cars of a dozen other makes. T hen it was victorias, barouches, waggonettes and faur-in-hands. Now it is a few top hats and a lot of jerseys and jeans. Then it was many top hats, some white bowlers and caps galore. T he greatest ch ange, of course, has been women's clothes. Then the idea of a woma n wearing trousers would have been too horribl e to mention. Ladies were covered from head to foot, lost under h a ts and veils, imprisoned in flowing dresses, steeJ corsets and hobble skirts which were tight to the ankles. T hey were not expected to live the way they do today, to work, drive cars, play various sports and be as active as men, and so their clothes could be restricting. When their way of life changed their clothes had to be altered too. Naturally much has not ch anged. The gipsies sold their wares and made remarks like, 'You'll have a lucky lover , m iss,' or 'Cross me hand with silver, kind gentleman', just 5

Derk}' Da_v. 1913. The horses speed awa_r as Emi{i· Danson is thrown to the ground. Tlze King 's horse is rolling 011 his jocke_r

6

as they do today. T he bookmakers' stalls \,·ere similar and they certainly shouted just as loudly( Tipsters, then as nO\'\-', were ready to sell you the na1ne of the \-v inner. P early kings , their bell-bottomed trousers and caps decorated with tiny buttons, haYe changed hardly at all. ,..\nd there was a clear sign of the future in the fe\,' tall motors \.vhich stood here an d there and the lines of solid-tyred charabancs, played on to the scene bv their cornet bands. , ·et it \.Vas a differen t world which \'\-'as represented on the open downland that day a ll those years ago. There ¼'ere rich and poor as today, but the poor, n1any of \vhom had \valked to Epsom to see the race or arrived on fann \vaggons, \Vere poorer than any people in England 110\V. Exciternent mounted as the time of the big race d rew near. Everybody , from K ing Geo rge \ ' and Queen rvi a ry to t he poorest cos/er with his bar ro\.v, found a good position fro m whi ch to see it. Some sat in the grandstand, others cla m bered on to \vaggons or crushed themselves against the white rails

lining the course. The string of horses pranced and backed into a shivering, ever changing line. The starter gave his orders, the wires sprang up and they were om Cheering and shouting spread like wildfire along the path of the riders. Near the bend known as Tanenham Corner stood a lady in a black dress. She alone had no interest in who won this race. Earlier another woman who knew her had wondered what she was doing at Epsom. To this acquaintance, seated some little distance from the railings, the lady seemed calm as she shaded her eyes from the sun with one hand. To a man standing next to her, however, she seemed very nervous and he wondered wh y. Suddenly a bunch of the leading horses streamed around the bend. The ground shook to the thudding hooves and bits of turf were tossed into the air. The man turned his attention to the race. As he did so his silent companion slipped under a rail. The next moment she had rushed into the speeding horses, her hands held above her head. The front riders missed her but H erbert Jones, riding

7

8

the Kin g's horse, Anm er , found she had grasped at his reins . H orse and woman collided violently. Some people saw a bundle of black clothing hurled a vvay by force of the collision. i\nn1 er stumbled sideways and fell head over heels. The purple, gold and scarlet colours of the royal j ockey disappeared from the saddle. Then the horse got up and ran \-v-ildly across the course. J ones, whose foot \vas caught in a stirrup, was dragged along the ground. His face was badly bruised before he n1anaged to free himself. The woman lay still, a huddled black mass on the green turf. For a moment those at •Tattenham Corner were silent . Even the disappearing horses \Vere forgotten by the amazed spectators. But gradually people realized what had happened and angry shouts and cries broke out. The King and Queen left hurriedly from the back of the grandstand; afterwards the Queen wrote of this 'horrid \voman' although she did send someone to inquire about her condition. Both the lady and the jockey were carri ed off. Confusion and rumour began to spread. Some guessed the reason for the \Voman's suicidal action. The police, vvho had discovered the purple, green and vvhite colours sewn inside her coat, knew vvhy she had done it. They prepared to protect her from an angry n1ob who had lost money betting on Anrner. At Epsom Cottage Hospital, where she was taken, they v;ere forced to place a guard to keep out int ruders. One word was soon on everyone's lips, 'S uffragette!' rrhe fri end ,,vho had been sitting near by ,vas selling copies of a nevvspaper called 'T he Suffragette' . Consequentl y some angry gentlemen chased her all the \vay back to Epsom raihvay station, where she ,vas hidden by a porter. Other nan1cs were mentioned, too. Son1e spoke of the \iVSPU , the Won1en's Social and Political Union; its colours were those inside the lady's coat. Others referred to a ~1rs Pankhurst. In the late evening the ne,vspapers carri ed the name of the lady herself and when she died on the following Sunday this nan1e entered history. I t ,,va Emily vVilding Davison. Possibly you knov; who the suffragettes were. They were

Emily Davison 's faneral carriage passing through Piccadillv Circus London June 1~3 ~ ' '

women who struggled to persuade the British Government to give women the vote. At tha t time their qua rrel with th e Government had r eached a serious stage. Emily Davison was not the only woman \vho did s trange things to draw attention to her voteless state. But poor Emily is uniqu e, for she alone gave her life and died violently for the ca use in which she believed so deeply. H er enemies called her mad and stupid; her friends mourned and massed in their thousands to march at her funeral. But whatever one may think of her action, there is no d oubt it is remembered. T oday when women take their voting rjghts for granted and \-vhen even the name of the suffragette leader, Mrs Pankhurst, is unknown to many, people will often say, if asked about the suffrage ttes, 'Oh wasn't there some woman who threw herself under a horse at the D erby?' The story of why she died, and thousands of other women suffered , is an inter esting and unusual one. It begins many years before 1913, long before the cr owd on that June day had been born. 9

2 Franchise and Suffrage

Several words mean the right to vote. Sometimes people speak of the franchise or of· suffrage. I n the past men who \.vanted the vote were said to be struggling for male suffrage. The fight described in this book was fought by \!\!omen's Suffrage Societies or Associations who demanded the franchise. People in earlier times used long vvords more than we do; in the nineteenth century speeches about votes for women might not contain the \,·ord \·ote' at all! Only after years of argument did someone stand up and shout. quite sin1ply. 'Votes for wo1nen'. It \,vas considered rather daring. Consequently we n1ust remember these longer \\'Ords, for they vvill appear again and again in this story. Whatever we call it, the right to ,·ote and the desire to do so is very in1portant because it means that a person wishes to help rule his o,,vn to\\·n or cou ntry. \\'hen a country is governed by its own people it is called a democrac_y. This is a Greek vvord \-vhich means go, ·ernment by the people. Greek towns in ancient tin1 es ,vere quite small and decisions about gove rnn1ent were sometin1es taken by all the free men (not slaves or won1en) coming together and ,·oting. ·r oday countries a re far too big to allo,v everyone to do this. Can you imagine the confu sion if e,·ery citizen ,vas asked his opinion before a decision ,vas made? So no,v vve in Britain vote for · represn1lalil1es, that is ~!embers of Parliament, to go and govern for us for five years. The opposite system is to be ordere-d about by a dictator or by a governn1ent w hi ch never bothers to find out ,,,hat vou \Vant o r need . From this you ,viii see that poor Emil y D avison, when she lO

ran in front of the horses, really wanted something worth having. She had to obey laws she never helped to make. She lived in a country where only men chose and formed the government. She thought it was rather silly for men to ignore grown women. She may have been wrong to do ,vhat she did, but she was right to demand the vote. WHO HAD THE VOTE?

Women had, up to this time, been denied men's rights and privileges. At the end of this book you will read just how few rights British women had until recently. For the moment we will consider only the vote. If we take I 066 as our starting year, no woman had the right to vote until 1918, in spite of England having been ruled by queens for a total of 126 of those years. H owever, it is only fair to add that before 1832 very few men had the vote. From the· fifteenth century onwards only the owners .,of freehold land worth 40 shillings (£2) or more a year in value could vote. Since rich men often bought out their poorer neighbours, the number of voters had become very small by the eighteenth century. At Gatton in Surrey, for example, only one man could vote! Yet certain unmarried women (called spinsters) qualified to vote even under this system, for they often owned large areas of land. They rarely used their votes, but obviously they should have done so. In James I 's reign a law-court decision had said such women could vote. This annoyed some men and when a woman did so in 1641, Sir Simonds D 'Ewes, a well-known MP, said that it was unwo rthy of a gentleman to count such a vote. H e spoke as though it was wrong to have the help of women in politics, however valuable they might be in the home. The question of which men were entitled to vote is very important. When women demanded the suffrage they usually · meant that they wanted it on the same terms as men. There- fore if landowners could vote, lady landowners only wou ld be enfranchised. If, as became law after 1832, only men owning houses of a certain value could vote, spinsters and widows l l

who v.·ere househ old ers the reupon qua lified. Nl a rri ed women did n ot qua li fy beca use after m a rri age a vvom a n co uld not O\Vn a ny thing . This unfair law was p a r t of th e so-called coverture syste m. By this sys tem a woman , o n ce m a rried , had no rig h t to he r own childre n , prop erty o r \vages. So yo u see th a t the people wh o s houted ' Vo tes fo r vvo m e n ' did not a hvays \vant the same thing. ·rhi s helps to expl ain so m e confus ing troubl es during th e b a ttl e fo r \vom en 's s uffrage . 'C H I L DR E~ 0 F LAR GE R G RO'vVTH '

12

\,V e ha ve seen tha t until 1·832 n o on e vvas sure whe the r \,vom e n v.·ere entitl ed to be el ectors . On the ot her h a nd , w h a tever th e la vv said, m os t m e n thoug ht th ey oug h t no t to vo te beca use th ey co uld not und ersta nd po li tics. An eig hteenthcentury no bl e m a n , Lord Ches te rfi eld , said th at ladi es were m erely 'childre n of a la rger g rowth· , and h e \vas not the only m a n v.·ho tho ug ht this . \tVhe n , in 1797. the H o u se of Co mmon s di d ta lk a bout \-v on1 e n 's s u fTrage, a fa m o u s po liti cia n , Ch a rl es Ja1nes Fox, arg ued th a t \·vo m e n wo uld only vo te as th eir fa the rs or hus bands to ld th e m a nd so it was a was te o f tin1e g ivin g the m th e fra nc hi se! l ' h r H o use of C:omrn ons ag reed with hin1. Abroad , m e n felt the sa m e . A Frenchn1a n said , ,rrhe cl ay on \Vhich n1y \Vife is given the vote w ill be th e d ay of m y di vorce.' Pro ba bl y th e firs t Eng li s hwo1na n publi cly to d e m a nd th e vo te as a rig h t vvas l'vl a r y vVo ll s ton ecra ft in h er book ' Vindicatio n of the Ri g ht of \Vo ,ne n ', publis h ed in 1792. l\'1 e n \-Ve re horrifi ed a nd on e ca ll ed he r 'a h ye na in p e tti coats' . L a te r a ,na n , \\.illi am ' l'h ompso n , n1ad e a sin1il a r pl ea. I n a book he w ro te in 1825, he d em a nd ed th a t wo n1 e n s ho uld h a ve the sa1ne ri g hts as m e n. I t was call ed , 'An Appea l of o ne H alf of th e Hun1an R ace, 'vVon1 e n, f\ gain s t th e Pre te n ces o f the O ther H a lf, ~le n , to Re tain rrh em in Po liti cal and Th en ce in C i,·il a nd Do m es tic Slavery.' Thon1pson declared that En g li s h\\·omen \Ver e treated like ' n egroes in the W es t I ndies' w ho \ve re the n . of course, slaves. \tVith such a titl e, it is not s urpri sing tha t h a rdl y anyone read Thompson's book. Those

who did merely laughed at such crazy notions, little realizing that within a hundred years most European women would get the freedom Thompson demanded. A BATTLE O VE-R 'ROTTEN BOROUGHS '

The question whether women really co uld vote or not was settled in 1832. U nfortunately, the answer was 'No' . For years men, particularly those in the new industrial towns which had grown up as a result of the Industrial Revolution, were dissatisfied with the 40 shilling freeholder system. Since voting was done openly, and not by a secret ballot until 1870, bribery was easy and so elections were often a farce. In th e towns, or boroughs as they were called, the few voters could easily be 'persuaded' to support a rich candidate. In the cou nties, although there might be thousands of voters, the same trickery was practised, but on a larger scale. As each electgr regarded his vote as som ething to sell, bribery involved large sums of money. For example, in the Yorkshire election of 1807 the three candida tes spent about £230,000 on their election campaign, a figure which m eans that each vote was sold for an average of £2.50. This amount would be t he equivalent of millions of pounds today. To make matters worse, new growing towns nad not been allowed MPs to represent them, whereas a place like Old Sarum, once a town but by that time empty of all inhabitants, still sen t two MPs to Parliament. People grew more and more discontented and demanded a change. Eventually, the Whig Governm en t of 1831 suggested allowing householders who paid £10 or more a year in rates to vote, in addition to the 40 shilling freeholders. Their Reform Bill also proposed to take MPs away from Old Sarum and from other 'rotten boroughs', as they were called, and give Parliamentary seats to the new towns. Naturally there was a fierce fight, for lords and MPs who benefited from the old ways did not want a change. The House of Commons agreed to pass the Bill and to make it law. The H ouse of Lords refused. Since both Houses of Parliamen t have to pass a Bill, this meant that it 13

Tlte burning of Bristol. 1813

14·

was rejected. 1' h e \Vhig G overnrn ent fo rth,,·ith res ig n ed a nd th ere was a ge nera l electio n. I 'h e res ult wa a n easy win for th e \i\f hig Pa r ty . Wh en th ey returned to Pa rli a n1ent fo r th e new sess ion th ey had 136 n1 o re MPs th an th e l ' o ri es. Th e Bill was soon passed by th e C omm ons b u t aga in the Lord s refu sed to m a ke it la vv. Peo pl e no,-v beca m e very a ngry a nd th e cou ntry see m ed near revolu t ion. At Bris tol a rn o b b u rned m a n y buildings, in cluding th e cus to rns a nd excise o ffi ce a nd th e prison . Other mobs did seri ous d a m age a t Derby a nd Notting ha m. These dreadfu l ri o ts caused th e King to threaten to n1 a ke eno ug h \!Vhi gs in to lo rds to outvo te th e 1, o ries . No t un til then did the T ory Lo rd s g ive in and a llo,-v the Bill to beco m e law. It gave th e vo te to 2 17,000 m o re m en. Wha t is m ore impo rtant , th e ca m pa ign to get th e Bill thro ug h Pa rli a m ent provided wo m en with an excuse fo r m a n y of th eir violent a ctions in later years. Often th e s uffragette leaders wo uld say, ' Ah yes, but loo k wha t the men did to g et the vo te in 1832.' In the mid st o f a ll the rejoicing which fo llowed this

important event in English history, few people realized that the clerks who copied out the ne"v Bill referred everywhere to cmale person' and not cman' or cmen'. Now in some senses 'man', as with 'mankind', can mean women as well but there is no doubt what 'male person' means. Women were definitely 'out'. A reformer, Henry Hunt, realized this. Quickly he presented a petition to Parliament asking for women householders to be included. His demand was greeted with laughter. A famous year for the men had brought defeat to the women. THE CHART ISTS

About one in every twenty-two English men could now vote. Naturally those who still could not grew restive; if one set of men could vote, why not they? In 1838 some working men in London drew up a Petition, or Charter, to put before Parliament. Among other changes, it demanded that every man should be allowed to vote. At one of their meetings, someone suggested that women should be included. After a long discussion, the men decided against. However, from time to time, women helped the Chartists, as they were called, often forming political associations of their own . The Chartists failed to change anything and after 1848 litde ,vas heard of them. But one of the ladies' associations, that at Sheffield, lived on. In 1851 this association held a meeting at a hotel in Sheffield, and decided to seek the vote for women. It changed its name to the Sheffield Association for Female Franchise. One of its leaders was Miss Anne Knight. She was a Quaker and Quakers have always insisted that women should enjoy equal rights with men. Earlier, in 1847, she had written a pamphlet demanding votes for women. This association was the first of hundreds destined to fight the battle in later years. 1866 - VOTES FOR l'vlORE i\1EN

Meanwhile the working men, particularly those in the towns, became more and more determined to get the vote. In 1865, 15

16

the Prime ~linister, Lord Palmerston, died. As he had been against gi,·ing the vote to more people, hi s death seemed to open the ,\·ay for anothe r R efo rm Bill. Sure enough, Gladstone, thr next Prin1 e lvl inister, d ecid ed to give to,,v n vvorkers the , ·ott\ hut his party the vVhigs, or Liberals. as they were no,,· call ed. could not agree about the extent of the r eform. So111e thought he vvas right; others thou~ht he ,vas wrong, and " ·ithout full suppor t he was forced to resign. H is successor. the Conservative leader, Disr aeli, ,vanted to ' dish the \\"higs'. as he put it, by bringing in a similar Bill , and so gain the gra titude of the•vvorkers. Before l)israeli cou ld copy Gladstone's propo al , an in cident occurred ,vhich ren1ind ecl men of the 1832 riots and provided ,,·omen ,vith anoth er excuse for ,·iolent action. A rally of v.:orking men had been planned for 23 J uly 1866 to take place in Hyde Pa rk. Fearing trouble, the police cance lled the 111eeting. closed the park gates and brought 1,600 constables into the area . Somr of the cnorrnou cro,vd, ,,v hich collected in spite of this order, decided to go el ev.1here . Others, hcnve,·er, ove rpowered the police, pulled down the railings and poured into the park. I n the confu-ion, spea ke rs sp rang up c, -cry,vherc, sta nding on hoxcs. seat or stones, in orclcr to make speeches co nclcn1ning the go,'Crnm ent. ·rroops ,vith fixed bayonets arrived, 111a rching ancl forming lin es as if in battle. "l'h e cro\vd \Vas gradually control led , but not before a lady, ~liss H arri e t, had n1adc a speech cle1nanding ,·otes for ,,•on1cn. \ \ ' ho she v.·as \VC shall never kn ow. Nor \Vere her ,vords heeded at th a t dramatic and dangerous 1110111cnt. \\"hat ,vas noticed, ho,vever, especiall y by rich people ,,·ho li,-cd opp os ite th e Park, "''as the ,va rning of future trouble if the m e n 's request \vas not granted. r\ ne\\' R eforn1 Bill , giving the vote to a ll househ o lders and also to lodgers ,vho were paying £ l O or more a year in rent, vvas passed by Parliament. Most of the 938,000 men \,vho now becan1c rlectors li,·ed in the towns; in the countryside there ,,·ere only n1inor changes. Th e ,,vomen v.rere left \vith nothing rxccpt the men's examp le to enco urage them.

John Stuart Mill, brilliant scholar and early.fighterfor women 's rights 'T H E MAN W H O WANTS GIRLS IN PARLIAM ENT'

It is wrong to think of this story as abou t women only. M en, too, have sometimes played a big part in the struggle. Probably the most important now enters our story. J ohn Stuart Mill ( 1806-73) was extremely clever. At three he began to learn Greek. By the time he was fourteen he had a thorough knowledge of that language, besides Latin , English and mathematics. Unlike Willia m Thompson, Mill wrote books which astonished and interes ted ed ucated people. In 1830 he met and fell in love with H arriet T aylor. She was highly intelligent and under her influence he became a supporter of women's rights. H e wrote a pamphlet called 'Representative Government' which argued that women should have the vote. Trus did not please some men and he was referred to contemptuously as 'the man who wants girls in Parliament'. Naturally his ideas had the opposite effect upon women. When he decided to stand as a candidate in the Westminster 17

Parli a n1cnt ary El ect ion of 1865, a few daring ladies hired a ca rri age, covered it vvith placard s d eclaring 'Vo te fo r Mill ', a nd galloped through the streets o f Westminster. T o their delight, he was elected. A powerful friend had en tered Parli a 1nent. During the debates on the 1867 Bill, ~fill tried to get the word 'pe rson' put in ins tead of ' m an'; in this ,vay women cou ld ha,·e been in clud ed. Wo1n e n did what they could to help hin1 by collec ting sign a tures for a p e titi o n d emanding th e c hange . On the day of the vital debate, two girls, En1ilv, l )a,·ies a nd Elizabeth Garrett, \\·andered into \Vcs tn1in ste r H a ll with a bulky pac kage con t ai ning a petition sign ed by +,000 people . H aving asked to see Mr Mill th ey vvaited rather s h y ly , s tared at by the cro,-vd s of bu sy m e n hurrying by. Eve ntu a lly they b ecam e so fri ghten ed that th ey persuaded an ap pl e se ller to hid e the p ackage und e r her s tall until ~lill arrived to co ll ect it! \ Vhcn :\1 Ps kn evv that vvomen 's suffrage was to be discussed , n1any gave up pa rties a nd oth er e ngagc n1ents in order not to 1niss th e fun. Bu t ~1ill 's speech ,,·as so se nsible that they were forced to take hin1 ser ious ly. \\'hy, he as ked, s hou ld ,,·on1c n be left o ut forever vvhcn the Bill , besides in c reas ing the voters to 1,057,000 rn en, actua ll y n1 ade arra ngc1ne nts for paupers and lun a ti cs to be in c lud ed in cert a in c ircumstances? 'l'o th e argun1cnt that ,vome n cou ld help tu rule by influ e nc ing th eir husbands or fathers, ~lill rctractices Act made it against the law to pay election helpers. 'fh e job of going from door to door as kin g for support for a particul a r cand idate. canvassing as it is called, now had to be don e voluntarily. The obvious people to do it ,ve re the thousa nd s of ,ve il-to-do ladies who we re fo rced to spe nd their lives doing very little because work \vas considered ·unl ady like'. Both political parties realized this a nd quickly orga nized th eir fen1 a le supporters. I n 1885 the Prin1rose League, a ( :onse rvative lad ies· orga nization, vvas lc>rn1ed. 'l\,·o vears aftervvards th e \,\'on1 en's Li beral Feeler, a ti on lined up aga inst th r n1. And a lthough one man described then1 as ' filth y witches', it v.·as clear that th e doors or politics " ·ere being pus hed open by v,·0111en. ·l'o the Sull'rage Societies th rse must have seemed sm a ll succes~es. ·y car after year th e sa me kind of Bill came before Parlia,ncnt. 'Year a ft er yea r th e petitions vvere prepared a nd co, -c rcd ,vith signatures, the old a rgun1 en ts were repea ted and yrt, ,vhcther ,·oted for or against, such Bills vvere dropped beca use th e governrnent '"'ould not support th em , or because it reso rted to son1e tri ck such as d eliberately taking too long o\·er a nother debat e and leaving no time for discussion. From the ladies ' gallery in the House of C omn1ons cha111her , a tin y space enclosed by a n iron grat ing

which shut off the sound and made viewing difficult, the ladies sat as if in a prison and watched their appeals scorned and rejected. The vote seemed as far away as ever. Young women began to feel impatient. 'vVhy can't we fight for the vote, as the men did in 1866 and 1832?' they began to ask. In answer to their demand Mrs Emmeline Pankh urst arrlved upon the scene and in 1903 founded the Women's Social and Political Union.

Badges of the IVSPL• and the slight(y less militant T1'"ome11 's Freedom League

25

3 The Suffragettes

Em111d111t' /'a11/...l1111,t 111 19/ I. ur::- 111 the ,,·nrld . N() " ·under ,1 bonfire \,·as lit in rr lrhr.11 H>n 111 the ~.1rdcn t>t' Ne,,·nh,un ( :nllege! l!t !O. ()\.llH·d l"ni,·cr~it ,· dl'ridcd to a,\"ard ,,·o n1 rn th eir degree diph)tn,1s .. \II n1udcrn l 'ni\"l'rsiti