The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-08
Woman Suffrage in England.

The London Ldep journal has the folio wing: -
1.-THE overseers in some parishes OF England
are taking upon themselves to place women,
who but for their sex, would be qualified to vote
for knights, citizens, or burgesses, upon the par
liamenlary registers. The ground upon which
these officers proceed seems TO be, this The
Representation of the People Act, 1862 in de.
ining the class of persons entitled to the fran
chises, described in sections three, four, five,
six, uses the expression Every man. The sta
tute thirteen and fourteen Victoria, chapter 81,
entitled AN act for Shortening the Language
used in Acts of Parliament provides by section
four that in all acts words importing
the masculine gender shall be deemed and takne
to include females, and the singular to include
the plural, and the plural the singular, unless
the contrary as to gender or number Is ex-
pressly provided Consequently the expression
every man, which imports the masculine
gender, must be deemed and taken to include
females, so that in effect the sections ampli6ed
would declare that every man ana every
woman who should fulfil certain specified con-
to vote. 1t is further argued that this con-
struction is fortified by the language used in
the Reform act of 1882 There, iu sections 10
and 20, the franchise is conferred upon every
male person having certain qualifications; and
the inference is that the expression male per-
som in the act OF 1882 has Deen replaced by the
expression man in the act of 1867, in order that
the operation of the act l3 and IA Victoria,
chapter Il, should not be defeated.
ait may be useful however, to observe that
in section Is OF the act of 1882 the expression
that section is IN the negative form, aud its
effect is to disqualify persons who are not within
certain exceptions. Probably the women who
have succeeded in convincing the overseers will
take measures to persuade the revising barristers
OF the truth OF this view, and 1t is by no means
impossible that their contention should prevail.
AS, however II was not intended by Parliament
that this effect should be produced, and as the
addition of female voters might operate to turn
the elections in some places, considerable
hesitation will be displayed in the adop-
tion of the contention in their favor. 1t
must not be forgotten that attention was
called in the House OF Commons to this matter
by Mr. Denman, but Mr.. Disraeli treated the
suggestion as joke and nothing more. Mr..
Denman himself also stoutly supported Mr..
Mill in his attempt TO give the franchise TO
women by direct and express enactment, and an
occasion was then offered for the argument that
the thing sought was already obtained. The
fact that no such idea was pat forth sho Ws very
clearly what the House OF Commons thought as
to the meaning of its own language. The
opinion of the House, OF course, in no way
binds the Court of Common Pleas, but it fur
nishes pretty good reasons for the rejection OF
all female claims by the Courts OF Revision,
and IT is obvious that the most satisfactory
settlement of the question would be obtained
upon appeal to the Court of Common Plea;
fIom such rejection"