Los Angeles herald., 1892-06-16
WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN GREAT BRITAIN.

WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN GREAT BRITAIN.
An Analysis Of tho Recent voto In the
Lower House of Parliament.
One of the most important incidents
connected with the movement for the
emancipation of women was the vote in
the house of commons on the woman's
suffrage bill moved by Sir Albert Rol-
lit. The fact that this measure was de-
feated by only twenty-three votes is sur
prising when we consider that it was
unsatisfactory to many female advocates
Of the principle, and was opposed by
Gladstone, not only in parliament, but
in lately published pamphlet.
The bill in question proposed to con-
fer the parliamentary franchise only on
unmarried women. As there are no OBJ
vious reasons for supposing the intended
benefciaries of the measure to be better
qualified to vote than their married sis
ters, while there are some reasons for
assuming the contrary, the bill naturally
provoked great deal of criticism among
the members of the sex interested. In
several meetings held in London Sir Al
bert Rollitt was denounced in terms
which showed that female politicians
would be adopts in the use of vitupera-
tive rhetoric.
The Primrose league, most of whose
principal promoters are married ladies,
was shocked at the notion that women
who had never proved their capacity to
control household should be deemed
particularly competent to deal with pub
lie affairs. Nevertheless, there was a
prevailing willingness to accept the Rol-
lit bill as an installment of the reform
demanded, and it does not appear that a
single vote was lost on the division
unless it was that of Lord RuRdolph
Churchill--by reason of the purposed
exclusion Of married Vpmen. The de-
feat Of the woman suffragists is no
doubt directly traceable to Mr.. Glad
stone, who must therefore expect 10
have the female reformers against him
in the coming general election.
An analysis of the vote shows that the
controversy did not turn on party lines
Such leading Tories as Sir Michael Hicks
Beach and Mr.. Chaplin opposed the bill,
but Mr.. Balfour favored it and appar-
emily carried with him a majority of the
Conservatives. Sir William Harcourt,
Mr.. Labouchere and Mr.. Chamberlain
were arrayed with Mr.. Gladstone against
the measure, and so it seems were most
of the Irish Nationalists. On the other
hand, strong Liberal minority support
ed the 1ollitt proposal, SO strong that
the refofmers look forward with conf
dence to attaining their object in the
NEXT house of commons. Their belief is
that Mr.. Balfour will then carry with
kim larger proportion of the Conserva-
tives than he did last week, and that the
number of their allies among the Liber-
als will be materially increased. The
bill, however, which will then be brought
forward, will be Of wider scope, making
no discrimination between the married
and the unmarried, and bestowing the
suffrage upon adult women on terms
identical with those imposed in the case
of adult males.
It is an interesting coincidence that
the English female suffragists should
have recently lost the support of two in
tluential men-Mr. Gladstone and Mr..
Herbert Spencer, both of whom were
formerly regarded as friendly to their
cause. Mr.. Spencer, indeed, at one time
expressed in print opinions favorable to
the political equality of women. Those
opinions, however, he recanted in late
ly published work, and set forth at length
his reasons for believing that women
should not be intrusted with the ballot
in the existing conditions Of society. He
does not confine himself to the familiar
argument that they who vote must in
the last resort be prepared to fight.
He contends that, even if female voters
are placed in the same category as adult
male voters who have passed the mill
tary age, there are special grounds on
which their influence in legislation is to
be deprecated. One of their most ami
able weaknesses, their propensity to
compassion, might, he thinks, have
grievous consequences in parliament and
in the courtroom, that is to say, both in
the framing and in the enforcement of
statutes. The fact that with them feel
ing is relatively more powerful insti-
gator of action than is reason, consti-
tutes, in Mr.. Spencer's mind, grave
disability. Inaword, he takes for granted
that England would be flooded with
what in this country we call crank legis-
lation if women had the right to vote.
But while the female suffragists have
lost Mr.. Spencer and Mr.. Gladstone,
they have gained Mr.. Balfour, and they
evidently think that the latter, being q
young man with long public career
before him, will ultimately outweigh the
loss Of the other two. Besides, with the
spread Of socialism among the trade
unions, they are likely to gain the sup
port of workingmen who have hitherto
been indifferent to their claims. 1t is
certain that they are not in the least dis
heartened by last weeks defeat, but
look forward cheerfully, as we have said,
to q renewal Of the contest next year
under more auspicious conditions. New
York Sun.
An Election Experience.
A private letter from q little Illinois
town tells of the recent election, when
women asserted their voting privileges.
1T was amusing, now that I think of
st." says the writer, "the way in which
we were manipulated by pair Of clever