The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-18

commons a petition signed by 1.4s9
women asking for the parliamentary
franchise for their sex. The next year
=1S67-Nfr. Mill introduced a woman
suffrage amendment into the house. 1t
was rejected even then by a majority
of only III. But in that year men and
women who favored the reform began
to labor for it in earnest.
Woman suffrage societies were
formed in the large cities, and by 1873
the signers of petitions asking the
ballot for women numbered 1900.
Disraeli, the gallant prime minister
who made Queen Victoria empress of
the Indies. was in favor of woman suf-
frage, and in 1881 it was granted in
local way to the women of the Isle of
Man. Then came the Quaker cotton
spinner's son, John Bright, who stood
up for every creature deprived of its
rights, including women, factory op-
eratives and dumb animals. No man
of his time exercised so powerful an
influence in Great Britain as John
Bright, owing, as has been said, no
less ''to his intellectual attainments
than to his great moral strength, and
that great moral strength he threw on
the side of woman.
With such examples it is not strange
that at this day many of England's
ablest men in political life are out
spoken woman suffragists. Among
them is Winston Churchill. M. p. the
brilliant son of the American Lady
Randolph Churchill, now Mrs. Corn
wallis West. Other distinguished wo-
man suffrage advocates are Sir Henry
Campbell Bannerman, John Morley,
the Balfours Mr.. Humphreys Owen
and Mr.. R1tchie, late chancellor of the
| exchequer.
In England women take a more ac-
tive part in working for favorite polft-
ical candidates than the sex does in the
| United States The Liberal and Con-
/ sentative women have each a great
| organization of their own. That of the
| Conservative women is called the
Primrose league, the other the Wo-
mems Liberal Federation. Ladies of
/ both organizations do speechmaking
and other electioneering for their can
didates during political campaigns.
| Previous to the last parliamentary
| elections the women of the Liberal
| federation did such good service that
/ it went far to convert to the doctrine
of the ballot for the feminine sex num-
bers of influential Liberals who had
| before opposed 1t. Both the Primrose
| league and the Liberal federation
make active propaganda for the suf-
frage cause.
The women of Great Britain have a
National Union of Women's Suffrage
| Societies. It is composed of the united
| suffrage clubs of the kingdom There
! are twenty-five of these. Three have
| been formed within the past year The
/ secretary of the national association
| is Miss Edith PalIiser. able. enthusi-
| astic, energetic, giving herself single
heartedIy to helping onward the day OF
woman's emancipation. She reports
| that British female suffrage clubs have
increased their membership immense
| ~ of late. 1t appears, therefore, to be
/ only a question of a little time when
| the qualified voters of Great Britain
| viii include women as well as men.
After all, however, the home country
| in this respect is only following the
/ lead of her far southwe stern colonies.
In New Zealand women received the
right Of fun suffrage a. far back as