Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-09
ENGLISH WOMEN
DEMAND RIGHTS
FIGHT, HOWEVER, Temporal
RILY IS LOST
House Of Commons Is Packed When
Measure Is Dlscussed-PoIIee
Force Doubled to Pre-
vent Trouble
Rv Asaoolated Press.

BY Associated Press.
LONDON, March S.-The women's
enfranchisement bill, which came up
for it's second reading I'm the house
today. and which was introduced by
Mr.. dickinson, Liberal although prac-
tically identical with the measure IN
trodLced by James Keir Hardie, So
cia.ist, last year, has evoked 1ar
greater general interest.
The bill simply provides that women
shall have the franchise upon the same
terms upon which it is now granted 10
men.
The house of commons was crowded
when the debate upon the proposed
measure began, but only women whose
good behavior was guaranteed by mem
bers of parliament were permitted to
enter the gallery.
All those who were connected with
the recent disorders within the pre-
cincts Of the house of parliament were
specifically excluded and in view OF
possible disorderly demonstrations upon
the part of the so-called "suffragettes"
in connection with the BILL extraor-
d,nsry precautions were taken by the
police to bar the approaches to the
house.
Police Force Doubled
The forces inside and outside the
builcing were doubled and special
detachment of police was held in re-
serve in the neighborhood in spite of
the fact that the militant women had
announced that they would quietly
swait the vote of the house, after which
they would meet and decide on their
future action.
The suffrage societies were very ac-
tive throughout the morning trying to
insure the attendance of true support
ers OF the bill, and they claimed TO
have 430 members pledged to vote for II.
All members who were considered to
be n the least lukewarm in the matter
were admonished by telephone or tele-
graLh this morning that their seats
would be endangered if they failed to
fulfill their pledges.
1t is admitted that many omises
to support the bill were given by Lib
erals upon the supposition that the
women, if enfranchised, would vote for
liberal candidates, but the return of
the large Conservative majority at the
municipal election in London Saturday
last, when the women voted, tended to
dispel this illusion, and since then many
members of parliament, who nominally
sympathized with Mr. Dickinson's bill,
have been stricken with mysterious ILL
ness which will not permit them 20 at
tend todays session of the house
many MOLlOnS dplSO
There were no fewer than sixteen
motions hostile to the bill placed upon
the table, while just prior to the open
ing of the debate petition signed by
81 900 women was presented protesting
against granting parliamentary suf-
frage to women on the ground that it
would destroy their influence in their
own sphere of work
After Mr.. Dickinson's opening speech
in support of the bill the premier, Sir
Henry embellishments, an
nounced that it was the intention of
the government to leave the question
to the free decision of the house.
Personally he favored the general
principle of the inclusion of women in
the suffrage.
The matter had assumed more i'm
portance of late years owing to the
larger part which women had taken
in the wage earnings and in the pro-
fessions.
On many questions, continued the
premier, the opinion of women was of
equal If not greater value than that
of men. He frankly stated that he
was not enamored with the present bill
because it would not enfranchise toI
the necessary degree the mass of the
working women.
He would vote for the bill, however,
as a declaration of his opinion that
the exclusion of women from the fran
chise was not expedient, justifable or
politically right.
The debate was repetition of the
familiar arg nents for and against
female suffrage and there was a COM
plete divergence from the usual party
lines, the rejection of the bill being
moved by Mr.. White, Liberal
An attempt was made to closure the
discussion, but the speaker declined to
accept the motion and the opponents
of the bill held the floor until o'clock,
when the sitting was closed automat-
ically This practically kills the bill