The Haslingden Gazette. — 1913-06-28 (Haslingden, Lancashire, England)

PRODDING MR. HARCOURT.  A meeting under the auspices of the ICationai Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (non-militant) wa's, held at Bridge End, Helmsbore, on Thursday evening, as part of a campaign that is being in augurated in Roksendule against the, attitude of  Harcourt, M.P., on the suffrage question  There was a large attendance, notwithstanding '.:he bad weather. , Mr. A. Greenwood presided. • The speakersi were Mrs. A. 'Nioldi Clew, of Rochdale,  and Mr. Thindock, of Manchester, and other supporters were Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Isherwood, or Haslingden. • •• • Tho Chairman said Ire wa,s. an old Liberal, and ho could not undo r6tand Liberal being. /opposed to the giving of the franchise to women. There were hundreds of women who .had more ability .than ,he had, and yet they could not send La member to the House of Commons. The time had conic when we must have Government by the people. So long as WOMOTI were debarred from the vote, the corm try was governed by. oz 4 part of the people.: Mrs. A. Nield Chew said the time had cc:hue when woman should break her shackles and stand  side by side with the man. When they' had one sex governing they had the characteristics of one sex predominating. To obtain, the best we wanted the qualities of 'both-. Woman touches humanity at IL different point than man does, and the problem of infant mortality, the further problem of ehiltl 'ren being turned Adrift into a world that was not fit to receive them made a special appeal to her. These were problems woman. could not regard, with indifference. Women recognised that men had good qualities, but they also recognised that women had also, And the qualities of women were needed in the development of society. A man did not distrust the woman he lived with. Even Mr.' Harcourt did' not. Mr. Harcourt had said that if all women were like Mrs. Harcourt they would be fit to have the vote. Every man thought that of his wife, and if they in Rossemlale were men they would resent Mr. Harcourt's infer- , enee, and at the next election they would tell him to' seek a constituency where the men thought less of their women than they in ReS.sendale did. The rebellion of women against existing conditions was one of the greatest forces for the making of ax bet'ex, world.  Mr. Bundock examined seine objections-to- the giving of the vote to women. If, he said, it were politically true. that the place of women was in the home; that was also true industrially and: economically. Let them in Lancashire imagine what would happen if women were withdrawn from industry and commerce. ...ks to the objection that with the vote given to , women we should soon be under petticoat government,' he suggested ,that the- tendency would be for -a person of one sex to give his , or her voter to the other sex. The objection that a woman would vote as her husband told her contradictcd.the objection just examined. If it were true, all that would happen would be that the value of the mans vote would be increased 100 per cent.. This last objection contradicted the objection4bat the giving of the vote to women would creat&disseresion in the family. They came to the, objection that in the last resort the nation depends upon armed defence, and that. women were not physically strong enough to fight. This was an argument Mr. Harcourt, fell back upon. If votes" were distributed on the ground of physical strength eome of our most brilliant men would be disfranchised, and :we should have such appeals as "Eat and Get More Votes." Women would de!end our Icountry much better than 'men defended it. They had taught their children the danger of ,pla3ting with fire. They would not depend upon anything so flimsy as a race in armaments. Because.of the attitude men had taken 'towards women, women were competing' with men in the labour market. and under-bidding them.. , .The Chairman said from his knoWledge 'of the, Liberal Clubs of the division he was confident ninetenths of the Liberals of the Division were in favour of giving the vote to Women on the same terms as men had it. -  At Southport on Monday, a verdict of Suicide while of Unsound Mind *as returned in the case of Thomas Sinclair Young, thirty-three, master mariner, 17, Lancaster-rod, Birkdale, who succumbed to the effects of .poison.