the understanding that they were each to vote for their own man-four for Chorlton and Rawson, six for Cawley and Charley."

It may be of interest to some to recall the places where women sent in claims, their numbers, and the various actions of the revising barristers. These particulars, in so far as they have been accessible, are collected in the tabular statement which forms Appendix E.

§ 18. Preparations for a Bill.

The new Parliament contained ninety members favourable to the movement, notwithstanding the absence through death, retirement, or loss of seat, of thirty who had voted or paired with Mr. Mill, and worst loss of all, the absence of Mr. Mill himself. "The defeat of Mr. Mill is a crushing blow; how shall we fare in the House of Commons, bereft of his giant strength," exclaimed Miss Becker in a letter at the time.

The loss was met by the action indicated in the following resolution passed by the Manchester Committee early in 1869:

"That having taken all available steps for obtaining the recognition of the right of women to vote through the registration and revision courts, and the final deci sion in the Court of Common Pleas having been adverse, this Committee desires to carry the appeal from the Courts of Law to the Legislature without delay.

1 Their names are recorded in the Englishwoman's Review of January 1869.

"That Mr. Jacob Bright be respectfully requested to confer with Mr. Russell Gurney, and other Parliamentary friends of the cause of Women's Suffrage, as to the expediency of introducing a measure on the subject during the forthcoming session, and to communicate the result of the consultation as soon as convenient after the assembling of Parliament."

The result of the negotiations with these Parliamentary friends was to defer any Bill for a session, and to work meantime on public opinion by means of meetings and petitions. "Our movement is now in a stage to demand much greater and more serious efforts than we have been hitherto able to accomplish. We cannot hope for immediate, perhaps not for even speedy success -and ultimate success can only be accomplished by a long course of systematic and persevering agitation. We have to tread the paths that other causes of progress have done before us-the Anti-Corn Law League, the Reform movement-and to do this we need sums of money. Mrs. Jacob Bright is to find a few friends who will each guarantee the sum of £100, to be given in annual instalments of £20." (Letter to Mr. James Heywood, F.R.S.) It was about this time that the first of the munificent donations, which Mr. Thomas Thomasson gave time after time to the Manchester Society, appears to have been given. The help he gave in planting the foothold of the work may here be most fittingly recorded.

The London Committee issued a circular urging friends to form local committees for the purpose of getting up petitions, and similar action seems to have been followed by all the Societies. Several lectures were also organized,

Prof. Newman giving the first of his lectures for the Bristol Society in the Athenæum, Bristol, and Miss Becker making her first beginning as a public speaker by a lecture tour to Leeds, Newcastle, and eight other places.

And here let young workers take courage. Miss Becker-the clearest, calmest, best-balanced speaker the movement has ever produced, the speaker who "always seized the salient points," who always "got at the kernel of the matter "-writes thus to Miss Holland after her lecture at Leeds: "I am bewildered, puzzled, unnerved and dissatisfied about my lecture, and unable to see my way clearly to mend matters, while the time is very short for any improvement. I believe I should do much better speaking than reading, but have not sufficient practice to make it safe to trust to mere notes for the pièce de résistance of the evening: my only chance is to trust to a discussion, to something being said that will give me the opportunity to reply. Learning a lecture by heart is quite out of the question. My peculiar nervous organization makes such a feat absolutely impossible." 1

The London Committee held a public meeting on July 17th, at the Gallery of the Architectural Society in Conduit Street, which was memorable for three reasons. It was the first public meeting on Women's Suffrage held in London. It was the first occasion on which Mrs. Fawcett spoke in public on the question to which so

1 The lecture had been very well received, and on the motion of Mr. Hickes, a working man of Leeds, was printed in cheap form for wide distribution.

much of the best strength of her life has since been given -(in a brief speech she moved the resolution pledging the Society to use every lawful means to obtain the extension of the suffrage to women, and expressing the view that a Bill for that purpose should be introduced next session). Thirdly, the meeting was remarkable for the long array of political men who spoke. Here are the speakers in their order: Mr. Thomas Hare, Mr. Boyd Kinnear, Mr. J. S. Mill, Rev. Charles Kingsley, Prof. Fawcett, M.P., Mrs. Fawcett, Lord Houghton, Mr. John Morley, Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., Mr. P. A. Taylor, M.P., Prof. Masson, and Mr. Stansfeld, M.P.

The memorable feature of 1869 for the women's cause was the restoration of the municipal franchise to women. Some contemporary letters of Miss Becker's will best tell the story of this step onwards.

To Miss Boucherett, May 3rd, 1869. "It is quite likely we may yet have a fight this session, not on the Parliamentary, but on the municipal franchise. Mr. Hibbert, M.P. for Oldham, has a Bill giving it to every male occupier who has resided a year in a borough. Should this Bill pass the second reading, which it may do to-morrow, most likely an amendment will be moved in Committee to leave out the word male. Mr. Jacob Bright said if he could find half a dozen men on our side willing to support him, he would run the risk of the trial. . . . . Mr. Hibbert is quite agreeable to the amendment. Altogether I feel quite encouraged, for I really think it may be carried. will be a grand step towards the Parliamentary franchise. But we must be very quiet until notice is

It

actually given of the amendment, and then we must work for it, as hard as we can."

To Mrs. Bodichon, June 9th, 1869. "You would see by the papers the great victory that has been won for us by Mr. Jacob Bright on the municipal franchise. Happily the deputation is no longer necessary, indeed the mere proposal of it seems to have been enough to make the Home Secretary promise to do all we wanted. He told Mr. Jacob Bright on Monday that he should support the amendment in the name of the Government. The question therefore passed through the House without a dissentient word, causing surprise and excitement of a quiet sort and much pleasure to the real friends of the cause. The House was very good for that hour, the ministerial bench largely occupied and the ministerial side fairly occupied. But Sir T. Packington afterwards told Mr. Jacob Bright, in a goodhumoured way, he supposed there was still a House of Lords!"

"28th June 1869.

"To the Most Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury.

"MY LORD,-I beg to call your Lordship's attention to the enclosed report of debate in the House of Commons on Mr. Jacob Bright's amendment to the Municipal Franchise Bill. Should any opposition be offered to the clause in the House of Lords, I would earnestly invoke your support of a measure which is at once liberal in restoring their vote to classes which have been disfranchised, and conservative of existing rights. "Since the Bill passed the House of Commons, there