rich men would at once be enabled to enfranchise their wives or other ladies of their families by securing to them, at a small cost, the necessary qualification for voting, and we should then have this precious result—the rich man would present himself at the polling booth accompanied by a cluster of lady votes, and the poor man, who is not burthened with spare property, would bring his single vote. Are you prepared to declare that this would be just, or a measure favourable to the Democracy?
I have recently called the attention of one or two working class leaders to this unpleasant prospect, and they have admitted that they had not considered the point. Then I say, what business have men to undertake the guidance of others before they have thoroughly considered the measures which they advocate? They have endeavoured to escape from their dilemma by advocating total womanhood suffrage, but I ask those who are sane whether there is the slightest prospect of their obtaining in the present generation even a consideration of such a proposal? All that they will do will be to strengthen the lesser demand; they will get the part but never the whole. This might be wise if the part represented a proportion of value—an instalment of the whole. But in this case the part represents but a sour morsel, which might be swallowed as a part of the whole, but which taken alone is a fatal dose. And this reminds me of a doctrine in vogue among certain Radicals to which I cannot subscribe. It is that it is always necessary to ask for more than you expect. Such a doctrine appears to me to be hardly honest, and of doubtful advantage. It is not honest to say that you want one thing when you mean another; and it it be once understood that the maximum demand is merely a flourish, in all probability a minimum concession will be deemed sufficient. Our forefathers were wiser in their generation when they called for "The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill." The demand made should be at once reasonable, just, and uncompromising; and speaking for the Electoral Reform Association I think I may say that we shall be satisfied with nothing less than the adoption of the whole of our programme.
It is somewhat amusing to observe the air of sublime magnanimity with which righteous Radicals arrange round their devoted necks the halter of woman suffrage. It will serve them perfectly right if the women pass a law directly they have power compelling them all to go to church twice each Sunday. I must congratulate the ladies upon the dexterity with which they have worked
