CHAPTER II

WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT--FIRST STAGE

"All who live in a country should take an interest in that country, love that country, and the vote gives that sense of interest, fosters that love."--Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone.

The women's suffrage question in 1860 was on the point of entering a new phase--the phase of practical politics. Parliamentary Reform was again before the country; the principles of representation were constantly discussed in newspapers, and in every social circle where intelligent men and women met.

James Mill's article on "Government," referred to in