what he is going to vote about.

It is this which involves some weakness in many current aspirations
towards the extension of the suffrage; I mean that, apart from all
questions of abstract justice, it is not the smallness or largeness of
the suffrage that is at present the difficulty of Democracy. It is not
the quantity of voters, but the quality of the thing they are voting
about. A certain alternative is put before them by the powerful houses
and the highest political class. Two roads are opened to them; but they
must go down one or the other. They cannot have what they choose, but
only which they choose. To follow the process in practice we may put it
thus. The Suffragettes—if one may judge by their frequent ringing
of his bell—want to do something to Mr. Asquith. I have no notion
what it is. Let us say (for the sake of argument) that they want to
paint him green. We will suppose that it is entirely for that simple
purpose that they are always seeking to have private interviews with
him; it seems as profitable as any other end that I can imagine to such
an interview. Now, it is possible that the Government of the day might
go in for a positive policy of painting Mr. Asquith green; might give
that reform a prominent place in their programme. Then the party in
opposition would adopt another policy, not a policy of leaving Mr.
Asquith alone (which would be considered dangerously revolutionary), but
some alternative course of action, as, for instance, painting him red.
Then both sides would fling themselves on the people, they would both
cry that the appeal was now to the Caesar of Democracy. A dark and
dramatic air of conflict and real crisis would arise on both sides;
arrows of satire would fly and swords of eloquence flame. The Greens
would say that Socialists and free lovers might well want to paint Mr.
Asquith red; they wanted to paint the whole town red. Socialists would
indignantly reply that Socialism was the reverse of disorder, and that
they only wanted to paint Mr. Asquith red so that he might resemble
the red pillar-boxes which typified State control. The Greens would
passionately deny the charge so often brought against them by the Reds;
they would deny that they wished Mr. Asquith green in order that he
might be invisible on the green benches of the Commons, as certain
terrified animals take the colour of their environment.

There would be fights in the street perhaps, and abundance of ribbons