Legislature (except possibly Presidential Suffrage) and
the amendment to the constitution having been defeated by so heavy a
vote, it was deemed best not to ask for another submission of the
question for a term of years. Therefore other matters, involving
legal equality of the sexes, formed for a while the chief subjects for
legislative work.

In 1892 a special appeal was made to the General Assembly to confer
upon women by statute the right to vote for presidential electors.
Three hearings were had before the House committee but the bill was
not reported.

In 1895 a hearing, managed by Mrs. Jeanette S. French, was granted by
the Senate committee. A number of able women of the State made
addresses and the committee reported unanimously in favor of
submitting again an amendment for the Full Suffrage. It was too late,
however, for further action and was referred to the May session. At
that time it passed the Senate but was lost in the House by a small
majority.

In 1897 the Governor was empowered by the General Assembly to appoint
a commission to revise the State constitution. This was deemed by many
as opposed to the spirit of the basic law of the Commonwealth, in
substituting a small appointive body for the Constitutional Convention
of Electors previously considered necessary to revise the fundamental
law of the State, but the commission was appointed. The Woman Suffrage
Association early presented a claim for a hearing which was granted
for May 11. The Rev. Anna Garlin Spencer conducted it and introduced
the other speakers who were all citizens of the State and of influence
in their communities.[430] After interviews were held with the
commission, the association adopted resolutions which were afterwards
incorporated in a letter and read by Mrs. Bolles to the Committee on
Revision. It said in part:

We are informed that you consider it inadvisable to incorporate a
suffrage amendment in the revised constitution lest it endanger
the acceptance of other proposed and necessary changes. This view
may be correct, but surely it need not prevent you from advising
a provision by which the Legislature would be empowered to extend
suffrage to women at its discretion, and this we greatly desire.
A conservative measure of this nature could not call out a large
amount of antagonism from the voters, while it would be a great
help to women in their efforts to obtain a voice in such ma