ous tone. For this brief
narrative it will suffice to note the closing speech from the Right
Hon. A. J. Balfour, who concluded by saying that whenever any
important extension of the Franchise was brought up "they would have
to face and deal with the problem of Women's Suffrage--and deal with
it in a complete fashion." The division showed 175 for the Bill, 192
against--a result which was a surprise to both sides, for the
opponents had exerted themselves in a manner beyond all precedent;
they had sent round a whip signed by twenty members, ten on each side
of the House, and Mr. Gladstone had written a letter to Mr. Samuel
Smith, that had been circulated as a pamphlet, in which amongst other
points he urged that at least it should be ascertained "that the
womanly mind of the country was in overwhelming proportion and with
deliberate purpose bent on procuring the vote."

_1893-1895._--At the opening of the Parliament it was a great
satisfaction to the Women's Suffrage party that Viscount Wolmer (now
the Earl of Selborne) had undertaken the Parliamentary leadership of
the question. It will hardly be needful here to go into all the causes
which thwarted the vigilance of the leader in procuring a hearing for
the measure in that Parliament.

On June 1st, 1895, a representative Conference was held at Westminster
Town Hall to consider a plan for an appeal to the House of Commons
from women all over the United Kingdom. Miss Florence Davenport Hill,
who presided, briefly explained that the object of such an appeal was
to convince the country in a more emphatic manner than could be
possible by the petitions, memorials and demonstrations that already
had been tried again and again, all of which were necessarily limited
in their scope. This appeal should be from women of all ranks and
classes in all parts of the United Kingdom. The Appeal for the
Parliamentary Franchise then agreed upon was managed by a committee
appointed from the chief organisations amongst women.

_1896._--This effort to "focus the diffused interest of women in the
suffrage into one concentrated expression" resulted in the collection
of 257,796 signatures, nearly every constituency in the United Kingdom
being represented. Although the Appeal was in readiness for
presentation in the session of 1895, a suitable opportunity did not
arise until 1896, when a fairly good place had been drawn in the
ballot by Mr. Faithfull Begg and the Bill was set down for May 20th.