we should urge; for he not only did not send
for us but he refused to see us or consult us in any way. He tossed
us, without our consent, the thoroughly worthless substitute of a day
for a Private Member's Bill, such as we had had experience of time and
again ever since 1870. The N.U.W.S.S. indignantly rejected this offer
and took no interest in the proposed Bill, which was, however,
introduced and given a day for second reading in May, 1913, when it
was defeated by a majority of 47.

This discreditable series of incidents did far more harm to the
Government than to the suffrage cause, as was very conclusively shown
in the press. "Punch," for instance, had a cartoon on Feb. 5, 1913,
representing a dance in which Mr. Asquith figured as a defaulting
partner in a corner and trying to escape from an indignant woman who
said, "You've cut my dance!" This was indicative of the general trend
of public opinion.

In the previous year the N.U.W.S.S. had placed a new interpretation on
its election policy. This was to support in elections irrespective of
party "the best friend of Women's Suffrage." After the defeat of the
Conciliation Bill in 1912 when 42 so-called "friends" voted against
it, we resolved in the future that the best friend was a man who was
not only personally satisfactory but who also belonged to a party
which had made Women's Suffrage a plank in its platform. This meant
support for the Labour Party and for the development of this policy we
raised a special fund called the Election Fighting Fund and took
active steps in canvassing and speaking for Labour men whenever they
presented themselves as candidates for vacant seats. Our movement had
now become the storm centre of English politics. A well known labour
leader wrote of the political situation in February, 1913, as follows:
"The Women's Suffrage question will now dominate British politics
until it is settled. It has within the last few weeks killed a great
Government measure and it has done more than that. It has made it
impossible for this or any succeeding Liberal Government to deal with
franchise reform without giving votes to women. The Labour Party will
see to that."

In 1913 the N.U.W.S.S. organised the greatest public demonstration it
had ever made. We called it The Pilgrimage. It meant processions of
non-militant suffragists, wearing their badges and carrying banners,
marching towards London along eight of the great trunk roads. These
eight processio