Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 4.djvu/808

 mission this year. On March 23 consideration of the question was voted down and the yeas and nays were refused.

On March 31 and April 1 License Suffrage was discussed and finally defeated by 93 yeas, 116 nays, including pairs.

The Committee on Election Laws reported in favor of Municipal Suffrage but the bill was defeated.

The Supreme Court decided that women could not be made notaries public because they are not distinctly named as eligible in the State constitution.

Thomas F. Keenan, an opponent of woman suffrage, introduced a bill to license houses "for commercial sexual intercourse," which he alone voted for.

1897 — It was decided to ask this year for a thorough revision and equalization of the statutes bearing on domestic relations, in view of the fact that the last Legislature had appointed a committee of lawyers to revise and codify the laws. Especial attention was called to the need of a law making fathers and mothers joint guardians of their children. Mr. Ernst, in behalf of the association, prepared a bill equalizing the property rights of husbands and wives. Mr. Russell, in behalf of the M. A. O. F. E. S. W. (which had for years been circulating leaflets declaring that the laws of Massachusetts were already more than just to women) prepared a bill tending in a similar direction; and a Judge of Probate prepared a more limited bill. All! three appeared before the revising committee and, after repeated conferences, a bill making some improvements was recommended by the committee and enacted by the Legislature, but with a proviso that it should not go into effect until the following year, in order that the next Legislature might have a chance to amend it.

On February 10 the committee gave a hearing to the petitioners for the submission of an amendment to enfranchise women. It was addressed by Mr. Blackwell, Mrs. Cheney, Mrs. Boland, the Rev. Thomas Scully, the Rev. Mr. Ames, the Rev. Augusta Chapin, Miss Blackwell and others. No remonstrants appeared.