Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 4.djvu/984

 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 Suf- frage. 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 Assem- bly 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. 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 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 matters of