Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/759

 WOMEN S MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 743 Irish Home Rule, and Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain had broken up the Conservative Party by advocating Protection in 1903-4. Each of these had, in consequence, a prolonged sojourn in the wilderness of Opposition. But now a Government was formed in which all the parties were represented except the Irish Nationalists, who had refused to join, and therefore our friends in both the old parties could give free rein to their disposition to make Women's Suffrage a reality without dread of bringing disaster on their organisations. The attitude of the N.U.W.S.S. and seventeen other Constitutional Suffrage Societies who had united to form a Consultative Committee, was quite clear as to the line we should take under these circumstances. In various ways and by repeated communications, letters, memorials and deputations we kept the Government informed that if their in- tentions with regard to the new register were limited simply to replacing upon it the names of the men who had lost their vote through their patriotic service, we should not press our own claim; but if on the other hand the Government determined to proceed by creating a new basis for the franchise, or changing the law in any way which would result in the addition of a large number of men to the register, without doing anything for women, we should use every means in our power within the limits of lawful agitation to bring the case for the enfranchise- ment of women before Parliament and the country. Mr. Ascjuith answered a communication from us on these lines in May, 1916, with the greatest politeness but said that "no such 'ation was at present in contemplation." However, within the next fortnight it was in contemplation and the Government* made repeated attempts to deal with the situation by the crea- tion of a special register. All the attempts were rejected by the House of Commons, which evidently wanted the subject dealt with on broader and more comprehensive lines. On Au- 14 Mr. Asquith, in introducing yet another Special Register Mill, announced his conversion to Women's Suffrage! This was an advent of great importance to our movement, for it virtually made the Liberal I 'arty a Suffrage Party, but the Parliamentary difficulty was not removed', for the Government was still nib- bling at the question by trying to deal with it by little amend-