Page:Letters to a friend on votes for women.djvu/39

 the name of the lady who, to the utmost satisfaction of the English world, became in fact, though not in name, Senior Wrangler, as well as that of the lady who in reality, though not in form, obtained the highest classical degree given by the University of Cambridge. Everyone is well assured that, unless the lawless follies of fighting suffragists excite some untoward reaction, degrees at Oxford and Cambridge will soon be as open to women as the degrees of Edinburgh, St. Andrews, or the University of Dublin. Women already enjoy the municipal franchise; they are Town Councillors; one woman is a Mayor. Nor does public opinion enforce restraints which are not imposed by law. A woman may express her religious or her political convictions with freedom. It would be ridiculous to describe George Eliot, Mrs. Humphry Ward, or Mrs. Fawcett as having been, or being, tongue-tied. Why not, it is urged, take one step more? Why not concede to women Parliamentary votes, and thus pursue to the end that path of progress which has hitherto led to nothing but freedom and happiness?

It is well to admit that this line of reasoning