w election law gave
women a further advantage--the expression _male_ person was replaced with
the generic word "man."[33] Since an Act of Parliament (13 and 14 Vict.,
c. 21) declares that in all laws the masculine expression also includes
the feminine, _unless the contrary is expressly stated_, the friends of
woman's suffrage believed they could interpret this expression in favor of
women. The attempt to do this was now made. A number of qualified women
demanded that they be registered with the voters; they were determined to
have recourse to the law if the government commission refused to register
their votes. At this time the first public meeting of women in England was
held in the famous "Free Trade Hall" in Manchester. But the courts and the
Supreme Court interpreted the law _against_ the women,--"they are
disqualified neither intellectually nor morally, but _legally_." Then a
methodical propaganda by means of public meetings was begun; the first
victory was won as early as 1869,--the women taxpayers were given the
right to vote in municipal affairs in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Between 1870 and 1884, the political organization of the women was
strengthened; the women of the aristocracy (Lady Amberly, Lady Anne
Gore-Langton, and others) were won over to the cause of woman's suffrage.
A "Central Committee for Woman's Suffrage" was formed, and a number of
excellent women speakers (Biggs, Maclaren, Becker, Fawcett, Craigen,
Kingsley, Tod, and others) spoke throughout the country. A further success
was achieved when the Parliament of the Isle of Man[34] (House of Keys)
gave qualified women the right to vote.

In 1884, the property qualification was again reduced through a new
election law; the friends of woman's suffrage took advantage of this
opportunity to present a motion in Parliament favoring woman's suffrage,
in support of which the following statements were made: "Two million men,
many of whom are ignorant and uneducated, and possess only a small plot of
ground, are to be given political rights. On what principle is the same
right withheld from 300,000 women who are educated and who are
landowners?" This motion was lost also. In 1885 the English women, in
order to make their influence felt in political affairs, formed the
"Primrose League," which supported the Conservative candidates in the
election campaigns; and in 1887 was formed the "Women's Liberal
Federation," which supported the Liberals in a similar m