not worked for a reward, but
for their country, as any citizen would, but, in our country, the
great converting power is practical proof of value and they had that
overwhelmingly in our work. The Press came out practically solidly for
Women's Suffrage. The work of women was praised in every paper and
one declared, "It cannot be tolerable that we should return to the
old struggle about admitting them to the franchise." Eminent
Anti-Suffragists, inside and outside of the House of Commons, frankly
admitted their conversion. Mr. Asquith, the old enemy of Women's
Suffrage, said in a memorable speech: "They presented to me not only
a reasonable, but, I think, from their point of view, an unanswerable
case.... They say that when the war comes to an end, and when the
process of industrial reconstruction has to be set on foot, have not
the women a special claim to be heard on the many questions which will
arise directly affecting their interests, and possibly meaning for
them large displacement of labour? I cannot think that the House will
deny that, and, I say quite frankly, that I cannot deny that claim."
It was clear the whole question of franchise would need to be gone
into--the soldiers' vote was lost to him under our system when he was
away, and the sailors' redistribution was long overdue, an election,
as things were, would be absolutely unrepresentative. So after several
attempts to deal with the problem in sections, a Committee was set
up under the Speaker of the House of Commons to go into the whole
question of Franchise reform and registration.

The Committee was composed of five Peers and twenty-seven members of
the House of Commons, and started its work in October, 1916, and in
its report, April, 1917, it recommended, by a majority, that a measure
of enfranchisement should be given to women.

The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and the Consultative
Committee, which had been formed in 1916 by the N.U.W.S.S., of
representatives of all constitutional societies, presented various
memorials, notably an admirable memorandum of women's work and opinion
in favour, prepared by the National Union for the Speakers' Conference
during its sittings. After its recommendations while the bill was
being drafted, Mrs. Henry Fawcett, LL.D., the President of the
N.U.W.S.S., headed a deputation received by the Premier, Mr. Lloyd
George, who has always been a supporter of Women's Suffrage. This was
certainly one of the most