om, proclaimed as law on the Tynwald Hill.

Fully to estimate this victory, it must be remembered that the vote
thus gained is the complete parliamentary franchise. Though the
total area of the island is so small and though only those women
who were absolutely owners of property were enfranchised, they
numbered about 700. The law came into operation immediately, and
the election began March 21. The women voted in considerable
numbers, and were, as an eye-witness states, without exception
quite intelligent and business like in this procedure. At the
polling stations, the first persons who recorded their votes were
women. We may mention in proof of their political gratitude that in
the district where Mr. Sherwood was one of the candidates, every
woman, whatever her party, voted for his reelection.

Just before the opening of parliament in 1881, Mr. Courtney
accepted a position in the administration, which rendered it
impossible for him to continue in charge of any independent
measure. By his advice, application was made to Mr. Hugh Mason,
member for Ashton under Lyme. But the state of public business
during the session never permitted the resolution to be discussed.
The same disappointment occurred in the session of 1882--the
difficulties in Ireland and Egypt occupying the attention of the
government and the country to an extent which almost precluded any
measure of domestic reform. Nevertheless, by constant and arduous
efforts, these two years witnessed the passing of the Municipal
Franchise bill for Scotland.

The Municipal Franchise act of 1869 applied to English women only.
Early in the session of 1881, Dr. Cameron, member for Glasgow,
introduced a bill to assimilate the position of Scottish women to
that which their English sisters had enjoyed for twelve years. The
bill passed the House of Commons before Easter, and was then
brought forward in the House of Lords by the Earl of Camperdown,
passed May 13, and received the royal assent June 3. This law
applied only to women rate-payers of the royal and parliamentary
burghs, and did not extend to the police burghs, the populous
places endowed with powers of local self-government under the
general Police and Improvement act of 1862. A request was sent to
Mr. Cameron to exert himself for a similar extension of the
franchise to the women of the police burghs, and he answered by
introducing in the following year, 1882, another act which gave to
all women rate-payers the