The debate was closed by a speech of Mr. Balfour's,
in which he disclaimed any sort of connection between giving women the Parliamentary franchise and admitting them to seats in Parliament, and replied to the argument that women cannot serve the country in the field or in the navy, by the very odd argument that neither can men over sixty years of age, and that that is not held to be a reason for refusing the franchise to men over sixty years of age. The order of society rests ultimately on physical force ; but those who have all their lives wielded that force do not cease to comprehend clearly its true political function and value, because after a certain age they do not wield it so freely as before. Women who have never wielded it, certainly do show- an inadequate grasp of its necessity in maintaining law and right. On a division, the Bill was rejected by 175 to 152 votes, in a House of less than half its full complement. The majority of the Gladatonian votes were given against the Bill (81 to 53), and so were the majority of the Liberal Unionist votes (24 to 13) ; the majority of the Conservative votes went in its favour (76 to 65).
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