30 APRIL 1892, Page 29

THE NON-POLITICAL WOMAN.

ADZES of strong political feelings, who are wont to give their feelings an equally strong expression, seem to be

-exceedingly indignant with Mr. Gladstone's exposition of his views as to Female Suffrage. The reason for their disappoint- ment and dissatisfaction is not very clear, nor is it likely to be made any clearer by the angry correspondence that finds a place in the columns of the Daily News. The utmost that they could have expected to obtain from the veteran statesman was a declaration that could be read one way or the other,—a declaration that committed him to be neither partisan nor opponent, and which still left them room for hope. Perhaps they had reason for such expectation, in view of the many -questions upon which Mr. Gladstone prefers to keep an open 'mind,—in which case we can understand that his unwonted decision and directness of opinion has been a considerable shock to those who challenged it. We say that an expression of doubt is all that they could have expected to extract in their favour, for we cannot imagine how any one could have argued from Mr. Gladstone's former utterances that he would ever pledge himself to support such a change. In spite, however, of their little grounds for hope, some of them do seem to have entertained that expectation, and are now busily accusing the leader whom they hoped to gain, of inconsistency. Nothing angers a woman more than inconsistency—in a man. She has the right to be inconsistent ; it is her privilege, and one upon which she allows no trespass ; therefore, she is more swift to detect inconsistency, and to resent it, than any other flaw in the argument of her male opponent. In this case we hold Mr. Gladstone blameless, however much his reputation for consistency has suffered in other matters. One correspondent of the Daily News has been at the pains, apparently, of unearthing Mr. Gladstone's former speeches, and now triumphantly confronts him with one which he delivered in his Midlothian campaign, challenging him to reconcile the views that he then held with those which he has so recently expressed. The words which are held to 'have compromised Mr. Gladstone are worth quoting. He was appealing to the ladies present for their sympathy and support in the political crisis of 1879, and he added that in making such an appeal, "we are making no inappropriate demand, but are beseeching you to fulfil a duty which belongs to you, which, so far from involving any departure from your character as women, is associated with the fulfilment of that character and the discharge of its duties." Where is the in- consistency f Mr. Gladstone might well have said that then, and believed it, and yet might still hold the same view as he does to-day as to the unadvisability of the active intrusion of women into the battle-field of politics. He was appealing to them, not for their votes, but for their good-will and their help in canvassing the votes of others. That is a part in political warfare which womankind has always taken, and of which it would be impossible to deprive her, even if man were ' so minded. But between influencing the votes of others and giving a vote oneself there is a certain difference, whatever woman herself may choose to say, for the sake of argu- ment, to the contrary. To throw herself heart and soul into the political cause which seems to her to be the most just, to espouse it openly, to devote her powers of per- suasion towards inducing others to espouse it also, is cer- tainly no departure from her character as a woman, and, indeed, might well be called the fulfilment of a duty which is eminently womanly. To exercise the privilege of voting, to acquire the further privilege of being voted for as a candidate herself, and to become, in the natural course of events, an official of the Government which she sup- ports—which is the only possible and logical sequence of this extension of the franchise—would be a very new depar- ture from the recognised character of woman, and one which would require her to fulfil duties which are not in strict accordance with her sex. It is rather characteristic of her kind, that a woman, who is quick enough to distinguish nuances of opinion in her favour, will recognise none in an opinion which is opposed to her views. In this case she will not recognise that there is any middle course : either she must have a vote, or she is shut out from taking any part in politics whatever. To be invited to continue in her role of influential onlooker and adviser in the game of politics, she considers to be so empty an invitation that it amounts to an insult. She must take a hand in the game herself. We are speaking, of corn se, only of those political women whose interest in politics is generally of a strictly personal nature, however much they may talk of the cause which they honour with their support ; women to whom the " loaves and fishes " of office, in the shape of notoriety and recognition, are the chief attraction, and who are somewhat noisy in advertising their claim to enjoy them. Happily their number is very small ; they form but a very small minority of the interested members of their sex.

For most people, it is most politic to have no politics at all ; or at least, having them, to profess them as little as possible,— most politic, that is to say, if one would pass one's life with as little friction and as much peace as possible. It is with an honest sense of fulfilling a duty that a great number of men and women force themselves to take an interest in the politics of their day, and declare themselves adherents of one side or the other. In the case of a great many men, and of most women, one may gauge the sincerity of their views by their reluctance in adopting them, and their want of alacrity in expressing them. The eager politician of the fair sex is rarely quite honest in the warmth of her advocacy ; nearly always there lurk ulterior motives at the bottom of her loudly expressed convictions. By the vehemence of her opinions she is known ; and on account of this vehemence she is suspected and avoided. In a certain sense she is right in asserting that she has but little political influence, though she is wrong in denying that influence to other members of her sex. She has but little influence, because she has deserted her legitimate role and her own weapons, and attempted to fight with a man's weapons upon a man's ground. Directly she descends into the arena among the actual combatants, she loses her influence over the combatants whom she once assisted by her encouragement and applause. The actual int fluence that is exercised by women, both generally and indi- vidually, over the politics and the politicians of their day, is immense,—though, as that influence is generally the most powerful where it is most occult, it is difficult to esti- mate the extent of it. The candidate for Parliamentary honours knows this well, and if he is a wise man, de- votes himself quite as much to winning the good graces of the wives and daughters of his constituents as he does to persuading the men themselves of the soundness of his views. Leaders of parties know it also, though they would hardly care to confess how much they often owe to the delicate diplomacy of their fair allies, or how often the fate of a man or a measure has been decided by a woman's will. The non-political woman, by which we mean the woman who makes

no parade of her political feelings, who neither speaks on platforms nor writes to the newspapers, but who rather seeks to mask such political sympathies and interests as she pos- sesses under the appearance of caring for other things, is very often one of the strongest factors in the political world. Ignorance of her power has before now brought more than one politician to grief. Such power, and the opportunity for using it, are of course given to but few women, as they are also given to but few men; but even to the ordinary run of womankind is given, by virtue of their sex, a greater power of influencing others than is given to the ordinary man. As long as women are the wives and the mothers of those who have the votes, it is absurd to contend that they exert and enjoy no political influence. Every woman who takes an interest in politics—and to do them justice, whatever may be said to the contrary, most women of in- telligence do take some kind of interest—has the chance of doing something for the cause which she may espouse, by exerting those powers of persuasion with which Nature has endowed her, and by so doing, to benefit it far more than if she recorded in its favour her one solitary vote. Most women are fully aware of this fact, and, being quite content with the position that is allotted to them, do not care to extort from the other sex any open recognition of their right to have a voice, and to be listened to. They are the less anxious for open recognition, in that they suspect that the more patent and visible their influence is, the less efficient it will become.

The political woman, as distinguished from the non-political, is not content with exercising her influence in obscurity. She demands that her right to exercise it should be acknowledged, and that she should share in such rewards as fall to the lot of the influential. After all, asks one of the corre- spondents of the Daily News, why should not women's votes lead to their having a seat in Parliament, or even becoming Cabinet Ministers ? Is not Mrs. or Miss So-and-So quite as competent an authority upon certain subjects as any man among them P That is, we believe, really the view of the most ardent advocates of woman's rights. It is not because they think that society would be improved by the addition of the feminine element to its actual government, but because they

'Ana so keenly the injustice of their exclusion, that they are anxious to take a more visible part in the making of its laws. It is not enough for them to know that they have been responsible for quite as much legislation, both useful and futile, as the other sex; it is not enough to know that the ostensible head of the whole Government is a woman. They want to have their names connected with the Bills that are proposed or passed ; and they want, each one of them, to have the chance of becoming Prime Minister. In search of this shadow of possible fame and notoriety, they are willing to sacrifice the real influence that they now enjoy ; for we are convinced that the possession of a vote for herself will considerably diminish a woman's worth as an advocate. Secure in her position, and sure of the power that she feels that she exercises, the non-political woman cares for no public recognition of her merits, and is better pleased even that her influence should pass unseen. Both as a woman of the world and as the centre of a home, she knows the value of reticence in matters of earnest desire. If her ambition urges her to extend the sphere of her influence, her common-sense teaches her that she can best do so by disguising it as much as possible. It was to such women that Mr. Gladstone pro- bably made his appeal in Midlothian, and not to those who are most discourteously termed "the shrieking sisterhood." The latter are too well known as the champions of lost causes, for any one to care greatly for their support.