When the five minutes were over the woman turned to go, but Mr. Churchill seized her roughly by the arm and forced her to sit down in a chair at the back of the platform saying, "No, you must wait here, till you have heard what I have to say," then turning to the audience he began complaining of the way in which the women were treating him and concluded, "nothing would induce me to vote for giving women the franchise," and, "I am not going to be henpecked into a question of such grave importance." As he finished this declaration of hostility the men on the platform rose, as if by prearranged agreement, and the woman questioner stood up also, wishing to leave. Instantly two men hurried her to the side of the platform where, screened from the audience by a group of others, they swung her roughly over the edge and dragged her into an ante-room.
Thinking that she was merely to be put outside she had made no resistance, but now one of the men went to find the key to lock her in whilst the other remained in the room, standing with his back to the door. As soon as they were alone he began to use the most violent language and, calling her a cat, gesticulated as though he would scratch her face with his hands. Knowing that the room was on the ground floor, she ran to the window, and threw it open, only to find that it was barred. She called to some people who were passing in the side street saying: "I want you to be witnesses of anything that takes place in this room," and they came running up and shouted to the man to behave himself. He at once became quieter, and presently on a key being brought to him, he locked the door and went away. Now, some of those in the street discovered that one of the windows had no bars, and they called to the prisoner to go and open it in order that they might help her to escape. This was easily done and an indignation meeting was immediately held on a piece of waste ground near by. Meanwhile Mr. Churchill was going on to his other meetings, but he found a woman readily to question him at every one.
Next day there were long columns in the Manchester papers dealing with these incidents whilst Mr. Churchill's angry assertion that he would not be "henpecked" drew forth innumerable jokes from the humorous writers. A verse from one of these, entitled "The Heckler, and the Hen-pecker, with apologies to Lewis Carroll" ran as follows:—
"'The price of bread' the Heckler said, 'is what we have to note.
Answer at once, who caused the war, and who made Joseph's coat?'
But here the Hen-pecker, shrieked out, 'Will women have the vote?'
'I weep for you' the Heckler said, 'I deeply sympathise,
We have asked a hundred questions and yet had no replies.'
But here the Hen-pecker spread out a flag of largest size."