Women now in England occupy the same position politically that the Jews did a hundred years ago.
Until very recent times all lawmakers disputed the fact that women have rights. Women have privileges and duties—mostly duties.
All the laws are made by men, and for the most part the rights only of male citizens are considered. If the rights of women or children are taken into consideration, it is only from a secondary point of view, or because the attention of lawmakers is especially called to the natural rights of women, children, and dumb animals.
Provisions, however, have always been made in England as well as all other civilized countries for punishing Catholics, Jews, Quakers, and women.
In old New England there was once a pleasing invention called a "ducking stool," that was for "women only." For the most part, the punishment for these individuals who were not citizens was very much more severe than it was for the people who made and devised the punishment for them.
Women are admitted into the full rights of citizenship in New Zealand and Australia, and in several States in the United States.
There will surely come a time when we will look back and regard the withholding of full political rights from women in the same way that we now look back and regard the disfranchisement of Jews and Catholics.
There is no argument that can possibly be presented against the right of women to express their political preferences which does not in equal degree apply to the right of male citizens to express theirs.
Every possible logical argument has been put forward and answered.
The protest in England by certain women who are working for equal suffrage has taken what is called a militant form.