Following on from the recent article about Gwaunfarren House (https://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=8282), here is a pictorial look at just ten of the magnificent ‘grand’ houses that we once had in Merthyr, but have been swept away by ‘progress’.
Firstly, the aforementioned Gwaunfarren House…
The home of the Guest family – Dowlais House…
The home of the Homfray family, Penydarren House….
The home of the Crawshay family (pre-Cyfarthfa Castle), Gwaelodygarth House….
Gwaelodygarth Fach…
Sandbrook House, Thomastown…
Gwernllwyn House, Dowlais…
Vaynor House…
Ynysowen House, Merthyr Vale…
Bargoed House, Treharris…
All photos courtesy of the Alan George Archive.
If anyone has any more information or any memories of any of these houses, please get in touch. Also, if anyone has any photos of other lost houses or landmarks in Merthyr, please let me know.
There are many parts of Merthyr’s history than seem not to have been documented formally, although I am sure many of you will have photos. One such is the Bird Garden in Cyfarthfa Park. Who remembers this?
The Bird Garden, as I always called it, was basically a narrow corridor of bird cages that ran behind the tennis courts. You got at it from the end nearest the “top swings”, mostly by running down the bank from the chalet, (there was later a short tarmacced path) preferably sticky from chocolate bought in the shop. I can’t remember what birds there were, apart from the peacocks, whose calls echoed round the park and were the accompaniment to many a boring lesson in school, but I do remember that they eventually added a small pond and expanded the cages further up towards the main road leading to the Castle.
It must have been there about 7 or 8 years – from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s, and there is no trace of it left today.
What do you remember about it? Share your memories in the comments below.
Did you go to Cyfarthfa School? Did you teach at Cyfarthfa School?
Next year Cyfarthfa Castle celebrates its 200th anniversary. To mark the event, Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery in association with the Merthyr Tydfil & District Historical Society are planning to produce a book and exhibition recording people’s memories of Cyfarthfa School.
Castle School Geography Class 1914. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive
If anyone would like to share their memories, big or small, in writing or orally, please contact one of the people below and we can let you know what sort of thing we are looking for:-
Transcribed below is a report which appeared in the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian 150 years ago today – 18 October 1873.
A meeting was held at the Zoar Chapel, Merthyr, on Tuesday evening, for the purpose of hearing addresses on the Female Suffrage Question. Mrs. Crawshay, of Cyfarthfa Castle, presided, and was supported by Mrs. Fawcett, wife of Professor Fawcett, Miss Lilias S. Ashworth, of Bath, etc.
Mrs. CRAWSHAY, who was received with acclamation, said: “I share with all present their anxiety to hear the two gifted ladies who are my guests tonight; but it has been intimated to me that a few words on my own part would be acceptable to some among the audience; and as I have always found my Merthyr friends most kind and indulgent in listening to me – notwithstanding all my wicked notions – I propose making a remark on the assertion that ‘women don’t want the suffrage.’ (Applause). Mr. Henry James said at Taunton, last week, that if he were sure even half the women of England desired the franchise he would vote for it, and he seemed to fancy that he was acting in accordance with the wishes of the majority of women in England in declining to vote for it. This may to some extent be true – the black slaves did not care to be set free – there must be some little experience of freedom before it is valued. But why should the women of England, who don’t want to vote, be so afraid of the suffrage being given to those women who do? They will no more be obliged to vote than men are. There are many women who do not use this privilege – do not fulfil their duty – but it would be a strong plea to bring forward, that we must not allow any men duly qualified to vote, because some do not care to vote. (Hear, hear, and cheers).
Who is he who knows what proportion of women are anxious to have a voice in making the laws by which they, no less than men, are bound? No one – for the tyranny exercised by some men is so great that they prevent their wives and grown-up daughters hearing any discussion on the subject when anxious to do so. (Hear, hear.) To my knowledge there would have been some here tonight who are kept at home as if they were either children or idiots. Is it likely this state of things will continue? No. Because at some of these meetings the absence of Mrs. or Miss So-and-so will be deplored, and the true reason for her absence given; and those men who act thus tyrannically by their wives and daughters are the very ones who would most shrink from having such conduct traced home to them. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) It is only the most noble and the most generous of husbands and fathers who at the present time allow their women-kind the exercise of intellect; but the others will have to do so, and then Mr. Henry James will find himself obliged to vote for the enfranchisement of women, if he will either gain or retain a seat in the House. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
I feel sure that one reason why narrow-minded men are so averse to greater independence of thought on the part of women is that they fear it might raise the standard of intelligence throughout the country. This is a strange fear, while there are physiologists who assure us that the mind of woman is in itself an inferior article to man’s mind. Perhaps they will have to modify this idea some day. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) In the year 1801, M. Sylvain Marechal wrote a book in which he discussed the question, ‘Ought women to learn the alphabet?’ This is ironical, but really it is the point where the men went wrong. (Hear, and cheers) They should have resolutely answered ‘No.’ But, only think, had they done so, what a far backward position Europe would hold now, for it is clearly a decree of Providence that one class cannot rise without the rest, any more than one individual can do so. What is the meaning of all the martyrdoms of all the ages? Only that the martyr was in advance of his time; and that is a crime so resented now, no less than in ages past, that though it is no longer punished by physical tortures, mental torture is still in vogue. (Loud cheers.)”
Mr. CHARLES JAMES, after some appropriate remarks, moved the following resolution:- “That the exclusion of women, otherwise legally qualified, from voting in the election of members of Parliament, is injurious to those excluded, contrary to the principle of just representation, and to the laws in force regulating the principles of municipal, parochial, and all other representative governments.”
Millicent Garrett Fawcett
Mrs. FAWCETT, supported the resolution in an able speech, saying in conclusion that it was a flagrant injustice to exclude such a woman as Lady Burdett Coutts for instance, from the suffrage. They were determined to go on in their endeavours, and they would not be debarred from their purpose by any cry of unnatural alliance between themselves and the Tories. She hoped the time was not far distant when such meetings as the present would become no longer a necessity for the attainment of their object.
Mr. W. JONES, of Cyfarthfa, moved the following resolution, “That a petition to the House of Commons be adopted and signed by the chairman on behalf of this meeting, and that a memorial be forwarded to Mr. Richard and Mr. Fothergill, members for the borough, requesting them to support Mr. Jacob Bright’s Bill to remove the electoral disabilities of women.
Lillias Ashworth (in later years)
Miss ASHWORTH, who on rising to second the motion, was loudly cheered, said that doubtless many present were convinced of the justice of the claim of women to representation, but she believed more cordial support would be given were they convinced that women were sufferers from the want of representation. Referring to the borough and county members Miss Ashworth observed:- “I have lately been looking through the division list of the House of Commons, and I find that the measure to which I have alluded has not been supported by one particular party, but by Liberals and Tories. Mr. Gladstone has given his adhesion to the principle, and Mr. Disraeli has voted for the Bill over and over again. Indeed, many of the foremost statesmen in the House of Commons have voted for it, and I am pleased to find Mr. Henry Richard (loud cheers) – each year records his vote in favour of the Women’s Disabilities Bill and one of your members for the county – Mr. Talbot – has voted every time for it; but Mr. Vivian has voted against it, and Mr. Fothergill has voted against it. Mr. Vivian’s, I think, is a most hopeless case, because he has voted against it both times lately. (Laughter.)
Now, Mr. Fothergill has missed for two whole years, and I really think if you bring some pressure to bear upon him he will be very likely converted. I unhesitatingly state that it is no credit to any Liberal member in the House of Commons that he should vote against the Women’s Disabilities Bill and as a general election is not perhaps so far off, I say to you, working men, many of whom I believe I see before me, that a man who does justice to women is a man most likely to do justice to himself. When a general election comes round, I ask you, whatever candidates come forward, that they should all be questioned upon this subject, and it should be clearly elicited from them how they intend to vote when they go to the House of Commons. And another thing I should like to ask you to do is to send a largely signed petition to your members. I don’t think Mr. Richard needs one, because he seems always right. Mr. Vivian’s, I repeat, is a hopeless case, but I am sure Mr. Fothergill would appreciate one if it were very widely signed” (laughter, and much cheering) – during which Miss Ashworth resumed her seat. The resolution was seconded and carried amid applause.
The RECTOR of MERTHYR, in supporting a vote of thanks to Mrs. Crawshay, Mrs. Fawcett, and Miss Ashworth, concluded as follows:- “I was at Bath the other day, and was informed that there were thirty thousand women there, and in the height of the season, in excess of men. Why is this? Why, simply for the reason because the young men of the present day don’t do their duty in the way they ought. (Applause.) They ought to set about marrying at once. With this view, then, I hope the measure under discussion will succeed, and I hope the women who do this will get an Act of Parliament passed that a poll-tax be put on every man that is not married. (Laughter and cheering ). The assembly then broke up.
The name Robert Lugar may not be one that most people are familiar with, but he is someone who has left an indelible mark on Merthyr’s history, as he was the architect who designed Cyfarthfa Castle.
Little is known of his early life, but he was born c.1773/4 in Colchester, the son of Edward Lugar, a carpenter. From about 1799 he was practising in London, being based at Featherstone Buildings, Holborn, and exhibited at the Royal Academy for the next twenty years. In 1812 he succeeded John Johnson as County Surveyor of Essex, a post which he held until 1816.
Lugar first made his mark with the publication of his first book ‘Architectural Sketches for Cottages, Rural Dwellings and Villas’ in 1805, and this was followed by ‘The Country Gentleman’s Architect’ in 1807. The following year he completed his first major commission Dunstall Priory, and this was followed in 1808-09 by Balloch and Tullichewen Castles. The resemblance between Tullichewen Castle and Cyfarthfa is remarkable.
Tullichewen Castle
In 1810, Lugar took on an apprentice to work with him at his Holborn offices – the 20 year old Archibald Simpson. Simpson would go on to be one of Scotland’s most important architects, who along with his rival John Smith is regarded as having fashioned the character of Aberdeen as “The Granite City”.
It was in 1824, that Lugar was commissioned by William Crawshay II to build a new home for him and his family, befitting his status as one of Merthyr’s great iron-masters. The new home designed by Lugar was Cyfarthfa Castle, which was completed by 1825 at a cost of £30,000.
Ground floor plan of Cyfarthfa Castle from 1827
In 1834, a fire all but destroyed the Houses of Parliament in London, and a competition was held to design a new building. Lugar entered the competition in collaboration with fellow architect John Burrell, but lost out to architect Charles Barry. Interestingly, Charles Barry is another architect closely connected with Merthyr – a friend of Lady Charlotte Guest; he designed both Dowlais Central Schools and the Guest Memorial Hall.
Robert Luger continued designing houses for the rest of his career, his most important works being Wyelands House in Monmouthsire (1830) and Bardon Hall in Leicestershire (1837). He died at his home at Pembroke Square, London on 23 June 1855, aged 82.
William Edward Jones made himself unique among the portrait painters that have settled in Merthyr Tydfil, because not only was he exceptionally talented, but he also was father to six children, several of which were named after famous renaissance artists, who became artists themselves.
William Edward Jones was born in Newmarket, Flintshire, in 1825. He was the son of James Jones, an Ironmonger, but it is unclear the path William took to become an artist instead of an Ironmonger. What is clear is he was ‘a “born” painter, gifted with an intuitive apprehension of the principles of his art, as well as great capacity for applying them…’ Though it is unknown if he had any formal training as an artist, by the age of 24, he had moved to Wrexham and was working as a portrait artist. He then went to Liverpool and eventually to London. While in London he displayed artwork at the Royal Academy and became a well-regarded portrait painter, but competition there was fierce. A chance meeting with two men that were bound for Merthyr Tydfil made William realise that maybe he could go to this iron metropolis and make a name for himself.
In 1853, he arrived in Merthyr Tydfil and it was not long before he established a portrait painting business on Glebeland Street, Merthyr Tydfil. 18, Glebeland Street would be his residence and studio for the rest of his life.
One of his first notable commissions seems to be of Lord Aberdare, Henry Austin Bruce, in 1853, and from there steady commissions would continue.
Henry Austin Bruce, c 1853, William Jones, Peoples Collection Wales, LLGC
By 1856, William had accepted what would be his most impressive portrait yet, a portrait of John Evans, the Dowlais Works Manager. Evans was retiring and those who admired him at Dowlais decided to commission a portrait. The portrait was unveiled at a Temperance Choir concert in the Dowlais Schools in May 1856. The portrait of Evans is one of only two known portraits painted by William that are still in Merthyr Tydfil. It hangs on the walls of Cyfarthfa Castle and is a huge canvas with astounding details, such as a painting of Dowlais Works on the wall in the background, along with engineering documents strewn across the table in front of John Evans. The portrait is one of two created by William in 1856, the other is a portrait of John Evans brother, Thomas Evans.
John Evans, c 1856, William Jones, Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery
The portrait of Thomas, who was an agent and manager at Dowlais also, was commissioned by those in Dowlais who were saddened by his passing in 1846. This was a problematic commission for William, as he had never seen Thomas and no reference to what he looked like existed. Those who knew Thomas gave William descriptions and the rest was down to the artist’s skill to create a perfect likeness. When the painting was complete ‘no one having formerly known Mr. Evans, can mistake who the painting is intended to represent’. The painting was unveiled in August 1856, and was transferred to the possession of the local council by the early 1900s. The portrait of John fell into the ownership of the council too, eventually being one of two paintings that hung in the council chambers until 1910, the other being a portrait of Henry Richard by William Gillies Gair. The portrait of Thomas Evans is heavily damaged but remains in Merthyr Tydfil.
William would go on to create a painting titled ‘The Last Bard’, which won him awards at the National Eisteddfod in 1859. In 1863, he was commissioned to paint the Mayor of Neath, Evan Evans, which was praised for its ‘fineness of execution and accurate delineation of feature…’ William would even produce pencil drawings, most notably he would capture the chaos of the moment disaster struck in 1874, when runaway carriages collided with a train and destroyed part of Merthyr’s Central Station.
Scene of the terrible accident at the Vale of Neath Station – c 1874, William Jones, Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery.
William was a Freemason and was commissioned frequently to paint other members, which meant he was solidly painting throughout the late 1850s, right until the late 1870s. There is currently no overall known number of how many portraits William created when he was living in Merthyr Tydfil. Many portraits had been commissioned for people outside of the town, for widowers of Freemasons, industrialists that moved on from the town and so on. In the aftermath of William’s death in 1877, there was an auction of work from his studio and one advertisement stated that there were over one hundred pieces for sale.
Merthyr Telegraph – 2 November 1877
The paintings have undoubtedly gone everywhere across Britain and further afield, so they are now incredibly difficult to trace. Dr Fred Holly, in an article appearing in Merthyr Historian: Volume 6 has made the best attempt to collect information on the artwork that survives, but even that list is miniscule compared to the actual art William created in his heyday.
On July 2, 1858, William married Elizabeth Wilkins, daughter of William Wilkins, who lived on Morlais Street, in the Glebeland. William Wilkins was a Hotel Keeper, who managed the Temperance Hotel, which was also in the Glebeland at Merthyr Tydfil. William and Elizabeth would have six children in all. The eldest, William Angelo, named after the famous renaissance artist. Then James Raphael, named after another Italian artist. Francis Lawrence followed, named after Thomas Lawrence, the English portrait painter. The only daughter then followed, Rosa, named after the French artist Rosa Bonheur. Then Leonardo Devinci (spelt with an E not A) Jones; another nod to beloved Italian artists. Finally, Ernest probably named after the French artist Ernest Meissonier.
The 1870s, when many of them were coming of age, must have been a devastating time for the children as Elizabeth died in 1870. Her father William Wilkins moved into 18, Glebeland Street to help William, but he then passed away in 1873. William then, while putting the finishing touches on a portrait, died in 1877.
I was born on October 12th 1926, the second son of John Samuel and Jane. Later there were 4 other brothers and of this number 5 survived childhood. Our first home was a one up and one down terrace house in Dowlais. The one bedroom was divided into two by a draped blanket and the part where my brothers and I slept had a tiny window through which we used to watch the sky light up when the furnaces in the local steel works were working. The mother of this very happy brotherhood came from a family steeped in music. One of my uncles was the organist at Bethania Chapel. Another uncle, two aunts and Mam herself were members of the famous Dowlais United Choir.
The father of the family was from Bethesda in North Wales but due to a shortage of employment there the family moved south to the coalfield. Dad left school at the age of 12 to work underground. He was an avid scholar and throughout his life he read and read. He had thought of becoming a minister at some chapel but the more he studied the less enchanting that seemed. He was deeply concerned about society and the way it was structured with the few amassing capital at the expense of the hard-working exploited masses. He became a very active trade unionist and a founder member of the Communist Party. All this was looked on with disfavour by the mine owner and so he was sacked in 1923. We his children would never remember him working for cash. But work he did.
He continued to read and built up an impressive personal library the bulk of which David and I donated to the South Wales Miners Library at Swansea University College when we were adults. Another illustration of his love of learning was that he became the local organiser of the Left-Wing Book Club. He loved children and organised two camps for the children of the unemployed in 1934 and 1935. These were my first holidays shared by hundreds of other children. One of my clear memories of Dad was his taking me to the dentist but on the way, we called in several establishments and I was the mute witness to Dad’s scrounging equipment, food and cash to sustain those camps.
Dad was the founder and organiser of the local branch of the N.U.W.M. (National Unemployed Workers Movement) and was the main organiser of the Hunger Marches from South Wales to London. Dad was a very good public speaker on the soap box or in a more formal setting. In 1935 Dad gave evidence to a Royal Commission on the status of the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil and the Commission Chair Sir Arthur Lowry CB complimented Dad at the end saying that he ‘admired very much his ‘fluency and eloquence’. Afterwards he ‘disappeared’ from our lives to follow his convictions. The men who went to fight in Spain left in the dead of night and were careful not to involve their families. They never spoke afterwards about who had helped them get to Spain, not even fifty years after their return home. Dad was different, because before he left, he sat the family around a table and explained his reasons. He had encouraged young men to fight fascism in Spain and so he felt a moral obligation to go himself. He returned barely alive, suffering from malnutrition and various conditions and he did not live for long after his return to Merthyr Tydfil.
Mum was widowed when I was twelve years old and so she had to do all for us. Tom was seven, John five and Owen a babe of three. David aged fifteen left grammar school to become the bread winner. The family income then was a widow’s pension of ten shillings a week plus parish relief of two shillings and sixpence for each child. Mam herself supplemented this by cleaning for others, by taking in laundry and lodgers. The paying guests were key workers who came from N.E. England and Scotland to man the new shadow factories being built nearby. By this time of course we had moved into a new council house which had three bedrooms and a bathroom. The days of baths in a portable wooden tub were gone. The move into this house was the result of Dad’s pressure on the local council.
I was brought up in a family that loved music and that encouraged reading and scholarship and above all a sense of identity with the local community and its problems and challenges. I followed my older brother by winning a scholarship to a local grammar school that was located in Cyfarthfa Castle, a mock Norman castle built in the 19th century by a local ironmaster and set in a large park. Not all the castle became a school, a part of it became the local museum. There was a side door connecting school and museum and I quickly developed the tendency of sneaking into the museum and that has become a habit of a lifetime.
Christmas a hundred years ago would have been a more religions event than today.
Both chapels and churches would have special services and carol singing on Christmas Eve and the family would turn out for a service on Christmas Day itself. The timing of the Christmas dinner might depend on what was known about the preacher and how long his sermons usually took. Chapels would attract with wonderful singing and many other festive events. In 1922 the annual Bethania Eisteddfod took place on Christmas day with a splendid attendance and a keen competition. Penywern Chapel also held an Eisteddfod which was very popular. The Bryn Sion Eisteddfod was an enjoyable event on the afternoon and evening of Christmas Day and a good gramophone with excellent records were a modern addition. There was also an Eisteddfod in Bethesda Chapel on Boxing Day. The time-honoured practice of carol singing was an important tradition, especially in a town such as Merthyr Tydfil with its many choirs of all kinds. The carol singing was especially popular when it consisted of popular Welsh carols.
Following Christmas day Frank T. James delivered a talk in Cyfarthfa Castle on the Romans in Merthyr Tydfil.
Christmas is all about family gatherings. However, whereas today the celebrations are often centred around the presents and multimedia, in the 1922s Christmas was much more home-made entertainments and taking advantage of time not spent working. A hundred years ago there were an amazing number of social events for people to attend in the Merthyr Tydfil area on Christmas Day itself. Football games were played and for many it was a good opportunity to go to the cinema. All the many cinemas in Merthyr Tydfil put on a special Christmas programme. The Merthyr Electric Theatre changed its programme after Xmas to present a new programme on Boxing Day. The Palace had a continuous show on from 5.30 with a special matinee on Boxing Day at 2.30. The Penydarren Cosy opened Xmas Day at 2pm with ‘Moth and Rust’ starring Sybil Thorndike.
A fancy- dress masked carnival and fourth annual whist drive and carnival was held at the Drill Hall on the 30th of December in aid of the National Institute for the Blind
There were many differences between Christmas a hundred years ago and today. For instance, there was no Royal Speech as in 1922 the Royal Xmas Day Speech had not yet started. In fact, November 1922 was the date of the founding of the BBC. In Merthyr Tydfil weddings took place on Christmas morning. This might seem odd these days but a hundred years ago Christmas was seen as a good time to get married as it was a day when the family would be free from work and able to enjoy the celebrations.
D Jones Dickinson Factory in Dowlais. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive
Christmas, as always, was a time for children but in 1922 it was an occasion to make sure children were well fed and schools opened on Christmas day to assist with this. In 1922 500 children attended the 42nd annual Christmas breakfast at Abermorlais School. Children were given tea, bread and butter, currant and seed cake and so on. There was carol singing and a Father Christmas. On leaving each child was given 4 buns, 2 oranges, 2 apples and something to read. All this was paid for by businesses and individuals in the town. D. Jones Dickinson of Dowlais contributed 56 pounds of cake. On Christmas night, teachers, older pupils, and former scholars gathered together for tea and a long programme of singing and recitations. Winter sales, such as that of R.T. Jones, did not start until 5th January.
There were many friends of the poor in Merthyr Tydfil. Christmas would not be Christmas without remembering the Merthyr Workhouse and trying to give its inmates a good day to enjoy when their worries could all be forgotten. ‘Keeping Christmas’ was important, and the Merthyr Express editorial expressed the feeling that people in Merthyr will celebrate Christmas as in past years. However, ‘There will be, nevertheless, a number of people, many more than we like to contemplate, without the means at their command of keeping the anniversary as could be wished. There is ever a great warmth of generosity in our midst which never fails to respond at these times with the means for assisting the less fortunate fellow members of the innumerable human family to do honour to the day’.
Over the Christmas period in 1922 there were 278 men in the workhouse, 195 women and 59 children. It was regarded as important that these all be given a good day and everyone was expected to participate in the general festivities of the season. On the festive day breakfast was served in the Workhouse at 7.00. Mr Morgan attended as Father Christmas and played the organ in the dining hall before he also visited the wards for the old and infirm dressed as Santa Claus. The dinner provided by the Guardians was roast beef, pork, potatoes, vegetables, and plum pudding, served with sparkling water. Oranges and apples were handed out to all. John Morgan again ‘ kept the diners in roars of laughter with his jovial fun’. It was his 29th appearance at this annual treat. The Rev Pugh and many of the Guardians attended. The Salvation Army played selections of music in various parts of the Institution and the Infirmary Dining Hall, Infirm Wards and other areas were very nicely decorated by the staff.
A plan of the Merthyr Workhouse in the 1800s
In Dowlais the inmates of Pantyscallog House were all treated by Dr Stuart Cresswell to his usual gift of two geese for Christmas Dinner. Tea and special Xmas cake was served in the afternoon. Each male inmate received 1 oz of tobacco and a new pipe and females who used snuff were given some. A rocking horse and toys were donated for the children and so were cakes and pastry, chocolates, and sweets. Magazines for the inmates were also donated by the Guardians and local people in the town, such as Mr Howfield and Mr Rubenstein. On Boxing Day the two large trees donated by Mr Seymour Berry and heavily decorated with toys were stripped and children were given the various items. The wealthier citizens of the town were expected to ensure that poorer members of society enjoyed Christmas treats and in 1922 there was a real element of sharing and helping others.
Mrs. CRAWSHAY, who was received with acclamation, said: “I share with all present their anxiety to hear the two gifted ladies who are my guests tonight; but it has been intimated to me that a few words on my own part would be acceptable to some among the audience; and as I have always found my Merthyr friends most kind and indulgent in listening to me – notwithstanding all my wicked notions – I propose making a remark on the assertion that ‘women don’t want the suffrage.’ (Applause). Mr. Henry James said at Taunton, last week, that if he were sure even half the women of England desired the franchise he would vote for it, and he seemed to fancy that he was acting in accordance with the wishes of the majority of women in England in declining to vote for it. This may to some extent be true – the black slaves did not care to be set free – there must be some little experience of freedom before it is valued. But why should the women of England, who don’t want to vote, be so afraid of the suffrage being given to those women who do? They will no more be obliged to vote than men are. There are many women who do not use this privilege – do not fulfil their duty – but it would be a strong plea to bring forward, that we must not allow any men duly qualified to vote, because some do not care to vote. (Hear, hear, and cheers).
