Malicious Mischief? Women's Suffrage in Scotland

Letter from Frances Balfour to Frank (her son), 6th February 1907. This letter outlines the plan for a march of women organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). A form of peaceful protest Frances records that she is to head part of the procession with Millicent Fawcett, and outlines the route they are to take: "Route march from Hyde P[ar]k by Piccadilly, down Regent St. Strand to Exeter Hall."

Letter from Frances Balfour to Frank (her son), 14th February 1907. Following Frances' correspondence on the 6th she recounts the success of the march organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). Formed of 40 suffragist societies (constitutional campaigners, rather than militant), Frances notes 'the procession was a great success' with 2000 to 3000 women marching for the cause.

This march is now more commonly known as the 'Mud March' due to the terrible weather described here by Frances as, the "vilest day, seas of mud".

As militant campaigners, known as suffragettes, became more prominent, those who supported constitutional methods of protest - petitions, demonstrations, lobbying MPs - were keen to distinguish themselves. It is possible that the actions of the suffragettes pushed those who had been campaigning since the late 1800s to consider new ways of advertising the cause to the public.

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 26th January 1909. Lady Frances Campbell married Eustace James Anthony Balfour on 12th May 1879. In many ways, reports suggest that it was an attraction of opposites. Frances' major interests were religion and politics; Eustace's were music, art, architecture and the military, although both shared an interest in art.

Eustace was an alcoholic and had heart problems as well. The illness recorded in this letter was likely related, and the comments made by Frances reveal something of their relationship. It is likely that some tension was created between the couple by their different interests and politics, and Frances' very busy schedule of commitments. Despite this, her letters and diaries reveal her devotion to Eustace right up until his death on 14th February 1911.

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 11th March 1909. This letter recounts part of Frances' experience while working for suffrage in the west. It notes a series of meetings, one in Bournemouth with a room 'meant to hold 500' full of 700 people. At this meeting Frances debated the 'antis' - anti-suffrage campaigners. Referenced many times in her letters and diaries, Frances reflects,

"It is easy to beat them in Debate, for it is all prophesy & assertion. The hard facts are all with us. The men were wretched. I made merry over them & th[oug]h I th[ough]t we might lose the vote, we carried it by 50…" p1

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 11th March 1909. This letter recounts part of Frances' experience while working for suffrage in the west. It notes a series of meetings, one in Bournemouth with a room 'meant to hold 500' full of 700 people. At this meeting Frances debated the 'antis' - anti-suffrage campaigners. Referenced many times in her letters and diaries, Frances reflects,

"It is easy to beat them in Debate, for it is all prophesy & assertion. The hard facts are all with us. The men were wretched. I made merry over them & th[oug]h I th[ough]t we might lose the vote, we carried it by 50…" p2

Letter from Christabel Pankhurst to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 6th April 1909. While many of the letters held in the Balfour papers are from or to Frances Balfour, there are also many sent to Betty. Betty was a hostess and biographer, and wife of Gerald Balfour. Frances and Betty became lifelong friends, and she is responsible for the records that are currently held in National Records of Scotland. The letters preserved are transcripts created by Betty, the original correspondence having been destroyed. It is interesting to consider what Betty chose to preserve, and what might have been lost in this process.

This letter from Christabel Pankhurst provides an insight into the militant wing of the suffrage campaign, and their perception of the efforts to date to gain the vote, in comparison to their own.

"Do not think that we feel the burden we have taken up as unduly heavy. Life with[ou]t this movement w[oul]d lose its meaning & its value…we known of no other policy wh[ich] w[oul]d have any practical effect at all. Every other method has been tried & tried in vain". p1

Letter from Christabel Pankhurst to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 6th April 1909. While many of the letters held in the Balfour papers are from or to Frances Balfour, there are also many sent to Betty. Betty was a hostess and biographer, and wife of Gerald Balfour. Frances and Betty became lifelong friends, and she is responsible for the records that are currently held in National Records of Scotland. The letters preserved are transcripts created by Betty, the original correspondence having been destroyed. It is interesting to consider what Betty chose to preserve, and what might have been lost in this process.

This letter from Christabel Pankhurst provides an insight into the militant wing of the suffrage campaign, and their perception of the efforts to date to gain the vote, in comparison to their own.

"Do not think that we feel the burden we have taken up as unduly heavy. Life with[ou]t this movement w[oul]d lose its meaning & its value…we known of no other policy wh[ich] w[oul]d have any practical effect at all. Every other method has been tried & tried in vain". p2

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 24th May 1909. Frances Balfour supported female enfranchisement as a means for the improvement of women's daily lives and opportunities. This letter to Betty shows Frances cutting to the heart of why women pursued the vote, as a means to advance their status and opportunities in comparison to men's.

"I mean to treat it from the point of view of the status of women, but I shall avoid more than a glance at suffrage. I am so convinced that a great deal of the ire amongst women is due to the straps of inferiority wh[ich] all our laws put upon them…If everyone had votes I doubt there w[oul]d be one prostitute the less, but I think we might make it more possible to come out of that profession than it is now"

Letter from Sir Arthur Mitchell to Lady Frances Balfour, 11th July 1909. Frances was a suffragist, a constitutional campaigner, and never undertook any militant action in her lifetime. However, her prominent role as an aristocrat campaigning for women's suffrage, meant that she was also contacted about the actions of the suffragettes, those who used militant action.

Letter from Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour to Frances Balfour, 11th December 1909. Frances campaigned tirelessly, travelling up and down the country, speaking several times a week to further cause. This letter from Betty expresses her admiration for Frances' work.

Letter from Frances Balfour to Frank (her son), 1st July 1910. A Conciliation Bill was proposed in 1910 as a means of extending the right to vote to a limited number of women. This letter marks the time given by, the then, Prime Minister Henry Asquith to its reading. As Frances' notes, it was a very limited form of enfranchisement for rate-paying women, but there was clearly hope of it passing.

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 3rd or 4th March, 1912, with comments from Betty noted at the top. As the pursuit of women's suffrage continued, the actions of the militants began to escalate with the destruction of property, and the imprisonment and force-feeding of suffragettes. This letter notes an encounter between Frances and Constance Lytton, another aristocratic campaigner, but on the militant side. Constance was imprisoned and force-fed during the campaign.

This letter notes Frances' perception of suffragettes and the potential damage they were doing to the cause:

"I think they are all drunk with vanity, & the love of going a warring… Perhaps they are the foes of our own household who are to be the instrument of destroying our labour and pains".

At the end of this letter, Betty added a note recording Constance suffering a stroke. Constance had a known heat condition, and it is widely believed that the process of force-feeding caused this stroke, and her early passing. p1

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 3rd or 4th March, 1912, with comments from Betty noted at the top. As the pursuit of women's suffrage continued, the actions of the militants began to escalate with the destruction of property, and the imprisonment and force-feeding of suffragettes. This letter notes an encounter between Frances and Constance Lytton, another aristocratic campaigner, but on the militant side. Constance was imprisoned and force-fed during the campaign.

This letter notes Frances' perception of suffragettes and the potential damage they were doing to the cause:

"I think they are all drunk with vanity, & the love of going a warring… Perhaps they are the foes of our own household who are to be the instrument of destroying our labour and pains".

At the end of this letter, Betty added a note recording Constance suffering a stroke. Constance had a known heat condition, and it is widely believed that the process of force-feeding caused this stroke, and her early passing. p2

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 29th January 1913. The Conciliation Bill lost on 28 March 1912 by 14 votes during its second reading. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, continued to pursue an amendment to the following adult suffrage bill (which would enfranchise many more male voters), but their efforts were defeated when on the 17 January, the Speaker of the House, James Lowther, announced that a women's amendment would alter the Bill so much that the Government would have to withdraw and re-introduce it in another form. p1

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 29th January 1913. The Conciliation Bill lost on 28 March 1912 by 14 votes during its second reading. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, continued to pursue an amendment to the following adult suffrage bill (which would enfranchise many more male voters), but their efforts were defeated when on the 17 January, the Speaker of the House, James Lowther, announced that a women's amendment would alter the Bill so much that the Government would have to withdraw and re-introduce it in another form. p2

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 29th January 1913. The Conciliation Bill lost on 28 March 1912 by 14 votes during its second reading. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, continued to pursue an amendment to the following adult suffrage bill (which would enfranchise many more male voters), but their efforts were defeated when on the 17 January, the Speaker of the House, James Lowther, announced that a women's amendment would alter the Bill so much that the Government would have to withdraw and re-introduce it in another form. p3

Letter from Frances Balfour to Frank (her son), 10th June 1913. Frances campaigned for the rights of women throughout her lifetime. Her pursuit of women's suffrage was to give women the power to make changes to the opportunities they could access in life, including education.

In this letter Frances elegantly defends Ruth's (Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour's daughter) decision to become a doctor:

"…I think you sh[oul]d not think of it from a man's point of view, but remember that the gifts which go to making people take up a line of life are quite indiscriminately distributed… Ruth has by direct inheritance got the gift of scientific research. She is your Uncle Frank in her generation. The student life, and the life of scientific knowledge is born with her".

Letter from Frances Balfour to Frank (her son), 10th June 1913. Frances campaigned for the rights of women throughout her lifetime. Her pursuit of women's suffrage was to give women the power to make changes to the opportunities they could access in life, including education.

In this letter Frances elegantly defends Ruth's (Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour's daughter) decision to become a doctor:

"…I think you sh[oul]d not think of it from a man's point of view, but remember that the gifts which go to making people take up a line of life are quite indiscriminately distributed… Ruth has by direct inheritance got the gift of scientific research. She is your Uncle Frank in her generation. The student life, and the life of scientific knowledge is born with her".

Letter from Frances Balfour to Frank (her son), 10th June 1913. Frances campaigned for the rights of women throughout her lifetime. Her pursuit of women's suffrage was to give women the power to make changes to the opportunities they could access in life, including education.

In this letter Frances elegantly defends Ruth's (Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour's daughter) decision to become a doctor:

"…I think you sh[oul]d not think of it from a man's point of view, but remember that the gifts which go to making people take up a line of life are quite indiscriminately distributed… Ruth has by direct inheritance got the gift of scientific research. She is your Uncle Frank in her generation. The student life, and the life of scientific knowledge is born with her".

Letter from Emmeline Pankhurst to Members of the WSPU, 12th August 1914. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, all suffrage campaigning was suspended and any women currently in prison for militant action, were released. This document is a notice released by Emmeline Pankhurst to the members of the Women Social and Political Union (WSPU) announcing the temporary suspension of all activities. p1

Letter from Emmeline Pankhurst to Members of the WSPU, 12th August 1914. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, all suffrage campaigning was suspended and any women currently in prison for militant action, were released. This document is a notice released by Emmeline Pankhurst to the members of the Women Social and Political Union (WSPU) announcing the temporary suspension of all activities. p2

Letter from Emmeline Pankhurst to Members of the WSPU, 12th August 1914. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, all suffrage campaigning was suspended and any women currently in prison for militant action, were released. This document is a notice released by Emmeline Pankhurst to the members of the Women Social and Political Union (WSPU) announcing the temporary suspension of all activities. p3

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 19th January 1918. After the First World War, the Representation of the People Act gained royal ascent and enfranchised a limited number of women - they had to be over 30 and to meet a minimum property qualification. In this letter Frances recounts peers coming and speaking to her after the passing of the bill, and Arthur Balfour's take on the matter:

"…he s[ai]d the whole thing was settled by the country… the war had changed his whole view as to the position of women & their claims? There s[ai]d Arthur lay the whole thing…"

The vote being granted because of women's contribution during the war is a common narrative, but historians have since disputed this claim. While it is likely that women's contribution during the war helped to change the minds of some, it is also possible that the Government saw the opportunity to prevent militant action restarting, while keeping the number of women added to the electoral roll low. p1

Letter from Frances Balfour to Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour, 19th January 1918. After the First World War, the Representation of the People Act gained royal ascent and enfranchised a limited number of women - they had to be over 30 and to meet a minimum property qualification. In this letter Frances recounts peers coming and speaking to her after the passing of the bill, and Arthur Balfour's take on the matter:

"…he s[ai]d the whole thing was settled by the country… the war had changed his whole view as to the position of women & their claims? There s[ai]d Arthur lay the whole thing…"

The vote being granted because of women's contribution during the war is a common narrative, but historians have since disputed this claim. While it is likely that women's contribution during the war helped to change the minds of some, it is also possible that the Government saw the opportunity to prevent militant action restarting, while keeping the number of women added to the electoral roll low. p2

Letter from Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour to Nell, 13th March 1918, with introductory comment by Betty. Upon the passing of the Government measure for the enfranchisement of some women, both suffragists and suffragettes celebrated. This letter details celebrations at The Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, with music, and speeches by leading suffragists such as Millicent Fawcett. p1

Letter from Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour to Nell, 13th March 1918, with introductory comment by Betty. Upon the passing of the Government measure for the enfranchisement of some women, both suffragists and suffragettes celebrated. This letter details celebrations at The Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, with music, and speeches by leading suffragists such as Millicent Fawcett. p2

Letter from Elizabeth Edith (Betty) Balfour to Nell, 13th March 1918, with introductory comment by Betty. Upon the passing of the Government measure for the enfranchisement of some women, both suffragists and suffragettes celebrated. This letter details celebrations at The Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, with music, and speeches by leading suffragists such as Millicent Fawcett. p3

Frances Balfour's diaries give an insight into the sheer number of suffrage meetings, committees, and talks that Frances Balfour participated in. Entries such as the one on 5th May: 'Suffrage Bill in the house. Passed by large majority. 167….' are also common, as Frances was in frequent attendance at the Ladies' Gallery in the House of Commons.

In 1912 the Parliamentary Franchise (Women) Bill was defeated by 222 votes to 208. This was one of three conciliation bills intended to extend the right of women to vote, all of which failed. Frances' diary records the actions of the militants and Henry Asquith.

4th March: "Black! Weather Plaid of suffragists with campaign broken glass & asquith's announcement all depressing".

In 1918, a limited number of women were enfranchised. It was the culmination of decades of campaigning.

In the 'memo' section at the end of the diary year, 'Laus Deo [praise be to God]. Victory for the Emancipation of Women' is emphatically written in Frances' summing up of the year.

In 1918, a limited number of women were enfranchised. It was the culmination of decades of campaigning. In December of the same year, Frances Balfour records her first time voting, at the age of 60.

December 14 - "My first vote!!"