NEWS OF THE WEEK.
BY far the most important event of the week is the surrender by Mr. Asquith and the Government to the advocates of female suffrage. We have dealt with the incident elsewhere, and will only repeat here that those moderate Liberals who are trying to find comfort in the somewhat hedging character of Mr. Asquith's speech are deluding them- selves. Mr. Asquith saved, or thought he saved, his face by a lukewarm acceptance of " Votes for Women"; but we must never forget that a surrender is a surrender, even though the general keeps his sword and is allowed out on parole. The manner in which Mr. Asquith's speech has been received by the moderate section of the suffragists, and also by the official Liberal Press, shows clearly that there has been a " deal," the operative part of which is that the Liberal Party is henceforth pledged to pass female suffrage on a democratic basis. In other words, there has been a step forward in the direction of adult suffrage, and adult suffrage is to mean suffrage for the adults of both sexes.
