Another question is the right of forming unions and of holding meetings. In many States, even in reactionary Saxony, women and men have equal rights on this matter. In other States—and Prussia is naturally foremost in the cause of reaction—the right of women to form unions has been much crippled. Some progress in this question has also been made by the Centre. Now that party is ready to declare, not indeed that women should have freedom to form political unions, but that the millions of women who are struggling in industry for existence should have liberty to form unions and associations, and that no impediments should be placed in their way to prevent them from combining together. These victories show how we should work if we wish to be successful. The question of obtaining for women universal, equal, secret and direct Suffrage is looked upon somewhat askance by middle-class parties. We need not wonder much at this, because in many middle-class circles there is a good deal of dislike to universal, equal, secret and direct Suffrage for men, and a very influential class thinks that this Suffrage should at the first good opportunity be subverted or weakened. These people are naturally not prepared to grant the franchise to women. But, nevertheless, I venture to prophesy that in Germany we shall extend this franchise to women before it shall be taken away from men. I will venture to say that the proposal to do that cannot succeed, and I am sure it would be very imprudent to attempt it, because if it were done all men who have the vote, and who would by the proposal be injured, would raise such a protest and engage in such a struggle as Germany has never seen. And just as the Centre in 1898 declined to follow one of its members when he proposed then the law on penitentiaries, so I do not think it will care to shake up our great mass of voters by trying to curtail the franchise. But on the other hand, as discontent increases in the mass and the power of Socialism grows, it is possible, in order to weaken our voting power, that our enemies might try to get the support of women, because, undoubtedly, there are a large number of them who are not friendly to the Social-Democratic organisation. Reckoning on this—I will not consider to-night why it is so—and that women are often indifferent, and will either be influenced by Conservatives or by clergymen, the majority may think that the granting of Woman Suffrage would be a disadvantage to the Socialists. That is undoubtedly right. But it will be our own fault if, when women get the vote, they are against us. All the reasons which are urged to-day against Woman Suffrage were formerly used against granting the vote to men. I myself, 43 years ago, as a member of the Builders’ Union, spoke against Universal Suffrage on the ground that working men were not properly educated. That has, in fact, been shown to be true, for now, after having Universal Suffrage in Germany for nearly