278 The Petticoat Parliament. [MARCH, 



tulip-trade with Holland, and the mignionette-trade with France, were 

 in such a state of depression ; it was not at such a time honourable 

 ladies should come down with revolutionary propositions, affecting the 

 first principles of the constitution. (Cries of hear, hear! no, no ! order, 

 order, from all parts of the House.} 



Here the conversation grew so hot and shrill, and so many voices 

 took part in it, that I was quite stunned ; and the reporters laid down 

 their pens, through inability to catch the purport of what was uttered. 

 Such expressions, however, as (t unparliamentary," " unladylike/' " if 

 the hon. lady meant," " does the noble lady insinuate ?" were audible at 

 intervals ; and there was one voice which extremely resembled that of 

 Sir Henry Hardinge. When the storm had subsided, a petition, similar 

 to the last, was presented from the dandies, exquisites, and fine gentle- 

 men of the West End ; they stated that they yielded to no lady in 

 England in the effeminacy either of their minds or persons ; their studies 

 had been exclusively confined to novels and romances ; many boarding- 

 school misses had received a more manly education ; their moustachios 

 were generally false ; and they appealed to their shawl-waistcoats and 

 boas to shew how well feminine habits sat upon them. 



A bill to <f repeal the laws against Scandal and Defamation" was read 

 a third time, and passed, amidst loud acclamations. 



A bill to " disfranchise the Isle of Man, and transfer the franchise to 

 Billingsgate," was read a second time, and committed. Some 'discussion 

 took place, but not at considerable length, the general feeling of the 

 House being in favour of the measure. One lady, however, objected 

 to it on the ground that Billingsgate was already virtually represented. 

 Lady Chattel-ton Chatterton " hoped the honourable member did not 

 allude to her." 



The honourable member disclaimed any personal allusion. 



The " Man-Trap legalization bill" was read the first time. An honour- 

 able member hoped that this bill would be suffered to go through all 

 the stages as rapidly as possible ; it was a bill of such unspeakable 

 importance, that she did not hesitate to call it a second Bill of Rights. 

 (hear, hear /) It was the Bill of Rights of the new female constitu- 

 tion. (Hear, hear, hear !) It was worthy of a Petticoat Parliament. 

 (Hear, hear, hear, hear /) The ascendancy of the sex was incomplete 

 without it, and she therefore conjured the House to pass it without 

 delay. She never would sleep on her pillow until it was the law of the 

 land. (Immense cheering /) 



A remarkably plain-looking member (whose name 1 could not learn) 

 said, that she rose to call the attention of the House to a breach of privi- 

 lege connected with the measure which had been so justly eulogized by 

 the honourable lady who had just sat down. She adverted to an article 

 which had appeared that morning in the ( ' Times" newspaper, in which this 

 very measure was designated " a tyrannical and wanton piece of legisla- 

 tion, contrived by a certain class of members, who, having outlived 

 their personal attractions, or having never had any, wished to secure, 

 by acts of parliament, those conquests they were unable to gain by 

 the legitimate means of youth and beauty. The article went on in the 

 same audacious strain, and concluded by advising the people to call this 

 parliament in future " the Man-trap Parliament." Now a grosser attack 

 upon the privileges and dignity of this House it had never fallen to her 

 lot to notice ; she respected the freedom of the press at had been truly 



