of that period is a feature, to a greater or lesser extent, of every Parliamentary election in the Commonwealth.  The clause in the Federal Electoral Act which makes disturbance of a political meeting a penal offence is a curious reflection on a so-called democratic community.  But, though its justification can scarcely be denied even by the partisans of the noisier elements in a political crowd, its existence must be deplored by every right-minded and truehearted citizen.  In Miss Rose Scott I found a sympathizer on this question of the war; and one of the best speeches I ever heard her make was on Peace and Arbitration.  “Mafeking Day” was celebrated while we were in Sydney, and I remember how we three—­Miss Scott, Mrs. Young, and I—­remained indoors the whole day, at the charming home of our hostess, on Point Piper road.  The black band of death and desolation was too apparent for us to feel that we could face the almost ribald excesses of that day.  I felt the war far less keenly than did my two friends; but it was bad even for me.  No one called, and the only companions of our chosen solitude were the books we all loved so much, and

    The secret sympathy,
    The silver link, the silken tie,
    Which heart to heart and mind to mind,
    In body and in soul can bind.

I had hoped that the Women’s National Council, a branch of which was formed in Adelaide a few years later, would have made a great deal of the question of peace and arbitration, just as other branches have done all over the world; and when the Peace Society was inaugurated a short time ago I was glad to be able to express my sympathy with the movement by becoming a member.  As I was returning from a lecturing tour in the south during this time, an old Scotch farm-wife came into the carriage where I had been knitting in solitude.  She was a woman of strong feelings, and was bitterly opposed to the war.  We chatted on the subject for a time, getting along famously, until she discovered that I was Miss Spence.  “But you are a Unitarian!” she protested in a shocked tone.  I admitted the fact.  “Oh, Miss Spence,” she went on, “how can you be so wicked as to deny the divinity of Christ?” I explained to her what Unitarianism was, but she held dubiously aloof for a time.  Then we talked of other things.  She told me of many family affairs, and when she left me at the station she said, “All, well, Miss Spence, I’ve learned something this morning, and that is that a Unitarian can be just as good and honest as other folk.”

CHAPTER XXI

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION AND FEDERATION.