Josephine Butler to [Miss Forsaith]

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 106 3JBL/36/37
  • Former Reference
      GB 106 5123
  • Dates of Creation
      c. 31 Oct 1896
  • Physical Description
      1 item

Scope and Content

Note marked 'Private'

Undated but refers to publication of book 'Personal Reminiscences of a Great Crusade' in Sep 1896 and the Birmingham Conference on 13 Nov 1896.

Complains that Mrs Marshall is not selling her book ['Personal Reminiscences of a Great Crusade'] fast enough; two thirds are sold through the Office postcard notice. Wonders if they could have some on sale at the Birmingham Conference to be held on 13 Nov 1896. Conference was to protest against any Revival of the Contagious Diseases Acts. A full report of the Conference was published as a pamphlet ('Sentinel' Dec p 157) ('Rough Record' 774).

She is rather pained that the Bristol ladies have accepted Mr Stuart's toning down of the Women's Manifesto. If she had not assumed 'an assured, aggressive and defiant tone in 1869...our enemies would not have so quickly felt that there was something vital in our opposition'.

'Mr Stuart has taken much of the strength of my Declaration, and has put in a very weak little sentence instead ... I have told Mrs Tanner I will not sign the Declaration unless some of the weakening is taken out of it'.

The 'Doomed Iniquity'

This was the title of a pamphlet issued by Josephine Butler in 1896.

Administrative / Biographical History

'Declaration'

In the 'Shield' for May 1897 p 7 it states:

'The Ladies' National Association ... in view of the revived demand for the re-establishment of the Acts, issued a 'Declaration' of their undying opposition to the system of regulated prostitution, embodied in the Police des Moeurs ... and English Contagious Diseases Acts'. That was in Nov of last year.

A further Women's Protest was made in Mar 1896 (in substance an amplification of the earlier one). This was signed by Mrs Josephine Butler, by the wives of six Bishops, (York, London, Southwell, Rochester, Manchester and Chichester) and many other distinguished and well known ladies'

Other letters on the subject:

Oct 1896 [incomplete] Josephine Butler to Stanley Butler

22 Oct 1896 - Josephine Butler to the Miss Priestmans

31 Oct 1896 - Josephine Butler to Miss Priestman

31 Oct 1896 - Josephine Butler to Miss Forsaith (marked Private)

31 Oct 1896 (Second letter on same

subject)

4 Nov 1896 - Josephine Butler to Miss Priestman

11 Nov 1896 - A Humbert to Mrs Tanner

The 'Doomed Iniquity' -

pamphlet issued by Josephine Butler in 1896. It embodied an authoritative condemnation of State Regulation of Vice from persons of very different trains of thought in France, Germany and Belgium from:

1. Dr Charles Maurice (France)

2. Herr Bebel, the leader of the Socialist Party in Germany

3. Belgian Society of Public Morality given in a memorial to the Pope signed by all the Catholic bishops of Belgium and others including the Prime Minister. From Josephine Butler, an autobiographical memoir edited by GW and LA Johnson 1909 p 217

Biog: Mr Horace Marshall (publisher)