The speaker made the point that, although there were many good reasons in favour of equality for women in all spheres, and particularly perhaps in the sphere of political activity where they needed a voice, and above all needed to be able to influence others on their behalf, there were reasons against this as matters stood at the present time. He was asked whether any matters, regardless of how far they seemed to be in the interests of government and leaving aside the question of the popularity or otherwise of the move, could be more important than the liberty of a large section of the population of what was a so-called "free" country. He replied that he had repeated before that the moral issue was a clear one; however, emotional appeals and the use of words like "freedom" and "justice" avoided the most practical aspect of the affair. No government in its senses, however enlightened its leaders, however large its majority, however secure in the favour of the people was going to be able to introduce a motion such as "Votes for Women" without considerable controversy flaring up. How much less were they going to be able to introduce it with a government on the brink of falling, the nation on the edge of war and the country radically opposed to any move which would seem to the electorate to threaten the long established traditions of theBritish way of life.
What was the question put to the speaker A、What he thought the most important thing was for the country. B、Whether he thought liberty of the population was important. C、Whether there was anything more important than women’s liberation. D、What the government’s stand was on the "Votes for Women".