Sarah Jane Baines (30 November 1866 – 20 February 1951) was a British-Australian feminist, suffragette and social reformer. She was the first suffragette to be tried by jury, and one of the first

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

rs. She was known as 'Jennie Baines' in the suffragist movement.

Early life

Sarah Jane Baines was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, in 1866 to Sarah Ann (''née'' Hunt) and James Edward Hunt, a gun maker. She began work at

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the C ...

's ordnance factory aged eleven. At age fourteen, Sarah joined her parents in working with the Salvation Army. Upon attaining the rank of lieutenant, now aged twenty, she was sent to work as an evangelist in an independent working men's mission in Bolton. In this role, she was also called upon to act as a police court missionary caring for women who had been arrested. On 26 September 1888 in Bolton she married George Baines, a boot and shoemaker, and the couple had five children between 1888 and 1899 three of whom survived childhood. Between motherhood and working as a sewing machinist, there was little time for public activities. Yet Baines' commitment never wavered, her youngest surviving child was six years old when she was imprisoned for the third time.

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

called her 'one of the most kind-hearted woman one could meet, a born revolutionary'. Baines also joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, the feeding of school children committee and the unemployed committee.

Campaigning for women's suffrage

In October 1905, Baines read about the arrest of suffragists

and

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exil ...

for assault and this motivated her to join the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

. Initially this was as a voluntary basis but in February 1908, Baines was made a paid organiser on a wage of £2 a week, organising open-air rallies, disrupting meetings and establishing new branches of the WSPU in the North of England and the Midlands. Later this same year, in November 1908, Baines was to be tried of unlawful assembly at the Coliseum in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, the first ever member of the WSPU to be tried by jury. Refusing to be

bound over In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue b ...

, she was convicted to six weeks imprisonment in Armley Goal, Leeds because "''she did ‘not recognise the laws of this Court administered by men''". One of the first to advocate militant methods, Baines was imprisoned some fifteen times for her part in protests. In July 1909 with twelve others, including

Mary Leigh Mary Leigh (née Brown; 1885–1978) was an English political activist and suffragette. Life Leigh was born as Mary or Marie Brown in 1885. She was born in Manchester and was a schoolteacher until her marriage to a builder, surnamed Leigh. She j ...

Lucy Burns Lucy Burns (July 28, 1879 – December 22, 1966) was an American suffragist and women's rights advocate.Bland, 1981 (p. 8) She was a passionate activist in the United States and the United Kingdom, who joined the militant suffragettes. Burns ...

, Alice Paul,

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant figh ...

and

Mabel Capper Mabel Henrietta Capper (23 June 1888 – 1 September 1966) was a British suffragette. She gave all her time between 1907 and 1913 to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) as a 'soldier' in the struggle for women's suffrage. She was imp ...

and another in her wheelchair ay Billinghurst perhapsref name=":5" /> she was jailed for obstruction for trying to stop Lloyd George's public budget meeting in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

. The protest was witnessed by Annie Barnes who was inspired to join the East London Federation and influenced by

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with t ...

. On the way to

Holloway prison HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. Histor ...

the women arrested had shouted and sung protests and demanded to be treated in 'first division' in their own clothes as 'political' prisoners rather than criminals, this was not granted and the women broke 150 panes of glass at the prison and refused to give their names, prison officers had to use 'force necessary' to get the women into prison clothes. In Liverpool, in 1910, Baines was making speeches with

Ada Flatman Ada Susan Flatman (1876–1952) was a British suffragette who worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Life Ada Susan Flatman was born in Suffolk in 1876. She was of independent means and became interested in women's rights. She li ...

and

Patricia Woodlock Patricia Woodlock (born Mary Winifred Woodlock; 25 October 1873 – after 1930) was a British artist and suffragette who was imprisoned seven times, including serving the longest suffragette prison sentence in 1908 (solitary confinement for th ...

, when she was interrupted by

Constance Lytton Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton (12 February 1869 – 2 May 1923), usually known as Constance Lytton, was an influential British suffragette activist, writer, speaker and campaigner for prison reform, votes for women, and birth control. Sh ...

disguised as 'Jane Wharton' a seamstress asking 'the men and women of Liverpool to be the first to wipe out the stain f force-feeding and a crowd followed them to the prison Governor John Dillon's house, chased by police. In July 1912, Baines was part of an attempt, under the name 'Lizzie Baker' along with Gladys Evans and

and

, to burn down the Theatre Royal in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

the night before a scheduled visit from then Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith, to speak on

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. For this Baines was sentenced to seven months hard labour and Central Bridewell prison, Dublin. Joining her fellow suffragette prisoners on hunger strike, she was released after five days. Jennie Baines 1914

The next year, on 8 July 1913, with her husband George and son Wilfred, Baines was accused of attempting to bomb first-class railway carriages at a

Lancashire and Yorkshire railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

siding, and leaving suffragist material, near where they lived in Manchester. A bomb, loaded revolver, masks and cutting tools and two catapults were found at their premises. As a result, her husband and son were charged with malicious damage and not imprisoned, but Baines was re-arrested under the '

Cat and Mouse act The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an Act of Parliament passed in Britain under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. Some members of the Women's Social and Political ...

' and imprisoned at

Holloway Prison HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. Histor ...

. She again went on

, refusing food and water, and was released in a 'very serious condition'. Baines suffered from

chorea Chorea (or choreia, occasionally) is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias. The term ''chorea'' is derived from the grc, χορεία ("dance"; see choreia), as the quick movem ...

("St Vitus' Dance") causing spasms brought on by emotional stress, making it almost impossible to force-feed her. Baines had been given a

Hunger Strike Medal The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909 and 1914 to suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, they went on hunger strike while serving t ...

'for Valour'. In May 1913 another arrest for obstruction during a meeting in Hyde Park, and a month sentence led WSPU leaders to determine that her health could not endure another stint in prison, so Baines and her family were smuggled into Wales as the 'Evans' family and set sail aboard ''The Ballarat'', bound for Australia, before their trial (as a family) was due in November 1913. The trial went ahead and acquitted George and Wilfred Baines. WSPU saw this migration as a reward for all Baines had done, as Australia had achieved the female federal vote in 1902.

Later life in Australia

After being smuggled out of England, Baines arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in December 1913. She was forty-seven years old. Adele Pankhurst would later arrive in 1914. Upon settling in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, the Baines family joined the

Victorian Socialist Party The Victorian Socialist Party (VSP) was a socialist political party in the Australian state of Victoria during the early 20th century. Most VSP members were also members of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), or later became members. A faction ...

and the Labour Party while Sarah busied herself working with the Women's Political Association as early as January 1914 and co-founded the

Women's Peace Army Formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1915, the Women’s Peace Army was an Australian anti-war socialist movement that sought to mobilise and unite women, regardless of political or religious beliefs, in their opposition to war. Autonomous branche ...

. With Adele Pankhurst, Baines campaigned against World War I conscription in 1916-1917 and against the spiralling cost of living, as profiteering. Both were sentenced to nine months imprisonment but both were freed on appeal on a legal technicality. Baines was again jailed in March 1919 for flying the prohibited red flag on the Yarra Bank and became the first prisoner in Australia to undergo hunger strike. A special Federal Cabinet meeting was held and her release after four days starving was secured on the advice of the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. In 1920, Baines helped establish the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Five years later, she would be expelled and this saw her rejoin the Labour Party. In 1926, the family relocated to

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...

and Baines was appointed special magistrate to the Children's Court there from 1928 to 1948.

Death and legacy

Although her post

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

activities were curtailed by her failing sight, Sarah Jane Baines continued her "''fiery eloquence on the hustings''" until her death from cancer, only giving up public speaking a few months before she died on 20 February 1951 in

. Survived by her husband and her three children, Baines's legacy could perhaps be summed up in her own words:

'To fight for that which is better and nobler in this world is to live in the highest sense, but to submit and tolerate the evils which exist is to merely vegetate in the sewers of iniquity'. Jennie Baines quoted in ''The Socialist'', 11 April 1919.

References

External links