Under our present arrangements, on those extremely rare occasions when, after, say, an indecisive election or some upheavals involving the leadership of the governing party, it is not obvious who should be prime minister or whether there should be a fresh election, the sovereign alone decides, taking such advice as he or she chooses.Somebody has to make a decision! But I can think of many people - or bodies - better equipped to arrive at a satisfactory answer than the sovereign of the day, who may or may not have the personal qualities required. He was supported by the secretary of The Republic and I wound up. Against us was Winston Churchill, who was MP for Davyhulme until the last election, Edward Heathcote Amory, associate editor of The Spectator, Bob Houston, editor of Royalty magazine and Frederick Forsyth, novelist and wit. We lost To my surprise, I must say That is why it was an interesting evening. Bill Emmott, editor of The Economist, spoke in favour of the motion: "This house believes that the Monarchy has outlived its usefulness".

I suppose the average age was 21 years and I imagine that a majority voted left-of-centre in the General Election last May

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Undergraduate speakers were interspersed with outsiders. It was not such a solemn occasion as the Australian constitutional convention on the Monarchy which has started this week, but it was a good test because we were not debating in conservative territory Students filled the chamber literally to the rafters. And two years later she did so herself, being guillotined during the Reign of Terror. JEAN RAISONLondon N19. You always learn something from a full-scale debate, with many speakers and a vote at the end. At the Oxford Union recently, I came to see clearly the point at which the arguments in favour of a republic fail to convince. As you say (leading article, 2 February), women still experience discrimination in the area of capital punishment, being far less likely than men to suffer it. In the Declaration of Rights of Woman and Citizeness, which she published in 1791, Articles 7-10 insist that women have the same right as men not only to make laws but to suffer under them.

As it happens, Olympe de Gouges, the early French feminist, not only noticed but opposed this fact. Allowing it to be lost would destroy our government's environmental credibility. To allow the development to proceed with government money would compound the error. We call upon the Deputy Prime Minister to remain true to the manifesto promise to bring the environment to the heart of all policy.BARBARA YOUNGChief Executive, Royal Society for the Protection of BirdsCHARLES SECRETTExecutive Director, Friends of the EarthSIMON LYSTERDirector General, The Wildlife TrustSandy, Bedfordshire. May I reply to Philip Resheph's letter (28 January)? As an over- subsidised country denizen and Post Office pensioner, I would not dream of marching anywhere, let alone to London. I have long reflected on the source of wealth which allows me a modest lifestyle and just about keeps me in food and debt free.