 In 1856, he persuaded the Yorkshire Meeting to ask the national meeting in London to take steps to end this limitation (a proposal that was not popular in more conservative quarters).It was not until 1859 that the Yearly Meeting was prepared to ask Parliament to broaden the provision and the Marriage (Society of Friends) Act 1860 provided for this change.By this date Joseph Rowntree had died - on 4 November 1859, in York.