A G.L.E can be charged positively or negatively by touching the disc of the G.L.E. with a positively charged glass rod or negatively charged ebonite rod.
Only when the G.L.E is charged, will the leaves collapse or diverge depending on the charge of the body for which the type of charge is to be determined.
Hence, only a charged electroscope can tell the nature of charge on a charged body.