The Akaroa Mail FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1897. THE WOMEN'S CONVENTION.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume XXIV, Issue 2140, 2 April 1897, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1897. THE WOMEN'S CONVENTION.

It mast surprise every sensible man and woman when reading the Christehureb paper*, that such a large amount of space is devoted to reporting tha wild utterances and vague inanities of the meeting of new women now taking place in that city. It is wise perhaps in one way, as the fuller the report the more general will be the earprise—we had almost said disgust—at the proceedings. The photographs, too, in the weekly papers do their eh are io this respect by showing how peculiarly unattractive the new women as a body, is : causing one to wonder how so many of them have ever been allied to the tyrant man, and giving us the idaa that this temporary arrangements advocated by some of them, instead of lasting unions, would be equally agreeable to their husbands. We should think thnt no gathering had ever more conclusively proved that " fools rush in where angeis dnre not tread. , ' Tbr convention has calmly condemned legislation that ie the result of the wisdom of ages', starting oo the horrible and unnatural supposition that man is the natural enemy of woman. Partially uneexed themselves, they are bringing in nnaengst our young people, girls especially, a terrible coarseness of thought that' it. will bo hard to eradicate. Thanks to their public dehatse on those subjects •which we wore wont to consider with the greiUest privacy and caution, the " age ! of consent," "free selection," and the J CD. Acts are common topics of conversation amongst some of our youuu; people ; and surely this is taking all the bloom from the peach, the pertame from the flower.

One very advanced delegate road a nnper on the economic indepeudeoca of niHrrifd women, merri ~ and divorce. A fter lauding women to ;ri.jskies,and making it appear they wt-re perfect angelp, she said it wss man's duty at marriage to provide for bis wife's economic independence, by securing lo her half hiearnings. It was open to question whether women would lay aside the demon of prostitution without equality of opportunity of her earning her bread ac

her husband has. If all positions were open to women it wae questionable whether they would marry at' all. If marriage uueant the bondage of to-day it wee better perhaps that she should uot. " I will live" with you ; I v=lll not marry you" was more common to-day than people thought, for under this sysfcaea 6he could leave the nuaa, feeling sure that her illegitimate children would be pro- : tided for. She then went on to advocate I equal rights with regard to diroroe, and \ wound op by tnorißg—" That the Council 18 of opinion that the marriage laws of New Zealand should 'be rendered remedial, not merely palliative of the disabilities at present grievously affecting married women, and that to this end the whole law relating to mnrri'igro founded on tho old doctrine of possession should

be repealed." This precious resolution was duly carried with this trifling amendment — " That the words ' (hat all portions of the marriage laws referring to the doctrine of possession ' be substituted for the wordß, ' the wbfle of the marriage laws referriug to possesHinn. , " 1 There were only thres Indies who voted against thi< proposition, which, if given practical offset to, really mo>ans the rupture of fl.ll those holy family tiee whicb - we have bean accustomed to look upon I afl the most BRcred ponions of our existence; bnt we are tmttinsr the matter too seriously—these are children throwing liyhtfrd mutches into a powder magazino without the sense to calculate results I