AMONG OURSELVES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 151, 27 June 1924, Page 11

AMONG OURSELVES.

A WEEKLY BUDGET. (By CONSTANCE CLYDE.) A LAW THAT FAILED. Some time ago I mentioned the pass- ; ing of a law in South Australia giving ' I the State power over aboriginal children I if it considered them neglected by their native mothers. Some of the more con- . servative papers, including a writer in the "Australasian," wrote in mild ap- i proval of this s-chome, regretting, of ! course, the "necessity" of such inter- ! ference with parental claims. Now comes ! news that this act has proved so unpopular that only once has there been an attempt to put it into force, and then the aboriginal mother made such an outcry that the attempt had to fail. Eliza crossing the ice was nothing to her , excitement. Mr. Garnett, Protector of | the Aborigines, has now declared that however well meaning such measures ■ may be, the applying of them would entail too much suffering and even in- j justice. As another point? out, the ex- ' pression "neglected" ie often rather a fear in the mind of the observer, than something dealing with actual fact. If ■ a mother lets her child go barefoot because she's poor, ehe "neglects" it; if, beacuse she thinks barefootedness hygienic, that is another matter altogether. EUGENICS IN FRANCE. "In France," says the "Women's Leader," "the birthrate is still falling, every town, except Strassbourg, showing some measure of decline. Unfortunately, the deathrate is not declining, but is increasing." The writer speaks also of ' the French Government's attempt to j penalise the diffusion of knowledge on this matter. France's great step forward in regard to the legitimation of children was taken some time ago, and from the first of May this year, all children-born out of wedlock, where marital unfaithfulness does not come into the question, are declared legitimate. Certain classes of the other type born out of wedlock, however, arc specially mentioned as capable of legitimation, so that the measure goes very far indeed. Such a law would have a very practical effect in England. Says Frances Usher, writing to the "Leader," "the unmarrfed mother : is often ineligible for out relief. I have known a case where, because the child was illegal, the mother could not be I assisted because it was against the law. | It is very astonishing how those Boards ; of Guardians vary. Surely it is more ' economic to give out relief than to insist ! that such a mother should enter an . institution." I SHOULD THE BALLOT BOX TELL? Some may remember how at our first election for women voters thirty years ago it was proposed that the new elec- ' tors should have specially marked papers to "show how the women voted." The proposal was vetoed as against public policy, but frequently during these more generally enfranchised times the idea \ has been put forward. It is not likely | to be carried out in our country in our time, but news comes that this sex separation ha 3 really been tried in one of the Bavarian States. It may seem a triumph for the conservative that on this occasion the feminine votes showed a. leaning towards the clerical party, extremists being avoided. It would be interesting, says the writer, if we could differentiate between the votes of persons in different occupations and in varying social classes, especially when there is no ulterior reason to influence this way or that and idealism really dictates the answer at the poll. This differentiation also, however, is very little likely to take place. . MARRIAGE MORTALITY. i This has a melancholy sound, but, of course, it is merely the expression used for those women who "die" to their ordinary occupation because of their beatification in the ranks of the married. Manufacturers as a rule lament this mortality, which means the loss of workers after training. The "Shoe Trade Journal," however, points out that such women are rather to be encouraged as seasonal workers. The rubber shoe manufacture, for instance, 13 a seasonal one, and one firm believe that many of their fully trained married women would return if their children were provided for. It is therefore opening a fully staffed day nursery in connection with the factory to meet the needs of

this particular class of labour. "There is something to be said in favour of seasonal or casual labour for the married woman," says a critic, "provided always that her earnings are an addition to and not an essential condition of her family's minimum subsistence." WOMEN'S CONFERENCE. Labour, Liberal, and Unionist women have all been holding their national conferences of late. The agenda of the Labour women, for instance, was given out in Mar, and was very full, including equal franchise, pensions for civilian widow?, family endowment, education and juvenile employment, penal reform, position of housewives in relation to world supplies, rent, housing, and prices. iThe Liberal women's agenda covers some of these points, but mentions also insur- ] ance and women police. The Unionist 'women's conference also took place last month, special interest being derived from the fact that this body now boasts three women in Pariiament. Our own House beginning its session just now, the activities of these English conferI ences have the more interest. j THE MOST TRAVELLED WOMAN. ! Our sex are occasonalliy refused billets because of our assumed inability to venture far into the world. Some have ; disproved this theory, but few as much 'as Mrs. Reid, wife of a Belfast shipowner, whose sea record is—round the . world IT times, crossed the equator 108 times, circled Cape Horn 17 times, four visits to India sounding quite ordinary by contrast. She has voyaged lover 1,000,000 miles, and is still continuing her tours