AMONG OURSELVES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 31, 6 February 1925, Page 13

AMONG OURSELVES.

A WEEKLY BUDGET. j iv ( ONSTANTK ( LYDE.i j AUSTRALIA AND DIVORCE. \ well known woman of public! attainments. MUs Klaaa Kelly, of Vie-j lorin. hue 1..-PH visiting Adelaide, where :im-iii}j i.tli.-r hulijcetn .-lie ha■• been j nil) Minn , anomalies in the ili\nnn Inwf. of the island continent.; Tin- -uhim-i has rami' to the f.jrr- \ ilii-iuijjli llu- failure of t)w. Siinwlwll ; Dhfin-i' .Xrnpn'liii" Bill owing to ilic (■ii\i-rniiieiii poina «"t. I I"'' rhange iniii-h ilcsireil by the wfinien was ruio iillowiiij; diviin-p aftn lopil reparation. "A- tlunjßH am nr,w." mys Miss Kelly, hiT-i'li i hi' ilmiuhfor of ii well-known ■I" juilgi , "» woman ;.ulTers from J tin , iilinormiil iDiiduct of x hushmnl. J wliifli i-onfliift. linwpver. not Rtipjiospfl .to be hullieieiil to juatify a divon-e. To mhi' herself anil her chilrtren she. aprps iin )■ judirisil after which, nf roiir-i'. it is an offence, for him to rross her ihre>hl;iilil. By obtaining thi> separetiimi. hijwevtfr, ii is made impossible for her, whatever the eirclinistaticos. ever t" obtain a divorce with a i-hanec of renin rrvinp." To modify the anomaly many people wanted this Victorian Bill pn»M>il. Ai ]iie»eni there is divergence rt>^a riling the causes for which divorce is obtained. Slip instnnres tho case of a man who. before ripht of marriage with a deceased wife's sister was universal, wen! hit" a neighbouring State to have the ii'icinony performed, afterwards returning to his own State there to fill for ninny yearn an important judicial , position.'

HER MAIDEN SPEECH. j I he maiden speech of Miss l-'.llen ' Wilkinson. M.l\. one of the new member- in ihe British House of Common*,' was. ii seem-, received with delight even by those opposed both to her m-x llml to her special ideas. Miss Wilkinson j without acerbity bul with firmness, j luiee.l her disappointment in the name, ~f many other women that no mention | was made nf equal franchise in the Kin.o's Speech. ll is held by most opponent* of the "unfit till thirty ideal"': thai it is iii the twenties that young: women are most inclined to civic and political interests. ~r at least suited for -in-h irainiii.. and that liv the time oil i- reached the public*- ti on - recognition of them as citizens has tended to prodine indifferent ism. Miss Wilkinson. however, expressed pleasure that the Widow-' Pensions Kill had received mention. The pity is that thh- measure ],a- licen complicated by certain insurance, clau-cs, which militates against Mi.-,-e--. Mi*-- Wilkinson is. of course, well known for her sympathies! wit.b the people and with feminism, having started pul,lie life ns an organiser of the National I'nioii of Women's Suffrage Societies. A VICTORY IN INDIA. \\ ml,- Englishwomen must still endure the indignity of being mil quite sensible until thirty" India, when it does decide to emancipate women, seems always to ,!,, ~, in tho most, generous manlier. lln,. A-saiu i- the fifth among the

provinces of that Eastern country to give women political voting rights, and there is no difference made between the sexes. The Legislative Council has even petitioned the Government to remove the embargo upon women entering the i ouncil, which, of course, is the only logical outcome of the franchise itself. WOMEN POLICE TO-DAY. Many women reformers are congratulating themselves that the women police !in London are to he increased from -4 to .",(1 in number. It is not likely, liow- ! ever, that this example will be much i followed in other parts of Great Britain. • Whether there should be women police ■or not is left, for each district to decide for itself, and it is thought that the chief constable in many cases has an anti-feminist complex, as psychologists would put it. Some have declared that • the police matron will do nil that is [required, and yet. of course, .-ili'll an official ciui do 'very little in preventive work. In some districts the police ser geant.-s wife has official duties as regarilwonieii offenders, though, of cour.-e. the police sergeant, is not. hound to marry n woman fitted for such duties. At Htil and in Devonshire these local prejudice! have been shown, while Cardiff and Mon mouth are quite opposed to such ai I innovation. However, it is better thai i men should be opposed to women polio, 1 because they have not. had them befon i than heeause they have had. i

THE VICTORIAN WOMAN DOCTOR, i It is thirty-three years since the lirsi j woman doctor graduated in Victoria.; and this lady (Dr. Clara Stone'i is still I practising as surgeon. With her gradu ated Dr. Margaret. Whyte. and later cam« l)rs. Constance and Mary Stone nister and cousin of the pioneer lady doctor respectively i. There followed also Dr. .lanet Greig. now chief medical officer of the Education Department. These and other clever women had 10 fight, hard for the right to be medical ..flieers in hospitals, and ISOf,. it seem?. was a memorable year with thetu on that account. Times, however, haxe much changed for the better, and women doctors, says an observer, are now to i„found "nU'ovcr the place.'" In Victoria ..ne hospital is entirely staffed l,y