RIGHT WAY TO REFORM

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 139, 9 December 1918, Page 3

RIGHT WAY TO REFORM

COUNCIL WOULD NOT OPPOSE. ■ The views of women's organisations on tho question of representation by their own sex in Parliament were placed bofore Sir Francis Bell, Leader of the Legislative Council, on Saturday afternoon. : The arguments-of the deputation were stated briefly in Saturday's Post. Sir Francis Bell, in reply, said it was not necessary to persnade him or anyone' else that women should have the right to .representation. If members of the deputation endorsed Miss Coad's view, that the reason given.by the Coun-cil-was: an evasion, then, fully acquainted as-they were with the general politics of' the country,- they were bvidently not fully acquainted with the methods which were necessary in.the making of a great constitutional change. Instead of the House sending' a Bill to Parliament, it had token advantage of a Bill amending a technical defect in the Council to add » clause _ which the Council could riot fully consider. If the women's organisations were so constituted that, in order to get something that for the moment they thought desirable, they would adopt any such means, then "the women's organisations must bo very badly framed. [ The matter before the Council vu not (fee women's right to sit in PwUnnent,

but the method of dealing with a grave constitutional change. If a Bill had been sent up from the House, the Council would have passed it, and he felt assured the only question would have been whether the right would have been applied to nominations. The nomination of women might be open to grave abuse, but no one questioned the right of women to election. "I hope, ladies." concluded Sir Francis, "that when you do come into Parliament, you will be as careful as the men to, see that on the eve of a General Election a grave constitutional change is made only in a constitutional way." Miss Coad explained that she did not mean that the deputation would not accept the Council's explanation, but that (ho explanation would tend to create th« impression of evasion. What they had heard augured well for the future; but it appeared that the House of Representatives had been at fault in not affording the Council previously the opportunity of approving a change.