TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVIV, Issue 2, 3 January 1925, Page 13

TOPICS OF THE DAY

(By "M.H.C.")

.;• Those who are interested in women- ; prisoners, and in men prisoners as well (and these are many and of a growing ; number), will join very heartily in the ; expressions ol regret at the sudden death. . ';-, of _Mr. C. E. 'Matthews, Controller of Prisons, which has deprived these ,^_ people of a' true,. wise, .and Consistent : friend. A writer in a Northern exchange . says: "Mr. Matthews was a fine flower ; -of the humanitarian spirit. " In-,- his '. practical idealism he" typified the change * that has come over the treatment of offenders against the law; h^ was in dir- >- ect line of descent from those_ reformers who transformed English prisons from ~ places/of horror into institutions more y in keeping with the professed Christianity of the nation. Reform has gone on . steadily. At first it concerned. itself . mainly with the material side of prison ;> life. Of. recent years.it has paid increased attention to the possibilities of ■'-• keeping offenders out of gaol, and, where: that was not possible, working for their reformation during detention. The extension of. the probation ■ system illustrates the new attitude, arid it was mainly through Mr. MatthewVs efforts that the; amending law was introduced : four'years ago removing restrictions-on ..: the granting of probation. Mr. Matthews had an abundant sympathy. with the'unfortunate,.and he represented the school that seeks to reform/ rather than that which looks on punishment as/the chief end of the system of justice." In .;-. replacing the late Mr. C. E. Matthew* someone will have to assume a "giant's :; robe" in the fine sense, for the'plans>' J: : ; which were not yet carried out were '•'■ -:^there in embryo, as was known to some '. of those privileged to know Mr. Mat- ■ thews, and to,be fellow-workers in a '-. lesser degree, and it is to be hoped v that none of these will be allowed to •..lapse. The patient, thoughtful, humani-' tarian work of a good man. is worthy . of the best consideration from those who ,'._ follow, on. . ••.. ••■. ;. - ■

Sylyia Thomson, ivritin^ in "Time and Tide," gives an interesting account of "The Woman Voter and the 1924 Election." .Shesayf that, one of-'the most significant features of the election was the .confident way in which the women handled their votes. " Misß Thomson refers'to the women of "the past fifty . years, a -minority of whom realised "the need of the vote and iis vast importance to women.- But there was an immense majority who either did not want it or simply ignored the franchise question altogether. When citizenship, in the -positive sense, was forced upon them, they inclined either to abstain from voting or to vote more or less by '.the^ inspiration.of their menfolk,; "Thin silliness," says the writer, "or, indifference was widespread in /1918. But there was a great quickening of interest in ■> 1922, and in. 1923 very littles was heard of the slogan of inertia, 'I can't be .bothered."- In 1922 the women may be* said.to have 'fumbled' with their votes, but the last election showed that they w«-e realising its importance and its possibilities. By last autumn.-they saw that with this weapon they .could defend homes against: wnjust legislation, and fight for refortas to benefit the household; for lower prices, more and betterMiouses, educational, opportunities for-children, and various forms of insurance—against" unemployment widowhood,, and. old age." Formerly, the writer had found, "women had to be persuaded to vote at all, but now they are as keen, or more so, than the men, and ; they criticise the merits of candidates and Iparty programmes, iney discuss politics with one another;they., have. plenty;|to say to a'canvasser ; they don't'miss-a meeting (and this is true of the as'well as rural areas) if they ; can help it: They" arrange; ;bften;:;;a . fortnight .beforehand, to have/'Jhne *to get out on polling day to record ; their'-vote.; ; They, think for themselves; 1 they,;,have -a very real appreciation;'oi: the results .q^E the. Free Trade and Protection policy, of expenditure on armaments or education, and. of the reactions on the prosperity and employment ofK.their families. The womanvoter, is. politically educating herself, and the wiser candidates have been helping her, between flections, to understand ths issues on which they have to give their support." The writer concludes: "The woman voter (that colleciive being who was once to the popular imagination either a Gorgonesque •Terror or a. Comic Impossibility) dominates the future—not as Juno, judging, imperiously in caprice, nor 'as Venus,, selecting to suit her • chai'm the 'cclour' that her lover likes best; but ;as a political Athene, Wisdom in search of Truth."

For an immensely big country—in ex- , tent—and one which is so much nearer ; the Old World than New * Zealand, : South Africa sho^-s a consistent coh- ' . servatism towards, women wliich is most ■ surprising, ■ and nori-un'derstandable." News comes from the South African 1 Synod,, which only: meets orice in five years, and it is stated that by a large majority a. motion was carried extending the legal■status of women as communicants, and they will be elegible as . sidesmen and. churchwardens: Strong .opposition,^ it is 'Stated, came,- from the ; "diohards," and forced a compromise ;by which women are still excluded from ..-■■; membership of synods.. The bishops '.made all sorts -of violent statements "about what they would, or would not, , do., if women were admitted into any > >sort of.equality with men in.the Church. - .'Then: comes the extremely "odd tag" mentioning that the .bishops were- to jpreach in the Nonconformist churches in order' to'i'impress the difficulties in the «yay^ o f the reunion of the churches." It seems a certainty that the bishops 'would -be quite the people to emphasise \ ; the unlikelihood of any departure whatever from th,e precedents and customs of . the past, no matter in what direction they may lie, or how hardly" {hey might .. . press upon the people. "As you were" 'appears to be the slogan of these estimable gentlemen. . Or, to quote from a - - book of their own—apparently the most ; valuable guide of all,, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, .world without endi" . : ' ■