WOMEN IN POLITICS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 34, 8 August 1925, Page 13

WOMEN IN POLITICS

HAVE THEY FAILED?

NEW ZEALAND'S LEGISLATIVE RECORD WOMEN AND THE PAKTT, SPIRIT.

(Writttn by Mark Cohen.)

When it wa* cabled from New York last month that the president of ths New Zealand National Council of Women had declared in one of the sessions of the great conference held at Washington, D.C., under the presidency of the Marchioness of Aberdeen, and in the presence of an august assemblage, that the womanhood of New Zealand had made no advance, except in regard to child welfare. I rubbed my eyes in astonishment. I felt impelled to rush into print Immediately, and ask for some explanation of such an extraordinary statement coming from such a source, especially as it is common knowledge that the facts do not support Miss Amy Kane's pronouncement. Knowing the lady as well as I do, recognising the fine work she has put in' as head of _ the council's executive, and being desirous of doing her no injustice, I deemed that it was wiser to await the arrival of fuller reports of the meeting addressed by Miss Kane in her representative capacity. But in Friday's "Evening Post" there appeared a report of another deliverance by Miss Kane, much to the same effect; and therefore it is necessary that some notice should be taken of such a travesty of provable faots. On the latest occasion Miss Kane spoke on behalf of New Zealand at a reception held by the Forum Club (Lond%a), and after tracing the rise and progress of the organisation of which she is the head, is' reported to have said :— We used to think we were much more progressive than Great Britain, but now we realise how far we lag behind. The women's vote has certainly been a great advantage to us as far as child welfare is concerned, but "in regard to other things" (the quotations are mine) we have to catch up to Great Britain. In another part of her address she said : "For many years women exercised the vote, and thought that was enough." WOMEN'S AND MEN'S VOTES How do these assertions square with the facts ? Have the women of New Zealand, since their enfranchisement in 1893, been lukewarm in the exercise of their statutory rights? Compare th« number of enrolled female voters before 1893 with the number on the rolls today, and remembering always the natural increase of our population during that interval of 32 years, can I b§ charged with exaggeration if I say that the number has increased 100 per cent? Furthermore, using the acid test of effective voting at successive General Elections, how does the strength of the female vote compare with that of the male vote? A completely satisfactory answer is supplied by the Official Year Bookj which gives these figures :—

ing women are cared for medically and otherwise at moderate rates.

(14) Juvenile Courts, which deals with young offenders under sixteen years, and gives them the full benefit of probation. (A measure extending this humane provision, and empowering women to act in conjunction with specially selected Magistrates is now before the Legislature.) (15) Juvenile Bmoking Suppression Act, forbidding the sale of tobacco and cigarettes to children under sixteen. (16) Criminal Code Amendment, under which the " age of consent" was raised from fourteen to sixteen years.

(17) Education Act Amendment, authorising the giving of temperance instruction in State schools.

(18) Shop Assistants Act, which safeguards the interests and health of female assistants, and betters their working conditions, improves their pay, etc (19) Factory Acts Amendment, whichrecognises the principle of equal pay for equal work, fixes. a minimum wage, and limits working hours. (20) Workers' Compensation Amendment, making the law applicable to all female workers, inclusive of domestics.

(21) Extension of the municipal franchise by women by virtue of their husbands' qualification and vice versa. (22) Women declared eligible to sit in the House of Representatives or local bodies, and may be elected to hospital boards, etc. (23) Education Act Amendment, by which four may. be appointed to the Council of Education. (25) Law Practitioners Amendment, by which women may be admitted to practise as lawyers. (25) Licensing Act Amendment, which provides, inter alia,* for the registration and gradual abolition of barmaids, established universal 6 o'clock closing (an acknowledged blessing), abolished the retail bottle license, and the "locker," probits the sale of liquor for consumption off licensed premises to persona under twenty-one years, and makes Dominion Prohibition a live issue at every General Election.

(26) Appointment of women doctors as medical inspectors of school children, and the appointment o! a woman to be assistant inspector of hospitals. (27) Women appointed as visitors to gaols and prisons; also act as inspectors of other State institutions.

(28) For the first time the State has given practical assistance to and deals generally with that beneficent organisation known as the Eoyal Plunket Society, which has so successfully promoted (under the guidance of Sir Truby King, its founder) the health, of our women and children.

Is not the above a creditable record of work accomplished during a little over 30 years, the early portion of which Bhould not properly be taken into account, because for some time after 1893 the energies of the women who directed and led the feminist movement, were devoted to organisation and to combatting prejudice largely attributable to the fact that the women were advocates of Prohibition, and were agitating for' equal pay for equal work wherever the responsibilities, of the sexes could not be honestly differentiated.

LIVING UP TO PAST REPUTATION

In her London address, Miss Kane deplored the failure of the women of New Zealand to live up to their past reputation as pioneers of social reform. In many respects our social legislation— particularly in regard to child welfare, care of expectant mothers, and the betterment of the working conditions of women jemployed in factories—has been

PERCENTAGE OF VOTES RECORDED AT EEOENT GENERAL ELECTIONS (1905 TO 1922 INCLUSIVE) BY MEN AND WOMEN RESPECTIVELY TO THE NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMEN ON THE ROLL.

A CREDITABLE LEGISLATIVE RECORD What ib the record of the legislation that has reached the Statute Book, largely if not wholly, through the pressure brought to bear on the Government and the Legislature through the media of the National Council of Women, the W.C.T.U., the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, and similar organisations that concern themselves primarily with bettering the living and working conditions of our women and preventing child labour from being exploited? These achieved results, extending over a series of year*, have been tabulatd by Mrs. M'Combs, wife of the M.P. for Lyttelton, and whose life work for the advancement of her sex, materially, morally, and physically, is appreciated on all sides. I make no apology for introducing, with a few passing observations of our own, here her summary of women's legislative achievements, in so far that they were mainly promoted by. the many organisations affiliated to and working in conjunction with the National Council of Women. These are:—

(1) The Infant Life Protection Act, which practically abolished baby farming. |2) The Act regulating the adoption of children.

(3) Industrial Schools Amendment Act, which ensures better classification and improved general methods j to be still further improved by the Children's Welfare Bill now before Parliament. (4) Illegitimacy Amendment Act, whereby a child born out of wedlock may claim a share of. the father's property after his death (the claim £o be settled by the Court); also providing that where parents are willing the child may be registered in the name of the father as well as of the mother. (5) The Legitimisation Act, which provides that when the parents marry any { child born before such, marriage shall be entitled to all the rights of a child born in wedlock, including inheritance of property. • (6) The Widows' Pensions Act, which gives small pensions to a widow (or wife of an incurably insane man) who has a child or children born in New Zealand. (7) Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, which enjoins an equal standard of morality. (8) Summary Legal Separation Act, which protects working women against worthless husbands. (9) The Act which enables . women to recover damages for slander without being under the necessity of proving "special damage." (10) "The Testators' Family Maintenance Act, which compels v testator to . provide for his wife and children according to his means and empowers the Court to vary a man's will so aa to give her maintenance according to her station in life. (11) The Destitute Persons Act, 1919, which provides for tho registration in its father's name where paternity is proved of children born oat of wedlock, and gives power to claim against the estate of cither parent for the maintenance of such a child. (22) The 'Married Women* Property j

(7) Divorce and Matrimonial -Causes Act, which enjoins an equal standard of morality. (8) Summary Legal Separation Act, which protects working women against worthless husbands.

(9) The Act which enables women to recover damages for slander without being under the necessity of proving "special damage." (10) The Testators' Family Maintenance Act, which compels v testator to . provide for his wife an<l children according to his means and empowers the Court to vary a man's will so aa to give her maintenance according to her station in life. (11) The Destitute Persons Act, 1919, which provides for tho registration in its father's name whers paternity is proved of children born out of wedlock, and gives power to claim against ths estate of cither parent for the maintenance of such a child.

(22) Thfl 'Marriecl Women's 'Property Act. which requires no explanation. (13) The State Maternity Hospitals,

in advance of other parts of the British Empire, and has challenged the admiration of publicists, politicians, and Presi writers in foreign lands. If we have gone back in certain other directions, e.g., appointment of women justices, or women jurors, or women police—the fault does not lie at the door of the various women's organisations, who during the past ten years have fought persistently and consistently for the carrying out of these reforms that are so much needed, and are urgently called for ■by those who are entitled to demand them in the name, and on behalf of the womanhood of New Zealand. The power* that were and are, must be held censurable in this relation, as backed by Con-, servatism of a pronounced type, jn one branch of the Legislature, and supported by departmental heads who abhor the very name of woman, the wheels of reform have been blocked, and will remain so till a strong public opinion makes its voice heard on behalf of our women.

Some good falk have said to me "Why don't the women concentrate,' and return members of their own sex to Parliament?' And they point to the success achieved by Lady Astor, who was first sent to the House of Commons on "her own," but later she was aided by Buch splendid women as Mrs. Wintringham, Miss Margaret Bondfield, the Duchess of Atholl, Lady Ferrington, Miss Ramsay, and Mrs. Phillipson. True the number of women in the House of Commons waa much reduced by the last General Election, but that is easily explainedi The majority of the female candidates, some of whom came, close to victory, wero on the unpopular side, and suffered in the Liberal debacle. For the same reason Mrs. Cowan waa among the "rejects," in West Australia lasi year, though her ability and . excellent work as a social worker were freely acknowledged. She wag the first woman to sit in an Australian Legislature, and her place is now taken by Miss PrestonStanley, the first woman to sit in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. As a worker in the domain of practical politics, she has ; few equals in Australia; she is i a good speaker, and ii endowed with a [ large moiety of commonsense. She does not talk for the sake of either "capI turinff the.gallery," or filling the pages of "Hansard," but when she does speak she compels attention by the cogency and logic of her arguments, and by her transparent sincerity. Such is the verdict passed on her by one who has occupied a commanding place in the politics of the Mother State, and if Miss PrestonStanley lives up to that reputation she will assuredly make her mark in the future political history of New South Wales, I LEGISLATIVE HONOURS That is the stamp of woman who is required in New Zealand at this juncture fco come forward and do battle for her sisters. Have wo any such? I think there are a few women in our midst whose public careers, as far as we Know thorn, warrant the belief that their training, their iutelleetual .powers, their ! knowledge of public affairs; and their I pnst performances for the public good enj tills them not only to respectful consideration, but to achieve legislative honours, if they be so minded.

by concentration that the womanhood of this Dominion can hope to attain special representation in Parliament. First of all, is that absolutely necessary? 1 reply unhesitatingly in the affirmative. Next, '.'how can it be done?" Let your selection of candidates be a wise one—a choice that will commend itself to all male and female voters, wholly irrespective of party. Though there may be wisdom in a multitude of counsellors (please dou't make me say Councillors, for there is a mighty wide difference here), but there will be nothing but confusion and defeat if a multiplicity of candidates present themselves. For example, there ought to be no two opinions about the validity of the claims of Miss Emily Melville, of Auckland. A barrister by profeesion, a member of the City Council for many years, an indefatigable social worker, » commanding personality, highly respected, as her position at the last municipal election abundantly proved, and a fluent speaker, she possesses all the- desiderata required of one who aspires to be a tribune at the people. She has twice essayed to tnter the portals of Parliament, but though defeated she wai never disgraced. She polled well on both occasions, notwithstanding that the dominant party declined to select her as their standardbearer. She ought to be luckier next October. In the South, Island there are two ladies of outstanding merit, either of whom would do a constituency credit in Parliament. It may be unfortunate that both reside in the same city, wherefore the election may think that >50 per cent, of the representation is more than a fair share for the women to aim at. But that is a nonsensical contention. The deciding factor should be merit, and merit alone- If Mrs. Herbert, who essays to represent Avon, can show a better record than the present sitting member or any other candidate, it is for the electors to decide between them, and they will do so at the ballot box. Mrs. T. E. Taylor has been named for the representation of Christchurch North. She is a Liberal of Liberals—indeed, she can be properly designated as ultra-Badical; she can hold her own on the platform,or in debate; and she has much personal charm. There will be a strong current of sentiment running in her favour, for her husband held the seat for many years, and he was in truth a Par-

liamentary gladiator. It remains to be seen what amount oi his "mana" has descended on his widow. THE PARTY SPIRIT One reason why I have had the temerity to pronounce for these three ladies is because I am a firm believer in the value of concentrated effort. If the women of New Zealand are determined to shake off their apathy in regard tosex representation, and will work, as I know from past experience, they can do when they set their minds to the task, to achieve a common purpose, then can they attain it. To eend a solitary shepherd into comparatively unknown - country, as it were, is bad policy, as Lady Astor declared more than once in the course of her early Parliamentary career, when she was subjected to a good deal of coarse ridicule—to write resignedly— when she stood alone on the floor of the House of Commons; but when she was accompanied there by others of /her sex the attitude of the men was very different. I dare say that I shall be told that some of the women's organisations are working for the destruction of the party system, and that, therefore, their slogan must be "no-party candidates for us. ' Let me stiy here, that such a policy is a fatuous one. So long as party Government is with us, and its extinctions appears to be as far distant as the Greek Kalends, the women voters must declare on what side of the political fence they will take their stand. "Independents" so-called, • are voted a nuisance by all recognised party leaders, and their influence is negative. In the coming contest the contending forces, according to my belief, will be those who stand for the preservation of Law and Order, and for the protection of all the rights of freedom belonging to the body politic, while on the opposite side will be ranged those who would destroy our democratic form of Government, which aims at doing the greatest good tor the-great-est number, by the employment of force, when necessary, and by persistent "claa3 consciousness." On which side will the mass of New . Zealand's women range themselves when the tocsin of battle is sounded? The answer is self-suggestive, for British women have ever been true to the ideals of the race to which they belong. So be it in October next, or whenever the General Election is held.

.922 .919 L 914 L9ll L9OB L 905 Slectori on EeU. Men. Women. TotaL ... 360,933 339,178 700,111 ... 355,100 328,320 683,420 .... 335,697 280,346' 616,043 .... 321,033 269,009 590,042 .... 294,073 242,390 637,003 ... 263,597 212,876 476,473 Figures for General Election! Percentage of TOtei recorded by men and women reapeoI tivsl/ to the numKumber of Elector! ber of men and who recorded votea. women on the roll. Men. Women. Total. Men. Women. 322,686 297,964 620,650 89.40 87.86 289,244 261,083 (50,327 81.45 79.52 286,799 234,726 521,525 . 85.43 85.73 271,054 221,858 492,912 84.43 82.41 238,534 190,114 428,648' 81.11 78.2<5 221,611 175,046 396,657 84.07 82,22 v prior to 1905 are not available.