Female Suffrage

Evening Star, Issue 8530, 1 June 1891, Page 3

Female Suffrage

Fully 100 ladies, accompanied by several members of Parliament and clergymen, a few days ago urged the Premier of Victoria to take measures to give effeot to the principle of women's suffrage. Three ladies spoke in support of the request, and claimed that woman, being man's equal inrellectually, was just as mueh entitled to vote as he was. As they were taxpayers, and had to obey the laws, they should have a voloe in ohoosing the lawmakers, especially as many of the laws dealt with the home life of the people. The giving of the franohiae to women in the United States had, it was asserted, been attended with most salutary results, and had raised the moral tone of the communities where the prinoiple has been recognised. The Premier expressed his sym-1 pathy with the deputation, and stated that he had already given instruotionß for the drafting of a measure affirming the prin-1 oiple; but there were so many diffioulties4n the way of giving; universal women's suffrage that they had better be content to begin with a measure giving all women on the ratepayers' roll a vote for Parliament. This suggestion did not meet with the approval of the deputation, and they oould not Bee that there were any reasons why a vote should not be given to women over twentyone years of age. Eventually the Premier promised to do what he could in the direction indicated.