Women's Work in New Zealand.

Hastings Standard, Issue 260, 2 March 1897, Page 4

Women's Work in New Zealand.

A lady representative of the Melbourne Herald recently interviewed Mrs Seddon, and during the conversation which ensued elicited from her some interesting opinions on women's work in this colony. According to Mrs Seddon the result 'of the granting of the franchise to women has been most satisfactory. "It is really wonderful," she said, " how the women have roused themselves to take interest in .social and political matters. . . . At the last two elections we had a Liberal victory in spite of the cry that women workers, for instance, would feel bound to vote for their employers, and that the Conservatives would in the end chielly benelit from the granting of the franchise to women. The women went straight for moderate Liberalism." Farther on Mrs Seddon said that only a section of the women of the colony wanted Prohibition. She does not approve of women sitting in Parliament, at least, not until they have had some experience to be gained as inspectors of charities, sanitary inspectors, on education boards, as inspectors of gaols and lunatic asylums, and on municipal councils. Mrs Seddon told her interviewer that •' the (iovernment Labor Bureau is satisfactory, and doing good work. It is managed by a woman" —apparently referring to the women's branch of the Labor Department. After urging upon her interviewer the necessity for Victorian women to.agitate for the franchise, and mentioning her own and her daughter's work for candidates at the recent elections, Mrs ;Seddon said that the Women's Social and Political League was interesting itself at present in the divorce lavs and the care of children. She claimed that it was owing to the persisted agitation of the women that the Asiatic Immigration Restriction Bill ultimately became law. Asked if she and her husband were going to Loudon, Mrs Seddon said the matter was not yet settled. " 1 should like to," she added ; " I'm a colonial, and should enjoy it."