WOMAN SUFFRAGE UNION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16551, 15 May 1914, Page 10

WOMAN SUFFRAGE UNION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Will you kindly publish the following letter from Miss Harriet C. Newcomb, honorary secretary pro tern of the above Union? The letter clearly proves the injustice of the conspiracy of silence and misrepresentation with which the woman's movement has to contend, not only in Britain, but in tho dominions. —I am, etc., ANNA P. STOUT. Wellington, May 12. (Enclosure.) London, January 9, 1914.—-Dear Madam,—At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Australian and New Zealand Women Voters' Association (London), held on December 16, at 87, Victoria Street, Westminster, when I gavo some account of my recent visit to Australia and New Zealand, the question arose of the unsatisfactory character of the news concerning the suffrage-movement in Britain which is transmitted by cablo to the .Australasian Press. It; was resolved that the manager of the chief agency (Australian Associated Press Cablegrams) should be i approached and asked to receive a de- | putation from our Association to dis- j cuss the matter with him. }

Tho deputation was to consist of Miss Hodge and myself., who could speak from personal experience of the uniformly mistaken impressions concerning the suffrage movement which we found current in every part of Australia and New Zealand, and of two other members of,our Association, who, resident in London during our absence, could testify to tho number of interestinn and important events connected with the movement which had taken place during that time, of which no notice or very inadequate notice had been sent to the Australasian papers. I regret to say that the manager or the cables has refused to receive our deputation. Ho promises to consider any complaint made in writing, but ho declines to discuss the matter with us. In the interview I had with him, to ask that our deputation might be received, he said that his only business was to send out news which would interest the general public, and that as they had woman suffrage in Australia and New Zealand, tho question in Britain, apart from the sensational incidents, had no interest for them. Besides, except for these incidents, there had been really nothing of importance to cable. I send you with this letter a copy of "Votes for Women," January 2, 1914, which contains a. history of the suffrage movement in Britain for the past year. Similar summaries have appeared in all tho suffrage papers, but I have chosen this one because of the clearness with which an exceedingly complicated story is told, because of the calm with which tho details of cruel wrong and injustice are related, because of the impartial view taken of the work done by the different parties in the suffrage army. These qualities render this summary ol the utmost importance to readers far removed from the scene of conflict.

Will you please bring the paper and this letter of mine before tho notice of tho members of your organisation, and ask them to compare the impression left on tho mind after reading the summary with that which has been created throughout the year by a perusal of the cablegrams? I know that some of your members are subscribers to " Votes for Women," but I send this copy as they may not have theirs handy for reference.

Secondly, will your executive take the necessary steps to acquaint the editors of your newspapers with your opinion regarding the cablegrams? To say that the Australia, and New Zealand publio takes no interest in a movement of such momentous importance to the human race, except in the reports of a few sensational '"' outrages," is to take a- singidarly low view of the intelligence of that public, men as well as women. But editors are not to blame in their mistaken view of our intelligence. It is our fault for nob keeping them informed. If every Woman's Society in Australia and New Zealand will protest, the editors will bring the necessary pressure to bear on their representatives in London. A grand step forward will thus be taken.

For this withholding of truth which demands thought from the reader and the substitution for it of sensationalism which panders to laziness of mind and low views of life is one of the characteristic vices of tho Press at the present-, day against which women al! over the world must fight. Undoubtedly the most important part of the work to bo done by the Woman Suffrage Union, British Dominions Overseas, will be the upliftim» of the Press in each of the dominions, and the loaders in this duty are the women of Australia and New Zealand who already share equally with the men the responsibilities of tho government, of tho State. —Yours faithfully. Harriet C. Newcomb, honorary soeretarv, pro tern., Woman Suffrage Union, British Dominions Overseas.

The word "muslin," the American Consul at Bagdad points out in an official report, is derived from the neighbouring city of Mosul, which nas a population approximately of 100,00", divided into 25,000 native Christians (Syrians and the descendants of ancient Assyrians and Parthians). 5000 native Jews and 70,000 Arabs and Kurds. Mosul—which is described as town or soft stone houses with marble trimmings—was at one time an in ?portant manufacturing centre for '»«Wfe J?S the industry Gas died out. The Bagdad railroad is expected to have effect on the trade of the neighbourhood