LADY ELECTORS. (From the Oamaru Times, 13th October.)

North Otago Times, Volume XI, Issue 359, 30 October 1868, Page 3

LADY ELECTORS. (From the Oamaru Times, 13th October.)

So the ladies are determined to have their say in the Government of the Country. Five thousand of them have claimed votes at Manchester, and 1200 liave actually- been, put j upon the electoral roll in Salford ! We do not wish to be impolite, but we really think that if there is not a law at present to exclude women from voting powers that it is highly necessary there should be one. If a woman may be an elector why not a member of Parliament 1 Fancy a house in which a lady member should i: take the oaths and her seat !" There might be thus much gained certainly, lion, members would scarcely indulge in cock-crowings, and cat-calls in her presence ; but then hon. members could scai'cely, in common politeness, vote against any resolution which she might bring forward, besides, if the said lady should happen to be particularly charming, what hon. mem ber would have the heart to do it 1 have the heart did we say, would hon. membei'S have hearts at all, or would they not all lose the said hearts to the fair conqueror 1 Then again, what hon member could " rise to order" if the fair orator should talk about every tiling under the sun excejit the question before the House 1 and what hon member would have a chance of " catching the Speaker's eye" if the fair member, for Salford say, should rise at the same moment. Even Mr Speaker, with his wig and robes, would, we fear, be unable to confine the right of reply to the mover of a resolution, for Miss the member for , might wish to speak half-a-dozen times, nay, might insist upon it, with the prettiest stamp of a pretty foot imaginable. And then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what chance of carrying a budget in which there should be any duty calculated upon as obtainable upon kid gloves, lace, and other articles of female adornment 1 /Talk of a Ministerial caucus, or a gathering of the Opposition, or a. conclave of the Adullamites, why they would be nothing to the party-meetings under the leadership of the hon and geottle the member for Salford. And then what a curious complication would arise if some hon. member belonging to the Government side of the House should " pair" (matrimonially we mean) with some charming but strong-minded Oppositionist. If party feeling ran high, how would each like to see his or her spoiise voting on the opposite side, and supposing on an important occasion the hon. member by his authority as a husband should prevent the charming member from attending to give her vote, would that be An infringement of the liberties bf the House, or would the interference of the Ho\ise be an infringement of the rights of the hon. member as a husband and a citizen 1 But we will have done with banter, and, writing seriously, we think it is high time that a social revolution of a very different sort was brought, about at home. Let the 'women of 'England seek to bring aboxit a, return to habits of less extravagance, idleness, and viselessness than thousands of them have fallen into, let them return to more decent .fashions, more sensible amusements, and the 'cultivation of more homely accomplishments, and they will do vastly more for their country than they can possibly do by forcing themselves'into an arena which is by no means their natural sphere, and where they would be thoroughly out of their element. Surely, 'the beautifying and .rendering of home happy,

theijjcareful training of their little pnes, the counselling and comforting of their husbands 'brothers, or sons, the exercising of a holy an(i elevating influence on the, ruder members of their families is a work high and noble en6\i^h j and for any woman to abandon her trtftj inission to plunge into the whirlpool of politics, is for her to throw away the corn for 1 the husk, and to reduce herself to the, in many respects, lower level of manhood — to throw away a garment of silk and to put on one of sack-cloth. It may be said' "the ladies don't wantto get into Parliament,, they only, want to have a voice in the election of those who impose the taxes, their share of which some of them, who have no natural guardians, have to pay. Ought not those who have to pay taxes to have a voice in their adjustment 1" "Well, we frankly reply there is a show of reason in the argument, buii after all only a show. -Theie are comparatively few women who on this hypothesis would be entitled to vote, and still fewer who would not be satisfied to leave the matter in the hands of their brothers or cousins or gentlemen friendsj and we believe that the granting of female "franchise would produce far greater evils than the small, amount of injustice' which it proposes to remedy. 'Really we hardly like to "say it, it seems so ungallant, but we do think it woulji 5 open the door for a very dangerous sort of bribery and corruption ; but if it must be .granted, then in the name of common sense let that be the extent of the concession, don't make ladies eligible for members of Parliament ; ' and yet' some of the strongminded advocates of woman-suffrage will, we fully believe, if they gain the first point, tiy for this next. Well ! the world's getting into a queer state ; we have seen Parliaments principally composed of " old women" its true, and that was bad enough, but a Parliament of young ladies / — it takes away our breath altogether.