COUNCIL OF WOMEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20114, 27 November 1928, Page 5

COUNCIL OF WOMEN.

LAST MEETING FOR YEAR. Tho final meeting for tho year of the Auckland branch of tho National Council of Women was held last evening and was presided over by Miss Jackson. A motion of sympathy with the president, Miss Carnachan, in the death of her mother was passed by Miss Jackson and carried, members standing in silence. It was decided to send a cable congratulating the Marchioness of Aberdeen and Tomair, president of the International. Council of Women, upon the latest honour bestowed upon her, that of the freedom ol the City of Edinburgh. Mrs. McNair reported that as a result of the garden party which was held recently an amount of £3O 3s lid was realised. V otes of thanks to Mrs. A. M, Ferguson for her generous assistance and loan of her grounds, the Misses Moore for providing the orchestra, the Query Girls for taking charge of tea' rooms and giving other assistance, and to the Indies who look charge of stalls were passed. Letters were received from tho following candidates for Parliament: Mrs. Maguire, Mrs. Paterson, Grey Lynn, and Mrs. Young, Wellington, thanking the council for their letters of good wishes in their recent election campaign. In this connection Miss Jackson said that there was no question that if women had wholeheartedly supported tho women who stood for Parliament they would have gone in. From what she. had seen, it was men who were the best friends of women seeking public positions, not women. The latter were still dominated by the old idea that a woman's place was the home and the home alone. Miss Jackson expressed the opinion that the money which had been left to the council some time previously had been left for just such a purpose as that of helping women to get into Parliament and she did not think they were doing right in not using it for that. Another opinion expressed by a member was that if the women candidates had not allied themselves to party politics they might have got more support from women.

Mrs. Maguire said that until women themselves got behind the effort to put women into Parliament they would not do anything worth while. In America the National Council and the Women's Clubs were wholehearted in their support of such aims and they went so far as to nominate women for seals in the Legislatures. Here women were afraid of being political.

Several notices of motion were received and a considerable amount of discussion took place in regard to some of these, and also in regard to the wording of n number of remits to be forwarded to the Dominion Executive for consideration at the Dominion Conference to bo held next year. A message of good wishes for the Christmas season wys forwarded to members of the council from (he president. Miss Carnachan.