WOMEN'S RIGHTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9383, 24 March 1892, Page 3

WOMEN'S RIGHTS.

At a meeting of the New South Wales Womanhood Suffrage League presided over by Lady Windeyer,

Mrs English, of Summer Hill branch, delivered an address in which she. argued that the men had no right to monopolise the lighter class of available labour ; women were entitled to their share of the world's work, instead of being subjected to '( the degradation and inactivity" which had been their lot in the past. They wanted women inspectors for factories and women gaolers. In fact, she was strongly in favour of a system under which the light work in every branch of industry would be apportioned to the women and the heavier to the men. The preparation of huge petitions signed by women, and setting forth the necessities of the concession, in her opinion, would form an effective channel for a public expression of opinion by women. She herself had approached 500 men in Summer Hill on the subject, and only two of them had declared against the suffrage. Moreover, one of those two took the stand because he was hungry and out of temper.—(Laughter.) Mrs Wolstenholme said she attributed a good deal of the backwardness of the movement to the want of co-operation among women. She was one of those who held that women ought not to be obliged to work, but those who were forced to do so ought to have their rights protected. When women were capable of performing the same work as men, and could do it as well, they were entitled to the same rate of wages. Her idea of the situation was not one-man-one-vote, but one-individual-one-vote. Mrs Lawson urged certain reforms in existing customs and practices, in support of which, she said, a large and influential deputation should be formed to wait upon the proper authorities. It was of the utmost importance that sensible, strong, level-headed women should be appointed as warders in the various lockups in the colony and elsewhere. This practice obtained in some of the larger institutions, such as the Darlinghurst gaol, but it was even more necessary at the various receiving houses. , After some further discussion, the meeting closed.