WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE IN NEW ZEALAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14257, 4 July 1908, Page 4

WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE IN NEW ZEALAND

.& INTERESTING ADDRESS BY MRS \Y. PI'MBKR KKKVKS. EULOGY OF THE NEW ZEALAND VOTER. i_ (From Our Ov/k Correspondent.) t LONDON, May 15. Lord Durham presided, on Monday night, at a dinner of the Liberal ColoTiial Clubail institution formed to bring the.Liberal party into closer touch with colonial sentiment. The dinner took place at Prince's Restaurant, and on its conclusion Mrs W. Pember Reeves, who was the guest of the ciub, initiated ft discussion on "The Working of Women's Suffrage in New Zealand." At the outset Mrs Reeves disclaimed all pretensions to peeing a.s an all-knowing authority. She could only give her ideas in a personal way. She was not making a party speech, so she would not pretend that all the prosperity which had attended Kow Zealand since the vote was given to woman was because of that vole. The main point was tho great benefit derived by the Dominion in possessing as it did a country of politically educated men and women— a contrast to a country where about linJf tho men interested themselves in politics and the rest of the population left he country to take care of itself. Mrs Hooves confined her remarks entirely to Now Zealand—no mention was io be made of Australia—because aho herself had been in New Zealand a_t the time tho suffrage was granted, and sno had personal knowledge of the changes which accompanied it. Nor was she going to pin herself to various changes it) legislation, for it was impossible to prove that they wero the direct outcome of the vote having be-ert granted to women. Besides, that was only a mere fraction of the change. She referred to the women of New Zealand before the granting of the franchise, and rJie mentioned several objections which had been urged by those who regarded the measure tinfavourably—viz., education, prohibition, conservatism. The reply to such objections was: " Bring women into the oven and arguo witlt them, inform them, and discipline them." judging by the debates in tho House, women were all angels with dangerous charms; or, if the speaker happened to be in favour of the movement, ho claimed that the women had intuition beyond men. That was during the first session. In the next session it was still conocded that, the women were angels, but that they were stupid and ignorant angels; while there were hints about their being fallen angels; their supporters, however, credited them villi inspiration, However, tho first result of the grant of women's suffrage in New Zealand had been that a much larger percentage of men electors had gone to the poll—from less than 60 per cent, of men voting who were entitled to vote the number soon rose to 70 per cent., while six years later there was stili a further increase to 80 per cent. During the first year of the operation of tho measure 7ii per cent, of the women in tho Dominion registered their names, and of those on the rolls 85 per cent, voted. Country women still find difficulty in getting to the recording office. Mrs Reeves went on to maintain that households had not been unset by according the vote to the women. On the contrary, they had been knit together in a way which could scarcely have been conceived. On the other hand, the women -had learned that, they were a very ignorant, set of people. Generally, the result "had been that they could not have in New Zealand the sort of electors which she had seen in England—where people traded on the ignorance of the electors, where each side tried to deceive, and where the great point was to tell the biggest lie. Tkev could not do that in New Zoaiandthc "people knew too much. In this country, it seemed to Mrs Reeves, tho people were so ignorant, thai. one. had only to tell them the most ridiculous fairy tales; these would be believed, and the voters would act accordingly. In New Zealand they found no class of persons who were not thoroughly acquainted with the legislation which mostly governed their lives. In the Dominion, for instance, it would be impossible to find a woman factory band who was not cognisant of the Factory Acts, or a female shop assistant who was unacquainted with the Shop Acts. But it was the exception to find such women in England. Knowledge and learning could be spread by giving the vote to women. As a result of women's enfranchisement, they had in New Zealand a politically self-conscious country. Women's enfranchisement had educated the men as well as the women of tho Dominion. Jf people in England wanted knowledge and learning to spread among the population, they should let the women have the vole. Election methods in New Zealand were so different: there was nothing vnwortliv about them; here both .sides worked Io deceive. There had been a gradual growth of temperance in New Zealand since the institution of women's suffrage. An interesting discussion followed, in the course of which Lord Durham remarked Ihat he could not understand why the women of New Zealand should ho content, with the vote, and should not seek to enter the House of Representatives. The prospect of women sitting in the House of Commons was to him an appalling one. He preferred to educate people before giving them the vote, and he did not think that women ought to have the vote until it was certain that they would use it in a sensible and rational manner, Disapproval of the proposal to grant votes to women was expressed by Mr l'iric, M.P., who said that Iho recent tactics of a certain section of tlie women suffragists had done much to alienate men who'had every desire to be sympathetic towards them and their proposals. Another opponent to the scheme was Miss Markham, but Mr Markham, M.P., spoke in its favour. After various other people had had tliw say, a vote of thanks was passed to Mrs Pember liceves en the motion of Mr Tonnanl, M.P. Quite a number of members of Parlia. inent were present, including Sir E. Tennanl Sir Clifford Cory, Mr 11. J. Tennant, -Mr Markham, Mr Raphael, Mr._Pirie Mr Bennett Mr Manfield, Mr W. H. Cowan, Mr Ridsdale, Mr Williamson, Mr Watt, Mr Schwann, etc. The company also ineluded Lady Dorothy Howard