DOMINION GIFTS OF CLOTHING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16964, 28 March 1917, Page 6

DOMINION GIFTS OF CLOTHING

APPRECIATION BY ENGLISH WOMEN. SPEECH BY MR MASSEY. (From Our Own Correspondent.) rrn -rv . LONDON, January 30. The Prime Minister and Mrs Massey, and Sir Joseph and Lady Ward were entertained to luncheon to-day at Pnncc's Restduiant by the National Union of V omL ; n s Sufiragc Societies and the London Society for Women Suffrage. Lady 1< ranees Balfour and Mrs Fawcett acted as hostesses, and the lunch was made the occasion for conveying the thanks of the English societies to the women of the New Zealand societies who had so generously responded to the appeal for clothcs signed 1 1 " a T c,y French, Lady Frances Balfour, and Mis Fawcett, and sent out in 1914' bince then large quantities of beautiful n-ar-ments had bten received and distributed through headquarters to macernitv centres schools for motners babies' welcomes, and many branches of the Soldiers' and Sailors' JJamilies Association in this country. Mrs .eawcett presided, and welcomed the distinguished visitors, asking them to convoy to the women of New Zealand their sincere thanks lor the services they had rendered. v aS ? e T'- by t!^ G wa T> had J ust arrived from \ orkshire, where he had been conducing a campaign on behalf of the Imperial war loan. He said that the fcmai« vote haci worked well in New Zealand, that nobody, so tar as he was aware, wanted to go back upon it, and if. any candidate for parliamentary honours expressed himself in tavour of a repeal of the present law he would never have a chance of a seat m Parliament. The law was not considered a revolutionary measure in New Zealand. It came into operation quietly, and one argument used in support of it was that it gave the head of the household more influence and more say in the government of the country in comparison with the individual who had no responsibilities than was previously the case. The law was an admission il.at the women were intellectually the equals of the men, and as keenly interested in the government of the dominion, ihe great majority of the women of New Zealand were keen Imperialists, and were utterly opposed to any half-measures in connection with the termination of the war. It had now passed the experimental stan-e' and, though he was not there to advise them what .to do in the United Kingdom there was no doubt about its success in JNew Zealand.—(Applause.) Sir J. G. VVard referred to the magnificent work which the women of the Empire had done to help to bring this war to a \ ictonous conclusion, and he expressed the opinion that '•.hey would bo entitled to claim almost as great a share in the credit as trie men who had gone to the front. But for the millions of women who had come forward tc wke up the work which h-ia necessarily to be laid down by the men called to the colours, we would never have had the necessary number of soldiers to ensure our winning out to final victory. In fact, tha work which the women had' done was ol such value to the Empire as a whole tnat he did not believe it was possible for any power on earth to prevent them from having the franchise conferred uoon them m this country before very lons. He had little doubt that when they had the power of exercising that great privilege tliev would cast their votes just as wiselv as the man.