THE COUNTRY OF THE FUTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3016, 3 January 1912, Page 82

THE COUNTRY OF THE FUTURE.

NEW ZEALAND WOMEN AND THE VOTE. INFLUENCE OF EUROPEAN THOUGHT. (From Ode Own Correspondent.) LONDON, November 18. Last May there was formed in London an association under the name of the Australian and New Zealand Women Voters’ Committee, the object being to hold a watching'* brief over all matters affecting the status of colonial women in this country. Already the membership roll numbers 100, and there is every prospect of this figure being materially increased in the near future. Lady Stout is the president, and the two New Zealand vice-presidents are Mrs M'Millan and Miss Isitt. The onerous duties of hon. secretary have been undertaken by Miss H. C. Newcomb, who told your representative that the immediate work before them is to watch the progress of the Imperial Naturalisation Bill, which affects the status of colonial women in this country should they marry an alien. Under English law the woman takes the nationality of her husband, but in New Zealand and Australia, apparently, a- woman can marry an alien and yet retain her rights as a British citizen. An Imperial bill is now being mooted with the object of dealing with the problem throughout the Empire, and this new committee is closely following the proposed legislation from the colonial women’s point of view. Miss Newcomb tells me that she is a Londoner by birth, but has resided for 12 years in Australia, and she hopes shortly to visit New Zealand in order to make their work better known there. It may be as well to explain at once that the committee is not definitely connected with any of the English suffrage societies, “ though, naturally,” Miss Newcomb says, “we are anxious that the women of this country should have the vote. We are going to devote ourselves to the question of Imperial legislation, and more particularly to non-party legislation. New Zealand and Australian women must see how extremely dangerous it is that Imperial questions should be treated from the party point of view.” Miss Newcomb told me of her experiences when she attended the big Women’s Conference at Stockholm this year—an experience in which New Zealand women can take pride. She says “ European women are looking to New Zealand and Australia as the countries of the future because they are attacking social problems. The people of New Zealand and Australia are regarded as people who are looking ahead in order to avoid the dangers and difficulties which have accumulated in European countries. ‘‘l do not think that the women of New Zealand have any notion of the power that they are exercising on the thought of Europe. European women are looking to them to lead them in the rising-up of women, to stand side by side with m»n to help men to a higher view of our common humanity. The women of Servia, Russia, Spain’, Norway, and other countries all came forward and greeted me as the representative of that noble and enlightened oeople at the Antipodes.”