HOW 1 VOTED AT THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Southern Cross, Volume 3, Issue 3, 20 April 1895, Page 10

HOW 1 VOTED AT THE GENERAL ELECTION.

It was a damp, miserable day, and I had scarcely finished my luncheon when three women called ; they had come to teach me how to vote, and, if I were afraid to go alone, to go to the polling booth with me. I had studied the papers printed for our guidance, and had voted before at municipal elections ; therefore, I knew just as much about it as they did ; neither was I shy, so I thanked those ladieskindly but would not join their party. About half an hour afterwards, a man brought a carriage ; he wanted to drive me to the polling booth, explaining at the same time that I was not obliged to vote for his candidate — I thought it would be rather a sneaking thing to go up in a man's caraiage and then vote foi the other candidate, so again I declined. A little later, two of my own friends came ; they talked freely of how they intended voting—evidently the way their husbands had told them to. Having got rid of them, I settled down to work, when Jim walked in out of the rain, moist and masterful. ‘ Put on youi coat, wifie,’ he said. ‘ I want you to come up and vote.’ If I had told him I was going shopping on a wet day he would have said : ‘ Well you must be mad to go out on a day like this—with your delicate chest too !’ Then he would have thrown out dark hints, vague and mysterious, about unpaid doctor’s bills —the bankruptcy court—and other cheerful subjects of the kind ; he would in this way have worked upon my feelings, until I gave up the

idea of going. So l said ‘Don’t you think it is' rather wet for me to go out P ‘ Oh, no, come on, it’s not raining,’ he said, with that sad disregard for trifles which infects men at election times. I have a few private feelings which, for ;want of a better name, I call ray principles, and they were disturbed by the idea of voting for Neither of the candidates. However, ll decided to go, and to settle in my ■town mind, on the way up, what I should do.

We arrived at the entrance to the court-house, and there Jim was obliged to leave me. A girl came forward and thrust a paper into my hand saying : ‘ Are you going to vote for Mr Kelly P’ I looked at her severely and said, or felt inclined to say, ‘Young woman, you are attempting to violate the secresy of the ballot, a respectable institution which has taken all the fun out of elections, and therefore should be treated with the deference that is its due.’ Passing on, I was met by a man who proffered another paper; this, with the other, I crumpled up and put into my pocket. Then, having got my number, a policeman came forward and said, ‘ What name, Miss ?’ I gave my name and scowled savagely at him—a woman of my age doesn’t like to be called Miss : it has a sort of ‘ surely, no man would be foolish enough to marry you ’ insinuation about it. Going into the compartment to which this indiscriminate policeman directed me, I took my paper to one of the desks provided, folded it, showed the number to the returning officer, dropped it into the box, and went out, trying to look as if I had been accustomed to that sort of thing all my life. Outside Jim met me, and he said ‘ now aren’t you glad you went ?’ ‘ Oh I don’t think it will make any difference,’ I answered.

‘Of course it will. How foolish of you to talk like that —you women don’t seem to understand that every vote makes a difference.’

Being still of my own opinion, I did not answer.

Later on, came the news of Mr Kelly’s overwhelming majority, and I breathed more freely. The night passed and part of the following day. I felt uneasy ; those private feelings were again disturbed. At last, finding myself alone with Jim, I said, ‘ I didn’t vote yesterday.’ ‘ What do you mean ?’ he said, in surprise. ‘ You went up with me.’ ‘ Yes, I know,, but I didn’t vote —I just folded the paper and put it into the box.’ Jim looked as if he didn’t know whether to be very cross, or to have a good laugh, and he said —‘Well, you boast that when you exercise your right to independent action, you can always point out a moral —but I’m hanged if you can this time !’ ‘ No, perhaps not,’ I replied meekly, trying to look very subdued, ‘unless it is that you may take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’ Linda.