Outlines of the Woman Suffrage Movement in New Zealand IV.

White Ribbon, Volume 6, Issue 65, 1 October 1900, Page 4

Outlines of the Woman Suffrage Movement in New Zealand IV.

. The task to be undertaken was a long and arduous one, but tin* Franchise Superintendent brought to it a clear and logical brain, an untiring energy, and an invincible determination Friends of the movement weje corresponded with, literature bearing on the subject was procured from England and America ; short and pithy leaflets were written, printed and circulated, and the district and local Unions were urged to take the question up, and to appoint superintendents. Counsel was taken with the veteran Parliamentarian, Mr Alfred S aunders, and the possibilities of a Parliamentary campaign discussed. Literary and Debating Societies were communicated with, and

,ged to give the question a place on their programmes. Papers to be read before these Societies were prepared, and correspondence was opened up in the daily newspapers. The Synods, Assemblies, and 1 uions of the various Churches were asked to give a pul die expression of opinion on the subject. It was not all pleasant work Many rebuffs were met with, and unkind and unpleasant things were spoken of the Franchise Superintendent and those who worked with her. Many and well meaning people wen nooeitlji shocked that women should l><* so oblivious of all womanly modesty, as to want to vote at public elections. Nor were there wanting insinuations of a disagreeable nature emanating from lewd fellows of the baser sort. From the outset, those engaged in the liquor traffic saw in the enfranchisement of women a danger to their trade, and were not chary of using very question able methods for frustrating it. ()n the other hand, there were numbers of good men and true who, by voice and pen, heartily supported the courageous women who were working for this great reform. Chief among these were Mr Alfred Saunders and Sir John Hall. Hoth w« re veteran politicians (usual y on opposite sides of the House), both were full of years, and each had a long and honourable record of public service. The prestige of their names gave weight and influence to the movement, and tbrir great experience rendered them invaluable advisers; their unselfish co operation and generous advocacy lifted the question high above the mire of mere party politics. Of the pioneer party of settlers who

arrived in Nelson by the Fifeshire in September, 184 1, Mr Alfred Saunders was the first to land. ID was a born reformer A Temperance worker in Lngland, his principles emigrated with him, and on the voyage he formed the first New Zealand 1* mpe.ance Society with a membership of five A littie society, truly, but probably the first of its kind in tin* Southern seas, and important therefore, as being the herald of the Temperance crusade in the new hemisphere Only pioneers or students of the history of colonization know the toils and hardships of the founders of a colony twelve thousand miles from its base. Hut amid the trials and difficulties which beset the infant settlement, which at times was threatened with starvation and by warlike natives, Mr Saunders never alnndoned his propaganda. Ib* inaugurated a series of lively public discussions on temperance, which lasted for several months, and re suited in the formation of the Nelson remperance Society, with three hundred and fifty members, an immense propor tion of the tiny population. Mr Saunders’ political career began in 1855, when he was elected to the Provincial Council of Nelson In 185 S he was returned to the House of Repre. sentatives, and in the following year was offered and refused the Colonial Treasurership. This refusal was quite characteristic, for although twice Superintendent of Nelson, an I a member of many Parliaments, he has always valued his freedom of speech and action too highly to take pleasure in holding office. His fearless outspokeness was early exemplified, for in 1859 he pub. licly charged one of the Judges with giving a verdict at variance with the evidence, and w th sending a garbled account to the Press. A criminal prosecution was instituted, and Mr S um ders was fined one hundred and fifty pounds, and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Hut although condemned by the Judge, the moral sentiment of the community was with him. While in prison he was re. elected by his constituents, his cell was daily crowded with visitors and prestmts, and he was specially released by the Governor without reference to the Judge. Mr Saunders has been a voluminous writer, his latest work being a History of New Zealand. Sir John Hall had learned something of official life before leaving England. Arriving in the Colony in 1852, two y> ars after the arrival of the Canterbury Pilgrims, he took an active part in the affairs of the settlement, and

three years later became Provincial Secretary of the Canterbury Province, in the same year he was returned to the House of Representatives by the Christchurch electorate, and in 1862 was called to the Legislative Count il His active brain, however, desired work rather than dull diginity, and four years later he resigned his seat to re. enter the Lower Chamber. To fully d scritx his *< afeet w<mid be t<> wi the political history of the Colony. Colonial Secretary, Postmaster General and Premier, has Sir John been, and whether in office or out, his enormous capacity for work, and his acute intellect, have made him a conspicuous figure and a man to be counted with. Courteous, keen, alert and wary, a past - master in the art of political tactics, who has never lost an election, a more skilful general of the W oman s Franchise parliamentary forces could not have been found or desired. W’.S.S.