WOMEN'S MEETING, HELD IN THE CONCERT CHAMBER OF THE TOWN HALL, WELLINGTON, ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 8th, 1918.

White Ribbon, Volume 23, Issue 276, 18 June 1918, Page 9

WOMEN'S MEETING, HELD IN THE CONCERT CHAMBER OF THE TOWN HALL, WELLINGTON, ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE Bth, 1918.

H public meeting of women interest ed in social questions was held on Saturday. June Bth, at 2.30, to d’sruss various reforms urgently needed in h gisl ition affecting women and children. The meeting was called by

Lady Stout, and on the platform with her were Mrs ILirvcrson, Mrs Donaldson, Miss England, Miss Coad, and Miss Nic halls. The hall was full, and from the outset it was evident that the large audience was not unanimous in its opinions and sympath'es. At times there were frequent interruptions, especially from several ladies, who were anxious to voice th ir opinions or express dissent. (h od humour prevailed, however, and the interruptions gave zest and liveliness to the* proceedings in contrast to the orch r , <d decorum that usually mark woman's meetings. Letters or telegrams of support and approval were re d from Mis Sheppard (Christchurch), Mrs II ett (Dunedin), The Civic League (Auckland), and Canon Curzon-Siggers (Dunedin), and later on from the Christchurch Branch of the National Council. The chair was occupied by Mrs W. A. Evans, who pointed out that the present agitation for legislative reforms was no new thing, but ii el been carried on for years by the Sac ety for the Protection of Women and Children, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and other Women’s Societies. The object of the nr e ing was in no way to suggest or urge interference with the' course of justice in the late trials resulting from the Kelburn r. id. but to take advantage <>f the public interc>t aroused by them to press once more for the reforms already urgently and frequently demanded. The aim and object of these reforms might be summed up as three li) to obta n equality of punishment for similar cr nirs, egardlc ss of sex ; (2) to se< ure batter measures of protection for women and girls, both for those who have Iready falh n into crime, and those who .ire in d ingcr of drifting into it through ignorance and inexperience; (3) to ensure that punishment of the wrong-doers should be better adapted to restore tie m to the status of respectable law-abiding citizens. The fi r st speaker was Lady Stout, who, after acknowledging the many court' -its and coy to the Women’s Societies by the Magistrate in the recent trials, went on to show from the evidence that ♦ here was great need for more protection from the' powers given to the police under the War Regulations. She referred to the exc ■ llcnt results of the appointment of women police in Canada and othm countries, and urged that men must rise to the standard of morality expect'd from women, if

social evils were to be removed She quoted from the directions issued to soldiers when going °n leave, and those issued to be given to girls (written in French and in English), suggesting how to avoid the consequences of wrong-doing, to show that there was being carried on in the ramps what was equivalent to a propaganda of vice, which will lower the birthrate, andxend to corrupt every home, and possibly every girl. That a similar (l inger threatened the Dominion, through similar action in New Zealand camps here, she argued was proved by the recent letter from Rev. J. K. Archer, whom she publicly challenged to deny that this was the meaning of his words, or to give their true explanation. The first resolution was moved by Mrs Donaldson: “That this meeting protests earnestly against the double stand ird of morality which the lawpermits, in arresting and punishing women only; and that it urges, in the interest of common justice, the arrest of men as well as women found on suspected premises, regarding them as equally responsible and punishable. ’ She declared that it was men, not women, that corrupted society, and that the social problem would never be solved till the man stood in the dock beside the woman. It was inequality of justice in the treatment of men and wom°n that made the women in England tight so hard to secure the suffrage. Here little or nothing was being done to help the girls that had to leave home and were compelled to live in bachelor establishments and find their ow n recreation ; there ought to be ho-tels established by (lovernrrent, where girls could find a real home, with its comfort and its safety. She remind d her hearers of the attitude taken up by Christ towards the sinning woman, and passionately urged that we must do Christ’s work and help to uplift the erring one, not kit k her when she is down, for those who were strong enough to withstand tempt 1 1ion ought to help the weak. The resolution %as carried unanimously, and then Miss Nicholls read a short poem that had been s°nt up from the audience, with a request that it be read, illustrative of the double standard of morality. Mrs Harverson moved the next resolution : “That in the interests of womanhood and of humanity, police women shall be appointed to take the

place of male constables in undertaking investigations among women and children on the street and in the home, and th.it such police women shall he chosen only on the recommendation of Women’s Societies. ’’ She said that every woman ought to investigate the laws affecting her, and also the methods by which the machinery of the law was put in motion. She went on to show that under existing methods it was possible for any woman living in her own home to have an action brought against her, and a |X)I iceman told off to spy upon her, and she had be°n informed'by an old policeman that promotion in the police force was largely dependent on the number of convictions that a man could secure; thus an incentive was offered for proving crime against another, and the law, which was intended for the protection of the defenceless and weak, might be turned into an instrument of persecution. The appointment of police women —not merely pati ils- would give a much larger measure of protection, and would be an effective means for preventing crime; but only women of intelligence and education should be appointed, and only after special training. The resolution was carried, with three dissentients. Miss England moved; “That this meeting of wom°n urges that the decencies of life would be better observed, and the cause of justice in no way impeded, by the trial of women in separate t >urts from men.” She pointed out that the I’nited States had solved the question of separate women’s Courts by providing that in all trials for immorality, it was a woman Magistrate who first conducted the inquiry, and that she then submitted th*' evidence to her male colleagues. Thus the indignity to which a woman was subjected by bcinK questioned by a man was removed. The speaker was inclimd to think that perhaps too much publicity had been given to the Kelburn cases, because many readers of the papers are young and of immature judgment. She quoted an opinion that details of abnormal evil should be reserved for doctors and statisticians, and should b«: kept out of picture shows, posters, newspapers, and all such means of appealing to the public. For with the young the idea has sway that a paper or book has great authority, and anything that is there written must therefore be true.

The resolution was carried with two or three dissentients. The next resolution was proposed by Miss Coad: “That women Justices of the Peace b»* appointed, who shall he eligible to sit on the Bench in ie same way as are male J.P.’s; that women shall be made eligible to sit on juries in all cas°s concerning women and children.” She urged that all we were pleading for was justice, not in any way the excusing of wrongdoing. But it was necessary, for justice, that the woman’s point of view should be represented on the Bench, as well as the man’s. The laws had b**en made and interpreted by men, and however anxious a man Magistrate might be to do justice, it was impossible for him to see exactly the woman's point of view. Carried. Mrs Donaldson moved: “That this meeting urges the establishment of Prison Farms for men and wonvn who are convicted of offences against morality.” She supported it briefly by pointing out that there was nothing so likely to bring a man or woman back to a normal state of mind, and give freedom from the bondage of evil, as to be amid the sights and sounds of nature, and to watch the growth and development of plants and flowers, and the ways of birds and beasts, and to have body and mind occupied with useful work in such surroundings. The resolution was carried. As the hour was getting late and th“re was no other speaker, the last resolution was proposed from the Chair: “That in the Kelburn raid case this meeting deplores the publication of the names of the women arrested, thus casting a stigma on th<* character of innocent women, some of whom were admitted to be innocent even by the police at the time of arrest.” This gave rise to much interruption, various members of the audience interjecting and endeavouring to express their views, but eventually it was declared to he carried by a small majority. A lady from the audience came on the platform and began to speak in reference to a recent Napier case, to which Mrs Donaldson, as member of the committee appointed to watch that case, assured the meeting that everything was being done that could be done in connection with it.

It was proposed by Mrs Osborn that a collection should be taken up to defray the expenses of the meeting. Lady Stout proposed a vote of thanks to Chair, and with this the proceedings terminated.