FRANCHISE DAY

White Ribbon, Volume 24, Issue 6, 1 September 1952, Page 2

FRANCHISE DAY

“LEST WE FORGET By J. Hiett, Dunedin We know the great truth handed to us by pioneer men and women: “Eternal vigilance is the price of safety.” Do we know of the courage, the devotion, the self-sacrifice and the faith that the W.C.T.U. members of yesterday brought to the fight for the Women’s Franchise? In 18*74, when the W.C.T.U. was formed, Frances W'illard, that champion of women’s rights, saw' the urgent need of ballots for women in this great fight to rid the world of the deadly danger of the liquor traffic. She presented her famous “Home Protection” argument for Women’s Franchise. This argument set the ball rolling, until women in many lands felt the injustice of being deprived of a vote in national affairs. The desire for Women’s Franchise in New' Zealand was voiced by Mrs. Midler and Mr. Alfred Saunders and others in 1876. Their work w r as quietly educative but the seed was being sown.

In 1878 the long campaign began in Parliament

Dr. James Wallis, M.P., fired the first shot by introducing the first W’omen’s Franchise Bill. Sir George Grey was then Prime Minister. He gave the measure very little sympathy but there were men in Parliament who were keen to see the Bill passed. Sir William Fox, Sir John Hall and Mr. Alfred Saunders were out and out on the side of women’s franchise. The Bill was defeated. In 1879 Mr. Ballance brought forward the matter but it was again defeated. In 1881 Dr. Wallis again introduced a Women* Franchise Bill. After passing a second riadir.g it was dropped, but all (be time education amongst the people was going on. I he_ W.C.T.U. was organised in New Zealand in 1885. The following year a Convention was held and. at that ( onvention a Franchise Department was created. In 1887 Mrs. Sheppard of Christchurch was appointed Franchise Superintendent. A finer woman for such an important office could not be found. We owe a tremendous debt to Mrs. Sheppard for her tact, her patience and, as Sir John Hall said, “her sweet reasonableness, always aiming to convert, not to antagonise an opponent. Her charming personality was combined with undaunted courage, firnr determination and great intellectual vigour. No one woman contributed so much to victory as did Mr> Sheppard.” From that time onward the work was strenuous I here were three petitions presented to Parliament. In those days there were no motor cars, no electric trams. ' Our mothers trudged from door to door in town and country. Muddy roads, tussocky paddocks, dogs a*id bulls—nothing daunted them in their desire to gain signatures to their petition. On one occasion Mrs. T. E. Taylor, our late beloved Dominion President, when quite young and newly-married, was travelling from door to door seeking signatures. One woman asked her. “If I put my name to that petition will I ha\e power to get that man T. E. Taylor out of Parliament?” Mrs. Taylor, with a smile, said, “Yes, you will have a vote to do that,” and the woman said, “Give me the paper, I will sign.” In spite of the difficulty of transport and with only voluntary workers, they petitioned three vears in succession. The first petition in 1891 contained 10,058 signatures, the second in 1892 had 20.274, w’hile in 1893 a huge petition of 31,874 signatures was sent. That meant 30% of the women of New Zealand. It was the largest petition so far ever presented to anv Parliament in Australasia. What an enormous effort bv women with no available transport!

The last three years, the W.C.T.U. put in an all-out effort. Literature was printed and distributed —how different from our easy method of using letter boxes and even now', do wt distribute literature as we should, as followers of our courageous pioneer women ? Debating societies were asked to take W’omen’s Franchise as a subject for discussion and in every available u’ay the subiect was brought before the public. The first petition was presented to the Upper House hv Hon. John Fulton, husband of Dunedin’s President, and to the Low’er House by Sir fohn Hall. You may imagine the w'hole force of the liquor traffic was against women. They were sneered at. as the early women Crusaders were Franchise Leagues were formed in 1892 and thev came in with the W.C.T.U. in that grand fina] effort. On 19th September, 1893, the Earl of Glasgow, as Governor, affixed his signature to the

Bill. The mighty fight was over and the victory won.

Todav the hosts of darkness are stronger than ever. What does God say to us, as we endeavour to visualise the courage of the women of yesterday? He says, “Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” “Eternal vigilance is the price of safety.” With God’s promise we, too, can do exploits.