WHERE IGNORANCE. IS FOLLY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 100, 21 January 1908, Page 3

WHERE IGNORANCE. IS FOLLY.

Doos the averago , woman want her independence?. (asks 'Constaneo Smedlev in the "Queen"). Td-be'quitii honest, I should say n ?«, .Sbe.is still..chaincd_ by desire'and. ignorance, .stijl blinded by, convention,' v still sunk ill 1 the.-quagmire.of action-hating'.sluggish-ness, and, .above„ all, .things, held in an. iron band of fear;. For not only has* the woman of -to-day been! up in;. the ■ tradition that ,to. gam man's •approbation-.is her only raison d'etre,. but. no .average person of cither sex - actively desires removal of condi-tions.^-which. hindermoral; upliftmont as long as .these conditions' are fairly comfortable. ■ • -therefore, although-.all women, avail'themsolyeswitjh more Or less,alacrity of the privileges , for" T>:hicli; the .1 pioneers c of woman's emancipation have ibnttled arid are battling still;, they do'not yet give their champions much ;.supportj. . indeet];: thoy are still prone to fling-stones, at. thom with tho.!crowd until, tjio victory 'ho ..absolutelyindisputable.. and the pathway safely . cloarcd. For .self-in-terest is the dominating, force which moves thq average human aiul not. till that unit; clearly .sees that' its interests are best served' by',- co-operation witlr . l its fellow units will ;yoir induce it Y to lend ,its 'niito of.:fbrco to-any. moitomont.' ' / v ' ;v The isolation .. 'of. woman has made her apathy to,tho common- good' of her own sex particularly intense in the. past, because her well-being depended .so entirely upon, man! •To"a 'rery. .large. extent... it still, depends on him, and although every year ■ more women are, breaking free and entering the arena of economic imlependence, yet a. great propor- ■ those are pushed -forth by circumstances, ;all d -not volition, and would'" gladly ,n to tho.shelter of ilopendence if-they had; the opportunity; while a number of those whose : menial activity demands iui outlet still .feel that they have not tho .better part ofv life, afttl. that thoy'would-give up their careers without regret fchould the right man hit' a-linger. ■ . ' ; ; • • .• '-

. Consequently tho' majority of tho workers themselves, the very women who have attained freedom,"are still' fettered hj T regard •or miisciiline opinion nlid keep- a secret, hold upon cohvontion,' and it is thus wo find able, free, and successful women insisting oh the tact that they are "womanly''' and tho "oldfashioned type-of woman" in tho conventional sense, albeit their way of living and their every real conviction are-tho direct antithesis of the conventional significance .of those terms. ' - '.

Indeed, T attributo'to this la'ck of e.ourago in the feminine soul, tli is insistent .clinging to tlio fetish of masculine approval, u ucn of the slowness of the "woman movement." It is not until woman will boldly renounce, the ideal which, man has .evolved for her following,'not till sho tells him frankly that it is a cramping. atul. a liimlorinf; ideal, and that sho knows best what is .'best for her, that man: will feel any genuino' respect for <ier, and will perceive that woman us capable of-governing herself. . » Now,'a-i a fairly close and conscientious observer. of the opposite si>.\, 1 will venturo to prpdict that man will find as much attraction- in woman's independence..as hfi .has i^oiin J _in _ lior dependence—possibly more. Only.it will-be ait attraction which is -infinitely,', more, .flattering to woman and—l think I may.'prognosticate—■Vvliicli will be of far greater durability.

:. As woman has most '• certainly not yet learnt this-lesson, however,, we will proceed to examine her point of view, and see why she is .holding.on ,tn. a position with which only, exceptionally attractive women can possibly ho satisfied. ' .'

, Thoro are myriads of different types of .'■vomon in the three great classes into which the community may bo roughly divided—tho upper classes, wholly irresponsible, economically speaking; tho middle classes, partially responsible; and the lower classes, wno must ibend tho neck to the yoke of labour, whether married or single, male or female. To tho women of the labouring classes, however, man's conception of a chivalrouslyprotected, irresponsible, ministering angel is so ridiculous a mockery tliat they are not affected by it. Brute force is tho argument -against _ their independence to which they pay serious attention, and in the common .cause of freedom in which Labour is engaged to-day the cry of woman for her spiritual and economic freedom sounds loud, and is grimly and fairly acknowledged by her partner in the drudgery of the world. It is when wo begin to,touch those strata of society where tho women are supported in a greater or less degree of idleness that we find tho steady and immovable objections to woman's civic, social, and political independence. The objection which may be said to be the most general among the more altruistic of the leisured women is a lack of confidence in the capacity and judgment of their sex. This is perfectly reasonable, and may bo attributed not to any inherent knowiedgo of inferiority, but to tho small opportunities women have had of testing each other's ability in the conduct of public affairs. Tho average leisured woman never meets women in any relationship but one of irresponsible social acquaintance; it is not to bo wondered at that sho mistrusts the bestowal of full civic powers on women, and disbelieves in their _ possibilities. _ Sho has only seen women in their relation to each other as competitors for man, as tho centre of their homes, protecting tho interests of their homes, or, in short, as beings prompted by purely individualistic motives, and never as individuals actively animated by a feeling of comradeship and a desire for the common good; and not till woman shares with woman in community of interests can sho possibly estimate tho power or value of her sex.

Wo have 110 room in the _ Transvaal for gentlbm-cn of Mr. Keir Hardio's sympathies in relation to the native question, and the sooner ho realises this the better for himself and this colony.—"Progressive Monthly," Johannesburg.

Everybody who has seen Mr. Balfour play this season has remarked upon tho improvement in his game, and on two or three occasions ho has nearly been among tho medals in important competitions. He likes competitions, and has played some of his best golf whon the card and pencil hare been against' him.—"Tatler,."-