WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1947, 2 January 1914, Page 2

WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT.

THE LXD OF TMl'l-JXO. churcli"conscrvatisvnjtiioivoiee.'of'the lior. Douglas Bruce"(savs,.a. ; Sydney:.daily) speaks •with radical warmth: Preaching • l in;;Ytetorin^fl)f ( 'A Christian .View of.:tho;;'Frminist : Movement.", he.jsaul jt hypocrisy ...to say that ■. tile home .;■ was - the.,;proper'. sphere ur. all. w'omrtj.. Thousands, of women hadino jiojne;- and ..were, never likely to have:' ; aiio.i.o\Vomeiij\vcro in all professions to-day,■ aiul. in I *'®] years'time they would be m I'tl. Australian Parliaments, sittiiiK . sido by.' Bide'; with men as lawmakers. The..preseptj.state .of Parliament was [lepbnihle.in the extreme, nut! the hiiifitsage -of hon..a. members was a ftravc insult to.the. people's intelligence. Women, if in power,-.would, not tolerate sucji t...

. .There.,is one'V'thing''- that- "would certainly happenyif -wonieti sat- fii I'itrliahieiit —there wouisl be less stonewalling 1 , fewer motions of csnsurc, aijd an effort made to waste iiH.littlo time as possible. Because a. woman is a political maniac, it doesn't mean that' she is going to lie so tmsexed as to disdain' youth ajid beauty.-. ..All. women .-.'.whether unconsciously qr not, agree with filjaw, that no one of .her ,sex. looks, her.best after having l)een: itp hite-iho. night hc-fore. After attending ;.a meeting of Parliament of men olio 1 comes away refreshed and -exhilarated with the amusement provided. After-a flight in tin: Now South Wales Parliament one has. tho' jfic-a of having hern present at a meeting of schoolboys, presided over by. a headmaster, who relieves his feelings by calling ' "Order!", . incessantly. ■■ ■ Tliesa grown-up schoolboys niako jokes,-'try in every way to harass and he rude'' to ono another, and if-so language that l , is not always'as saintly -as ,a Biblical quotation. If tliey had been young' animals isi. a- school,-jyiow . a muster would have cancel the lot wtiliin a few hours, or. cbo' if he had a penchant for tho Montasseri-' teaching, ho would «siv& inflicted ; worso' torture on them by reading them a lecture on chivalry, ami finally let them go after having appealed to their senso of..honour,.. conscience, and other trying things. When boys grow up. and go into Parliament, they may behave teti times mere joyously than; they did at school, and instead of being admonished for their lack of. dignity- their colleagues slid keenly interested, listeners in tho galleries applaud them.' A member of Parliament':Who-'"-has earned for himself'the reputation.of bt mg able to say smart a.i!tl oceasionallv wjtty things, and. who has never been known to lail-to-keep.v-iip 'a.,, running comment of interjections during a sitting, is as.much envied as a .'popular niatiiieo idol or -n first-rato comedian, lie is sure to draw a large house whenever it is known that he will assist on a particular evening m making the country's laws. s;-..

What Women arc Said to be Like. Compare a meeting'--'-'of Parliament with onc_ of the many;:women's conferences which are held iii Sydney, where only women;preside and-speak:., - The women are invariably dull and businesssik(\ and/fiill-of. common-sense. «=rW mnen in general-have a much'; less keen sense of humom\,,.thau.' mc-n,-.and. when they .take L up aiiything.-'sc.riousiy hiey specialisoj-in that., one-. think, aii<'.i are so_eo.nie.sVabout.: it. thai tho.v' lose what, little sense of luin«nir;thev: started witll A, If a woman' M.H.l)stf c.ni to s«.-t' a Bill passed to-allow;"'lfreiich boudoir caps to . lie imported;.' free!. of'-.duty. "she would consider any.coinic„';relief, in the way of irrelevant.. <■'; Wit tyjn; interject ions and meaningless.finest ions,''as. sacreli<i-. ions, and a,. reflection on--.-her.. morals,, sincerity,- and inlcllcetliality.. •..-•< Ii - women -ww niembnrs>.'of-i:P:udia-»ient, instead .'of Jiein« ,n hilarious'place of aimifioi.nejit.thp' House 'would become an.insuiir-rably dull.place'.# A-;-.woman's meeting to. an-anco' a:, bazaar!iu'- aid of' a home for blowflies during the,'winter months is calculated,,if. it- lasted .wore than an hour.-, to make eveii Smiiiy.-Jiin melancholy,- and : lr.v ■ the,, -nerves of. a policeman.; Iho of women is'sliockinc.lo.'a pleasure-loving community. ---. - . " An appeal. should'. be inade'S'-to'' the Gentle sex to refrain'.,from-, spoiling Parliamentary assemblies/and bringing ..m to a contented, ljilariqjis.fcutmosphciv&. an element, 0t.,. seriousnessyand :.determination... ■ ■/. If women onljystop : 'to-4omemWr. how many cheerless; dsndbeats,■■ frhofe?'- one nightly joy in life is to crowd the strangers ..gallery, will be turned forth into;sthe>-streets ambinto'wtlie -public-' houses^they.:,will- -heroically.;. .sacrifice theirpolitical, ambitions,^ro'tain,.-:.,their sense': of humour,, and .crmtin ii'eito - use 1 up tnpir .Wiisio;. enei^ips^;ovcr :; V vl gott€ral' conmiitted/imeotings;...^^