WOMEK JURORS

Evening Star, Issue 24328, 17 October 1942, Page 5

WOMEK JURORS

VOLUNTARY SERVICE BILL PASSED (Special.) WiELLINGTON, Oct. 17. Approval of the purpose of th« Womeu Jurors (No. 2) Bill was expressed by all who spoke on the subject in the House of Representatives last night, and it was put through all stages and passed without amendment. Tiie Bill provides that women between 25 and 60 who possess the necessary qualifications as jurors may servo on juries if they wish to. By making jury service for women voluntary, said the Minister of Justice* Mr Mason, they were avoiding the necessity of dealing with applications for exemption. In England women wero giving compulsory jury service, and tha scheme was working well. Mrs Dreaver, who introduced the Bill earlier in tho year when it was declared out of order, said that tho women’s organisations of New Zealand had been trying to obtain such a measure for some time, and hundreds of| women would enter their names for jury service. Some of tho objection# made in the past to the idea of womed serving on juries did not apply now. The Leader of the Opposition, Mi* Holland, said that every member of tha House would concur with the Bill, and Mesdames Stewart and Grigg also supported the measure. During the committee stage, Mr Boswell said he was astonished that women members had not pressed for compulsory jury service by women, because, in his opinion, that was the only way in which they would get the best type og women to do the job.