WOMAN SOFFRAGE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2028, 13 March 1907, Page 2

WOMAN SOFFRAGE.

To the Editor of the Gisborne Times. Sir, —In your leading article on tho above this morning, after the words “The candidate who can dangle the bouquets of politics,” I think you should have added“aud of soft-soap,” “before the eyes of an audience composed of women,” etc. At an election a few years back I canvassed one of the suburbs and reported that about 50 electors were for one man and 24 against. One man held his meeting .first, and gave a dull, soporific address. The other followed soon after on a wet evening, but more than two-thirds in the hall were women. Alter speaking for an hour he said, “I have other subjects I could dilate upon, but owing to the inclemency of the weather and seeing the large galaxy of fair ladies who have honored me with their smiling faces, I should be so grieved if any were to suffer through me, etc.” Tho result of the poll was 37 for each candidate. At the last election I know of several instances in which husband and wife voted against each other, and thus disfranchised their house. One woman being asked by her husband for whom she was going to vote answered,‘the best looking of course.” I remember a case in the North where a man, his wife, three daughters, and two sons voted for a candidate solely because he was a prohibitionist, and out-voted three other houses of qtjqjt.fi with two votes each; and if you had asked any of the above women, to define “Government,” “Cabinet,” “Constitution,” etc., they would have been in the clouds. Metliinks it was a bad day for New Zealand when female suffrage was granted.—l am, etc., ANTI-SUFFRAGIST. March 11. [Our correspondent will find that men are as fickle as women in election matters. We related an authentic instance some time ago where a man acknowledged that lie had voted for a candidate because the candidate had once saved his bull being impounded! But the point of our arguments was that neither men nor women should be allotted to exercise a vote unless they could do so intelligently, and that sex should i»lay no part in the consideration. —Ed. G.T.]