MISS C. E. KIRK INTERESTS MEMBERS OF HASTINGS WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 186, 24 August 1937, Page 5

MISS C. E. KIRK INTERESTS MEMBERS OF HASTINGS WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS

Tlie wonderful work which is continually being done in Wellington by tlie Society for tlio Protection of Women and Children was deseribed mosr intercstingly by Miss C. E. Kirk, J.P., of Wellington, at a special ineeting given in her lionour at tlie Hastings Women's Cominunity Club yesterday The flowers in the club were most attractively arranged — tall vases of pink camellias and japonica, while otlier vases and wall baskets were massed witli pink prunus blossom. Iiepresentatives of all the women 's orgauisatious in'the town were invited to the club to share the privilege oi hearing Miss Kirk, who is the Dominion president of the National Council of Women, Dominion secretary of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and was connected with the Society for the Protection of Women and Children for about 15 years. In the absence of the club president, Mrs. T. H. Lowry, the honour of wel--coming Miss Kirk fell to Mrs. H. Lovell-Smith who presented her with -a very pretty posy. Mrs. Lovell-Smitli ! also welcomed the guests from other women's organisations. . Miss Kirk told her listeners tliat she liad been asked to spealc- about the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, wliich had been formed in Wellington 39 years ago. The so.ciety was first organised and officered entirely by members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, which wag the first women's organdsation to have its 50 years' jubilee. The .speaker said that there were 22 different departments in the W.C.T.U,., . and all the officers of the new society: were interested also in some. of these

departments. Theso W.C.T.U. members had felt that something more was needcd for the protection of the women and children than the W.C.T.U. was able to do and so the .ncw society began. "The chief aim of the society is to keep the lionie together, " said Miss Kirk, "as it was felt that something could be done to adjust the dih'erences between husbands and wives to mahe a good iiome for the children. UndoubtodJy children who have only known a broiien home have many fewer advanlages than others. ' ' 1U.1SS Kirk said that she was connected with the society for 15 years, and during this time part of her worls was interviewing people who came to tho oilice, visiting nomes and interviewing the husOands, and during this time only oue husband to whoin she wroto did not answer. Quite often Miss Jvirlc i'ound that tlio women wei'e at i'ault and that they hau uot done tiieir fair share to keep tnings right. Many women 'complained that tlicir husbands did not allow them enough money for liousekeeping expenses, uut it was often found Lnat the women were bad spenders. (Sumetimes they did not know how to choose their food and grocefies and with some lissistance from the society they could, and gencrally did, beconie better housekeopers. Tne speaker added tha!t very often they complained justly and . she gave a fflvw pvMitm;cs nf this from cases that

liad come to her notice. fcihe said that the society did not always advise these cases to go to .court because they felt that some magistrates understood the cases better- than others. "The society also works for the econoniie independence of married womcn, " said Miss Kirk. "W e always advised that. the incpme ,be evenly divided with each paying ha.lf the expenditure and from the remainder each could buy clothes, etc. We encourage a savings accounts and found that the arrangement worked extremely well. Ono case I had where money vms the cause of all the trouble tried this plan and the home has now been running smoothly for seven and a-half years. ♦'There are three grounds for separation," continued the speaker, (1) habitual drunkehness, which is the easiest to prove, (2) persistent cruelty, which is difiicult because isolatcd cases do not count, (3) wilful failuro to maintain, which is very difiicult to prove because tho lnen so often make their tale plausiblo enough to "bo believcd.' The speaker brought forth a laugh from her listeners when she said that in her expenence a nagging woman was bad enough but tliat ,a nagging man cquld run rings round a woman. She said that a woman did stop to take a breath, but that a man was perpetual motion. Miss Kirk said that she was pleased to know, that tliis forni of mental cruelty was now being taken more notice oi by the magistrates.^ "The society deals with the question of cruelty to children, which' is shockingly preA'alent," said Miss Kirk, "and it is also most anxious to see greater privacy in tlio courts. In W ellington domestic cases were formerly lield in the open courtroom where the audience consisted of 100 or 150 undesirables, idle, curious folk. The cases aro now held in the upper room, but many of tlio towns do liot have this. These odd people in the court listen to the witness when she gives her name and address and tells her story and very often they speak to her or follow her when she leaves the court. The girls often lose their positions because their employers do not like theso people about. "For the magistrato to clear the court is lio t sufficient," continued tho speaker "because the witness' s nanie and aduress has often been called previously. The Society for th© Protection of Women and Children, supported by the National Council of Women, hopes that the general public will not be perniitted to enter and that the only people prcsent will he the nccessary court otficials, the mcinhers of tho legal professiou, tho recognised social Avorkers and the Press. Should thero be a miscarriago of justice there are then sufficient people to take up the case." Miss Kirk told her andience that. tho first Plunket Suciety was officered entirely by members of thb W.C-l.XJ^ anu slie thought that tlie first National Council of Women was the same. ^ She then spoke briefly about the National Council of Women which had representatives from all the women's organisations, the fiflelegates hringing for ward any work of a national of international

character.- The council does not atarfc any new work of its own bufc discusseB tlie re'mits brought forward by dele- ■ gatcs. Miss Kirk said that the next conference was to be held in Auckland about the beginning of October and among the , many subjects i'or discussion were tho j probiems of peace, the need for closing , the hotels at noon on Saturday, criniilial aburtion, the citrus fruit supply , greater priiracy in domestic courts, the lmproveuient of the Borstal System, the education of lower-grade children, the removal of the restrictions on married women teachers, motherliood endow-

ment, hasic wages, iamily atiowance, empioynient and a variety of other vital subjects. In thanking Miss Kirk for her most interesting address Mrs H. LovellSmithi. said how very worth while it had been to listen to M.iss Kirk and how good it was for people to hear what others had to endure. On behalf of all the women's organisations present shc thanked her very heartily. During the afternoon tea many of those • present took the opportunity of speaking to Miss Kirk. Among those present were: Mrs H. Lovell Smitli, Miss H. Ford, Mrs J. Wilson, Miss Lewis, Mrs H. I. Simson, Miss Lewis, Mrs J. Miller, Miss A. Seal, Mr A. F. Glenny, Mrs F. Deans, Miss McLean, Mrs H. S. llobinson, Mrs C. Gardner, Mrs Bryant, Mrs Gordon Roach, Mrs Hedley Harvey, Mrs 11. Paynter, Mrs A. R. Greenwood, Mrs K. E. Crompton, Mrs J. H. Joll, Mrs L. W. Goldfinch, Mrs F. S. Budd, Mrs H. Thompson, Mrs Stubbs, Mrs Harper, Mrs Jockson, Miss E. J. Strang, Mrs • Chapman-Tsylor, Mrs W. A. Meads. Mrs Macaulay, Mrs E. V. Simpson, Mrs A. C. Scoon, Miss S. Lincoln, Mrs C. Bates, Mrs H. deDenne, Mrs E.- Curlett, Mrs Brunton, Mrs Jenkinson, Mrs Buck, Mrs R. Pifflett, Mrs G.. Roclifort, Mrs W. H. Ebbett, Mrs McKay, Mrs Walker, Mrs Innes Campbell and other representatives of tho women's organisations.