Friendly Societies

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 11, 10 June 1893, Page 5

Friendly Societies

(Br S. R. T.)

ADMITTING "WOMEN TO THE M. U. . -

Women’s rights—-what are they ? ■Some would limit woman’s sphere to the home, holding that she coukl not take part in the rough and tumble’ of •politicaland public life without losing much of the qua! ity summed up in the word “womanliness.’’ Others there are who claim for hem the right to have a voice in everything’ that concerns the well-being of society, even though that should involve her appearance on the platform and at the ballot booths. The adherents of the latter position are growing .stronger. • The familiar objection, based on the alleged inequalhy of the sexes, is : no longer urged with the same boldness •or confidence. ' Those who have the temerity to raise, it are met by illustrations from actual life, which' are held to be worth far more than any number of thin-spun: theories. • The signal victories gained-by women overmen in the halls of learning are cited, •and if this be not sufficient, and physical disabilities are hinted at, then the advocates of the so-called “ weaker vessels ” point triumphantly to such a case as that of Lieutenant Peary’s wife, who shared with, her husband all the hardships incidental to arctic exploration. Yes, the women are undoubtedly marching bn, and so far as those in New Zealand are concerned, they are eagerly lookingforward to, the, time. when the right, to vote shall Be' theirs. ,In Britain, : too, their sphere of hlfiuence is gradual! widening, and now, as a recent cable message stated, the Oddfellows have decided to .admit : the fair sex into the Order. "/Many a woman has had reason to be—grateful f OL . the foresight and' prudence which caused her husband to enrol in one or other of those great and beneficent agencies of modern life —the friendly societies. Their, value in times of ill-health has been demonstrated over and over again, and it is grat-

if yin g to learn that it is proposed to extend their usefulness. The ladies, by the way, already enjoy the privilege of forming courts under the rules of the ancient Order of Foresters, and have not been slow to avail themselves of their opportunities. In Nelson, for example, the ladies, we are told, can boast of a strong- and prosperous court. In connection with this question it is worthy of mention that in an address by Mr Mason, Registrar of Friendly Societies in "Wellington in 1888 he remarked : “There is one form of Friendly Society organisation, in regard to which scarcely anything has as yet been done. Even in England it: is only beginning to be generally recognised that facilities for insurance, similar to those afforded by societies established for men, should be put within the reach of women. Perhaps the number of women in New Zealand who are earning their own living is not large, but I think that each town in the colony might advantageously be made the centre or sub-centre of such an institution. The already existing machinery among the affiliated Orders might be utilised, and in such case, the area within which members of a women’s branch might be resident, could be much more extensive than would be convenient, for men’s societies.” It remains to be .seen what action, if any, will be taken by the New Zealand lodges. It is just possible that Invercargill might secure the distinction of possessing the first lodge of “ Oddwomen ” in the colony.