The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22. ALLEGED REFORM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81918, 22 February 1907, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22. ALLEGED REFORM.

Tilt' Women's Christum I li.ou Convention silting at Christ-, elmrch JmAof couisa been brining up tiic usual matters. The resolutions (Kitsfed at liiosu conventions uppc.ir to be of a si.iiiiar kind each year, so, dcploniolo as it may seeiu to tin* social reformer, it appears that iiotluig definite eome.s of these lad.es' res >lutioiis. Jt is not necessary to iuak? any extended reference Lo the rasing!

of the aji'e of 'protection" of women from men to twenty one, except to say that it places an enormous responsib.lit.v on men. If it were ever reasonable for a Parliament to pass a iJiil of cli's kind—and it is not—sueh a Dili, while protecting women up tithe age of twenty one,, should aU > pro I led boys and men ot' all ages from i girls and women from the age of }■> to f><). We mean exactly what we say. Men have been hnnged b 'fore

tw-day tor being jn.-t men, and the fae that women are just women helpei Lln* lung p.;:;. The W.C.T.l's (j.11 _ hope for real let'orm in til's direetioi is lo get a compulsory Marriage Ae passed making it a.: nllVncr aga lis tlir law t'i• r any one over tin' age o adolescence tn runiaiii unmarried. Tli WXVJ'.U. is so unpractical. It ha never been a 11k- to realise that .Natiin is well as tlie W.t'.T.U. lias something lo say on the mailer. A very excel lent idea is promulgated every yea by this body uf ladies. This is tfi. economic equality of man and w.fc J lie of. the last expressions of 'opinio] by Jlr >SeJdon was on this very sub jeet. Marriage is the very best ex iiiiiple of partnership. But ill ver frequently happens that the (inaneia interests of husband and wife are no identieal, that, in fact, the one is in iependent of the other, or to put i is happens more commonly, dependen :m the other. Everybody knows o Hie gentleman who has a great am ,'lor.ous time with the money of otlie leopie, but who, poor toul, unfi-rtim itelv, liles his schedule, goes bank 'upt, "bung," or any other vulgar bu jxpressivc word. lie is so sorry lie has nothing. His wjfe, or course r.is the money. It may be provet hat he assigned Ills estate to the w.fi jusi before the bankruptcy, but tin •reditors can't sell the wife's estate ,vhich is very wrong. Husband am ■ v iie are partners. They should In economic partners. It' tliey are no so it is not an ideal union. In fact t is a union that may be a haudimui ■o dishonesty. llow often does onf >ee a notice in the papers "I wll no je responsible for debts contracted bj my wife." Why not? A man 1" jointly responsible willi his wife fo the care of their eh ldren, and eithe the one or the other should be liabl< u law for tile debts of either or both We believe the W.C.T.Li's. idea is chief Iv to Jay the man-defaulter by tlr net Is. lie oftentimes saddles liiinse] with the responsibilities of a wife am lam ly, and then leaves their fecdinp I'll'., to charity or chance. This sort o man is exceedingly common in ]S r e\ Zealand. (Icrnuny has just solve, ilie married loafer problem by niakin it compulsory for him lo work air keep his family. Oftentimes in Zealand the married loufer goes t gaol and is at least fed, because h has neglected his family. Til's is ver Billy. It is punishing the wife an family a great deal more than it i punishing the man, who, by the way isn'o going lo love the wife any liettei for going to gaol. The W.O.T.U. will L'o on passing their resolutions but th-.-y should keep slogging all the year rounij : f they want to make them take delinte shape.