WOMAN SUFFRAGE UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 296, 18 May 1914, Page 5

WOMAN SUFFRAGE UNION.

' BRITLSII DOMINIONS OVERSEAS. | To the Editor, Sir,—Will you kindly publish the fol- | lowing letter from Miss Harriet C. New- ( combe, Hon See., pro tem, of the above j Union? The letter clearly shows the I injustice of the conspiracy of silence j with which the women suffrage rnove- : ment has to contend, not only in Brit[ain/but in the Dominions. I am, etc., ANNA K. STOUT. J At a meeting of the Executive Comimiuee of the Australian and New Zealand Women Voters' Association (London) held on December 10, when I gave some account of my recent visit to Australia and New Zealand, the question awe of the unsatisfactory character of the news concerning the fcu(lrage movement in Britain which is transmitted by cable to the Australasian I press. It was resolved that the manager iof the chief agency (Australian Assoc- | iated Press Cablegrams) should be apI proached, and asked to receive a depu- ! tation from our association to discues [ the matter with liinr. | The deputation was to consist of Miss Hodge and myself, who could speak from i j personal experience of t'lie omuioirmly mistaken impressions concerning tiie •ulTrage movement which we found current in every part of Australia and NewZealand, and of two other members of our association, who resident in Lon- ' don during our absence, could testify to the number ol interesting and im- ' portant events connected with the move- i incut which had taken place during that time, of which no notice or very in- i adequate notice had . boon sent to (he i Australasiaja papers. ! I regret to say that the manager of tho cables has refused to xe&ive our deputation. He promises .to. consider any complaint made in writing, but he declines to discuss the matter with us. In the interview I had with him, to ask that our deputation might be received, he said that his only business was to send out news that would interest the general public, and that as they 'had women ! suffrage in Australia and New Zealand, the question in Britain apart from the i sensational incidents, had no interest for them. Besides, except for these ineidents there had been nothing of im- J portance to cable. 1 I send you with this letter a copy of •'Votes for Women." January 2nd, 1914, ' which contains a history of "the suffrage 1 movement in Britain for the past year. f Similar summaries have apeared in all 1 the suffrage papers but I have 1 chosen this one because of the 1 clearness with which an exceedingly com- ' plicated story is told, because of the calm 1 with which the details of cruel wrong and < injustice are related, because of the impartial view taken of the work done by 1 the different parties in the suffrage ] I army. These qualities render this sum- i miary of the utmost importance to readers far removed from the scene of 1 conflict. , Will you please bring the paper and ] the members of your organisation; and | this letter of mine before the notice of ask them to compare the impression left ] on the mind after reading the Butnmary with that which has been created , throughout tho, year by a perusal of the cablegrams. I know that some of your . members are subscribers to "Votes for Women," but I send this copy as they may not have theirs ready for reference. Secondly, will your Executive take the necessary steps to acquaint the editors of your newspapers with your opinion regarding the cablegrams. To say that the Australian afid New Zealand public takes no interest in a movement of such imwiieutous importance to the human race, except in the reports of a few sensational '■outrages," is to take a singularly low view of the intelligence of that public, men as well as women. But editors are not to blame in their mistaken view of our intelligence. It is our fault for not keeping them informed. If every Woman's Society in ' Australia and New Zealand will protest tho editors will bring the necessary pressure to bear on their representatives in London. A grand step forward will thus be taken. .K"r this withholding of truth which demands thought from the reader and the substitution for it of sensationalism which panders to laziness of mind and low views of life is one of the characteristic vice* of the press at ' the present day against which women ail over the world must light. Undoubtedly the most important part of the work to be done by .the Woman Suffrage Union, Brit ish Dominions, Overseas, will .be the uplifting of the press iu each of the dominions and the leaders in this duty are the women of Australia and New Zealand, who already share equally with the men the responsibilities of the of the State. Yours faithfully, HARRIET C. NKWOOMB, Hon, Sec. pro tem. Woman Suffrage Union, British Dominions Overseas. International Women's Franchise Club. 9 Grafton street, - London, W.