THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1907. FEMALE SUFFRAGE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8382, 16 March 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1907. FEMALE SUFFRAGE.

The female suffragists of England have the hearty sympathy of New Zealanders in the' efforts they are making for enfranchisement. The women of New Zealand, having won their political rights, are giving much moral, if not material, support to their sex in the Old Country at this juncture, as indeed is the case in other British colonies. The opposition of a professedly Liberal Government to womanhood suffrage is mysterious to many people at this end of the world. "How strange," say -some., "to oppose a measure based on the great Liberal principle that ■taxation and representation shall go together," Well, the truth is, that •most Liberals in the Old Land do not object to the principle of womanhood suffrage; but they strongly object to being driven by the women to introduce a Bill on the subject at what they consider an inopportune moment —at a time when they have much other and very important and pressing legislation on hand, which they are bound to deal with at once in fulfilment of their ■ pledges to the country. A rather influential minority of Liberals are opposed to women having the Parliamentary franchise, and while at some other time they might be disposed to'moderate their opposition to a Women's Suffrage Bill, they would at present give it their most strenuous and most uncompromising opposition. The Government take this into account, and they feel that they cannot afjford to cause division in the party , while they are face to face with a hostile House of Lords and a great constitutional crisis. When they have deprived the Lords of their veto, or overwhelmed the coroneted obstructives by the creation of a large number of Radical life Peers pledged t6 vote for the whole

Governr pro gfaninie including aboll< of the veto M a first step/ the ' j'Stt Henry. Campbell-Bannerman a ,«8 ihSs colleagues imay consider the

fCfestion of enfranchising women. St seems improbable that the Government will appeal to the country until they have met the demands of the female suffragists, who are supported by very many Conservatives. Nothing but good can come of giving the vote to women. They are at I least as intelligent as the men, and quite as patriotic. One thing they would be sure to do quickly when they get votes —raise the industrial and social life of Britain to a much higher level. They would most certainly pursue the noble and much ' longed for policy of "levelling up," sweep away the horrible slums of the great cities and towns, and clear the way for an exodus of the city surplus population to the deserted rural dis- ; triets. Therefore it is to be hoped the female suffragists will go on with their agitation, hold public meetings everywhere, and generally stir up their sex in all parts of the country to demand their political rights. One of the best, things our own Parliament ever did was to enfranchise women, and ten years : hence the same thing will be said almost universally of the action of the British Parliament in giving the ■ suffrage to women, for we feel convinced they will get the vote » and will havs accomplished a great deal of useful work long before the end of that period.