Looking Back to 1893

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 221, 17 September 1943, Page 16

Looking Back to 1893

In an interview with Miss Mary Richmond, of Wellington, "The Listener’ tried to learn the .attitude of an intelligent and _politicallyminded woman in 1893 towards women’s franchise. "TO tell the truth," said Miss Richmond, who has recently celebrated her 90th birthday, but is still as alert mentally as ever she was. "I was not especially in favour of women having the vote at that time. Many of us liked the freedom of having no vote. Once we had the vote, we could not make love to both sides — that would have been improper. We liked to think that in the pre-franchise days we had influence without power.

"Do you think then," we asked, "that women would have got along as well without the vote?" "No, I don’t think so now. The franchise came comparatively easily in New Zealand just as so many other things, social security, for instance, have come ‘without a violent fight. It was the intensity of the struggle in England that made me realise that women’s franchise was a cause that needed support. I had previously thought only about women who were comfortably off and able to exercise the sort of influence that I admired. It was at a large gathering of suffragettes in England that Miss Eleanor Rathbone told a story which showed me clearly that women needed power to change laws. She described how a@ poor woman who had several children and a very cruel husband had consulted a lawyer as to proceedings against her husband. The lawyer was sympathetic but said, "The first thing that you must do is to leave your husband’s house. You cannot take proceedings against him while you are living with him.’ ‘But,’ said the woman, "I cannot leave the children with my husband. He might murder them. I cannot go away and take them with me, as I have no money.’ ‘Very sorry,’ said the lawyer. ‘In that case, I can do nothing.’ In this instance, the husband, in a bout of violence, murdered his wife a little while later. Though this was an extreme example, it made me realise that women who were in a position to fight should do so to protect and gain rights and _ liberties for their less fortunate sisters. We asked Miss Richmond whether she could remember much of the excitement over the passing of the Bill or the occasion when she first voted. "I don’t really remember much excitement. The most important prelude to the passing of the Bill was collecting votes for the petition to Parliament. It was the fairly wide support that the Bill had among our leading Liberal statesmen, and indeed men generally, that saved New Zealand the figtit that women had in England. Miss Richmond then recalled an incident that had happened to her in England. She had a ticket to go over the Houses of Parliament, and was surprised to find a large number of policemen outside. She was stopped before entering the House. "I have a ticket, why can’t I go in?" she asked. ety Sg ry m suffragettes making trouble," a policeman replied, "wanting votes for women."

"Well," said Miss Richmond, "I am a New Zealander, and I have had the vote for the last 14 years" * Ba *