Evening star., 1898-02-17
WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE.

How 1T Worked in New Zealand's
Elections Last Year.
A lady who has made a good deal of a
study of the suffrage question remarked
that Miss Anthony mad referred in an in
terview to the fact that New Zealand wo-
men voted, and the lady being herself
white ribboner," went On to say that she
had been much disappointed in the result
of the ballot in the hands of women in that
island.
"One does not look for particularly origi-
nal occurrences on the antipodal Island of
New Zealand she said, 'and yet, in the
light of the suffrage convention to be held
in Washington during the week. ana Miss
Anthonys remark, some experiments that
have been tried there are resting. New
Zealand is SO far away from the rest of the
world. and Its traditions and prejudtces are
so different from American ones, that Its
experiments. its successes and failures IN
governmental and legislative matters seem
to be those belonging to another sphere,
and yet New Zealand has very American
ideas in many respects. New Aeaianu mas
government ownership OF raiifoaas, II mas
a modified form of Henry Georges single
tax and last, but not least, New Zealand
has woman's suffrage.
I'm fact, it would seem as tnough New
Zealand was the most advanced ana nm de
laboratory of social and political theories
and the terrestrial heaven of women ana
populists.
''There is always more or less CONJECTURE
as to what women will do with the oaiot,
and her power under given conditlons. New
Zealand knows. Last years elecllohs III
New Zealand offered a striking comHeHt-
airy on the assumption that the Vote VI W.
men may safely be counted on 10 support
the moral side of public questlons. AIeie
were two sets of elections on the same .lay:
those touching the elections OF members ol
parliament and those affectlhs 'he ia.o'
laws. 49,,
LAS to the first of these, there were no
nice determinations regarding the personal
character of candidates when mas oee.
affirmed of women's vote. Upon TINS point
Sir Robert Stout made the following COM
ment In the Austraaasiasn heSie" VI
1T cannot be said that purity of admin
istration or the chamcteE OF .ne 81 Sath the wo.
men than in those of the men. Inc pre-
diction that party zeal and partisan ieenns !n
would not blind them to,,the deiects VI .le
character of the candidates mas not pesi
fulfilled. A few members have been re-
turned to the house whose character Ior
sobriety does not stand fhign. anu "olaeu Women
were found supporting them, JUST the satas
as men did. 1t cannpt be said tnae women
were any different Tin their voting from
their husbands and brothers. Iney We're
carried away just as much by party CRIES
as the men were. and party ooiiiiia.eu
them
Gas to the license question. three issues
were submitted. First. the continuing OF
the number of licensed places as DeIore.
second. a reduction in, the number OF
licenses, ana third. the entire prohibition
of the traffic An active campaign was
made by temperance workers, ana II was
expected that, with the aid Of the womens
vote at least twenty districts would be
carried for prohibition. The result was dis
appointing. The total vote for license ex-
ceeded that for no license by about so per
cent. Not a single district was carried
either for reduction of licenses or for pro-
hibition. Some Of the women's societies
openly entered the field for license, ana the
defeat Of the temperance people was large
ly due to a shifting of the women's vote
from the no-license to the license side.