The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-08-04
NEW ZEALAND, THE COUNTRY OF :
ADVANCED SOCIAL. LEGISLATION
Many Experiments Have Been Tried Out There And In
The Main Innovations Are Working Out Well
Womens Votes Have Helped Country.

The participation of women in cleo
tons has operated for the good of
the country. especially in dealing with
the liquor traffic. New Zealand takes
care of the child whose parents are
unable. or fail. to do so. In that
country the government has passed
a method ~ land value taxation that
10 said to operate very decidedly for
the prosperity Of the country. New
Zealand has in operation a system of
old age pensions. These and other
matters or great current interest are
discussed in the course of q report in
the Standard, of kilmarnock. Scot
land. of an address my Hon. George
F'ewlds. "A Scotchman who for five
years was Minister of Education in
New Zealand. A copy OF the Stand
ard has been loaned the News and
Observer by Mr.. j. NJ. Monte. of
Raleigh. Extracts from Mr.. Fowlds
address showing something of the ad-
vanced stand that country has taken
In social Legislation will be found be-
low:
In the year 1889 we succeeded in
aholishing the plural vote. You
are still struggling and hoping
to de- something in that direction in
this country. In the old days before
1899 there vas a railway going from
Napier down part of the way that is
now y complete line to Wellington,
and the SquatterS used to get into a
special train and vote at every poll
ing station along the journey. The
spirit of the C~ovenanterS would not
stand that, and in 1889 it was swept
away. and from that time one man
has only had one vote in New Zealand.
MIR. Iairlie referred to the fact hat
the ladies in New Zealand had the
vote and wondered what were the
methods they employed. Well. the
ladies in New Zealand had a much
nicer lot Of men to deal with Oaugh-
terb-than the ladies of Great Britain
have. and all that the Indies had to
do was to smile sweetly at the gentle
men and point out the absurd incon-
sIStcncy of woman on account of her
Sex being debarred from the exercise
of her rights as "A citizen and SO in
1898. with the almost unanimous con
sent OF the people of the Dominion,
the franchise was granted to all the
women OF New Zealand on the same
basis as 10 men. That basis is that
you have arrived at the age of. 81
years and that you have resided for
twelve months in the Dominion. Every
man and every woman h can COM
ply with these conditions has the right
to he registered on the roll and to re-
cord their vote. Some people. when
the agitation for the franchise was
on in New Zealand. thought hat the
women did not want the vote. l dare
say you have heard something like
that here. but when the right was
given the women registered as fully
as the men did. and then when the
opportunity of voting came they voted
almost as fully as the men did. and
have no hesitation in saying that they
voted as intelligentiy as the men did
The last election was perhapS one O
the most interesting elections we hav,
had for a good many years. Their,
were several factors came in tina
made the men take a little more in
terest in il than they usually do. an
on that occasion the numbe of mel
who voted was two per cent NOR
than the women who voted. | hav,
not been able to look up the figure
exactly. but I believe there was on
occasion when the percentage of wo
men on the roll who voted was large
than the percentage Of men who voted
but practically it is the same. and a
the last election there were ONLY tW
per cent. more of the men than VIC
men on the roll who exercised tn
vote. You ask has been the eff
fect OF this. Well. il has not produce
any revolutionary effect-none VIVA,
ever. hut ! believe the influence q
thr wonen'S vote has been on tn
whole distinctly to the benefit of Ne,
Zealand. Especially in our social leg
iS'atto" thefe is nc the slightest dOuf
that the great advance which Me-
Zealand has made in dealing with TN
liquor traffic has been helped very ma
terially by the votes of the wome,
In every direction-ir humanitaria
legislation affecting the lives of w,
men and children have not tn
doubt that the woman's vol
and the woman's interest in politi,
have been distinctly beneficial an
have fastened many reforp,c
Caring For the hid
We take care and charge of II
child life in the Dominion in quite
remarkable degree. Ii any child
not broueht up by its own parents
that is il it is out in the hands
any other person for payment-th
child comes under the supervision
the state Department dealing wi
children. 1T is a special branch of t,
education Department. SO that Il
abuses that | have seen revealed fro
time ia time in this country have n