The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Thursday, June 25, 1891. WOMAN’S FRANCHISE.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume V, Issue 625, 25 June 1891, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Thursday, June 25, 1891. WOMAN’S FRANCHISE.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.

The proposal to extend the franchise to women is another of those so-called “fads” of a few years back that are within measurable distance of being put into practice. It is bound to come sooner or later, and there is no reason why there should be delay once a majority has been obtained in Parliament. The subject is now a very prominent one in all the colonies, and nearly all the leading men on both sides are in favor of the innovation. In Victoria the Premier recently expressed his intention of getting the thin end of the wedge in by granting the suffrage to women who could show a property qualification, but such a ridiculous proposal in this democratic age, was of course laughed to scorn, and matters remain just where they were. It was pointed out that if Property was once allowed to grasp such a hold it would simply mean a great addition to the ranks of Conservatism, and the property-holders who had been enfranchised would go to swell the number of those who would object to other women being considered on an equality with men in the selection of Parliamentary representatives. The question proper has been debated until the arguments on either side have lost all their freshness, and after all it has to be admitted that it is really sentiment that has stood in the way of granting franchise to women. That sentiment is gradually being worn down, and the question has in New Zealand been given a prominenfplace in the range of practical politics. We note this with special pleasure, as we are at one with those who believe that the extension of the franchise to women would be a step in advance that would be greatly to the benefit of the State.