How we won the franchise in New Zealand

by Kate Sheppard

 

“How We Won the
Franchise in New Zealand”

 

Mrs. K. W. Lovell-Smith

formerly

Mrs. K. W. Sheppard

 

Published by
NEW ZEALAND WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN
TEMPERANCE UNION INC.

 

 

Mrs. K. W. Lovell-Smith

formerly

Mrs. K. W. Sheppard

 

“How We Won the Franchise in New Zealand”
N.Z. Women’s Christian Temperance Union Inc.
“Teach them to your children.”

So said Jehovah to the Israelites of old, and so, too, says the Eternal God to the peoples and nations of today. The heroic struggles for liberty; the marvellous deliverances from danger; the freedom won at such a cost; all these are not to be forgotten, but to be iterated and reiterated in the ears of our children until they become familiar with them, and, by their inspiration, more and even greater victories shall be won in the future. The need for this command is still urgent, although of the making of many books there is no end. Especially do we, the mothers of the present, need to impress upon our children’s minds how the women of the past wrestled and fought, suffered and wept, prayed and believed, agonised and won for them the freedom they enjoy today. Still should we teach them the great truth that “eternal vigilance is the price of safety”.

That we have not obeyed this injunction is forcibly brought home to us when we hear it said that the franchise was conferred upon the women of this Dominion without any effort on their part, even, some would say, without any desire upon their part to have such a gift.

In justice to the noble band of women who educated, organised, agitated and petitioned for this right; in justice to the wise and enlightened statesmen who carried the battle for us to the Houses of Parliament, we must remove such an impression from the minds of the youth of today.

We write this short sketch of their labours and lay it as a laurel wreath on the tomb of those who fought and died for us; and present it as a tribute of gratitude to those of that noble band whom we feel honoured to have with us still.

The fight for the Women’s Franchise in this Dominion may be divided into three stages. In the beginning was the quiet, educative work done by Mrs Muller, Mr Alfred Saunders and others. These first claimed that woman had a right to vote for the protection of herself and her children; and also for the safety and well-being of the State, because a large and unrepresented class is always a menace to the State.

In 1878 it entered upon its second stage when the long campaign began in Parliament. The opening shot was fired by Dr James Wallis, M.P. for Auckland City West, when he introduced the first Woman’s Franchise Bill. Sir George Grey, the great pro-consul, the silver-tongued orator, was then Prime Minister. In spite of his oft-repeated determination to legislate for the “unborn millions” he failed to grasp the great vital fact, that to enfranchise the mother was the greatest blessing he could confer upon those citizens of the future. He gave this measure very little sympathy. But there were stalwarts even then among our politicians who rallied to the support of Dr Wallis. Mr, afterwards Sir, William Fox, seconded the measure, and Sir Robert Stout, Mr Alfred Saunders, and Sir John Hall were ever doughty champions of the women’s cause. But the House was too busy even to discuss such a visionary measure, and the Bill was shelved. Later in the Session, when the Electoral Bill was introduced, Dr Wallis returned to the charge. He moved to strike out the word “male” in the qualification for a voter. This time, although defeated, he succeeded in dividing the House upon the question. Result: Ayes, 26; Noes, 36:

In 1879 Mr Ballance divided the House upon the same question, when it was defeated by 27 to 19. In 1881 Dr Wallis again introduced a Woman’s Franchise Bill which passed the first reading, while a Female Franchise Bill introduced by Sir Julius Vogel in 1887, after passing its second reading with a majority of 19, was dropped. This ends the second stage of the struggle. The frequent discussions by politicians of marked ability, keen debaters and logical speakers had educated not only M.P.’s but, to a large extent, their constituents also.

Now the third stage was reached, and a new factor came into the problem. “Great oaks from little acorns spring” and few in 1874 could have seen in that band of women who led the Crusade against the saloons in the State of Ohio, the beginning of a great world-wide movement destined to unite women of all races, creeds, and colours, in a mighty all-embracing struggle for world prohibition, world peace and world purity, and to girdle the globe with its ribbon of white.

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was organised in the U.S.A. in 1874, and, at its first national convention, Miss Willard, foreseeing the urgent need for ballots as women’s bullets in this fight, presented her “Home Protection” argument for Women’s Franchise, and closed a memorable address with the following paragraph, which stands as an inscription upon the pedestal of her statue in the Capitol at Washington: “It is women who have given the costliest hostages to fortune. Out into the Battle of Life they have sent their beloved, with fearful odds against them, with snares that men have legalised and set for them on every hand. Beyond the arms that held them long, their boys have gone forever. Oh! by the danger they have dared; by the hours of patient watching over beds where helpless children lay; by the incense of ten thousand prayers wafted from their gentle lips to heaven, I charge you to give them power to protect, along life’s treacherous highway, those whom they have so loved. Let it no longer be that they must sit back among the shadows hopelessly mourning, over their strong staff broken, and their beautiful rod; but when the sons that they loved shall go forth to life’s battle, still let their mothers walk beside them, sweet and serious and clad in the garments of power”.

In 1883 the W.C.T.U. of America linked up with the British Women’s Temperance Association and so formed the World’s W.C.T.U. In 1885 Mary Clement Leavitt landed in New Zealand and began to twine the White Ribbon around our Dominion. At the first Convention, which was held in Wellington in 1886, a Franchise Department was created with Mrs Clark as Superintendent. But in 1887 Mrs K. W. Sheppard was appointed Franchise Superintendent, which position she held until the victory was assured. I wonder do our members today fully realise the debt they owe to Mrs Sheppard. The writer well remembers Sir John Hall’s fine eulogy pronounced in her hearing. He said that no one person contributed so much to victory as Mrs Sheppard had. Her tact, her patience, always aiming to convert not to antagonise an opponent, her sweet reasonableness, her charming personality, were combined with undaunted courage, firm determination, and great intellectual vigour. In her address to the Convention of 1894 after the victory had been won, the Dominion President said: “We would especially tender a hearty vote of thanks to our Franchise Superintendent, for without her constant and persistent efforts, writing up the subject and petitioning both Houses from year to year, we feel sure the Bill would not have passed. So to Mrs Sheppard this Convention will, I am sure, pass a special vote of thanks.”

As time went on, local Superintendents were appointed, and in the reports of Mrs Sheppard to successive Conventions we watch echoes of the fight. Literature was distributed, debating societies were asked to take it as a subject for discussion, and petitions were signed. Three petitions were presented to Parliament. The first, in 1891, containing 10,085 signatures; the second, in 1892, had 20,274; while in 1893 a huge petition of 31,874 signatures was sent up. This was the largest petition, so far, ever presented to any Parliament in Australasia.

The labour involved in collecting the signatures was enormous. There were no electric cars in the cities, no motor cars for the country work. Our mothers trudged from door to door, weary of body, but steadfast of soul, “never doubting nor forsaken, only tired”. Surely we may pause here to salute those who laboured so strenuously, so consistently, so successfully. In spite of the difficulty of transport, with only voluntary workers they petitioned three years in succession, and the third time secured the signatures of 30 per cent. of the adult women then resident in the Dominion. After this, who dares say that the vote was won without effort?

In 1891 Sir John Hall’s Bill was read for the first time. We do not propose to give a detailed account of the political struggle in the House for three Sessions. A full account may be found in “The Woman’s Franchise Movement in New Zealand”, by Mr W. S. Lowell-Smith, a book which should be in the library of every intelligent woman.

The first petition was presented to the Upper House by Hon. John Fulton, the husband of Dunedin’s president, and to the Lower House by Sir John Hall. The whole force of the liquor trade was against the women. They were sneered at by the unthinking, called the “Shrieking Sisterhood”. But, harder to bear than ridicule, was the apathy of many women, some of them even members of our Unions. A leaflet, “Ten Reasons why Women should have the Franchise”, was largely circulated and a copy posted to every member of both Houses of Parliament. Christchurch Union did valuable educative work distributing this and other literature at their luncheon rooms at the A. & P. Show. As early as 1887 Auckland Union reports a large petition for female franchise worked for vigorously by the members under the leadership of Mrs Spragg, Superintendent. The Union was advised by the National President to keep this back until other Unions had taken up the same work. The report concludes: “The Union has since regretted that they followed this advice.”

In 1892 Mr Ballance’s Electoral Bill proposed to confer the suffrage upon women. It passed the third reading after a stormy passage through Committee. It passed the Upper House, but a clause was inserted to allow women to vote by electoral right, as was allowed to sailors, shearers and commercial travellers. When the Managers of both Houses met, Mr Ballance lay stricken with fatal illness and Mr Seddon Acting Premier, refused to accept this clause, and the Bill was killed.

In 1892 Franchise Leagues were organised who worked harmoniously with our Franchise Superintendent, many of them under her direction. In 1893 the Bill passed both Houses. Its opponents then took the unusual course of petitioning the Governor to withhold his signature from the Bill because the electors had had no opportunity to express their opinion upon it. Mrs Sheppard wrote to the Governor pointing out how often and in how many successive Parliaments it had been debated, and that constituencies had elected members pledged to its support. On September 19th, 1893, the Earl of Glasgow, as Governor, affixed his signature to the Bill. The long fight was ever and the vote was won.

In her Jubilee Message last November to the National Convention of U.S.A., Miss Anna Gordon, our World President, says:

“Today we celebrate our Golden Jubilee, but our glorious cause is yet in its infancy. In the half-century ahead comes a greater task to be crowned with greater triumphs. Always for the W.C.T.U. there has been a greater task ahead—far above and beyond the thought of age.”

May we bring to the greater task ahead the courage, the devotion, the faith and the self-sacrifice that the women of yesterday brought to the fight for the Franchise. They won for us the right to vote; it is ours to use that vote to secure yet greater triumphs for the cause of God and Home and Humanity.