to the House to express its decision. Mr. Ballance replied that if a Bill was introduced the Government would take it up after its second reading. He would not make it a Government Bill, and the question would not be a party one, but each member would vote on the subject as he chose.
On August 24th, Sir John Hall moved the second reading of the Female Suffrage Bill. The motion was seconded by the Hon. D. Pinkerton, one of the new Labour members, who said that the best argument in support of the Bill was the fact that “woman is a fellow being, equal to ourselves in intelligence, in morality, in suffering, and in obedience to the laws in the making of which she has no voice.”
This time, the majority for the women was increased to 25. With the object of making sure that the Bill would be thoroughly distasteful to the Legislative Council, and would have no possible chance of passing through that chamber, one of its opponents moved in committee in the House that a new clause should be added providing that every woman registered as an elector should be qualified to be elected a member of the House, and this was agreed to in spite of the efforts of the friends of the Bill. The Council went into a long discussion on the Bill, and finally rejected it by two votes, the Maori members being amongst the opponents, and the proposal was shelved for another year at least.
In 1892, Sir John Hall prepared another Bill, but as Mr. Ballance had made provision for the franchise in the Electoral Bill, Sir John Hall’s measure was withdrawn. Mr. Ballance was successful in passing the proposal through the House once more, and the question was threshed out in the Legislative Council afresh. The second reading was carried there without a division. The Bill passed its third reading, but it was found that the Council had added a new clause giving women the right to the use of electoral rights.
It was when this amendment was sent back to the House for consideration that Mr. Seddon took charge of the Bill, and refused to accept the alteration, for the reasons stated. In 1893, the supporters of the movement achieved success, as described above, and the women of New Zealand were fully emancipated.
