Independent (Footscray, Vic. : 1883 - 1922), Saturday 17 November 1888, page 2


"ONWARD AND UPWARD." FOOTSCRAY, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17th, 1888. Police Franchise. ThE right of voting at elections for Members of Parliament by the police, may now be considered as a thing accomplished, after having been on the political tapis for at least ten years, during which it has been debated pro and con from both sides of the House. There never was an argument advanced against the proposal that would bear careful scrutiny, for each point which would apparently tell as against the franchise being given to the police was equally effective regarding other branches of the Civil Service. By what process of reasoning it could be held dangerous to allbw the police to vote at elections, while our soldiers, sailors, railway employes and clerks in the Civil Service were allowed the privilege is hard to say, and it is pleasing to notice that the process of conversion has gone on by degrees until almost every one of the former opponents of the measure have now given in their adhesion to it. Under the basis of our electoral system-manhood sufferage-it was invidious to pick out the sworn guardians of the public peace as a class to whom the ordinary r'ghts of citizens should be refused,and while the same safeguardisprovided that they-as well as all the rest of the Civil Servants -shall not take an active part in political contests, it was absurd to suppose that as a class of intelligent men they had not as much interest at stake in the political questions of the day, and were as able to exercise the franchise as any other set of men in the colony. It has been a long battle, but now we may congratulate the force in having attained its undoubted right in this respect, and also the members who by their persistency have brought about the accomplishment of the long-soughtfor boon.