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W0MENS WORK IN MAORILAND.
•'Beta," writing in the Melbourne Heroldol
Mrs. Seddon, wife of the Premier of New
Zealand and President of the Women's Social
and Political League of Wellington, New
Zealand, says she is well known in the island
colony as the most helpful woman in the
woman's movement. She is literally her
husband's A.D.C., and an energetic one, too.
The lady is a Victorian; she was a Miss
Spottiswood—the plaoe being named after her
family. For some time she resided at
Wiiliamstown, afterwards in New Zealand.
During a most interesting conversation that I
bad with - her the other day she said many
things that are of interest to women. " What
is the result of the franchise in New Zealand,
from the women's point of view?" I asked!
" Most satisfactory. It was really wonderful
how the women have roused themselves to
interest in social and political matters. They
attend the House, criticise the speeches, meet
the members afterwards, challenge them, at
meetings they ask questions freely, and we
have a ' platform' that we expect members to
subscribe to. Our League is most active. We
meet every week and we select candidates who
approve of our ' platform' and return them.
See, this is one of the circulars for last
election. We returned the two firstnamed.
The men are recognising our
power. _ At the two last elections we
had a Liberal victory, and over there the cry
was that women workers, for instance, would
feel bound to vote for their employers, &c.,
and that the Conservatives would benefit in
the end. _ But not a bit of it. The women
went straight for moderate Liberalism."
" The Conservatives are making capital out
of the failure of the prohibitionists. What do
you answer to that?'"—"The women of the
colony did not want prohibition. Only a
section. Religious discussions are rorbidden
at the League. I do not approve of women
sitting in Parliament; at any rate not just
yet, until they have had some experience,
and these are plenty of openings for them as
Inspectors of Charities, Sanitary Inspectors, on
Education Boards, as Inspectors of Gaols and
Lunatic Asylums, and on Municipal Councils.
Of course you will know women are now
actually doing good work in some of those
positions."
" A Labour Bureau for the exchange of city
and country female workers obtains in Wellington.
The Government Labour Bureau
is satisfactory, and doing good work. It is
managed by a woman."
"Of course work is at a standstill at this
moment, but we are interesting ourselves in
the divorce laws and the care of children. As
an instance of woman's persistency and actual
power now, the Bill for the exclusion of
Asiatic labour was thrown out, and the womeu
urged that it should be reintroduced under
another name. It was, and passed. We are
standing out of federation. We are workiu,
out these iuternal affairs on our own account.'
"About London, Mrs. Seddon, are vou
going home?"—"It is not settled yet." I
should like to,'' she replied enthusiastically,
•j ii 01 a co * on ' a 'i you know, and I should enjoy
^k"®- Seddon does not speak much in public,
bhe is rather an organizer and hard worker,
tier conversation is fluent, terse, and Do the
point. She has a perfect grip of women's
work — and men'., too — in New Zealand.
tier sympathetic manner and thorou-hiv
feminine style, combined will) her native
ability and mastery of questions of the dav,
give her conversation a most interesting
piquancy. She has fanning daughters,
ardent Leaguers a!so. One was married
the other day, ana presented with a wedding
veil by members of t he League. When acl tnowledgmg
another gift from the Lea-ue the
young lady announced she should still remain
a worker, as she ' had made it a condition "
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