Property vote for Women?

*THE WORKER*

Brisbane March 17, 1894

THE PROPERTY VOTE FOR WOMEN.

In case the women of Queensland who have now determined to battle for their political rights do not know how strong the Hon. Dr. Taylor is on the property vote before aught else it is as well that they be reminded that whilst the “exalted” Chamber was in committees on the 26^th July 1892, Dr. Taylor said he had a new clause to propose after clause 17. It read as follows:

Every women of the age of twenty-one years, being a natural born or naturalised subject of her Majesty, whose name is entered on the rate book of any municipality, shall be entitled to be entered on the roll of electors for the electoral district within which the property in respect of which her name is to entered is situated.

“Hon. gentlemen would see (he said) that the clause was merely an extension of the admitted principle that property should be represented. At present certain property was unrepresented because of the sex of the owner. Property was only partly represented at present; because it belonged to a female it was unrepresented. It was beyond the province of the motion to enter into the question of female suffrage, but the motion did not introduce any new element into the Elections Bill; it simply permitted its principles to be applied to all property. It was extending the franchise in quantity, but not in quality; and he moved that the new clause be inserted”

Mrs. Leontine Cooper, ex-president of the Women's Franchise Association and editress of the Star further shows how the cat was intended to jump in a leading article in her paper. She says; “ Mrs. Cooper was aware that a number of members of the Legislature were prepared to grant some concessions to women who would not dream of entertaining the “one women one vote.” But the Labour women present at the late meeting saw the game clearly, and, believing in humanity before property, determined to fight for the equality of women at the ballot box, and they won, too, for the organisation is now named the Woman's Equal Franchise Association.            C. S.