DIRTY POLITICS: THE WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE CAMPAIGN
“All that separates, whether of race, class, creed or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome.”
- Kate Sheppard
The women of New Zealand were granted voting rights in September of 1893, but they did not achieve this goal overnight; they had to work at it constantly for almost two decades. The first significant milestone that can be attributed to a decided Suffrage Campaign was the publication of Mary Ann Müller’s An Appeal to the Men of New Zealand in 1869. This pamphlet asked of the men of New Zealand one thing: their help in female political emancipation. She argued that women were "a wholly unrepresented body of the people," and asked "whether women were included when the word 'man' was used, which was allowed at once in the words 'manslaughter' and 'mankind', though it appears [women] are not even 'persons' sometimes" (Müller). Her appeal - which asserted succinctly that if women were to make their mark on the political, social and economic evolution of the nation, extending the franchise to women was an absolute necessity - is said by the 1966 edition of the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand to have "created considerable interest both in New Zealand and abroad," but it was still five years before any noteworthy parliamentary action was taken.
The years between 1874 and 1879 saw several unsuccessful propositions made by parliamentarians to introduce female enfranchisement. In 1874, House of Representatives member JC Andrew spoke about enfranchising women, and during 1878 and 1879 Sir George Grey and Sir John Hall (his name will be important later) led two determined efforts to have women enfranchised, forded partially by NZ Premier Robert Stout, who suggested an Electoral Bill that would enfranchise female ratepayers. It was only in 1879 that the government revealed this Qualification of Electors Bill, which offered the opportunity for female ratepayers to vote; but while they had hoped that this may appease the suffragists (who had, by this year, begun actively rallying) to some degree, they were, on this count, dead wrong. The suffragists were infuriated by what they considered to be a weak compromise, and many chastised that only granting female property owners the right to vote was insulting, as it devalued women as human beings, of which men were worthy - as Patricia Grimshaw states, "the House had been energetically maintaining that electoral rights were based on men’s rights as human beings, not as property holders. How could they now insert this concession to property, against all their democratic assertions? The franchise had been advocated for women on the grounds of their intellectual equality. Did a woman who owned property possess more intelligence than the rest of her sex?" Refusing to settle for anything less than complete enfranchisement, Team We Won't Settle For Less banded with the Parliamentarians who were entirely opposed to women’s suffrage, and together they defeated the bill. Many argued that this was not a favourable outcome, and that the suffragists should have taken the opportunity to enfranchise some of their league when the chance was handed to them, but it mattered nought once it was all done; major parliamentary support was not due again for another decade (although Patricia Grimshaw remarks that considering who radical the proposition was, the margin by which the vote was defeated was notably small).
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"Women's right to vote has had to be fought for inch by inch; and the tact, determination, courage, resourcefulness and persistenc[e] which lead to victory in a prolonged war, have been displayed in the campaign to an extent which, if exhibited by the officers and men of an army, would have won the applause of nations."
- Canterbury Times, 14 September 1893 |
After another five years of minimal significant development in the movement, there was a sudden boom of interest in suffrage in 1885. This was the year Mary Clement Leavitt, a representative of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in the USA, docked in Christchurch and gave her invigorating pro-suffrage speech. This speech had considerable impact on the formation of a solidified women’s suffrage front; a year after she gave her speech, there were ten new branches and 600 new members of the WCTU – a key player in encouraging suffragists. Kate Sheppard was instrumental in orchestrating the establishment of the NZ WCTU; as she said in 1894: “This energy [in the suffrage campaign] has been mainly aroused, sustained and directed by the action of the WCTU.” In 1886, the New Zealand branch of the WCTU decided to focus not on temperance, but on women’s suffrage, which is highly indicative of the mounting desire for change in New Zealand – a union primarily dedicated to alcoholic reform was re-aligning its principles.
At this point, it's important to acknowledge the importance of the contribution Kate Sheppard made to the suffrage movement, given that she was, and remains to be, the face of it. She emerged as a game-changing face when she joined the WCTU in the year of its foundation in New Zealand, and was immediately consumed by the plight of the suffragists; she argued that women "are tired of having a 'sphere' doled out to us, and of being told that anything outside that sphere is 'unwomanly.'" She wrote articles and pamphlets for newspapers, travelled up and down the country rallying support and raising awareness for the campaign, and partook enthusiastically in the continual and insistent lobbying of politicians and parliamentarians. It was Sheppard who compiled all 32,000 signatures on the 1893 petition into a 270 metre-long roll, and Sheppard who continued fighting for women's rights even after women were enfranchised, right up until she died.
At this point, it's important to acknowledge the importance of the contribution Kate Sheppard made to the suffrage movement, given that she was, and remains to be, the face of it. She emerged as a game-changing face when she joined the WCTU in the year of its foundation in New Zealand, and was immediately consumed by the plight of the suffragists; she argued that women "are tired of having a 'sphere' doled out to us, and of being told that anything outside that sphere is 'unwomanly.'" She wrote articles and pamphlets for newspapers, travelled up and down the country rallying support and raising awareness for the campaign, and partook enthusiastically in the continual and insistent lobbying of politicians and parliamentarians. It was Sheppard who compiled all 32,000 signatures on the 1893 petition into a 270 metre-long roll, and Sheppard who continued fighting for women's rights even after women were enfranchised, right up until she died.
A number of pro-enfranchisement petitions began to emerge from 1887 onwards as the suffrage movement became increasingly agitated. Unsurprisingly, as the movement gained momentum, more and more women became aware of what the suffragists were trying to achieve (or just became aware of them in general), and a steady flow of support for the campaigners began in 1887, culminating in 1893. The journey from A and B, unfortunately, was long-winded and difficult, and there was a great deal of sabotage about when Parliament got involved. John Ballance, Premier of New Zealand from 1891 to 1893, supported the enfranchisement of women (although privately he was hesitant due to the possibility of women voting conservative – a bit of an oversight, really, given that women were currently doing what was considered the most liberal thing ever), and Sir John Hall (a previous NZ Prime Minister) worked avidly with Kate Sheppard and led the parliamentary debate for suffrage, but the opposition came out strong, too. Henry Smith Fish, infamous anti-suffragist and devious politician, was heavily involved in anti-suffrage activity, and Richard Seddon, who succeeded John Ballance as Premier of New Zealand on his death in 1893 and was a stoic supporter of the liquor industry, was also firmly opposed to the idea - the temperance union would inevitably be effected by WCTU intervention of women were able to vote in its favour. However, the suffragists were relentless in their inundation of campaigning. They besieged civilians and politicians with meetings, pamphlets, telegrams, deputations, letters, and eventually petitions, all of this part of the process of alerting the country to the political agenda that the suffrage movement amended. The WCTU played an important role in this operation. Putting pressure on people, forcing them to stop and listen, seems to have had the desired effect of working - from 1890 onwards, proposed suffrage bills began creeping closer and closer to passing.
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There were three major petitions that marked the suffrage campaign. The first was presented to parliament in 1891, and had been signed by 9,000 women (the bill that accompanied this petition was defeated); the second was presented in 1892, with 20,000 signatures to its name (the bill concomitant to this petition was precariously close to passing, but was abandoned when the controversial postal vote couldn't be decided over); and the third, which Kate Sheppard called the 'monster' petition, was presented in 1893, and had a grand total of 32,000 signatures. These numbers indicate a significant amount of public involvement and interest/passion, particularly in 1893, as the total number of signatures jumps up 12,000 places in one year. The demand for enfranchisement was becoming too intense to ignore; Seddon, however, hadn't had his fill. For him and his fellow anti-suffragists (with whom he pretended to disassociate so as not to aggravate women), the growing support for the suffrage campaign, particularly in 1893, was alarming, and when the third petition gave such a convincing account of nationwide desire for change, Seddon knew that to derail the bill, he would have to physically swing the vote, as Sir John Hall and his colleagues in Seddon's opposition had garnered enough support to pass the Bill, even if Seddon voted against it. Wanting to save face, Seddon pretended to switch sides, claiming to have "accepted the people's will," but he also asked an impartial member of the Lower House to change their vote from being for the Bill to against it - he had discovered that he only needed one vote against to defeat the charter. This, as it turns out, was to be Seddon's demise (although only on the suffrage issue - he remained Premier for 13 years, remaining to this day New Zealand's longest-serving Premier). Two councillors, William Hunter Reynolds and Edward Cephas John Stevens, heard of Seddon's manipulation and, outraged at this immorality and deception, decided to change their own votes from against the Bill to for it. There were 38 votes cast in total; 18 were against the Bill, and 20 were for it. Seddon's manipulation was what threw the bill in the end, and in September of 1893, the governor of New Zealand granted the Bill Royal Assent and officially legalised the New Zealand woman's right to vote.
The 1893 elections were ten weeks after women were granted this right; however, despite this, nearly two-thirds of New Zealand’s female population cast a vote. This is an impressive value, and it successfully rendered the "politics is out of womens' comfort zone" argument completely and utterly invalid. New Zealand’s anti-suffrage league were astounded by the turn-out of women on election day in 1893; it just went to show that they had, supremely and completely, underestimated not only the political competency of women, but also their enthusiasm for participating in public political conversation and debate.
Of course, being granted the vote is the most significant event of the campaign, though it’s interesting to note that it only went through when it did because of the chicanery of men…
The 1893 elections were ten weeks after women were granted this right; however, despite this, nearly two-thirds of New Zealand’s female population cast a vote. This is an impressive value, and it successfully rendered the "politics is out of womens' comfort zone" argument completely and utterly invalid. New Zealand’s anti-suffrage league were astounded by the turn-out of women on election day in 1893; it just went to show that they had, supremely and completely, underestimated not only the political competency of women, but also their enthusiasm for participating in public political conversation and debate.
Of course, being granted the vote is the most significant event of the campaign, though it’s interesting to note that it only went through when it did because of the chicanery of men…