lines, and a new independence has dawned upon them. At the same time the sense of personal responsibility which comes of independence has made many more women realize that they have a duty to the community, and therefore has compelled them to set their thoughts and minds to the performance of those duties. As a natural consequence the fact is being more and more realized by the Electorate and by Government Departments that women can bring useful service to the community.
The Isle of Man.
[The ancient kingdom of the Isle of Man, with an independent government since the time of the vikings, and making its own laws which require only the sanction of the Crown, extended Full Suffrage to women property owners in December, 1880, and the act received the assent of Queen Victoria, January 5th, 1881. This was extended to all women rate-payers in 1892. ]
PROGRESS IN THE COLONIES.
NEW ZEALAND.[1]
The first of the Colonies of the British Empire to grant the Parliamentary Franchise to women was New Zealand, therefore, the story of Colonial Progress fitly opens with the land of the Maories. The earliest public mention that this writer has been able to find of the question was in a speech of Sir Julius Vogel to his constituents in 1876, when he said that he was in favor of extending the franchise to women — but as far back as 1869 a pamphlet on the subject, entitled An Appeal to the Men of New Zealand, had been written by Mrs. Mary Muller, who may be fitly termed the pioneer woman suffragist of that colony.
In 1878 the Government introduced an Electoral Bill which included the franchise for rate-paying women; this passed the House of Representatives but met with much opposition in the Upper House on points unconnected with women's suffrage, so that it was ultimately withdrawn.
In 1887 Sir Julius Vogel, Colonial Treasurer, introduced a
- ↑ In 1877 New Zealand granted School Suffrage to women, and in 1886 Municipal Suffrage.
