Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 4.djvu/1102

 ary friends were thrice baffled—in 1890, 1891 and 1893—by the necessity for a majority of the whole House, which stopped fur- ther immediate progress though each time the Bill had passed second reading. The growth of support was, however, evi- denced by the reply of the Premier to a deputation from the Women’s Suffrage League in November, 1893—that “on the question of Women’s Suffrage the Government were in the posi- tion of just persons who needed no conversion, as they were thor- oughly at one in the matter and were willing to do all they could to place Women’s Suffrage on the Statute Book.”

When, in August, 1894, the Government brought their Adult Suffrage Bill to the Legislative Council the opponents did their utmost to bring about its defeat by obstructive amendments, but in vain. Finally they moved that the clause prohibiting women from sitting in Parliament be struck out, expecting thereby to wreck the Bill, but the supporters of the measure accepted the amendment and so it was carried by a combination of opponents and supporters, giving women Full Suffrage and the right to sit in the Parliament. An address and testimonial were presented to Mrs. Lee by the Hon. C. C. Kingston, the Premier, Dr. Cock- burn, other Members of Parliament and friends. In making the presentation the Premier said he did so at request of the Com- mittee, for her important services in one of the greatest consti- tutional reforms in Australian history. Royal assent was given to the Bill in 1895.

The first election under this Act took place in April, 1896. Statistics published in the Australian Register of June 1oth, give the following totals:

Speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Central Committee of the Women’s Suffrage Society in London, July 15th, 1898, Dr. Cockburn (now Sir John Cockburn, K. C. M. G.) said: “The refining influence of women has made itself felt in this sphere as in every other: they have elevated the whole realm of politics