Page:Outlines of the women's franchise movement in New Zealand.djvu/94

 exciting struggle Mr Fish met with a crushing defeat.

In Parliament the question was the most absorbing one of the session. The House met on June 23rd. Sir John Hall had prepared a Bill, but finding that Mr Ballance had included Woman Suffrage in the Electoral Bill it was decided that it would be better to support the Government measure.

On July 1st, Mr Ballance moved the second reading of the Electoral Bill. He explained that the most important feature of the Bill was that it proposed to confer the Franchise on women. The Government had resolved that this should form part of the measure and desired to see it become law during that