Editing Kate Sheppard (section)

==Women's suffrage movement==
[[File:Kate Sheppard Memorial. FZ200 (14409824662).jpg|thumb|right|Sheppard and five other prominent New Zealand suffragists are commemorated on the ''[[Kate Sheppard National Memorial]]'', a bronze sculpture in Christchurch.]]
{{see also|Women's suffrage in New Zealand}}

===Early engagement===
Kate Sheppard's activism and engagement with politics began after listening to or reading about a talk by [[Mary Greenleaf Clement Leavitt|Mary Leavitt]] from the [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]] (WCTU) of the United States.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=19}} In 1885 Leavitt toured New Zealand speaking not only about the problems caused by alcohol consumption, but also the need for women to have a "voice in public affairs".{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|pp=27–28}} She spent two weeks in Christchurch, starting with a public speech at the [[Isaac Theatre Royal|Theatre Royal]] on 10 May.{{sfn|"Gospel Temperance Union"}} Journalists were impressed by the strength of public speaking displayed by a woman, something not witnessed often at that time in New Zealand.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|"Press Editorial 16 May 1885"}}

Sheppard became involved in establishing a Christchurch branch of the WCTU NZ prior to the formation of a national organisation.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=20}}{{sfn|"Mrs Leavitt at Durham Street Wesleyan Church"}} Her initial involvement was in promoting petitions to Parliament to prevent women being employed as barmaids, and to outlaw the sale of alcohol to children. This marked the beginning of her collaborations with Alfred Saunders, who advised her on her negotiations with politicians and who wrote to the [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|premier]], Sir [[Robert Stout]], seeking to further her campaign. The barmaid petitions (including some from other parts of the country) were rejected by the Petitions Committee of Parliament later in 1885.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=19}}{{sfn|"Meetings of Societies"}} Sheppard decided that politicians would continue to ignore petitions from women as long as women could not vote.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=22}}

In 1879 universal male suffrage had been granted to all men over the age of 21 whether they owned property or not, but women were still excluded as electors.{{sfn|Universal male suffrage}}{{efn|All [[Māori people|Māori]] men had been able to elect members of [[Māori electorates]] since 1867.{{sfn|Universal male suffrage}}}} A limited number of voting rights were extended to female voters in the 1870s. Female [[rates (tax)|ratepayers]] were able to vote in local body elections in 1873, and in 1877 women "householders" were given the right to vote in and stand for education boards.{{sfn|Kate Sheppard, 1847–1934}}{{efn|"Rates" are a tax on land levied by local councils.}}

The New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union was formed under the leadership of [[Anne Ward (suffragist)|Anne Ward]] at a conference in Wellington in February 1886. Sheppard did not attend that conference, but at the second national convention in Christchurch a year later, she arrived ready to present a paper on women's suffrage, although there was no opportunity for her to do so. She was first appointed Superintendent for Relative Statistics, owing to her interest in economics.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=21}} In 1887{{mdash}}when more local Franchise departments were established within the WCTU NZ{{mdash}}she replaced [[Women's Christian Temperance Union New Zealand#Petitions to New Zealand government for woman suffrage|Mrs. G Clarke]] as National Superintendent for the Franchise and Legislation.{{sfn|Malcolm|2013}}{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=23–24}}

Much of the support for moderation came from women, and the WCTU NZ believed that women's suffrage could advance their aim to prohibit alcohol while promoting child and family welfare.{{sfn|King|2003|p=265}} Sheppard soon became prominent in the area of women's suffrage, but her interest in the cause went beyond practical considerations regarding temperance. Her views were made well known with her statement that "all that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome."{{sfn|Lusted|2009}} Sheppard proved to be a powerful speaker and a skilled organiser, quickly building support for her cause.{{sfn|Malcolm|2013}}

[[File:Julius Vogel, ca 1870s.jpg|left|thumb|Sir [[Julius Vogel]], member of parliament for [[Christchurch North (New Zealand electorate)|Christchurch North]] and former [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|premier]], introduced a Female Suffrage Bill to Parliament in 1887.]]
The WCTU NZ sent a deputation to Sir [[Julius Vogel]], a member of parliament and former premier, asking him to introduce a suffrage bill to parliament.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=24}} He did so in 1887, with the Female Suffrage Bill, and Sheppard campaigned for its support.{{sfn|Lusted|2009}} In its third reading, the part dealing with women's suffrage was defeated by one vote, and the bill was withdrawn.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=25–27}}{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|pp=42–43}}{{sfn|"The Women's Franchise"}} During the [[1887 New Zealand general election|general election campaign]] later that year Sheppard encouraged WCTU NZ members to ask parliamentary candidates questions about suffrage, but few women did so.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=30}}

In 1888 Sheppard was President of the Christchurch branch of the WCTU NZ, and presented a report to the national convention in [[Dunedin]], where the convention decided that prohibition and women's suffrage would be the organisation's central aims. Sheppard made public speeches on suffrage in Dunedin, [[Oamaru]], and Christchurch, developing a confident speaking style. To reinforce her message, she gave audiences leaflets produced in Britain and the United States.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=30–31}} Sheppard then published her own single-sheet pamphlet titled ''Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote'', which displayed her "dry wit and logical approach".{{sfn|Fleischer|2014|pp=151–154}}{{sfn|Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote}} A copy was sent to every member of the [[New Zealand House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=32}}

===Petitions===
The government introduced an Electoral Bill in 1888 that would continue to exclude women from suffrage, and Sheppard organised a petition requesting that the exclusion be removed. She wrote to, and later met with, Sir [[John Hall (New Zealand politician)|John Hall]], a well-respected Canterbury member of the House of Representatives, inviting him to present the petition and support her cause. He did so, but no action resulted. Sheppard then produced a second pamphlet, ''Should Women Vote?'', which presented statements on suffrage from notable people in New Zealand and overseas.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=32–34}} The Electoral Bill was delayed until 1890, when on 5 August, Hall proposed a motion "That in the opinion of the House, the right of voting for members of the House of Representatives should be extended to women." After vigorous debate, this was passed 37 votes to 11.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=44–46}}{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|pp=43–44}} On 21 August, Hall moved an amendment to the Electoral Bill to give women suffrage, but it was defeated by seven votes.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|p=48}}{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|p=44}}{{sfn|"Lyttelton Times editorial 23 August 1890"}}

Following the defeat, Hall suggested to Sheppard that a petition to parliament should be the next step. She drew up the wording for the petition, arranged for the forms to be printed, and campaigned hard for its support. During the [[1890 New Zealand general election|1890 election campaign]], WCTU members attempted to ask all candidates about their position on women's suffrage.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=48–50}} The petition contained 10,085 signatures (according to WCTU minutes), and Hall presented it to Parliament in 1891 as a new Electoral Bill went into committee.{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|p=49}}{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=62, 68}} The petition was supported in Parliament by Hall, Alfred Saunders, and the premier at the time, [[John Ballance]]. Hall moved an amendment to the Electoral Bill to give women suffrage; it passed with a majority of 25 votes. An opponent of suffrage, [[Walter Carncross]], then moved an amendment which would also allow women to stand for parliament; this seemed a logical extension of Hall's amendment but was actually calculated to cause the bill's failure in New Zealand's [[upper house]], the [[New Zealand Legislative Council]]. The bill indeed failed in the Upper House by two votes.{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|pp=67–69}}

[[File:Auckland Female Franchise League.gif|thumb|upright=2|Illustrated comic of the Auckland Franchise League lining up outside the Premier's office. Published in ''The Observer'' in 1893.]]

In 1890, Sheppard was one of the founders of the Christian Ethical Society, a discussion group for both men and women, not limited to the members of a single church.{{sfn|"Christian Ethical Society"}} In their first few meetings the topics included selfishness, conjugal relations, and dress reform. The society gave Sheppard more confidence debating her ideas with people from diverse backgrounds.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=42–43}} During 1891, Sheppard began editing a page in the ''Prohibitionist'' on behalf of the WCTU. The ''Prohibitionist'' was a fortnightly temperance paper with a circulation around New Zealand of over 20,000. Sheppard used the pseudonym "Penelope" in this paper.{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|p=53}}{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=58–59}}

Sheppard promised that a second petition would be twice as large and worked through the summer to organise it; it received 20,274 women's signatures.{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|p=49}} Using paid canvassers, the Liberal MP [[Henry Fish]] organised two counter petitions, one signed by men and the other by women; they received 5,000 signatures between them.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=77–78, 81}} An Electoral Bill in 1892 included provision for women's suffrage and again it easily passed in the House of Representatives, but the Upper House requested that women's votes be postal rather than by ballot. As the two houses could not agree on this, the bill failed.{{sfn|Grimshaw|1987|pp=70–71}}

[[File:Women's Suffrage Petition 1893 (9365778997).jpg|thumb|upright=1|The first page of the successful 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition]]

A [[1893 Women's Suffrage Petition|third petition for suffrage]], still larger, was organised by Sheppard and presented in 1893. This time 31,872 women signed{{mdash}}the largest petition of any kind presented to Parliament at this point.{{sfn|Brewerton|2017}}{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=105–110}}

===1893 Electoral Bill===
The Electoral Bill of 1893, which granted women full voting rights, successfully passed in the House of Representatives in August. Few MPs were willing to vote against it, fearing that women would vote against them in the general election later that year. Many therefore chose to be absent from the house during votes. Henry Fish attempted to delay the proposed statute by calling for a national referendum,{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=104, 110–111}} but the bill progressed to the Legislative Council. After several attempts to stymie passage failed, the legislation passed 20 votes to 18 on 8 September.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=111–113}} The bill now needed the governor's signature, and although Governor [[David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow|David Boyle]] did not support women's suffrage and was slow to sign, he eventually did so on 19 September.{{sfn|Devaliant|1992|pp=113–118}} Sheppard was widely acknowledged as the leader of the women's suffrage movement.{{sfn|Malcolm|2013}}{{sfn|Adas|2010|pp=91–92}}