3. The conditions of suffrage in municipal elections were made the same for both women and men.
4. The saloons are closed on election days.
5. Women are admitted to the practice of law.
6. The age of consent for girls was raised to 17.
Similar reforms were enacted in South Australia. There Mrs. Mary Lee is the leader in the woman’s suffrage movement, and founder of the “Women’s Suffrage Society.” When the woman’s suffrage bill was passed in 1895 the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Instruction, and the Lord Mayor gave Mrs. Lee an impressive reception in the town hall; they thanked her for the untiring efforts which she had devoted to the cause, and the Prime Minister said, “Mrs. Lee is the originator of the greatest reforms in the constitutional history of Australia.” What enlightened views the ministers in the antipodal countries do have! Are they really our antiscians to such a degree?
Since 1896, the following reforms have been effected by the South Australian Parliament:
1. A modification of the marriage law (the husband must provide for the wife and children if his brutality leads to a divorce). An enlargement of woman’s sphere in the business world. Separate property rights.
2. Greater strength was given to the law compelling the father of illicit children to fulfill his pecuniary duties.