o divine right of kings, and is not
oppressed with militarism; a country which judges a man by his personal
ability and esteems him for what he is, such a country certainly could not
tolerate the dogma of woman's inferiority. Between 1871 and 1880, the
school systems of the various colonies were regulated by a series of laws.
Elementary instruction, which is free and obligatory, is given in public
schools to children of both sexes between the ages of five and fifteen,
but in most cases the sexes are segregated. In the public schools of the
whole continent about 20,000 teachers are employed (9,000 men and 11,000
women). The men predominate in the leading well-paid positions. The
secondary school system (as in England) is composed largely of private
schools, and is to a great extent in the hands of the Protestant
denominations and the Catholic orders. The governments subsidize these
institutions. Girls and boys enjoy the same educational opportunities in
the schools, part of which are coeducational.

The four Australian universities--Sidney (New South Wales), Melbourne
(Victoria), Adelaide (South Australia), and Aukland (New Zealand)--are
to-day open to women, who can secure all academic degrees granted by the
philosophical, law, and medical faculties.[27]

The number of students in the universities is as follows: in Sidney, 1054
(of whom 142 are women); in New Zealand University, 1332 (of whom 369 are
women); in Melbourne, 853 (of whom 128 are women). The total number of
students in Adelaide and Hobart is 626 and 62 respectively, but the number
of women students is not given. The educational problem is thus solved for
the Australian woman in a favorable manner: she has equal and full
privileges in the universities.

What are the conditions in the occupations? "All occupations are open to
women," is stated in a report which I have used.[28] But that is not
entirely correct. Women are teachers, but they are not lecturers and
professors in the universities. As preachers they are admitted only among
the Nonconformists. There are women doctors and dentists, and in four
colonies (New Zealand, Tasmania, West Australia, and Victoria) women are
permitted to practice law, but they are confronted with a certain popular
prejudice when they attempt to enter medicine, law, technical science, and
a teaching career in the universities. The state employs women in the
elementary schools; in the postal and telegraph service; as registrars