in a Confederation Newfoundland
was the only one that declined to enter it and remained independent.
Therefore, when the Dominion suffrage was conferred by the Parliament
in 1918 it did not include the women of this island. This was keenly
felt by many of them and they made efforts to have its Legislature
grant them the Provincial franchise but without success. In 1921 the
Woman Suffrage League determined to make an organized effort and
collected a petition of 10,000 names, representing every district, and
presented it to the Legislature. From the first the Premier, Sir
Richard Anderson Squires, was hostile and this was the case with most
of the Cabinet, but Minister of Marine Coaker showed a friendly
spirit; Minister of Justice Warren introduced the bill and Mr.
Jennings, chairman of the Board of Public Works, agreed to bring it up
for action. After the sending of many deputations to the Executive
Members of the Government the women were astonished at being told one
day that these members had held a meeting and it had been arranged
that the Premier himself should introduce the bill as a Government
measure. Seven went with Mr. Jennings by pre-arrangement to the
Premier's office and meeting Mr. Coaker he said: "Your bill goes
through all right, the Premier has his orders." Some provisions had
been attached to the bill--non-eligibility to office, no voting power
until the next general election and an age limit of 30 years. The
Premier promised to have the Government reduce this to 25 and they
were compelled to agree. Then he impressed upon them that the bill
would go through as a Government measure, declaring: "I will pass it
this session, whether the House closes in one month or three--what I
say goes!"

Some time afterwards the women read in an account of the House
proceedings that the Premier had said in answer to a question that the
bill was not a Government measure. An official letter was at once sent
from the Woman Suffrage League, reminding him of his promise, to which
he made no answer. They obtained an interview with him at which he
treated them very discourteously and denied all responsibility for the
bill after its second reading. They could get no satisfaction from any
member of the Government. The bill was not reported from the committee
for weeks and when at last brought before the House in August it was
turned over to a Select Committee of five, three of them pronounced
anti-suffragists, and was not heard