r appreciation of my public
services. There were about 30 of the members present, all interesting
by reason of their zealous care for the welfare of the State. Their
President (Mrs. C. Proud) presented me, on behalf of the members, with
a lady's handbag, ornamented with a silver plate, bearing my name, the
date of the presentation, and the name of the cause for which I stood.
From that day the little bag has been the inseparable companion of all
my wanderings, and a constant reminder of the many kind friends who,
with me, had realized that "love of country is one of the loftiest
virtues which the Almighty has planted in the human heart." That
association was the first in South Australia to place effective voting
on its platform.

My long comradeship with Mrs. A. H. Young began before the close of the
year. A disfranchised voter at her first election, she was driven
farther afield than the present inadequate system of voting to look for
a just electoral method. She found it in effective voting, and from
that time devoted herself to the cause. Early in 1897 Mrs. Young was
appointed the first honorary secretary of the league. January of the
same year found us stirred to action by the success of Sir Edward
Braddon's first Bill for proportional representation in Tasmania.
Though limited in its application to the two chief cities of the island
State, the experiment was wholly successful. We had our first large
public meeting in the Co-operative Hall in January, and carried a
resolution protesting against the use of the block vote for the Federal
Convention elections. A deputation to the acting Premier
(Mr.--afterwards Sir Frederick--Holder) was arranged for the next
morning. But we were disappointed in the result of our mission, for Mr.
Holder pointed out that the Enabling Act distinctly provided for every
elector having 10 votes, and effective voting meant a single
transferable vote. I had written and telegraphed to the Hon. C. C.
Kingston when the Enabling Act was being drafted to beg him to consider
effective voting as the basis of election; but he did not see it then,
nor did he ever see it. In spite, however, of the short sightedness of
party leaders, events began to move quickly.

Our disappointment over the maintenance of the block vote for the
election of 10 delegates to the Federal Convention led to my brother
John's suggestion that I should become a candidate. Startling as the
suggestion was, so many of my friends