1928 - Annual Convention

              2S A L B E R T A W O M E N ' S I N S T I T U T ES
with the teacher should be one of mutual co- operation for the good of the
child. Never f i n d fault with the teacher in the child's presence, or of the
child's faults in front of others. Let us use proper methods of habit- training
so that the child will not develop bad habits, but will be building the very
foundations of character which w i l l prepare him for a happy, useful life.
I n conclusion, let me give you the new conception of true education,
taken from McLeans' Magazine, 1912:
" It is awakening a love for truth, giving a just sense of duty, opening
the eyes of the soul to the great purpose and end of l i f e . It is not so much
giving words as thoughts, or mere maxims as l i v i n g principles. It is not
teaching to be honest because honesty is the best policy, but because it is
right. It is teaching the individual to love the good for the sake of the
good; to be virtuous in action, because so i n heart; to love and serve God
supremely, not from fear, but from delight in H i s perfect character."
REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION
( Mrs. J. P. Ferguson, Trochu, Chairman)
The Committee on Legislation is not an active committee in the same
sense that the others are active, but we are not dormant; far from it. Our
duty is to watch legislation enacted by our provincial and federal legisla­tures
and then bring a knowledge of this, together with its possible effects,
to the members of our organization. Our duty may be compared with what
is known to the legal profession as a watching brief. We are not always
passive, for we are at all times on the alert to bring to the attention of
our legislating bodies the need of any desirable legislation, and also to
present our criticism as to the value or usefulness of any contemplated
legislation.
I am glad to find that you are getting away from the idea of " Laws for
Women," and are making a study of a l l laws which are of interest to women
as citizens, such for example as the laws governing wills, insurance, mort­gages,
and land transactions. To me this seems the proper line of study,
rather than to confine ourselves to the so- called " Laws for Women." This
expression has become distasteful and hackneyed during the last few years.
It is not " Laws for Women" we want, but rather laws for the welfare of our
country. The law that is for the good of all the people w i l l not be bad for
the women.
It was with this idea of expanding our study that the outline for our
year's work was drafted last fall. In order to be good citizens, one of the
f i r s t things we should know is how our country is governed and the powers
of all governing bodies. For this purpose our outline suggested that a
special study be made of that part of the B r i t i s h North America A c t which
sets out the legislative powers of our Dominion and Provincial legislatures
respectively. As this A c t and its amendments are the foundation of Canada's
p o l i t i c a l organization, it is very important that every one who takes an
interest in the political life of the Dominion should be f a i r l y familiar with it.
Just how important this Statute is at the present day has been brought home
to the women of Canada rather forcibly within the last few months. Since
the enfranchisement of women the doors of various political offices have
been opened to them, and we find women as members of school boards,
municipal councils, anil in our provincial and federal legislatures, but no
women has even yet been appointed a Senator. As you know, during the
last few years there has been some agitation for the appointment of women
to that body. The qualifications required for appointment to the Senate
are set out in the B r i t i s h North America Act. These relate to requirements
as to age, residence, property and other matters. The A c t then goes on to
speak of members of the Senate as " qualified persons" and as " f i t and
qualified persons." The question arose, " A r e women qualified for appoint­ment
to the Senate?" The answer involved the interpretation of the word
" persons" as used in this part of the Act. The matter was brought before
the Supreme Court of Canada on a reference from the Governor- in- Council
as to whether the term " persons" in this section of the A c t included " female
persons." The Court was unanimous in its decision that women are not