Is Mrs. Pinsent Qualified for Election: An Important Point: There was a lull in the electoral war in the Wards on Saturday night, very few candidates holding meetings. An point relating to the qualification of Mrs. Pinsent, one the Unionist candidates in the Edgbaston Ward, has been raised by a correspondent of the “Daily Post,” who, over the signature “Lex”* writes stating that in the “Municipal Year Book,” for 1909, published after the Qualification of Women Act, 1907, had come into effect, a statement that “unmarried women, if otherwise qualified, are entitled to vote municipal elections, and are now eligible for the positions of councillor, alderman, and Mayor.” The “now” obviously refers to the Qualification of Women Act; and the reference to “unmarried” implies the disqualification of married women. According to the interpretation of the correspondent, Mrs. Pinsent, if elected, cannot take her seat, or vote without subjecting herself to a penalty of £50 for every vote she gives. But enquiries on the point go to show that the legal position has been duly considered by Mrs. Pinsent, and she is quite satisfied that she has a qualification to sit and vote in the City Council. Any question there may be arises upon the point of whether she is ‘‘entitled to be enrolled.” The first woman to come on the register in Birmingham under similar circumstances was Mrs. C. W. Dixon, Westbourne Road, Edgbaston. Her case was the court of Mr. W. J. Brooks, revising barrister, 1909. In delivering his decision, Mr. Brooks said it was obvious that the intention of the Qualification Women (County and Borough Councils) Act:, 1907, whether carried out or not, was to qualify women in cases where they had hitherto been disqualified and it was necessary to qualify as burgesses by that Act not only married women but women generally, because there had been passed in 1899 the London Government Act, which provided that no woman should be eligible for the office of councillor. The effect of the repeal of the London Act’s proviso was to put women all over the country in the same position with regard to their rights. What did the Act of 1907 mean when it said that women should not be disqualified by marriage from being a councillor or alderman in any borough? It would either be said that this particular section in the Act meant nothing at all, which, he was quite sure, was not the intention of Parliament, or it would be urged that the possibility of a married woman being a councillor, or an alderman did not remove the objection with regard to her being a burgess. That was a very startling statement to make, and he did not think it possible it could be the interpretation. If it were so, it would necessarily involve that the portion of the Act relating the qualification of councillors would be repealed with regard to married women and married women only, while it would remain in status quo with regard to every other woman in the kingdom. Therefore, he must naturally interpret this section as meaning that the removal of the disqualification by reason of marriage from being a councillor must necessarily involve the removal of the disqualification of the married women from being a burgess, because it was only people qualified to vote as burgesses who were eligible for election as councillors. He held, in consequence, that the objection to Mrs. Dixon’s claim failed, and that she had rightly been put on the list..
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Referenced
GRO0245 Devonport: Ellen Frances Parker: 1866 – 1949