very proud of its place in the history of women's suffrage, a visiting British parliamentarian said on Saturday.

The Baroness Blatch, Minister of State for Education in the British House of Lords, is on the Island to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Woman's Suffrage Act in 1944.

Speaking at a gathering of the Business and Professional Women's Association of Bermuda, she reminded listeners that the tiny colony guaranteed its women the vote well in advance of some larger world powers.

"You were ahead, notably but narrowly, of France, where women did not get the vote until after the Liberation (in 1944),'' she said. "Other fairly late entrants were Italy and Japan and, more ironically, the proclaimed birthplace of democracy, Greece, in 1952.'' The first countries to provide women with the right to cast a ballot were New Zealand in 1893 and Australia in 1902. They were followed, in order, by Russia, Canada, Germany and a number of other European nations.

US and British women didn't get a universal vote until 1920 and 1928 respectively. It was during these years that the United States passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and Britain passed the Equal Franchise Act, each of which put women's votes on an equal standing with men's -- at the age of 21 and without any property restrictions. Before that, Britain had given the vote only to property-owning women over 30.

Bermuda followed a course that was very similar to Britain's.

"The struggle took a long time with many frustrations and disappointments along the way,'' said Lady Blatch. "As early as 1895, a bill enfranchising women was close to being accepted by your Legislature, but was frustrated by the Chief Justice, Sir Joseph Reece.'' Sir Joseph objected to female voters on "moral and religious'' grounds. With the support of sympathetic men, some of them established the Bermuda Woman's Suffrage Society in 1925 and continued to present bills to the House of Assembly, which continued to reject them.

It wasn't until May 12, 1944 that a bill in support of women voters was passed and approved by the Legislative Council. Full voting powers were entrenched in the Constitution of 1968.

In examining this aspect of the Island's history, Lady Blatch suggested that Bermudians always cherish the rights and priveleges that in many cases were so hard won.

"It is important that history books should remind each generation of the preciousness and the price of freedom. When we cease to value universal franchise. The voice of the people will not be heard and governments will be the weaker as a result.'' One way of ensuring a strong individual, Lady Blatch said, is through education, which can often make up for the lack of a stable home life.

"That has to be our mission in education -- to concern ourselves with the wholesomeness of young people, making them confident and competent to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.''