Letters Received by the Premier from England Relative to the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and the Raising of the Age of Consent.

Mrs. F. H. Fox, on behalf of the Birmingham Branch of the Ladies' National Association for the Abolition of the State Regulation Office, desires to convey their strong and deep sense of the importance of this subject to the Hon. R. Seddon, Premier, and to express, also, their thankfulness for his clear and unequivocal statement, to the effect that the raising of the age of consent would be insisted on in the coming session, and also "a shameful and objectionable statute' removed. The honorary secretary therefore, on behalf of the ladies united with her in this branch of the Ladies' National Association, desires to offer her Christian congratulations to the Hon. R. Seddon on the noble stand he is thus taking on the side of purity and righteousness, and to encourage him as far as she may be permitted to do so to withstand unswervingly any attempts on the part of those less high principled and less enlightened to press measures of an opposite character, assured that the Divine blessing can only rest upon the faithful carrying out of just and pure statutes, founded upon Christian ethics and upon the equality of the sexes in all that relates to their moral and spiritual well-being. The action of some ladies in New Zealand during the past year, evidently arising from ignorance of the subject, grieved the members of the Ladies' National Association in England, but they are glad to know that they have been convinced of their grave mistake. Mrs. Fox desires to add best wishes for Divine guidance and help to the Premier in his responsible position.