The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-12 00:00:00

SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION.

A LADIES' PARLIAMENT.
The various departments resumed their sittings
yesterday. The chief interest was centred in the
Social Economy Section, in which, under the pre-
sidency of Lord Brougham, a Ladies' Parliament
was held, to discuss the question of employment for
their sex. The section was crowded during the
whole day by a throng of ladies, who filled, not only
the area of the court, but the jury-box and the seats
for counsel, and gave the chamber very much the
appearance of the College of the " Princess" with its
rows of " fair girl graduates in their golden hair."
The gentlemen were in such a miserable minority
that they were scarcely visible, and if they were
not to be seen they certainly took good care not to
make themselves heard. Whether they were too
craven to utter their real sentiments or whether they
lcwwao
deen
irseeeesai:ectono
wmne
cannot
uneesgtat ted b
ytbo;e
the
ey t
but,
amplitude he
if
inferred
the sfor of tmevl
silence.
flic eatnedhscaeegio.ref
skirts, thehs uolmdoser
of
fuouturnhds
de:
not a little difficulty in getting into the tribune:
and, when there, were at the first rather nervous,
dropping their voices to a confidential whisper, and
searching
paper which were never to
be found.
ofsoon regained their confidence
oun d. for
But scraps
they
and spoke out with a distinctness and animation
which might put most young curates, and even some
barristers, to the blush. The proceedings commenced
with a paper by Miss Emily Davies on " Medicine
as a Profession for Women," which was read by Mr
Russell Gurney. The Secretary communicated a
paper by the Rev. J. S. Howson, advocating the
official employment of women in works of charity.
Miss Bessie R, Parkes next delivered in a clear,
firm voice,an interesting address, partly prepared
and partly extempore, on "The Balance of Public
Opinion on Woman's Work." She expressed an
opinion that we are now passing through a stage of
civilization in which women are excluded front
many ocoupations in 'which they are oualified to
excel, while they arc confined to others, such as
factory work, for which they have no aptitude, and
which tend to interfere with the true sphere of
woman—the household. Miss Emily Faithfull fol-
lowed with a paper on some of the drawbacks Con-
nected .with the present employment of women.
She attributed thewio
which
eh inaccuracyeambietns a nd
were
re wantueni
io.unfr persistentigeeram to
iut
tedne
ewduitchat
attention
t
industry could not be expected to follow a girlhood
of negligence. She suggested the establishment of
a tribunal to examine and certify as to the attain.
ments of women, and protested against the idea
that marriage should he a mere refuge for the desti-
tute. The system of training which she advocated
would, in her opinion, promote matrimony, because
it would furnish women with accomplishments
which would render them valuable acquisitions in
the houses of those prudent bachelors of limited
means who were afraid to mate with extravagant
and useless " fine ladies." Mrs. Inglis, in discuss-
ing the papers which had been read, observed,
amidst some applause, that it was woman's own
fault if employment was denied hcr. The sex were
so ridiculmiSly afraid of being deemed " strong-
minded"or unladylike"that they shrank from doing
true woman-like work. Lord Brougham remarked
that the talent of women in debate had been clearly
proved, and appealed to some of the gentlemen pre-
sent to exhibit their powers in the same way ; but
whether from timidity or gallantry, the invitation
was not responded to. In answer to questions Miss
Faithfull stated that she had more applications for
work in her printing establishment than she could
meet. Mrs. Jellicoe read a paper suggesting the
employment of women as supervisors over their own
sex in factories. Miss Barbara Corbett reported
the progress of the Dublin Society for the employ-
ment of Educated Women. Since last year 200
pupils
have attended the classes for book •keeping,
law-writing, sewing with the machine, cutting out
clothing, &c. A lucid and able essay on the legal
disabilities of women was contributed by Mrs.
Tabor. A paper by Miss Florence Hill, showing
that there is a sphere in the colonies for educated
women, was read by Mrs. A, Hill ; and the report
of the Women's Employment Society, by Miss E.
Faithfull.