The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 2, 1869

WOMAN'S RIGHTS MO VEMEN7.

We last week gave some extracts from the Ame-
rican press on the Woman's Rights Movement in
the United States to show the turn it is now
taking. Several subjects there are coming promi-
nently forward for discussion, but no other at this
moment takes so conspicuous a place. The article
of the .Nation to which we alluded was answered
by Mr JOHN Homan, of Hartford, Connecticut, who
proved that the ten essays on 'Woman's Work and
Culture (which, in reviewing, the critic asserted
would earn for the authors from the platform wo-
men the title of " spooneys," if not of " traitors"),
had been most favourably commented on by them
in the Revolution. Mr. HOOKER writes in terms of
high respect of Mrs. STANTON, of Miss ANTHONX
(the Garrison of the movement), of Mrs. LivElt,
MORE, of Mrs. JULIA WARD HowE, and other ladies.
While thoroughly sympathising with their work, he
confesses that he has not escaped being irritated
by what offends taste and judgment, though less bad
taste has, he thinks, been displayed in this th:tia in
most other radical reforms. There is always some
bad taste in the conduct of such reforms, but good
taste alone never wrought a reform, and bad taste,
- though a hindrance and offence, never defeatel one.
11 oman's strong point seems to him to be this; they
exercise a mighty influence, and it is expedient
that those who do should be so endowed with civil
rights as to-make the duty and responsibility of that
influence weigh, and for this reason nations seek to
add open responsibility wherever they find hi-
therto unobserved power. The Nation replied
in a leader "On Methods of Agitation." Mr.
HOOKER'S object was to uphold the Revolution and
its conductors; hence the severe censure in deal-
ing with and controverting his argument cast on
its editors by this article. Miss ANTHONY is ac-
cused of entering into a partnership with Mr.
GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN, " a notorious mounte-
bank," giving up a. portion of the paper to
advocate his wildly wicked and foolish views of
finance, at a time, too, when the public credit was
seriously assailed from other quarters. " TRAIN'S
spirit of mendacity, absurdity, and bombast per-
vaded the paper," and Miss ANTHONY accompanied
him in a canvas for subscribers, incurring a part of
the responsibility of his tricks. Afterwards they
appeared on a platform in New Jersey, where they
carried on in public a vulgar and silly dialogue about
their travels, which, considering the magnitude of
the task before them, was something worse than an
exhibition of bad taste. The conduct of the agita-
tion the Nation illustrates by the case of HESTER
VAUGHAN, convicted of infanticide in Philadelphia.
The Revolution conductors asserted that she had
been betrayed by her lawyer, who was fiercely
denounced. That she—the victim of a criminal
assault--was about to be hanged through the
cruelty and injustice of man-made laws ; that Phila-
delphia was indifferent to her fate, her only friends
being the New York champions of Woman's Rights.
The deputation of women sent to Philadelphia dis-
covered that the Governor had never intended to
sign the death warrant,that Philadelphian ladies had
already taken up the case, that her lawyer had not
betrayed her, and that she was not the victim of a
criminal assault ; but no apology was ever made.
Disgraceful wrangling has m trked the conventions,
and untruthful charges by her fellow-work women
have been brought against the integrity even of
Miss ANTHONY herself. The Nation considers that
misrepresentation, that painting good people in
dark colours, simply because they oppose the
agitation, is the more unwise in these advocates,
as they move in an enemy's country, society being
almost en masse against them. The Anti-Slavery
men had at least the slaves on their side, but the
Woman's Rights'people have not yet succeeded even
in winning over the women. Slaves who hug their
chains are proverbially hard to liberate, and the
world has drawn too much happiness, as sweet and
pure as mortals know, from the domestic relations
as they now exist, and have existed time out of
memory, to change them on a h Isty summons. lu
discussing the Anti-Slavery men; as formerly hold
ing a place not unlike that now held by these leaders,
the Nation says it was society that was violent,
not they; society being excited, as they assailed
property and seemed to assail the Union itself
These Anti-Slavery men did utter violent things
but that had little to do with their slims-; indeed
this would be like ascribing the success of a storm-
ing party to the profane language used by the men
in the advance, who often swear fearfully in mount-
ing a brea,Th. The Sew York Cit izen is downright
savage in discussing "The Will Women," an.i we
cannot help thinking the editor was describing his
own experience with the "gaunt, sallow, and bony"
girl in the incident he relates. It was in a sleeping
car attached to the New York and Washington
night train that a lone and unarmed gentleman had
purchased the exclusive right to a state room. When
seeking repose for the night upon his eminently
virtuous couch and strictly modest pillow, his pri-
vacy was invaded by the gaunt, sallow, and bony
wild woman, whom the Citizen describes as dread-
ful to look upon and terrible to meet in such a seclu-
sion. She seated herself, and with a contemptuous
sniff announced her intention of remaining, scoffing,
as her answer that the room belonged to him,
or at anything belonging of right to a merely mas-
culine person. An allusion to his outraged mo
desty was laughed to scorn as his weak and con-
ventional scruples. After the unhappy man had
defiantly gone to bed, the wild woman climbed
to the dizzy height aloft, leaving her victim to a
long night of agony. At every uneasy movement
of the fiend above, he shuddered lest she should de-
scend, and denounce him as he lay helpless at her
feet. Nor did he feel at ease till he heard the wild
snore of the reckless invader of his rights ; and
when the train halted at dawn he escaped in a
tremor from his suspense. This is what the Citizen
calls the "Wild Woman on the -War Path," de-
claring it to he only the beginning of a course of
similar outrages against single men ; indeed, it
proclaims the imminent danger of the male sex.
We regret the adoption of a course by the injudi-
cious, who, in all reform movements, are sure to
rush into an extravagance, which reacts injuriously
not only on themselves, but on those who have no
part nor lot in their proceedings. No fair intelli-
gent man denies the right of a woman to have every
walk of life open to her, for which she can qualify
herself to get her bread, nor her right to use the
money thus earned, or that inherited, as she chooses.
So far the agitation has been, or must be, success-
ful; and women will then soon make and keep the
places for which they are best fitted. In Philadel-
phia a party of thirty lady medical students, of the
Woman's College, was invited by the managers of
the Pennsylvania Hospital to attend the usual
clinical lectures on the Gth instant. Both within
and without the hospital women were subjected to
the impudent insults and hissings of the medical
students who gathered there. This is the way to
bring society to the aid of the 'Woman's Rights'
movement, as these students will soon find. But
even a better way is that taken by Gen. SPINNER,
who has sent sixteen women clerks from the Trea-
sury Department at Washington to New York to
count the money in Gen. BUTTERFIELD'S office ere
transferring it from that gentleman to his succes-
sor, Mr. CHARLES J. FOLGER. These women have
been selected because they are experts in counting
notes and coin, therefore in employing them the busi-
ness will be expedited. Such a fact weighs more than
any amount of talk with the public, who will de-
mand, if women excel in such work, that they should
be paid in proportion and be freely employed. But
women can do such work to the benefit of the com-
munity and still preserve the domestic relations now
existing, though the proceedings at New York may
lead many of both sexes to doubt what would other-
wise be a self-evident fact. Few women will aid a
movement conducted as the present leaders of the
agitation in New York appear inclined to conduc',
the business, and they may aerefot e do real harm,
not only by diverting attention from the hue points
at issue, but by shocking and outraging society.
A 11910-American Times.

BRF.AKFAST.-. EPPS'S COCOA.- GRATEFUL AND COM-

FORTING.—Thu very agreeable character of this prepara-
tion has rendered it a general favourite. The Screke
Gazette remarks • —" The singular success which Mr. Epps
attained by his• Itemo3opathic preparation of cocoa has
never been surpassed by any experimentalist. By a
thorough knowledge of the natural laws which govern the
operations of digestion and nutrition, cud by a careful ap-
plication of the tine properties of well selected cocoa, Mr.
Epps has provided our breakfast tables with a delicately
flavoured beverage which may save us many heavy doc-
tors' bills." Made simply with boiling water or milk.
Sold only in tin-lined packets, labelled JAMES Efts and
Co., tioniceopathic Chemists: London.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

A NEW STEERING APPARATUS.

The trial on board the Achilles of Rear-Admiral
Inglefield's new steering apparatus has proved satis-
factory. The Admiral has been more than five years
at work upon this new invention, and, like all other
innovators, has had much opposition to contend with.
His new steering wheel is a very small affair, and. is
placed in the pitot-house of the bridge. This wheel
acts upon a rod, which, moving up and down
through five inches, changes the direction of the
action of the water-engine, which lies upon the keel
of the vessel, and is set in motion by the hydrostatic
pressure of the water outside the bottom of the
ship. By a well known law this pressure is
greatly increased in power, and is communicated
by means of two pipes to two cylinders, arranged
ro hydraulic presses on either side of the tiller,
at a distance of four feet from the rudder head.
The apparatus thus dispenses with the necessity for a
15-foot tiller, the fathoms of rope, the large steering
wheel, and the assistance of the many men who are
now required to get the helm over to its fullest angle
when going at full speed, and who often fail in doing
so. Admiral Inglefield's invention can be worked
easily by one man or a boy. On board the Achilles
the helm was put down with the utmost rapidity
and ease, whilst the vessel was going at her greatest
pace.

movement; and if falkinte-d-thit-they have' Mtn In
their adhesion to it ; so that Sanguine people are
lookino• for a "United Protestant Church" in
Ireland..