Star.
London, England, 1819-08-21 00:00:00

FEMALE REFORMERS.

PROM THE LITERARY CHROYICLE.

.......
6 r aA remarkable feature of the present times k—that
• women have commenced reformers, formed them-
selves -into societies, and discovered a spirit in the
Anse, which is quite new to us. History, ancient
end auodern, has recorded many instances, where. in,
..resitful times, the women have interfered, and not
-urtfrequently• in this country. Hollinshed, in his
rehronicles of Scotland,. relates, that during the time
that Lucius Antinous commanded ire R(lnans iri
Britain, he sent for fresh succours to Rome, stating
that " the enemies were never more cruel and fierce,
not only the men, but also the women, who cared not
for the loss of their own lives, so that they might
die revenged ;" and in several of the combats which
the Britons had with the Romans, the women who
were advanced in years, accompanied the men to
the field, encouraging' them to fight valiantly, and
often assailed the enemy with stones on their ap-
proach, while the younger ones fought in the ranks.
with the men.

The same faithful historian relates, that " Voida
assembled a mighty host of the Britons, amongst
whom were five thousand women, wholly bent to
revenge the villainies done to their persons, by the
Romans, or to die in the paine."
The exertions of the women of those days were in
a nobler cause—that of defending their country
against powerful invaders; but, we cannot see any
thing to 'admire in the conduct of the female rerun.
mers of the present day. We shall, however, pro-
ceed to .nptice a former period, in which the women
overstepped the modesty of nature—a time when the
country was distracted by internal divisions, which
soon overturned the government.
During the reign of Charles I. when petitionkirom
porters and apprentices were presented, and even from
the beggars, the women were not idle ; in 161-2,
'headed by a brewer's wife, they presented a petition
to the House of Commons, and in 1643, as our his-
torians inform us, two or three thousand women,
with white silk ribbons in their bats, proceeded to
the House of Commons, with a petition for' peace,
and having got it presented, the Commons returned
for answer, " That the House was no enemy tb peace,
and doubted not, in a short time, to ansv.er the ends
of their petition," desiring them to return to their
habitations ; but the women were not satisfied with
this answer, and remained about the House until
their numbers increased to about five thousand, seve-
ral men being among them .disguised in women's
clothes, who excited them to tumult. The trained
bands thinking to frighten them, fired with powder,
upon which the women cried out,." Nothing but
powder," and bagan to pelt them with stones and
brickbats, whereupon they fired with ball, and killed
a ballad singer and some others ; but this only en-
raged them the more, and they cried out the louder
" Give us these traitors that ate against peace, that
we may tear them in pieces: give us that dog Pym."
At last, a troop of horse arrived, and wounding se-
veral, dispersed them. Clarendon and Erhard say,
they were principally the wives of respectable inha-
bitants, but Rushworth, on whom we place more re-
liance, says, 'axe), were generally of the meaner sort.
During these troublesome times, the interference
of the
.yrospen in politics was not unfrequent, and
several petitions were presented by them to the House
of Commons, for redress of some particular grievance
under which the country appeared to them to labour.
As the existence of such documents is not generally
known, and few have seen them, we select one as a
specimen; it is a petition to the Commons during the,
Commonwealth, for the liberation of four persons,
at that time in prison ; it refers to a petition, which
had previously been presented, though we believe
not, exclusively, from the women. The Petition
which follows, appears to have been presented on
the sth of May,el649 :
“ TO THE SUPREME AUTHORITY OF ENGLAND,

THE COMMONS ASSEMBLED IN PARLIAMENT.

The Humble Petition of divers well-affected Women of
the Cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of
Southwark, Hamlets; and parts adjacent.-4ffecters and
approvers of the Petition e sept.-ii, 1648.

" Sunwrru—That since we are assured of our
creation in the image of GOD, and of an interest in
Christ, equal unto men, as also of a proportionable'
share in the freedoms of this Commonwealth, we
cannot but wonder and grieve, that we should ap-
pear so despicable in your eyes, as to be thought un-
worthy to petition your Honourable House.
" Have we not an equal interest with the men of
this nation, in those liberties and securities, contained
in the Petition of Right, and other the good laws of
the land! Are any of our lives, limbs, liberties, or
goods, to be taken from us more than from men, but
by due process of law, and conviction of twelve
sworn men of the neighbourhood?
" And can you imagine us to be so sotish or stupid,
as not to perceive, or not to be sensible, when dayly
those strong detentes of our peace and welfare are
broken down, and trod under foot by forCe and at.-
bitrary power?..
" Would you have us keep at home in our houses,
when men of such faithfulness and integrity as the
four prisoners, our friends in the Tower, are fetched
out df their beds and forced from their houses by
soldiers, to the affrightinz and undoing of themselves,