The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-11-06
THE WOMENS CONVENTION.
:" How vast q work

10 assam TINS gray pre-ohInoh00 va '
The New York Tribune contains full ac-
count of the late "Womens Rights ConVen-
ton y held at Worcester, Massachusetts IL
seems to have been largely attended and con-
Quoted with more than ordinary degree
deeorum and propriety. Its resolutions ad-
dresses, reports, and letters OF correspondents
are in general moderate in tone and language,
and characterized by directness and the good
Old Saxon elements of common sense and PLAIN
speaking The objects aimed at are calmly
and succinctly stated and the wrongs COM
planned of set forth without cant; extravaganza,
or Immature In short we find very little IN
the reported proceedings to justify the small
witticisms in which some of our brethren OF the
press have INDUCED in anticipation Of this some
what novel conyocation. Indeed, we very much
doubt whether a Convention of the editorial
fraternity would have passed off more credit
ably than this congress of women in respect to
some of those very traits of which a monopoly
is claimed by the masculine gender
The pith and point of the entire movement
is to be found in demand ON the part of the
Convention for themselves and their SEX of the
right of suffrage or equality before the law, as
embodied in the following resolution:
Resolved, That, while we would not under
value other methods, the right of suffrage for
" ordSff Is ID our opinion, the corner stone OF
this enterprise, since we do not seek to protect
Z;o2lan. but rather 70 place Der ip a condition
10 project herself 40 ga * ~. = ,'7fe7''t
Under the circumstances of the case, this
certainly looks like bold demand but it
would be difficult to show that it asks more
than is implied in the Democratic theory of our
Government Even under the old colonial sys-
TEN in one at least of the original States of
the Confederacy, women, who were freeholders,
on the acknowledged principle of the proper
connection of representation and taxation, en-
joycd the right of voting, and frequently exer-
csed it. We mention this fact to relieve the
apprehensions ofsome of contemporaries. There
seems, indeed, no very decided prospect of a
speedy realization of the object of the Women's
Rights Convention; but at any rate, it is con-
selling to think that this portentous conjunc-
ton of the ballot and the petticoat" might
take place without seriously disturbing the or
der of things or bringing down upon us the
reign of Chaos and Old Night" Come what
may, Nature is inexorable: she will reverse
none of her laws at the bidding of male or fe-
male Conventions; and men and women, with
or without the right of suffrage, will continue
| 1 II, tha of
the repeal of certain ungenerous, not to say I'M
manly, enactments, limiting and abridging the
rights and privileges Of women, we may safely
confde in the adaptive powers of Nature. She
will take care of the new fact in her own way,
and reconcile it to the old, through the opera
ton of her attractive or repellant forces. Let
us then, not be afraid to listen to the claims
and demands of those who, in some sort ut
least, represent the feelings and interests OF
those nearest and dearest to us. Let Oliver ask
for more 1t is scarcely consistent with our
assumed superiority to initiate the horror and
wide-orbed CONSERVATION of Mr.. Bundle and
his parochial associates, on similar occasion.
For the purpose of showing in a brief space
the extent of the claims and expectations Of
the Convention, we make the following extract
from well-written report on the subject OF
education:
9Let it suffice for this whole argument that
we do not claim for women parallelism, equali-
ty, or superiority of constitution or capacity tor
Office as against men, but we merely claim the
freedom of her proper life, whatever that may
prove to be upon fair trial We claim the
privilege and the opportunity for unfolding all
| her powers in the erudtions and with the helps
most favorable for the possibilities OF growth,
and the full play of all those hopes, incentives
and prospects, whose monopoly has developed
man into her master, and ensaved and de-
graded her in the proportion that they have
been withheld from her." J. G. w.
| New PUBLIcATIoNs-We are indebted to
Ticknor, Reed g. Fields for Bayard Taylor's
Book of Romances Lyrics, and Songs" and for
r. H. Stoddards new volume of poctry-the
latter containing the fine, imaginative poem of
"The Castle in the Air." happy and rich
specimen of aerial architecture, quaint delicate,
and voluptuous, such u the Bard of the Cas-
tie of Incidence" might have enjoyed in his
vision
"0f dreams that fit before the hafclosed eye,
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass
Forever flashing round a sunset sky"
Some of the minor poems are characterized
by peculiar delicacy of fancy and expression.
The following picture of a seaside scene, on u
moonlight night, is worthy of Tennyson:
| The yellow moon looks santly down
Through seward mists upon the town;
And, like mist the moonshine falls
Between the dim and shadowy walls.
| see crowd in every street,
But cannot hear their falling feet
They float like clouds through shade and light,
| And seem portion Of the night
! The ships have lain for ages fed
Along the waters, dark and dead
| The dying waters watch no more
| The long black line of spectral shore.
There is no life on land or sea,
Save in the quiet moon and me
Nor ours is true, but only seems,
Within some dead old world of Dreams
To Bayard Taylor's book we cannot now do
justice As one of the early appreciaters OF his
rare gifts, we feel an honest pride in his grow
ing reputation, which has already more than
redeemed the promise that his most sangune
friends made in his behalf on his first appear
ance as writer. There are poems in the
present volume which any American writer
might be proud to own. We call the attention
of the reader to aThc Fountain in Winter"
"The Pine Forest of Monterey" Sorrowful
Music" and "The Metempsychosis OF the
Pine" in support of our opinion. The ballad
of gMapuela - In full of picturesque beauty Of