The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1867-03-22
sWoMAHis RIGHT TO VOTE,
Lucy STONES ARGuMENT BEFORE tn
NEW JERSEY LEGTsI. ATI-RE

: men and negroes. A portion Of what she
j said was as follows:
We ask you to submit to The people O
NeWsJersey and amendment TO the Con.
2 stltuiion OF the State. striking out the
, words ''Rbile male from article g, sec.
5tion 1 . thus enfranchising the women
e and colored men who jointly constitute q
q majority of our adult citizens. You viii
d Thereby establish q republican form oil
government. New jersey. in her State
Constitution, in The very first section OF
4 the first article. tffirms that, SAIL men
I'are by nalute free aud independents, and
have certain natural and iuslieBabls rights
among which are enjoying and defending
.lite and libsEtys acquiring. possessing.
and projecting property, and pursuing
obtsining safety and bappiness.'' Again,
1sArtio!e 2. "All political power is inner
ent la9the people. Government is insti-
tuted for the protection aud benefit Of
the people AID they have the right, at all
times, to alter, or reform the same when
ever the public good may require it.
kGentlemen will see it is no new claim we
are making. We only ask for the frac-
uonal application Of admitted, selEeVident
truths. If all political power is inherent
IN the people, then why have We, who are
more than half the entire population Of the
State, no political existence?
I III Holland women who are property.
holders vote. Ia Sweden they do The
same But We have an example nearer
/ home. In New Jersey women and ne.
i groes voted from 1875 10 1907, a period
of 81 years. The facts are as follows.
In 1909, Provincial law confined the
/ privilege of voting to I'm lle freshol-
ders having 100 acres of land In their
own right, or ESQ current money of the
province in real and personal estate, and
during the whole of the Colonial period
these qualifications cotinued unchanged.
But on the Cd of July, I776-two days
before the Declaration Of Independence
the Provincial Congress of New Jersey,
at Burlington, adopted a Constitution,
which remained in force until 1874, of
which section four is as follows. "QaaI-
! ihcatioUs of electors for members of Leg.
islaturCs. All inhabitants Of this COLONY of
full age, who are worth ESQ Proclama.
ton money, clear estate, in the came, and
have resided Nslhin the county, in which
j they claim vote, for I2 months imme-
diatel y preceding the election, shall be
entitled to vote for representatives in
Council and Assembly, and also for all
other public officers that shall be elected
by the people Ofihe county at large. Sec.
Z provides that the Council! and Assem-.
bly, jointly shall elect some fit person aOitA
an the Colony. TO be Governor" This
/ Constitution remained in force until 1914
Thus by deliberate change of the terms
''male treebOldr," to ''all inhabitants
sutfrage and ability to hold the highest
office IN the State, were conferred both on
women and negroes. La 1890 a commit.
| tee of the Legislature reported a bill reg.
| ulating elections, in which the words he
or SIZE are applied to voters, thus giving
legislative Endorsement to the alleged
meaning of the Constitution. In 1897
the Legislature passed an act to regulate
elections, containing the following provi-
sions:
SEC 8. EVERY voter shall openly
aud in full view deliver his or her ballot,
which shall be single written ticket
containing the names Of the person, or
persons, tor whom he or she notes." etc.
SEC. II. All free Inhabitants of full
age who are worth ESQ Proclamation
money, and have resided within the coun-
~ in which they claim a vote for IL
months Immediately preceding the cleo
ton, shall be entitled to vote for all pub
lie officers which shall beelected by virtue
of this act, and no person shall be entiti-
ed to vote IN any other township or pre-
/ cinct than that ia which he or SIZE doth
actually reside at the time of The election.
Women voted. But no catastrophe,
social or political, ensued. Women did
not cease TO be womanly. They did not
neglect their domestic duties. Indeed the
whole character and exalted patriotism of
the women of New-Jersey all through the
Revolution has been the subject of his
iorical eulogy. The later immigrants in.
to New Jersey were far inferior to the
original Puritan and Quaker elements.
Under these circumstances universal suf-
frage was an anomaly. The Revolution
airy impulse subsidized, Society refrigerated :.
Slavery smothered the spirit of liberty
| 10 the Spring Of 1907 a special election
was held in Essex County to decide upon
the location of a courthouse and iail-
Newark and its vicinity struggling 70 re-
ain the County buildings, Eiz4bethtown
Z and it's ueighborhood striving to removed
them to ''Day's Hill" The question
excited much interest, as the value of ev
cry mans property was thought to be
involved. Not only was every legal voter,
man or woman, white or black, brought
out, but on both sides gross frauds were
practiced. The property qualification was
j generally disregarded; Aliens aud minors
participated, aud many persons ''Voted
early aud voted often. - 10 Acquacka!
monk Township, thoughtto contain abou;
J 500 legal voters, over 1900 votes were
polled, all but seven in the interest of
Newark. 1t does not appear that either
a0Onaer5 or negroes were more especially
implicated IN these frauds than the white
men. But the affair caused great scandal
and they seem to have beer made the scape-
, goats. When the Legislature assembled
they set aside the election as fraudulent,
yet Newark retained the buildings. Then
they passed an acf( Nov. IS 1907 restrict
ing the suffrage to white male, adult citi
/ gems residents in the county for The tw eIee
nonths proceeding and worth ESQ Proc.
lamation money. Bat they went on and
E provided that all such, whose names ap-
peared on the last duplicate Of State or
a county taxes, should be consi Tered worth