Litchfield enquirer., 1867-06-13

would not use 1t; either they would not re- l gister or they would vote as their male rel atives advised; and, as the advantages of the latter course would be shared equally by all classes, no harm would be done; but if the suffrage were concealed, an unwOr- thy stigma would be taken of the whole sex: the law would cease to declare that they were unfit for serious things, and to pronounce that their wishes and opinioIs were not worth attending to on things which concerned them equally with men, and on many which concerned them much more
 They could.not be classed with children,
 idiots. and lunatics, laughter, as persons incapable of taking care of themselves and others, and'who ought to have every thing done for them without their consent. D only one oconaan in len housand used Me suf- fiage, b be t2ec!a,'ed capable of using I ooouid be q Jo0a 10 eeely ac0man, and H ,oould imply dle e.einction of prejudicim inequalities He should like to carry this argument little farther. Rich people had a great deal of indirect influence, but was that reason for refusing them votes? Had any person verse way, or to disfranchise any person who paid e50O per annum as rent for his house, or e100 in direct taxes? Unless some such rule was proposed for the exclu- sion of the rich, he did not see why wo- men should be excluded from the franchise on the ground Of the influence they might exercise ill political matters. It was quite true that women possessed great power l 1t was upon their power that his case was partly founded; what he wanted was to make that power responsible power, and not allow 1t to remain, as 1t was now an in direct, and therefore, an Irresponsible pow ] CT He was anxious to interest woman 8 l conscience in the honest exercise of di- rect power, and to prevent her from re- garding political honor as mere means for personal qualification; he wanted her power to make itself felt by an honest and manly interchange of opinion, and not by cajolery. Laughter. Many women even now greatly influenced the political con- duct of their male relations, and sometimes by force of will they actual govern them, [cheers and laughter, although they were never supposed to have any thing to do with it. The man whom she influenced,
 and perhaps misled, Laughter was also responsible; her power was like the back ture was nobody, and referred all to the man of superior wisdom, and, as of course
 he would not give way to her if he ought not, she might work upon him through all his strongest feelings without mourning any responsibility. He demanded that all who exercised power should have the burden laid upon them of knowing something about the things which they had power over With the admitted right to voice would come sense of the corresponding duty
 A woman was not generally inferior in ten derness of conscience to a man. Make her a moral agent in matters of public conduct, insist upon her. exercising 8 political con- science, and when she has learned to un- derstand the transcendental importance of these things, she would see why it was wrong to sacrifice political convictions for personal interest and vanity-she would
 understand that political honesty was not 8 foolish personal crochet, which man was boand for the sake of his family, to give up, but serious duty, and the men whom she could influence would be better men in all public relations, and not as they often
 were at present, worse men by the whole effect of her influence But, at all events.
 1t would be said that women, as women,
 did not suffer any practical inconvenience by not being represented, that the inter- ests of all women were safe in the hands of their fathers, husbands and brothers, whose interest was the same as theirs, and who
 besides knowing much better than they did, what was good for them, cared a great deal more for them than they did for them selves. That was exactly what had been said of all other represented classes-the operatives for instances. Were they not all virtually represented through their en- ployers? Hear, hear. Were not the in terests of the employers and that of the employed, when properly understood, the same? To insinuate the contrary, was it not the terrible crime of setting class agalnst class? Hear, hear. Was not the farmer interested along with his laborer in the prosperity of agriculture? Had not the cotton manufacturer as great an inter- est in the high price of calicoes as his workmen? Was not the employer inter- ested as we'll as his men in the repeal of taxes? Had not the employer and employ ed common interest against outsiders, just as man and wife had against all out side the family? And were not all employ CTS kind, benevolent, charitable men, who loved their workpeople, and always knew and did what was most for their good? Ev- cry one of these assertions was exactly as true as the parallel assertion respecting men and women. They were not living in
 Arcadia but, as they had been lately re- minded, in .face Ronauli, and in that region
 workmen needed other protection than
 that of their masters, and women than that of the1r men. He should like to see re- turn laid before that Honse of the number off ponaen acho acere annually beaten, kicked or t'odde,a to deatb by thei' male protectors; he should like that account to contain in an opposite column return of the sen tences passed in those cases in which the dastardIy criminal did not get off altogeth- CT, and in third column a comparative view of the amount of property, the un- lawful taking of which had in the same session or assizes, by the same Judges,
 been thought worthy of the same degree of punishment. They would thus obtain an arithmetical estimate of the value set
 by male Legislature and male tribunals upon the murder of a woman by habitual torture often prolonged for years, which, if there be any shame in man, should make him hang his head. Cheers. Before it
 was contended that women did not suffer in their interests specially as women by not being represented, it must be consid-
 cred whether women as women had not
 their grievances, and whether that law and
 those practices which the law could reach,
 treated women in every respect as favora-
 ply as men. We'll, was that the case as to
 education, for example? It was continu- ally said that the education of mothers was the most important part of the education