The national Republican., 1867-09-21

bNeu neF boA WUufu tohfh " EtltCt tuObo ittio
oourtesiss which men accord to women in the
place Of the rights which he withholds--sueh as
seats IN crowded street cars and other public
convsyances. Those kindnesses, however well
intended, should be oourteously declined.
Women do not really desire exemption on 40
count Of her sex from those little hsrdships and
then be placed on an unequal footing In the
the early life Of Clara Barton, when, by refusing
TO undsrssll her sex in q single instance. she
caused the wages OF woman school.teachers
throughout whole county In Pennsylvanis 70
be raised equal 10 mans.
Woman suffrage, universal education, and
complete equality In oitiEenship are tho only
safeguards Of democratic Institutions; and, as
one Of our statesmen has remarked "No indi-
vidual, no people can afford to be unjust"
Throughout the land It should be sounded and
re.echoed that, "taxation without representa-
tion is tyranny" for there 10 as much need Of
It's utterance to-day as whom James Otis thun-
dered II forth In Old Faneuil Hall Women are
about 10 inaugurato q now revolution, another
war Of Independence; but her weapon would be
reason and not the sword. Their appeal was 10
the honor, the justice, the love Of man. When
tho scales shall fall from his eyes and he shall be-
hold the high destiny which awaits woman on.
franohised thoy will no longer desire that wives,
sisters and daughters shall occupy tho position
Of slaves. Was this too strong term Frank
lin tells US They who have no voice nor vote
In the electing Of representatives, do not enjoy
liberty, but are absolutely enslaved to those who
have votes, and TO their representatives; for to
be enslaved is to have governors whom others
have set over US, and 10 DO subject TO laws made
BY tho representatives Of others, without having
had representatives Of our own to give consent
In our behalf.n
AT tho conclusion Of the remarks Of Mrs.
Holmes, the Chair called on Mrs. McNall, who
addressed the meeting as follows:
Mr.. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Ny
remarks on this occasion will, doubtless, be do.
sultory, mot because have not thought sufi-
ciently upon this subject, but because until re-
Gently our political horizon has been 30 dark
ened, and though so fettsred that We have only
been able to see through the opening vista q
little CLEAN Of light. And now, when there
seems to be not only possibility, probability,
but moral certainty that the fetters which
have enthralled woman from tho creation down
to the last half Of the nineteenth century shall
be snapped assunder and pass away among the
things that were, I find such tumult OF thought
come rushing on my mind-so many things to
say-so many arguments to deduce-that, as
though my own mind had been but recently dis
enthralled, feel an impulsion to speak to them
all at once, I wish the whole world to think
and feel rs I think and feel on this subject. I
wish them but for ono moment to survey tho
ground and sec, as see, the glorious dawn Of
new era for the world-a moral, social and polit-
ioal rsvolution-not that which shall put man
down, but which shall elevate him to the true
stature Of his manhood, when he shall see In
woman, not dead clog, to DO the companion Of
his life journey, but living, thinking, responsi.
BILE human intelligence, acting her part in the
great drama Of life as though she had soul to
save, and dared to be responsible only to God
for its salvation. When the young man In our
- d.i!k A..
ask himself the question whether ho can afford
to marry, and whether he Is willing to take
upon himself that bond, shall feel that his in.
terest In this life and the life to come depends
upon his alliance with q pure-thinking, right
minded woman. When she shall be to him an
to laudable ambition, to all that Is
truly ennobling and refining q companion in the
true sense Of the term who shall assist him to bear
the burden Of life, instead Of becoming pander
to vice and immortality. -
We have long enough paid q premium for
whitened sepulohres that have contained but
dead mons bones and purifying flesh. We wish
now to return to first principles, but with these
principles leavensd with the moral leaven Of Q
new idea, which shall work such a chemical
change in the whole mass as shall rsvivify,
purify, and sanctify our social system.
Give woman ballot, and you give her power
TO protect her weakness-aye, you change that
weakness into strength you transform her
from O mere passive existence to a responsible,
reasoning intelligence-you recognise her iden.
tity as a member Of the human family-you
place In her own hands her destiny for this life,
which we are hastening
Give to woman ballot and you aim death
blow at idleness, ignorance, intemperance, lioen-
tiousness, and political corruption. She at once
becomes power In the world. She has some
thing to strive for, to labor for, to hope for.
Then she may work as we'll as pray. She Is rec.
ognired as one Of the rightful inheritors of the
earth. II now she may win love, then she may
command respect.
She has assumed q woighty and important re.
sponsib!lity. Responsibility calls forth effort.
Effort creates power. Power properly directed
can work only for good The innate tendencies,
the aspirations, the impulses Of woman are for
good. When have responsibilities been thrust
upon her that she has proved herself incompe.
commanded armies, but we ask for her now only
voice In the formation Of those laws which
guard and protect her person and her property
and her children. We ask only the right which
God must have intended when he gave to her
reasoning faculties. Why should the nero acci.
dent Of birth give to tho son what 1t denies to
the daughter Of the same parentage.
Give to woman q ballot and, Phoenix like,
from the ashes Of the past she will rise to an en-
lightened and otherialized existence. 1t will
leave broad way mark on the highway Of lifei
1t will shove onward the car Of human progress
In q manner which shall do credit to tho latter
half Of the nineteenth century.
No person need hold his breath or pause In
amaEement lest this power granted to woman
shall be abused, for argument Is at an end when
the untutored peasantry Of all Europe and tho
Ethiopians Of Africa can WELD power denied
to natiye-born American citizens. Only the
force Of narrow prejudice, long established,
dwarfng and singing the human mind, warping
and lettering freedom Of thought, would longer
withhold that which Is as much an inAlienable
right as life, liberty and the pursuit Of happi.
moss.
hear men say-but II Is only a subtorfuge, a
last resort, for want Of argument-that the
ballot will unsex woman-will introduce an an
tagonistic element that will disorganize society;
that II will unfit her for domestic life On the
other hand, II will render all that is desirable,
all that Is pure and holy in woman, more
womanly. It will be like oil on the troubled
waters. 1t will cement and harmonic and ele.
vate society. Liberty and justice are attributes
Of God. No man or woman need be afraid Of q
principle correct in its inoipiency and approved
Of Heaven. Means are with us-rssults with
God. We are to SOW the seed God gives the
increase. Expedienoy, with individuals as with
nations, without sound principle, must ever be
failure "Truth crushed to earth" 30.
Mr.. Jolly being called for, said he was not
prepared to make any extended remarks, but he