The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1867-01-12
The Corporal Punishment I
Girls.

uiIibs
DR.. Morrill, Wyman, of Cambridge
has been one Of the most active in de'
nouncing the recent case Of girl whip
ping in that city, and has published .
pamphlet setting forth the moral Eant
physical reasons why corporeal pun
ishment should not be inflicted upon
girls, with great clcarness and force
He says:
Why should not girls be treated as
boysy Because girls are not boys
Every parent having children of both
knows that they have moral char,
acteristics which at once distinguish,
them before they arrive at the school
age. They arc weaker in body and
more sensitive in feeling, and are more
occupied with the impression they
make upon others long before they
know its value. That delicate sense
of propriety which distinguish tn. wo-
man has already its germs in the girl.
They seem to know instinctively that
they cannot rely upon physical strength,
and as instinctively cling to others for
support and protection. They are gen
tie, docile, contiding and aifectlonate'
They exhibit these gcntler qualities at
home and in school in n thousand
ways they hasten so meet their teach
err as she approaches in the morning
they run by her side, they seize her
hand, and evince their affection by kiss
cs upon her cheeks and roses upon her
desk. The skillful and faithful teach
or takes advantage Of these qualities,
especially of their docility, and so
moulds them that corporal punishment
is not only unnecessary, but it is cruel
Physiologically she is different, and
to this | would most earnestly beg your
attention. Her blood corpucles are
smaller, her nervous system is Of more
delicate structure, her brain is lighter,
and her muscles smaller she is made
for auickness and vivacity, but not for
strength and endurance. The same rca'
sons which prevent her from sharing
the rougher games and plays OF boys
should protect her from suffering the
harsher punishments Of boys. She is
more sensitive to internal emotions and
external sensations and | assert, with
out fear of contradiction, that no ply
stefan can be safely trusted to advise
for the preservation Of health, or its
restoration, who disregards even in the
child the distinction of sex. The most
~,eventful period of her physiological
life is spent in schools. During this
period there is not unlrcquently mental
uneasiness, irritability and depression,
easily mistaken for petulance and de-
tlance by the unwise, andI greatly fear
has sometimes produced punishment
for that for which she is answerable to
her God alone,
With 4 rapidity Of development I'M
known in the other sex, she becomes a
woman, with all a woman's refined sen
sibilitics, hopes and fears. She now
instinctivcly knows that upon the good
impression she makes upon others is
based her hopes for the future. If her
physical organization is sensitive, her
spiritual nature is doubly sensitive, and
it is this which makes her what she is.
1t is vain to count the number and
weigh the severity Of the blows upon
her person, and note the hours that
elapse before their marks disappear.
Her spirit is wounded, she is disgraccd
and degraded; years may not etface the
consequences. 1t is this that stirs the
sensibilitics and brings down the ccn-
sure Of the greater part ofthe civilized
world, and from none is that censure
more severe than from cultivated VIC
men. Strike not q woman, even with q
feather, is the motto Of fertilization, and
it is in accordance with the spirit OF
Christianity also.