The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-01-24
SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN.

Behalf of the American Equal Rights
Association to the Legislature OF the
State Of New York.
ALBANY, January 23.-This afternoon the
kAssembly Chamber was crowded with ladies aud
Gentlemen of the JHdiCiary:-I appear before
gentlemen, to hear Mrs StantOu's and Miss An
thongs appeal to the Judiciary Committee of the
Senate and Assembly. Mrs. Stanton read her
address in a clear and effective tone, and many
passages were applauded. The folio wing are the
ain portions of Mrs. Stanton's address:-
you at this time TO urge on you the Justice of
securing to all the people of the State the right
o vote for delegates to the coming Censtitu-
tiOnal Convention The discussion of this right
involves the consideration of the whole ques.
tlon OF suffrage, and especially those sections of
s Your Constitution which inteTpose iusurmount-
able qualifications to its exercise. As repre-
sentativee of the people, your right to regulate
all that pertains to the coming Constitutional
Convention is absolute. 1t is for you to say
when and where this Convention shall be
held, how many delegates shall be
chosen, and what classes shall be re-
presented. This is your right The actions
OF the Legisiatureslof 1901 and 1921 furnish
you precedent for extending to disiranch1sed
classes the right to vote for delegates TO Con-
q suLutiOnal Convention. Before those Conven-
ktions were called the right of suffrage was re-
stricted to every male inhabitant who possessed
& freehold to the value of t2O, or rented tene
ment at the yearly value of 40 shillings and had
been rated and actually paid taxes to the State;
a and yet the Legislatures of those years passed
Il laws setting aside all property limitations, and
and poor, should vote for delegates to said Con-
ventions. See Session Laws of 1901 page
100, chapter SO, section 2; also, those
6. The Constitutional Convention Of
Rhode Island in 1912 affords another precedent
of the power Of the Legislature TO extend the
suffrage to DISTINGUISHED classes. The disiran-
chisement OF any class of citizens Is in express
81 violation OF the spirit of our own Constitution,
which says, Article |, section l:-"No member
of this State shall be disfranchised or deprived
Nt flnp ricItu
4 citizen thereof, unless by the law Of the land
and the Judgment OF his peers" Now women,
and negroes not worth $3.50, however weak
and Insignificant, are surely members of the
Staten THE law of. the land" is equality.
The question of disfranChsement has never
been submitted to the judgment of their
peers. A peer is an equal. The "Whte
4 male ci,izenn who so pompousy parades him
self IN all our codes and constitutions does not
recognize women and negroes AS his equals,
therefore his Judgment in their case amounts to
nothing; and women and negroes, constituting
three-htths OF the people OF the State do not
- recognize this ''white male minority their
" rightiul rulers. On our republican theory that
81 the majority governs, women ana negroes must
# have voice in the Government of the State;
H and being taxed should be represented.k kWhi.e
males" are the nobility OF this country. They
i are the privileged order, who have legisated as
nniustly for women and negroes as have the
mobiles of England for their disfranchsed classes.
The existence of the English House OF Commons
is strong TACT to prove that one class cannot
# legislate for another. Perhaps it may be neCes-
sary IN this transition period of our civilization
Il to create a Lower House Tor women and
negroes lest the dreadful example OF Massa-
chusetts should be repeated here, and
black men take their places be ide our Dutch
NOBILITY IN the councils OF the State. If the his
tory OF England has proved that white men of
different grades cannot legislate with justice
" for one another, how can you, honorable gen.
n tlemen, legislate for women and negroes, whom,
II bY your customs, Creeds and codes, and common
r consent, are placed under the ban ofinferiorlty
If you dislike this view OF the case, and claim
that woman Is your suPerlor, ana therefore you
place her above all troublesome legislation, to
shield her by your protecting care from the
n rough winds of life have simply to say your
Il statute books are sad commentary on this
position. Your laws degrade, rather than free
your system of taxation ls alike ungenerous and
unjust. In demanding suffrage for the black
~ man OF the South, the dominant party reCOg
nizes the fact that, as freedman, he is ne
longer part OF the family therefore his master
is no longer his representative; and as he will
now be liable to taxation, he must also have re
III presentation. Woman, on the contrary, has
never been such q part of the family as tC
escape taxation. Although there has been NJ
n formal proclamation giving her an indivi0ua
existence unmarried women have ALWAYS haC
the right to property and wages, to make con
~ tracts, and to DO business IN their own name
And even married women, by recent Legislation
in this State, have been secured in some civi
rights; at least as well secured as those classe
can be who do not hold the ballot in their owl
hands. Woman now holds a vast amount o
- property In the country, and pays her iull pro
portion Of taxes, revenue included; on wha
principle, then, do you deny her represents
lion? Ii you say women are "virtuall
~ represented" by the men of their house
hold, / give you Senator Summers denial il
his great speech on Equal Rights in tn
ThIIty ninth Congress. Quoting from Jane
- Otis, he says:-"No such phrase vlrtua
representation was known in law or constitu
ton. 1t is altogether a subtlety and Illusion
wholly unfounded and absurd. We must not b
cheated by any such phantom or any othe
fiction of law or politics, or any monkish trio
of deceit or hypocrisy In regard to taXatio
without representation, Lord Coke says:-"Th
supreme power cannot take from any man an
mart of his property without his consent i
person or by representation. Taxes are not
be laid eli the people tare not women and N
proes people? y without their consent in peTsO
or by representation. The very act of taxin
those who are not represented appears to me
deprive them OF one OF their most essentii
rights as freemeD, ana If continued seems to b
in effect an entire distranchsement of ever
civil right For what one civil right Ia worth
rush after mans property is subject to
taken from him without his consent" In vie
OF such opinions, s II too much TO ask the men
New York either to entranchise women or wealt
and education, or else release them from tax
ton? If we cannot be represented as individua
we should not be taxed as individuals If I'll
s'white male" Will do all the voting let him pay
M the taxes. There is no logic so powerful
opening the eyes otmen to their real interes
as a direct appeal TO their pockets. such
release from taxation can be supported, too,
your own Constitution. In article z, section
Won saw ''And no person OF color shall be su
iect to direct taxation unless he shall be selz
and possessed of such real estate as aloresale
referring to the $3.50 qualification: NOW, po
widow who owns lot worth 500 or less
taxed Why this partiality to the black ma
He may live in the quiet possession OF d
worth of property. and not be taxed cent.