The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-11

bO In6 uaGuTei 6naJ bne cnllu nAu taculble8 10
be exercised; that it needed scope for their
exercise; that to obtain such scope it must
have complete freedom-freedom coexten-
sive, and, consequently, rights coextensive,
with those OF the adult, In working out the
bearings of this principle Mr.. Spencer dealt
hard blows at the received doctrines OF pa
rental authority, rule, and care. He more
than implied that the best thing parents could
do for their children was to give them good
letting alone. This chapter has often occur
red to us IN connection with the reasonlngs
about women's rights It would seem at first
glance as If the extreme advocates OF the
rights of women to share and share alike
with men, in the business affairs of So
ciety, were carrying out Mr. Spenoers doc
trine in good earnest The children are to
have good letting alone. The law of liberty
may be trusted to look after their develop
ment. The principal right being the right to
freedom of growth according to the natural
bent of their dispositions the new order of
things will meet this requirement exactly.
The parents being both out of the way, the
little individuals" will be allowed to grow in
grace undisturbed. A deeper glance at MIR.
Spencer's pages, however, discloses the fact
that he does not propose to dispense alto
gether with parental supervision but only
with certain old-fashioned, coarse, and unin-
telligent forms Of it. He says to the parents,
'Hands off, but he adds, instead of hands,
hearts. In q word, he vastly increases the
responsibilities of mothers and fathers by
insisting that their influence shall be more
subtle and pervasive, and that, to this end,
their care shall be more steady, more con-
slant, more intelligent, and tender. That to
this end again, their characters must be of
finer mould, their culture more perfect, their
manners more gracious; all of which is dis
afi,,r 10 &c CO. Itch 10Th
that they are at last justified by stern philoso-
ply in negecting their children.
What will the extreme advocates of the
rights of women say to this? We are aware
that before now critics have raised the objec-
ton that the new reforms would, if carried
into effect, result in the neglect of children,
in their consequent untidiness, unrJliness,
wilfulness, and ignorance; further on, in
their viciousnesS and general Generalization;
and, ultimately, in the defeat of civilization
and the blighting of mankind. We are aware,
too, of the reply which has been made to such
apprehensions, namely, that they are ground
less that the proper care Of children does
not occupy all the time: that when other
duties are done, there is room for those of
the nursery; that women have brought up
large families of children, and brought them
up well, Gin the intervals of business they
themselves being physicians, or teachers OF
artists, writer's of books, editors of papers, or
tenders in shops; that, in fact. the mental
freshening they got in this way was a help
| rather than a hindrance to the faithful
performance Of their domestic duties To
these arguments there are several things to
reply, which, to say fully, our space forbids
We may be permitted to entertain a doubt
respecting the truth of the last assertion, if
laid down as rule. We take the liberty to
in 4c fba tbot
cedes it, having seen something of the
households and of the children belonging to
these discursive and enterprising mothers
and seldom envying or desiring the same
We could very properly urge the old saying
that, being exceptions, the women who
achieve such feats III administration at home
and abroad prove the incapacity of women in
general to do the same thing. Distinguished
ability furnishes no rule for average, far less
for under-average, ability. A reform like
the one projected duplicates all women
and all children, as much those who want to
get rid of their offspring as those who wan
to nurture their offspring; the careless as
much as the thoughtful, the faithless as much
as the faithful, the incompetent as much as
the competent, the vast multitude who neeG
to be kept at home and held to their duty by
every possible argument and inducement, as
much as the exceedingly small number who
have faculty and spirit to spare for outside
pursuits. Societyis interested in the mass Of
experiences, not in few special experiments
The special experiments may succeed per
fectly, to the satisfaction of the most captioui
| critics, without at all affecting our judgment
on the main case For all that appears thus
| far, that sjudgment reads adversely to the
belief that the rights of women, as interpreted
by the ReoOlutioR, for instance, are compati
bic with the rights of children to life, liberty
an& the pursuit of happiness