The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-11-16
60 UAL GIT S.
Woman as an Northumberland Ora
tors On the stump-Meeting at the
Brooklyn Academy Of Music
Speeches of Mrs. Celia Bur-
leigh, Mrs. Lucy Stone and
Henry Ward Esocher.

Ing Eeld meeting in the Academy OF Music which
was respectfully attended though ths number
OF beauties could by no means compare win the
determined throng OF middle aged ladies' whose
aight In youth must have been much impaired as the
majority were adorned with spectacles But the
Academy was nevertheless comfortably filed and
the meeting was conducted harmonlousy through
out The stage was occupied by a few OF the lights
OF the cause, who smiled benignantly on the large
cOncourse Of their sympatnlzers The meeting was
called to order eight O'Clock, the Rev. A. b. Put
nam presiding In opening the proceedings ne briefly
adverted to the cause which they had assembled to
advocate. lie then introduced to the audience
Mrs. CELIA Bu.LEiGH, vino, on coming forward,
was warmly received. She remarked that 1t was
often said that no two persons looking at any object
precisely The same objecE. That principle held
In the world OF thought no less than IN the world
Of matter, and the subject OF womens rights,
winch they had come together to consider, no doubt
presented Itself to every mind with important
differences OF aspect There was no escaping our
idiosyncrasles; each was the prisoner or his own
personality. Not only did those individual differ
ences exist, but every age had It's ideal woman;
every country IT'S standard OF wOmanly excellence.
Penelope aud her loom long since went out OF fash
ien ana the sorceresses and herelcs OF the past had
become the heroines and patron saints OF the present
Between the fatty substance that constituted the
ideal woman of the Ceie thai empire and the finely
organized, highly cultivated woman demanded by
our own civilization, there was certainly great
..nge but IN our times, with all the light that
had been brought to bear upon the subject the term
woman stood for an unknown quantity. To define
woman's sphere had proved the despair OF phoso-
piers, ana to judge by their conflicting theories
concerning her. the most cratic OF the comets has
more easily an orbit. While they might not
fully endorse the vigorous utterance of a
contemporary that men, from the first day
OF the creation until now, had been hell-hent
on coniscating women to their uses, IL was stiIi
o fact worth noticing that while tne world had
gone forward, outgrowing and casting aside one
alter another OF It's early traditions to this OF
mans ownership oil women 1t had chung with won
derlll tenacity. The instances OF women who had
commanded place Tor themselves IN the worlds
great army OI pupic beueiactoTs were extremely
rare, and those had not been the legitimate out
growth OF the times that produced them. There had
been women WHO were great, not because oi the In
sututiOns OF society, but In spite OF tnem-ap-
plause)-Wonlen VINO were endowed with convIc-
tons intense, an fndlYiduaIstn so pronounced
that conventionahtleS bent before them like reeds
before an on-rusning torrent, and WHO, in the alb
sorbing interest IN the work they had undertaken,
quite forgot, and what was better, made others Tor
get to ask whether they were In or out Of their
sphere. tAppause.) Alter datng at some lengln
upon the sphere OF woman, showing That
tie interests OF and women were identical
Bhe conielded that the present reform was not
women against society Ii was grand uprising OF
the thinkers OF the whole civilized world IN the in
terest OF indiyidual freedom. 70 her mind the great
need Of the present time. and OF all time was lnd,
vidHas, clearly defined. sci centred men and
women women especially. She he'd that every
human soni was an enpoued thought OF the divine
mind. and was meant to stand Tor a distinct fact;
tnat It was toe province OF civilization TO develop
the inarticulate masses INTO clearly defined fndi-
vduaies, aud that the object OF government shoald
be the securing To every human soul the right TO
make good the faculties OF ltseu. She contenued
could
nor true manhood till there was room FOR
large individual growth. IL had been the mus:
take OF manhood Il all ages to regard
government as end rather than a means; to
ignore the fact that humanity was progressive; that
She institutions OF one century were no more suited
to the needs OF the next than the garments OF the
chiid we're suited TO the man. tApplause) That
woman up to the present time MAD held a subordl-
nate position did not prove that such was the divine
ORDER concerning her. AS humanity was progress
sive its institutions should be plastic. capable OF
adjustment to us constantly developing needs, and
the fact should never be lost SIGHT OF that institu
lions were for the ,rdivduaI-not the individual tor
the Institutions In referring 10 the woman question
the speaker observed that women themselves
were fuli OF unrest and discontent eagerly
demanding a more thorough culture ana
wiaer range OF actlvilles. There unmistakaDle
signs that there was something wrong IN the exist
ing institutions, and that crying "reace peace,"
would not avail III the wrong was rghted. Her
interest in suffrage Tor women hinged upon the fact
tnat she saw IL 1t tic promise that sue would one
day belong to herself. 1--we her own life and think
her own thoughts. The speaker then proceeded TO
review tie coalition OF WOMAN, and earnestly
peadence; that when she ealped her own bread She
had right 10 think her own thoughts ana i've her
own LIE. sue adyerted TO tue laaoeace whoa
women ought Ia exercise. puG showed that she
could not properly exercise Ii while under tue
troll OF another. After dilating upon the
good results mat might arise from woman
suffrage tie SPEAKER proceeded To state taat
women wanted such pubic opinion aud such lerts-
laGIon as would secure both men aud women against
being lost that Will leave to every penit0nt all gates
ajar that opened To better lie; that would extend
the hand OF welcome 10 every pr0digal aud be more
ing the past. Sucn legislation women could not nave
wnile che laws were made and administered solely
by meanwhile one-haii OF humanity, and that the
caretaking, the mercy loving, the consolalon-gy-
ing, were excuoed from It's deliberations. Legislation
could not be truly Denelcent TIL IL emooded uan's
thoughts and woman 70 anecuou, mans energy and
Woinan's tenderness, mans executive aDlity and
woman's perception OF tie thing tnat ought to be
done TIL representative or the whole humanity
aud all-enbracin9 as the divine love. Were women
then, TO foid tneD hands and wait Tor those better
condtlonsg Must men declare their equality and M
vest them with the rights OF citizenship Woud they
sit passive? Gould they DO n2lhlng Tor themselves
and Tor hnnanity2 she believed far otherwise. 1t
would be ray III the history OF woman wnen she
aspifed 10 ita BEST gifts.
AIRS Lucy stone after referring to the quetude
and matter OF course spirit WIN winch women &C
copied tue domination Of man. said that when The
time came wien their equality OF rl-his was ae-
knOwledged, tnen the family OF man and woman
would pe but q ltuc lower than the angels. she
wished however, to speak uoon the reasons that
women had TO clalm the suffrage. There were
great many women VINO SAID mat they had not the
least desire to vote UNIT recently sne had not be-
lieved that THIS feeling was SO general 1t Is
among women-tliat lt was possible that she
could SHOW that indifference TO the making
OF laws that she was called upon to obey. Was
II possible TO suppose that young girl, sixteen
years OF age, standing where the two ways OF life
met, with Il human life before her. would be content
10 know that all the purposes OF her lie, her rights
and her duties should be controlled and she not
have word to say about ty Little by little had she
Mrs Stonc) come to think that this Indifference did
exist Three weeks ago, at u meeting IN Delaware
which she addressed on this subject there was IN
the audience woman who had earned five hun
dred dollars by her own savings, ana she had placed
II In bank ana had hidden the bank book from her
bad and drunken husband; she hao put aewn IN her
room n new carpet which she had pu rchased irofu
the same earnings. One night she came home TO
husband ana the bank book discovered and stolen,
BY the interference OF friends The payment OF the
money by the bank was stopped, and by her own
earnings she redeemed the carpet. Yet that woman
had no rights in those earnings Then there was an
Impression that the women were well protected and
looked after by the men. Had they not the inside Of
the sidewalk, the seat In the always given them