Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-03-10
Woman Suffrage.

woman suffrage.
The women of Vermont at the present
time are in condition which brings
forcibly to mind an old story about the
plaintiff in IA case of assault and battery,
who, while his counsel was eloquently
setting forth to the jury the amount of
his alleged injuries, was observed to weep
profusely, and on being asked the reason
of this sudden access of sensibility, re-
piled that he did not know before he was
80 badly hurt We have been so stupid
as to fancy ourselves possessed,n not only OF
liberty, but of power, AZ ruling not only
in our own respectively individual do
main, the hearts of our father. brothers,
husbands and sons, but a. the representa-
tives to every man of his own mother,
sister, wife or daughter, enjoying sort
of royal right to such protection, care and
reverence as he might in any circum-
stance of necessity or convenience be able
TO affnrd But alas! Jealous missionaries
hav" Z, me among us to tell Va that our
high estate il delusion, that instead of
being IA whole sex of queens" as we had
supposed. we are wretched company of
"slaves." and that the sacred home, which
we had fancied had. in it's safe seclusion,
something Mt once of the dignity of the
palace. and the sanctity of the temple,
was only the gloomy prison of IA down.
| J : l,-ol-o,1 hnark.I lr,,l.ro A louf
for one sad experience OF the truth of the
line, "Where ignorance is bliss it's folly to
be wise"
Our ignorance is said to be the conse-
quence of our degradation, and with a
charming inconsistency and unreasonable
ness which show that all their efforts to
unsex themselves, have cleft them women
STILL" they illustrate the assertion by a
reference to the alleged contentment of
Southern boudmen, a contentment which,
ten years ago, they would have indig-
nantly and justly denounced as fiction
deyised by the slagehQlders, and proved to
be suoh by the necessity foT fugitive
slave law. But still ignorant, degraded
and wretohed rs we have just found out
that we are, we are Yankees, and it would
be we'll that we should exercise some of
the shrewdncss which is our birthright in
estimating the motives of our enlighten-
, ment and ordering our own conduct in the
new light with 4hi2h they have Temporal
riiy daazled us, some OF these ladies are
from Massachusetts, nearly all of them
have spoken there, and l believe that
among the speakers there was in this
place but one Vermont woman. Were
these ,ediag invited to this State by the
N 'ocd"niaB ory of th6iE qpgEess''@ listers,
or were they drawn here BY pure COM
passion for our misery2 1t has seemed to
me that Vermont women have come in for
more than their share of these missionary
efforts. Ia ii that becanss our mountains
are gree,, wp are supposed to be verdant
and therefore, at sub3eets ros experimental
WHY do not they revolutionize Massa-
chusetts first? Why don't they convert
the Hub, and then with great ease move
| &Ls regt of the Universe The real reason,
as it probably si.beista in their minds, is
not mplimentsry to the ~oa,AA If Yer
mont, but the alleged reaaon. ~ stated by
one of themselves, is glarinyly fHla". The
reason given for urging Vermont TO take
the iniGia.iye in the so-called emancipa-
ton of women, is that VIC na5c aare no
large ignorant foreign population, and
therefore it can be done with greater
safety than in some other States. Passing
over the fact, which it suits the ladies
whose fleet have lately been beautiful on
our Inoaatairs," to leave out of their cal
culations, that the geographical aItHatlQn
of Vermont exposes it to the continued in
fux of female immigration, compared to
which the Bridgets and Norahs, who,
under the new order of things, will throng
the voting places, are learned, and truth
f..., and disinterested, let ia simply re-
member thai ~ massachusetts, there is an
educational test by whioh 20 Porsp,l ean
vote on State or municipal affairs who
cannot write his name, or read a para
grsps. Gf the constitution. Would it not
be best to intrsd4c2 Woman Suffrage
there first? Massachusetts boasis o. hsv-
ing shed the first blood in two wars for
freedom; lot hsr have the precedence
again Let Vermont say TO her elder sis
ter 80 after you is Manners" and see what
these prophets can do in their own coun-
try. In the meanwhile, if we must med
die with politics. let us ende .vor, my dear
sisters, tn use our influence to have such
al educational test az that above intro
duced into this State, ana tn4s 90 soIne-
thing to avert the political evils which
Woman Suffrage will bring on us and
ours; the social and domestic ones we
must counteract and alleviate by other
means. The introduction of such a test
will 90 40 harm even if suffrage is con-
fined to men, for it does seem absurd that
men should vote for candidate whose
name they cannot pronounce, much less
spell, for an Office the nature OF which
they do not understand.
DEBORAH.
The new Constitution of Tennessee
prohibits from holding Office all who "deny
the being of God or future state of re-
wards and punishments." For present
State of punishment, commend US to Ten
Eessee. ..z.s
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SAVE MONEY