The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-11-19

Arnoldis crime. was purity embalmed.'
Whether any wEAK>minded woman, with
Mr.. G's opportunities for knowing bet
ter. would have taken upon herself that
self-assamed responsibility. is more
than questionable.
WHITTIER TIE meek and gentle Horace
in his impressible nature under the large
philanthropy of Beecher, had been devo
ting his leisure time to reading Matt v,
5. Ephes. v, 2, Col iii, IA, or LIST Cor.
xiii 4, 5, and had become relaxed in his
moral energies, we have no means of as
certaining.
The question then recurs wha. duties
what responsibilities, as illustrated in the
busy life Of Horace, in his capacity as
voter, the free enlightened, re fined adult
women of America need shrink from
assuming 1t will not be maintained.
Horace himself will not deny that it
would be very irrational, very 'crochety'
indeed to assume that all who vote, must
fight, and to determine neral questions,
political franchises or national rights, by
such abnormal conditions of mankind, as
wAR,one ofthe relics of Barbarism, and
it would be very illogical to limit the
possession and the exercise of the elective
franchise by some ideal, fancied objec>
ton of some possible, contingent, remote
imposition Of imaginary duties.
Let US not trifie with or determine in
herent rights in this ridiculous manner.
All History--all experience-all obser.
vation--bu too fearfully, too sadly teach
this lesson.
That no class of persons, by divine
right, or by forcibly Withholding rights,
are safe repository Of power to be ex
e!cised in the control of another class.
All persons are very properly presumed
to understand their own interests, their
own wants, their own necessities better
than others can judge for them. In a
Government like ours, the theory Of what
recognizes perfect equality Of rights, it is
difficult to perceive the justice of the
reasoning tia, world exclude. one half
Of the adult population from the exercise
Of the only effective means-tke only
practical agency-by which freemen can
assist in determining the laws to which
all are amenable, and the difficulty of
rendering any sensible or even plausible
reason for this state Of things, becomes
greater when we take into view the fac.
that the excluded persons are by no
means the least intelligent the least re-
fined or the least worthy.
Mr.. Greeley tells US that among the
consummations aimed at by the woman S
right movement, are the securing to her
ola greater, wider field of labor, as we'll
as a more rem lucrative compensation for
her services. Woman's sphere of USE
fitness her ability her eminent fitness
for the discharge of duties formerly
thought out of her line of action. are
much moro generally acknowledged now
than formerly.
Woman's sphere, as so contemporary
spoken ofby the ignorant end thought
less, is wonderfully enlarging. and the
artificial and constrained difference IN
the duties-avocations Of the two sexes
which has been insisted on by the dull
of pei ception and the slow in seeing, is
fast becoming Smaller by degrees and
beautifully less Has not woman,
equally with man, an interest in good
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES laws. Why
upjustly withhold from her any voice in
the enactment of laws to which ALL are
subject?
Why is it that,woman is denied equal
wages--equal salary-for equal services?
Invest her with what man considers
such talisman Of power-the ballot
that harmless instrume mt, and my word
for it, without laying claim to any pro-
phetic visions, these inequalities, wo-
mans disabilities will vanish as if by
magic.
Mans magnanimity is slow in accord
ing to woman her just position-herjust
due-and if the ballot is such a sover-
eign balm for the coiored man, in pros
tecting himself against wrong and ops
preston, why will it not prove equally
effective in redIessing the many and
greyious disabilities under which women
labors.
Our opposition ito woman suffrage is
founded in ignorance and prejudice. Do
we, did we object to the ignorant, uned-
ucated foreigner voting W for fear he
can not assume The responsibilities re-
sulting from the franchise, or to .he me-
gro handling the ballot, for fear that all
the juries-all the offices-would be
filled by the newly made citizen. Such
hoaors are rarely thrust upon US. Let
Us do justice, act consistently, divest
ourselves of the incubus of old notions,
accord to all adults of sane minds, an
equal agency in framing laws, to which
women, as we'll as the lords of creation,
are equally subject.
The merits Of the question OF confer
ring on women right, forcibly, unjustly
and wickedly withheld, are SO plain and
obvious-the justice of the measure SO
clear, that it needs only discussion, agi-
tation. to commend it to the acceptance
of a large majority Of the rejecting and
INTEL ioent