Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-02-24


sonages are familiar to us is inscribed In
bloody homage to the careless beauty OF
woman. But the latest war, the war
against oil tendencies that corrupt and
enslave, would also bear the woman's ban
ner. Troy fell, and her poet makes her
immortal. But the victory we contem-
plate has been sung by poets from age to
age. 1t is fulfillment, not destruction. 1t
is hope, not despair. In its harmonious
labor, every stone that is taken from the
fortress of error shall be reset in the citadel
of truth. And woman, with reverent eyes,
shall at once repair the waste of time and
attest its developments. Her pupil shall
not lease her at the door of the nursery.
| In his later walks and works, her tender
| ness and vigilance shall accompany him.
With true conservatism of culture she
shall hold fast for him the lessons of the
past and true visions of the future. Hav-
| ing hitherto represented for him the city
that was in bondage with her children, she
shall henceforth image the city that is
| free, and the mother of us all.
In the course of her address Mrs. Howe
alluded to the climate of Vermont as not
agreeing with her, as in another instance
before the present, she on visit to the
State found that her voice had partially
failed her.
At the conclusion of her address Mr..
| Dorr introduced to the audience in few
well-timed preliminary remarks, Mr.. Will
liam Lloyd Garrison, who, upon taking
the stand, was greeted with warm ap-
plause by the audience. Mr.. Garrison
opened by saying that he had a word to
say in palliation for, if not in vindication
of the climate of Vermont. His esteemed
friend, Mrs Howe, and himself took the
cars in Boston in the morning for this
place. They were delayed, and the ride
of nine hours was a long and tedious one
but they had kept up an almost incessant
conversation on the way, 40 that he mar
veled that they had voice left If they
had not, it was no fault of the climate of
Vermont.
Vermont audience Al years ago, when he
called a meeting at Bennington to see i'll
the citizens would sign Il petition to Con-
gress praying for the abolition of slavery
in the District of Columbia He was
warmly welcomed, and the petition was
adopted, after which he sent it to every
Postmaster in the State for circulation |
for signatures. The result was that more
than 1000 names were sent to Congress. |
Now he eamo to Vermont for the same
cause as be did in 182S-that of human
freedom. He rejoiced that there was no
longer a need for him to argue against |
chattel slavery as Il sin. He rejoiced also
that the freedmen were clothed with every !
right of citizenship, and that the spirit of
caste, engendered by slavery, was fast
disappearing at the South The language
of his soul always was:
go Liberty can he resign thee,
Who once has felt thy generous fame,
Can Dungeon bolts or bars confne thee,
Or whips thy noble spirit tame"
But he was here for freedom in the in
terests of another class. There was no
parallel, he admitted, in the cases of wo-
men now and chattel slavery, but it is
only matter of degree. The principle
of oppression is the same. In the one
case it had reference TO four millions of
people. In this it was for twenty millions
in this country, and it circumnavigates
the globe in the interest of women of all
nations of the world. The ground swell
of this movement is seen here and
throughout the civilized world. All
countries in ChristeBdom are agitated by
it. 1t was a grand and sublime question.
We glory in the fact that we live under
free institutions. We believe dynasties
and despotsms should be abolished, and
hope, if we do not, that our children, or
theirs, may live to see in every nation a
government of the people, by the people
and for the people,
Take away the right of suffrage and
our government crumbles at once. The
more consciences we can summon on !,
public questions the more will be our =,
gain. If a question concerns us all ,
equally alike all should say what ought
to be done. We have had an aristocracy
of complexion. We had for 200 years
controversy with God on this i,
subject, and our day of Judgment had
come. We now claim for one-half of
the American people the same rights as '
men enjoy, and he held there was no il,
against it. Who gave man !,
right to a vote 1t came not from :
George Ill or the British Parliament. 1t !.
came because they had interests at stake,
So they took the right to vote--voted Z
themselves the right. There was no
reason why women should not have the =
same right.
Woman's wrongs have been manifold
md persisted in from generation to gene
.ation. She had paid taxes and was Il
political cypher. A single miserable .
drunken loafer could outvote all the we
men in the commonwealth because they
Gould not vote at all.
The speaker then cited from the first, .
seventh and ninth articles of our State :,
constitution, document which he said,
he more he read of it the more he loved =
t, to show the Inconsistency of not allow
ng women to vote. Women paid taxes, :
'ut had no representation. By refusing
% allow women to vote we acted in dis "
ord with the spirit of our State oonstitu- u
ion. Women, if they commit crimes
we're punished, though they never had o.
'oice in making the laws that punished al
hem. p
There are those who undertake to speak te
With fippancy about the appropriate Of
phere of women. This was audacious II