The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-03-29

rights of citizenship upon me as an
alien. Like Paul, was free-born.
with a great sum obtained this free
dom," said the Roman centurion to this
old patriot apostle; but he replied, "
am Jree-borR.n There is music in those
words to my ear. They are the deep vi
brations of a soul that loves its country
as itself.
You sit here, gentlemen, in judgment
upon my rights as an American citizen,
as though they were something differ
ent from you own; but they arc not.
By whatsoever title you sit in those
seats and make laws, just or unjust,
wise or unwise, for this great people, by
that same title do I claim my share in
this great responsibility, owing ale
glance to God and my own conscience
alone. / may have been born with less
capacity than the least among you,
with small chance of growing to your
mental stature, or reaching your stand
ard of moral elevation; but / have q
perfect right to sit in your midst, pigmy
that / may be, since / am one of "Lhe
people" who did ordain this glorious old
Constitution, and one of ''dte goreJTed,"
whose consent is made the basis of
1t is for this reason that | and my
fellow memorialists have asked to be
protected i'm the use of our present
rights, rather than endowed with any
new ones; and we do pray you, gentle
men of the Committee, to give imme-
diate attention to our claim, and to re-
port to the Senate in a short time, IA
vorably if you can, adversely if you
must, because we not only wish, in
common with thousands of other wOm
EN- citizens, to vote for the next Presi-
dent, but to have n potent voice in his
nomination, and we wish to know,
therefore, how far Congress will aid us,
and how far we must work out our own
salvation. For we can wait no longer.
We feel that we have neglected our duty
already-else what means this appall-
ing official corruption that is bringing
dismay to the stOutest hearts among
men, and leading them to doubt the
wisdom of republican Institutions, the
strength of the great doctrines of liberty
and responsibility on which our govern
ment is founded? We do not doubt
these great doctrines-lOe knOlO what
they mean and whereto they tend. Our
Ship of State carries two engines, gen.
tlemen, and was built for them, but
heretofore you have used only one, and
now you have reached the place where
not only two seas meet, but all ocean
currents are struggling together for the
mastery. The man pOIccr alone will
not save you, but put on the 1COnldn
Po,0er, and our gallant ship will steady
itself moment, and then ride the
waves triumphantly fOrevermore.
Gentlemen, we come to you with pc
titions no longer. Here is our declara-
ton and pledge, issued a year ago this
day, signed already by thousands of
women, and eager names are coming
every day:
DECLARATION AND PLEDGE OF THE
WOMEN OF THE UNITED STATES con
CERNING THEIR RIGHT To, AND THEIR
RIGHT OF, THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE.
ave, the undersigned, believing that
the sacred rights and privileges of citi-
zenship in this Republic were guaran-
teed to us by the original Constitution,
and that these rights are confirmed and
more clearly established by the four
teenth and fifteenth amendments, so
that we can no longer refuse the solemn
responsibilities thereof, do hereby pledge
ourselves to accept the duties of the
franchise in our several States so soon as
all legal restrictions are removed.
"And believing that character is the
best safeguard of national liberty, we
pledge ourselves to make the personal
purity and integrity Of candidates for
public office the first test of fitness.
And lastly, believing in God as the
Supreme author of the American
Declaration of Independence, we pledge
ourselves, in the spirit of that memora-
bic act, to work hand-in-hand with our
fathers, husbands, and sons, for the
maintenance of those equal rights on
which our Republic was originally
founded, TO the end that it may have,
what is declared to be the first condition
of just government, The consent Of the
gOrcTned.' And for the support of this
declaration, with firm reliance OH the
protection of Divine Providence, we
mutually pledge to each other our
lives, our fortunes, and our sacred
hOnor.n
We did not hope to present this to
Congress itself in the Senate Chamber
to-day. We believe that women, being
unrepresented in that body, are entitled
to appear there by their memorialists in
person, and we have so asked. But
Congress has referred us TO you, and YOU
have declined even to submit our prop
osition officially TO that body. You find
no precedent for this, you say-forget-
ting, gentlemen, that history makes its
own precedents The men of America
made theirs in l776; the women OF
America are making theirs to-day, and
may God prosper the right.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., January u, 1872