Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-02-08
FIRST EDITION..
300 P. M.
PHILADELPHIA.
OUR sATuRD LETTER,


THE GREAT 'HAT CASE" ETC.
Special Correspondence of he Commercial.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. z.
Tho Woman Suffrage debate in the Constitu-
tonal Convention must be rated as the real
event Of the week. Other matters have been
more sensational legislative corruption the
| gamblers case, the great boiler explosion-are
more In the run of newspaper reading and
more's the pity but the people who think will
esteem the present effort to do woman tardy
| Justice most worthy of attention. This import
ant-one may almost say vital-matter, was
brought before the Convention, on Monday, and
has been debated in Committee Of the Whole
during portion of each session SINCE Debate
arose in this wise THE Committee on Suffrage
Elections, and Representation, presented a re-
port embracing certain amendments and new
provisions on the subject named, to be made
a part of the new Constitution of the
State One article provides that only male citi-
zens over twenty-one years of age shall have the
right to vote. MIR. Broomall, of Delaware. novel
to strike out the implied restriction. He has
supported bis motion by several thoroughly no.
BILE eloquent and convincing speeches His argu-
ment, despite the paltry prejudces of the day. il
unanswerable, and 30 speakers on the other side
found when they came to respond. Mr.. Camp
bell of Philadelphia has also been earnest and
vehement in behalf of the amendment. We are
surprised here to see MIR. john s. Mann 20
prominent in all good works and o tower of re-
form in Northern Pennsylvania, marshaled with
the Old Fogies. He bases his opposition on tech
nica grounds averring his desire to do justice to
woman, bat there he stands, and however he
juztiies himself the result is the same. Beyond
MIR. Mann and Mr.. Gowen, the gentlemen who
deny women the simplest right of citizenship.
confined themselves To the silly small talk o.
which we hear 80 muchi how female suffrage is
to make "Woodhuls" form wives and sisters,
how it is too break up the home, blot out the
iireside and change the very nature of women.
II is not little disheartenin6 to hear this kind
OF stuff dinned in our ears day after day by men
who ought to know better. The contemplate
meanness of it is beyond expression. But though
it wins little cheap applause from the galleries
man standing on such an argument as Mr..
Broomalls is planted on rock. Here, as else
where Taxation without Representation is Tyr
amy, nor can all the patronizing assumptions of
superiority by men with little souls make it auy-
thing else. 1 am afraid to hope that Pennsylva-
mia may strike great blow for this reform 1t
seems too much to expect The tone OF tho
Convention, despite the bravery of a number of
earnest delegates, ls evidently hostile to the
movement. L often think i'll rejecting on what
the world should do but does not do of little
poem of Emersons called Days" The poet
sees the spectres OF wasted time and opportunity
dumb They look at him as they go, but say
nothing.
"And under their solemn 1llets
He sgeB The 5corn"
One grows melancholy is really refresh
ing to dash into little bit of active and abso-
lutte rascality We do not need to go far for it.
The spectacle OF City Councilman on trial for
keeping gambling house il surely startling
enough. ince wrote You on this subject Mr..
Siner has been brought to trial. He endeavored
l,,k., NaI st,
Monday he was tried, in conjunction with man
named Kaas. his partner in the establishment"
The evidence against both men was complete,
and yet the Jury cannot agree as yet to find the
prisoners guilty. The was concluded at
six o'clock on Monday evening, and the Jury is
still out The end will probably be-'unable TO
agreei-and another farcical evasion of Justice.
The case makes no little excitement. AT every
turn you hear the query,-''is the Siner jury in
yet ?" The interest grows not only out of Siners
official position but because this is under
stood to be a test case. conscientious effort
is making to bring the gamblers to account.
II these men can be convicted we may hope to
see fair sweeping out (for the time at least)
of this wickedness, but il nothing comes Of the
trial the sharpera will have new lease upon
the public morals. 1t would be great misfor-
tune to have this prosecution fall through.
The outrage put upon the Market st. Railway
is the town talk. supplement to. the Union
Lines charter has passed both the Senate and
Assembly, empowering that Company to run over
a portion OF the Market Sta route,-the very
important portion extending from Front to Ninth
SITS. Probably ahalf of the " way travel of the
street s done within these limits. This travel
consists largely of the Camden shoppers going to
Eighth street, Chat purgatory to aman) and the
business men who take a car for few squares
when hurried to meet engagements. There are
three sets of passengers on this hne-the class
lust mentioned which leaves the car as a rule by
the time 9th street is reached the uptown res
| idents who leave between 18th and 18th SITS. !;
and the through passengers to West Philadelpha
The first and second classes are the most valuable
The third class gets the worth OF It's money,
bnt il there is not high rate of profit 1t, it
| is at least constant. The first class is the most
/ valuable Of all. The passenger pays the same
fare as he who rides five times the distance and
leaving, has his place filled by another individual
/ in torrible hurry. Ii long route should all
| be apportioned to these short riders, a.
/ railway men call them, FL Dorado would be
about reached. Naturally Market street from
| Ninth to the Delaware, is the region par erect
L7tCe of short rides, and this right the Union
i Line has bought. 1t had no right to buy 1t on
several accounts, first, because it il wrong to
i buy in such way, 2nd because another party
was injured by the bargain and 3rd, because
still another party got the proceeds OF the sale
| suppose there is no objection to calling things
| by their right names in this matter. more
| evident case of the unrighteous and nnscrupu'
lous use of money was never known in all our
| legislation And the bags are but just opened,
| pile of railway bills lie on the clerks tables
that are to be pushed through someitolO aud we
| have grown to know what that means. Harris
| burg this Winter is a reproach to free commu-
nifty 1t is beyond words discreditable that we
| should be forced to recognize such body az the
| representative of this great State. Que could
| almost wish for some arbitrary Cromwell who
would step in and forciby send the fools and
bnbe-takers to their homes Cor to jaill and de-
| clare the Legislature adjourned without day.
| Nor would this be greater blow TO freedom
than these petty rascals are giving every day
under the cover and sanction OF the law.
Our judges have made various hits this week
Brother Ludlow was especially happy in decision
in marriage case. A man named Williamson was
| sued by his wife for desertion She had lived with
Williamson for sixteen,years and they had num-
ber of children. Finally he deserted her ana
| married another woman. Williamsons detense
WAS that he was Protestant and his wife (the
woman who brought the suiD Cathohci and
that they had been married in Ireland by Gath
Ollie Priest. His lawyer thereupon brought out
of its musty obscurity an English law OF the
time of George ii, declaring marriages between
Protestants and Catholics illegal unless the GER
emony is doubly performed-both by the Prlest
and clergyman OF the church Of England. Inls
law has never been repealed, and the faithless
| husband declared himself not married IN conse-
l duence, and FREQ to attach himself to another
| woman Brother Ludlow gave his outrageous
| assumption such raking as must warm every
| honest mans heart He said boldly that an
American Court cannot recognize the validity OF
| the English Statute In this country Williamson
| wonld be considered marrisd to the mother OF
| h;s children and he was directed to give security