The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-03-20

examine the signatures attached to the
petitions for Woman Suffrage; she had
been informed that the children in the
common schools of Boston had been in
vited to sign them.
Mr.. III. B. Blackwell stated that this
charge was entirely unfounded. The
petitions had been sent only TO respon-
siole and well-knoyn citizens, with the
request to obtain only signers of
twenty-one years and upwards. For
the credit of the lady and herself, he
asked her TO produce her informant or
TO lay written statement of facts with
responsible signature, before the Com
mittee. Nearly 5000 adult citizens of
Massachusetts had petitions this Legis-
lature for suffrage within the past four
weeks. Petitions were pouring in daily.
It was proper to say, in this cOnnee
tion, that not one dollar had been paid
to any one person for the labor of circu-
lating these petitions. 1t had been done
mostly by ladies in every case from per-
sonal interest in the movement. He
was glad that Mrs. Pierce had given so
fine an example of woman's fitness for
suffrage. Her moral courage in avow-
ing her convictions was an act of hero
ism and deserved the thanks of all. But
- oi5uiutub NuS Itdlly Ou Jul SAOS.
What We ask is not Manhood Suffrage
for women, but citizen suffrage for all.
Suffrage is not masculine function. 1t
Is not muscular but moral. 1t is an
authoritive expression of OPT nion, and
implies intelligence, patriotism and
conscience. Women are not, in any
sense tine Interiors of men, They are
different but equal. And this difference
OF sex is exactly what needs to be repre-
sented, and can only be represented by
Impartial Suffrage. Women inherit
property just as men inherit property.
Women earn property just as men do.
Instead of saying that the property of
women is not earned, we should say it
is earned two or three times over, since
in every department of human activity
women are only paid from one-third to
one-half as much as men for equal work.
But to-day men are not themselves rep
resented in politics. We live under
caucus government, in which not five
per cent. of the voters take part. The
best class Of men spend their leisure in
the society of women, and so long as
women are excluded from the primary
meetings these meetings will be largely
controlled by coarse, and Ignorant and
mercenary men. Politics has become q
trade, and our present system may be
defined as Ignorance manipulated by
cunning. Political Reform must begin
in the caucus. And it can only be eff
feeted by enlisting the social sympathy
and cooperation of women, and men
who associate with women, in the pri-
mary meetings and at the polls Speak
ing of the method to be pursued, Mr..
Blackwell hoped that the Committee
would, first of all, ask the Legislature
to give women Presidential and Muni-
cipai Suffrage by amending the election
laws. Thus women could be enabled to
vote in town and ward meetings for all
officers except Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, and members of the Legisla-
ture. The State Constitution only
limits suffrage to male citizens in these
last named cases. For himself he was
opposed to going before the people with
a proposal to amend the Constitution
until suffrage had been extended to
women first under the Constitution as
it is. If the presence of women in town
and ward meetings proved beneficial
and acceptable, it would soon be fol-
lowed by Constitutional Amendment.
/ II it proved injurious, it would be re-
/ pealed by subsequent Legislature
elected by men alone.
Mr.. Fitzgerald, Chairman of the House
/ Committee, asked whether the COnsti-
/ tutional right of the Legislature to en-
act such law had been considered?
Mr.. Blackwell said that it had beer
considered, and that able lawyers haC
expressed an affirmative opinion. Tht
old Province Charter gave suffrage L
"Freeholders and other inhabitant.
present at Town Meetings." The STATE
Constitution restricted it only i'm the
election of the Executive Legislature.
Mrs. Howe asked for suffrage in the
name of Progress and of Peace. She
earnestly disclaimed any desire to par
ticipate in such separate Congress o
women as was proposed by Mrs. Pierce
She was unwilling to recognize any
limitation of class interest. The inter
ests of men were as dear to her as those
of women and children. The blood oI
men flowed in her veins. Their eoun-
tay was her country; their welfare hel
welfare. She spoke with thrilling elo-
quence that carried conviction to the
minds, and enlisted the feelings of all
present.
Mr. Samuel +. Sewall rose to speak
upon the legal question, but yielded the
floor to Miss Mary L. Eastman.
Miss Eastman stated the inequality OF
wages, education and opportunity to
which women are subjected i'm cOnse-
quence of their disfranehisement, and
drew graphic contrast between the
provisions of Massachusetts Colleges for
the education OF young men and those
of the Normal Schools designed to train
the young women who constitute seven
eights of all our teachers. She illustrated
her theme with telling anecdotes and
| illustrations which gave great satifac-
tion to the audience.
The committee then announced an
adjournment of the hearing to the fol-
lowing Wednesday at Representatives
Hall. We will give an account of il
next week. 1t is greatly to be regretted
that the reports in our daily papers are
so meagre and inadequate as to convey
no fair idea of the real interests Of the
OCCASION WomdR's Journal.
THE QUESTION OF WONIAN's RIGHTS
The dispatches have told us within 9
few days how the House of Representa-
tives in the Legislature of two great
Mfahfnan an1 Tnturo har-a