The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-08-04
Women Who Would Vote.


ALVEY MEETING OF THE WOMAN SUFFRAGE
ASsOCIATIoN-THE NEW DECLAkATION OF IN
DEPENDENCE.
The members of the National Woman
Suffrage Association, on July 4th, at
noon, held meeting in DIR. Furness'
Church, and arraigned the national
government and society in general for
the deaf ear they have turned to the
clamOrers for universal suffrage. The
venerable Lucretia Mott, whose activity
in the cause of auti-slavery has given
her worldwide reputation, presided.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton read ''rhe
Woman's Declaration of. Rights and
Articles of impeachment against the
Government of the United States,"
companion paper of the Declaration of
Independence of 1776-only given birth
one century later-and differing in this,
that, while the latter records the deter
mination of the hardy colonists of the
past century, irrespective of sex, to
throw off the yoke of tyranny, the
former announces the equal determina-
ton of the female portion of this great
republic to resist the hard-heeled Op-
preston of the then oppressed, but now
OppressOrs. This female JeftersOnian
document impeaches the national ad-
ministratiOn for the introduction of the
word "male'' in the Constitution, and
points out other incongruities, which in
time, if not remedied, will result in the
total dissolution of the social fabric of
the nation, and winds up with a pa
thetic appeal to the powers to accord
civil, equal, and political rights to the
memorialists and their daughters for
ever. After finishing the paper, Mrs.
! Stanton denied, in emphatic terms, the
! dogma of the age that women were
made for men, but admitted that they
were made for each other, and should
suffer and enjoy the burdens and
! pleasures of life equally. She stated
| that the paper was presented by her
and several other co-workers to Vice
| President Ferry that morning in In
! dependence Square, Immediately after
! the reading of the Declaration of ln-
dependence. Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood,
a lawyer practising in Washington, in
defending the cause of woman from a
constitutional standpoint, said that
| the old fathers of '76 had declared that
all persons were made free and equal,
and she propOunded the conundrum,
whether women were not persons? ? AL
though this century was governed by
brute force, she thought the next
would usher in the age of reason, when
the names of Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth
! Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, anC
Julia Hutchinson would be written il
letters of gold for the services they haC
done in the cause of suffering women
Mrs. Matilda JosIyn Gage dissected the
hdbeas corpus writ, the safeguard of the
male portion of the commonwealth, and
demonstrated that it was inappropriate
in it's application to married women
LucTetia Mott, apOlOgizing for her old
age and weakened voice, in tremulOu!
tones reviewed the history of the move
ment, and said that there is no law il
existence fit to govern the American
Republic. Miss Phoebe CouZens de
nOunced the action of General Hawley
who refused her application to allow
their Declaration of Rights" to be pre-
sented in the meeting in Independence,
Square. She called upon Mrs. Sara
Spencer to recite the incidents of tina
interview. Mrs. Spencer, who fulfilled
the same duty at the Cincinnati Con
ventiOn that Miss Couzens did at st
Louis, said that she, together with th
committee, applied to General Hawle!
!. for the privilege of presenting the Dec
laTation without word of mouth to tn
meeting in Independence Square, AM
that the General said her request wa
; an important one, and that he and tn
committee who had the celebration il
charge realized it's significance. "W
know" said the General, that it will
be the event of the day, and, as we in
! tend to celebrate what has been done il
the last hundred years, and not wha
has not been done, we must refuse you
request. Your petition may be in orde
on any other occasion, but it is not o.
this" "You don't know how this in
spired u.s." said Mrs. Spencer, "an
how we determined then, in spite {
General Hawley, to present the paper
and we did so this morning, imme
e diately after the reading of the Declare
! ton of '76, and Vice President Ferr
received it from our hands with grace
full bow of the head. l was not sorr
that the President of the United State
1 was not the presiding officer, although
! if a woman were ever to fill that chail
o she would certainly not fail to be pre-.
ent on such d glorious occasion, bU
Mr.. Ferry sympathizes with our caust
9 and it was gratifying to put the pape
in his hands" Lille Devereaux Blak
, combatted the idea that women coul
i not fulfill the duties incident to citizeI
t ship, and thought that they coul
{ serve the country in time of war as we
as those men who obtained substitute
> to do their fighting in the Rebellion
: Susan B. Anthony related her eXper
: ence in Rochester, where she was il
r dicted and convicted for violating til
. election laws in depositing a ballot 1
the general election, and, with shO
Il addresses by Mrs. Stanton and other
e the meeting adjourned PhiLddelphi
# Times.