The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-06-14
Ny Probate Pilgrimage.

in New England, over the miles and
miles Of streets and upstairs and down
stairs, and Of bills and dales traversed
while selling the second edition Of my
book on "Probate COufiscation," | feel,
taking il all in all, that the measure OF
success which crowned my efforts was
commensurate with the labOrs. The
welcomes which have greeted me, the
words Of cheer which have strengthened
me, the hand-pressures which have
thrilled me, the heart-thrObs which
have responded to mine, the faces
which / have looked into, faces met and
passed in the mid ocean of life, whose
paths | shall never cross again, all these
things, or the remembrance of them,
are like the perfume Of fresh flowers.
They invest past toll and WEAKNESS with
a halo
LIZ mountain regions overpast,
In purple distance fair"
Beautiful New England With your
refOrmers who have stood and are
standing for justice, in the sunlight Of
youth, in the glory of maturity, in the
grandeur of age Their footprints, like
the footprints Of angels, are traceable
everywhere. They have smoOthed the
rough way for those that follow. Their
names aud deeds stand out upon the
pages of present and future history in
letters Of flame, as fadeless as the day,
as lasting as the hills. God bless them,
I every one
! see by the last Journal that Senator
Abbott, of Lowell, has found a tongue.
He was perfectly retieent on the Wild
ow's rights question, although one Of
the three who constitute the probate
aud chancery cOmmitte. Probably he
] nulu ms 10. a ranfaa
/ / am glad he has unfurIed his flag.
There is nothing like knowing ones
stripe. | wish, for the sake of my bill,
which he and Mr.. White and Mr..
Gardner "sat on" and killed, he had
I lived tifty years ago. They should have
l lived IN the times when men "drauk a
I glass of wine at a fuueraln and a quart
I at feasti when muscular Christianity
/ in the shape Of fathers in Israel put out
Of church doors weak mothers In Israel
/ for daring to lift up their subjugated
voices in prayer aud supplication in
| holy masculine temples, asking God for
strength 10 endure their manifold tolls,
/ trials, and privations. These were The
good old times of tyranuical husband
and subjugated wife. Praise and thanks
10 the Giver of all goods, those times are
| forever past, and nothing will resurrect
] AiAtAl- Evil udNr Ahtl Mtltf hhtu
women were looked upon by a large
| proportion of mankind as only fit for
I household drudges. Better be the
mother Of one lion than Of a dozen jack
asses. The world is not suffering for
want of population as IL is for the
want Of quality.
Senator Abbott advises women 10 "stOp
running after 'isms,' mind their hus-
bands, and look after their nurseries" f"
But what am / TO do, who have no hus-
band to "mind," no "nursery to look
after,n and no baby to put in the nur-
sery2 What would a nursery amount
to without a baby in it2 And what
are the 5000 husbandless women
in Massachusetts, and the 100000
spinsters of Great Britain to do about
obedience and nurseries Pr My adj
vice, which /, unlike DOCTORS prescTip-
tions, take myself, is this: "Obey the
dictates of your own conscience, and
cultivate fiowers.n A man is as much
out Of place in a floral nursery as he
would be sucking babies. Here is the
rough draft of my bill, changed some
what from its old wording, which
proved such an eye-sore to the fastidiOus
Mr.. White, of Plymouth. Its founda-
ton is laid on simple justice. Nothing
more, nothing less.
l. That every widow who has any in
terest in her deceased husbands estate,
shall have the same right to claim an
Enthusiastically, to serve conformity
with the executor or executors named in
the will of said deceased, as she has
when the estate is intestate.
>. That no act or instrument made by
an executor or executors is valid with
out the widows endorsement.
3. That every widow legally cOmpe-
tent shall have the sole guardianship OF
the persons of her minor children.
This bill, defeated in the Massachu-
setts Senate of 1878, | intend to bring
before every legislature in New Eng
land, and the legislature Of New YOrk
during the next session Of general court
; | sincerely hope that every earnest be
I lever in a widows right to have an in.
side instead Of an outside view Of tbs
settlement of the estate which she ha:
helped to earn, will come to the aid o.
e the bill. Local influence will do mucf
r toward securing its passage. Consider
: the Inconsistency of the law. In thi.
. State, where there is no will, the widow
administers upon the estate alone, Ol
= has the choice of those who shall serve
= with her. In the New England State:
she enjoys the first claim, when cOmpe
> tent, to the administration. But if th'
D husband has chosen to set her aside il
/, his will like child or an iinbecile, ther
she has no legal redress. This law il
akin to the one which makes the widow
{ comparatively comfortable, 10 spite o
: real or fraudulent creditors, where ther'
= is real estate, but turns her and he
a babes out to starve where there is only
personal property. In the present day
{ of commerce, personal estate is Otter
: larger than real. In a few years time
= dover and homestead laws will avai
q nothing, for, at the present rate Of taxa
tiOn, all real estate will soon be bank
{ rupt.
i Massachusetts claims that the law
d affecting the rights of wives and widow
8 are far more lenient toward them thar
the corresponding laws are toward hus
= bands and widOwers. Let US see. Thl
e common property is the result of th,
Y Joint efforts of the welded pair. Th,
4 economy and home activities Of tn
wife, aud her prudent supervision Of do
. mestic affairs, furnish full equivalen
}, to the outside acquisative work of tn
= husband, even when she takes no par
in the management Of the business.
~ often happens that she isquite as usefu
= and efficient in that sphere as her bus
s band. carrying on the business entirely
|. in addition to the faithful oversight q
!, household duties. Yet, in the face of al
= this, if she fail through ignorance o
e lcarelessness to fortify her position a
It "sole," or il she only attends TO domes
A tic affairs, at her death all this joint es
b. tate belongs to her surviving husband
II she has made will, it is Of no value
: Mrs. j. w. StOlO.