Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-06-21

mat charter OF new liberties, irrespec-
tive OF race, color and previous condi-
ton of servtude.
1t is well for such as these to consider
the origin Of rights. In the early his.
tory OF the race, where every man cXer-
cised his natural right Of self-protection
with the free use Of the sling and the
bow and arrow, it would have been the
height OF tyranny to deprive him of the
rude weapons so necessary for his de-
fence. II is equally cruel in civilized
government to deprive the citizen of the
ballot, his only weapon Of self-defence
against unjust laws and self.constituted
rulers.
In the Inauguration of government
when men made compacts for mutual
protection and surrenaered the rude
weapons used where each one was q
freelance, they did not surrender the
natural right to protect themselves and
their property by laws of their own
making. They simply substituted the
ballot for the bow and arrow.
Would any of these gentlemen who
think universal suffrage blunder be
willing to surrender his rightnnd hence
forth be subject to the popular will,
without even the privilege of protest.
Docs any thoughtful man really be.
lieve that he has II natural right to de-
prive another of the means Of self-pro-
lection, and that he has the wisdom to
govern individuals and classes better
than they can govern themselves? Eng.
lands experiment with Ireland, Russia's
with Poland, the Southern States with
Africans and the Northern States with
women, all prove the impossibility of
one class legislating with fairness for
another. The bitter discomfort and con-
tlnued protests of all these subject
classes, are SO many emphatic denlals of
the right OF one person to govern
another without the consent of the one
governed. Forbidden by law to settle
ones own quarrels with the rude wea-
pons of savage life, and denied their
substitute in civilization, the position Of
the citizen is indeed helpless, with the
rights of person and property wholly at
the mercy OF others. Such, then, would
be the result of "restricted male vote"
and such is the real position of all citi-
zens who are denied the right of suffrage
In the article in last Saturdays issue
the authors objection to women voting
is because of the great difference be-
tween man and woman, and claims it to
be as great as that existing between
! fish and a lion (else why the illustra.
tion?) She says, "every living organism
| thrivcs in its element" Do not the fish,
male and female, swim in the same
elements and enjoy the same lifeH Do
not the lion and the lioness roam the
same forests, enjoy the same pleasures
| and live the same lives? When God
made man male and female in his own
image, did they not need the same
atmosphere to breathe, the same food to
sustain life?
But let us examine into this wonder.
full difference" In the first place, the
greatest difficulty to the progress OF well
grounded opinions on life and social
arrangements, is the ignorance and in.
attention to the influences which form
human character SO that it is impossible
in the present state of society to obtain
complete and correct knowledge Of the
natural differences between the sexe!
which is emphatically asserted is sc
very pronounced and reason enough
why women should consent to have maj
do her thinking and voting.
The only means by which any partia
insight can be obtained into this 'dif
ference is by an analytic study of thu
laws Of the influence of circumstances
on character.
John Stuart Mill says: "Howevei
great and apparently ineradicable thu
moral and intellectual differences DC
tween men and women might be, tht
. evidence of their being natural differ
ences could only be negative. ThosC
! only could be inferred to be natura
, which could not possibly be artificial.
, That u.s. after deducting every charac
! teristic of either sex which can admi
of being explained by education or OK
ternal circumstances. This then bring
} rather strong authority to uphold th
, position of "some of our advanced sui
| fragists who assert that the differenc
in sex is merely structural Who
] ever is in the least capable Of estimat
4 ing the influence on the mind of tn
. entire domestic and social position AM
/ tho whole habit of life, must easil
recognize in that influence complct
= explanation of nearly all the apparen
4 differences between men and women
. including the whole of those whic
} imply any inferlorlty.
4 II Is not strange, perhaps, that sonsl
BILE and honest persons should conside
S the enfranchisement of women "un
T. natural" since there was time whel
t the division of mankind into two classe!
1 a small one of masters and numerou
}. one Of slaves, appeared even to the mos
5 cultivated minds TO be n natural an
5 the only natural condition of the huma
v race. The slave owners of the Sout
!, maintained the same doctrine, the
II called upon heaven and earth TO witnes
I that the dominion Of the white ma
!. over the black was natural, that th
black race was by nature incapable Q
i. freedom and marked out for slavery
@ There are some, even in this day, VIII
IS say that the freedom of manual luboreI
IL is an unnatural order Of things any
II where. There arc others who hay
@ said and do say that absolute monarch
G is the only natural government. Loo
o back to the middle ages and sec ho'
j. supremacy natural the dominion Of til
II feudal nobility over men of low cor
70 dition appeared to the nobility then
}. selves, and how unnatural 1t SCENE
/. for one of these interiors to clail
e equality with them, thus showing,
If has been said by an eminent write
that "unnatural generally means onl
l. uncustomary, and that everything whic
/. is usual appears natural.
d Were women allowed the ballot I'll
j. possibility Of having women polio.
d men, women jailcrs, women sheriff
Y women aldermen, women mayors, Coz
il gress. women, Sonatoresses and perhaI
At 4 Presidentress of the United States,
'e seems most appalling to some of OF
p anti-suffragist friends. Does it seem
&c ont of place and unnatural to conten