The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1897-04-30

society saying "Admit us and we
will agee to abide by your laws"
we cannot afterwards complain If
these do not suit us, but if we are
born into a society without any will
Of our own, and do not approve Of
its laws, then they are tyranny to
us, unless we are empowered with Q
vote which will enable US to repeal
them and to substitute others. The
women Of England to-day are in this
position. We have said 80 often,
and have been scoffed at by many
for our pains. But we appeal to
Locke and other experts on this
Our women have no more
Legislative power by law than chill
dren or poodles. They were not con-
suited as to whether they would be
born under the English flag. They
the men. They may
pay rents, taxes. and contribute
to the national exchequer;
they may contribute more than
half the industry Of the country;
they may be far more abiding and
more moral than the men; they may
equal them in learning and intellec-
ual abilities; but they must have no
voice in the Legislature OF the State.
A chimhey-sweep or costermonger
may vote for a Member Of Parlia-
ment, but not Somerville, Bar
ret Browning, Fawcett, or George
Elliot, because they are women
Women, then, have no political, and
a very small share Of civil, liberty.
Who can gainsay this? And if none,
how can we be blamed or be thought
unreasonable If we continue to agi-
tate for an equal political and civil
status with that of the men? To
those who have no part in enacting
the laws either by themselves or
their authorized representatives, it
is all the same whether they are
made by many or by one; whether
they are constitutional or despotic.
In matters Of religion We are now
legally free to worship as we will,
or not at all. Nevertheless many
suffer unlawfully in various ways
for their opinions. And, what is Of
more consequence, children are
taught on compulsion, dogmas that
mature judgment rejects when they
reflect, or approves when they are
indolent. It appears to us a
crime against religious liberty TO i'm.
pose upon the young as absolute
truths those things on which all are
not agreed, but which are only por-
tions Of sectarian creeds. All be-
lieve in immortality, therefore they
should be taught its meaning and
precepts. All believe in the Divine
power, therefore they should be
taught the existence and benificence
Of God. But all do not, for exam
pie, believe in a Trinity, and could
not if they would, and therefore abb
struse points like this, impossible to
be understood by well-educated
adults, should be kept far from the
minds and notice Of children. If
this be not done, they may newer be
strong enough to recover their ljber-.
ty. Most sects know this so ven that
they make it their policy to. captpre
the very young. Hence the School,
Board struggle. 81. Il
A man may impose restriction
on himself for his own preservation,
and he will still be at liberty SO long
as he does not place it beyond his
power to retract without injuring
others, should he afterwards, wish
to do so. If l promise myself, 6,
drink neither wine nor strong drink
| can alter my mind subsequently, II
| think fit. | have not parted with
my liberty Of action. But if l take
a pledge OF total abstinence to Tee
total society, and am enrolled as
member, my liberty is no longer
mine. may have been before this
slave to drink, and the pledge may
have been necessary, but what
weak and -despicable being itproves
me; so unfit to possess will that /,
Of my own will, become a corporate
vassal.' No pledged teetotaller, then,
can truly say he is lover Of liberty,
ard any one who asks another to
take 'the pledge" proffers him an
act Of epslavement.
The slavery Of the body il a great
evil, but it is as nothing to the slav-
cry Of the mind. Yet most people
think much Of the former, and little
Of the latter. The physically free
are often the greatest mental slaves.
Esop was slave; 80 was Epictetus.
But who is there who would not
wish to have been either? II is in
servitude that q man more frequent
ly appreciates the value Of freedom,
and millions who were their masters
chattels have compensated them