MISS WILLARD. London, February 18.

Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 17

MISS WILLARD. London, February 18.

Miss Frances Willard, the American temperaoc° advocate and authoress, is dead. Miss Frances Elizabeth Willard was born on September 28, 1839, at Church ville, near Rochester, New York. She was a gtaduate of the North-Western University, Chicago, and took the degvee of A.M. from Syracuse University. In 1862 she was professor of natural science at the North-West Female College, i!van«tou, 111. ; 1866-67 the was preceptress in the Wesleyan Seminary, Leima, New York ; IS6S-70, travelled abroad ; 1871, was prpsident of the Women's College of North- Western University and professor of testhetics in the university ; 1574. corresponding secretary of the National Women's ' 'hrhtian Temperance "Union ; 1878, president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Illinois and editor of the Chicago Daily Post ; 1879, president of the

National Women's Christian Temperance Union, the largest society ever organised, conducted and controlled exclusively by -women. She made the tour of the Sjuthern States in ISBJ, and in« tioduced the Women's Chiistian Teruperancs Unio'j, for the cause of total abstinence. In 18S4 she helped to establish the Prohibition (of intoxiciting drink=) paity, and was a member of its Executive Committee, which nominated Governor John P. St. John, of Kansa", for President of the United States. Ju 18S7 Miss Willard was elected president of the Women's Council of the Uni ed States, formed from confedeiated societ'es of women ; and in the same year she was elected to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopalian Church, bufc was not admitted, to a seat, women delegetes never having received the privilege of admission. She was the author of the " Home Protection Movement," to give women in America the ballot on "all temperance questions, and of the following works :—": — " Nineteen Beautiful Years," 1863 ; Hints and Helps in Temperance Work." 1875; "Women and Tem-pera.-cc," IS?3 ; "How to Win," 18S6 ; "Women i-i the Pulpit," 1SS8; "Glimpses of Fifty Years : The Autobiography of an American Woman." The first edition of this wo r k consisted of 50,000 copies. She wai chief contributor to the Union Signal, Chicago, the officitl organ of the National Women's Christian Union. She irvas associated with Joseph Cook as editor of Our Day (Boston). She was one of the board of directors of the Women's National Temperance Hospital, Chicago, and the Women's Temperance Temple, Chicago. She recently published her reminiscences, which contained an instructive account of the austerely Puritan surroundings among which she waa brought up ]