WOMEN'S WRONGS—LECTURE BY A LADY.

West Coast Times, Issue 1325, 21 December 1869, Page 3

WOMEN'S WRONGS — LECTURE BY A LADY.

(From the San Francisco Daily Neios.) Miss Anna E. Dickinson lectured at the Metropolitan Theatre recently to an overflowing house, hundreds being turned away from the door fox 1 want of standing room inside. It was full fifteen minutes after eight o'clock before Miss Dickinson made her appearance upon the stage, and the audience became very restless and noisy. During this time a delegation from the Women's Suffrage Association of San Francisco, accompanied, or rather followed, by a few stunted and weaker specimens'of the sterner sex, came forward Upon the stage from I.ehind the wings, and took the chairs which had been provided fir them. They were received vdth applause and laughter, and the males Avho followed shrank back to the chairs in the rear, and were soon lost to vieAv. The suffrage Avoman looked pleased and flattered at Avhat they mistook as approbation. The sight presented Avas strange and striking. One of the sterner sex, probably a helpmate to one of the suffrage women. Avas sent back and forth over the stage several times on official business, and Avas loudly applauded each appearance. Finally the house became ao croAVded that ladies and jrcntlemen from the audience Avere obliged to take seats on the stage, and the peculiar feature of the evening was diluted. A Avoman, probably one of the grand officers of the suffrage females, came in, and Avas about to take a conspicuous front seat, Avhen the crowd cheered and laughed so outrageously that she Avas obliged to retreat behind the scenes, and refused an encore.

Miss Dickinson then came forward and delivered her soul-stirring lecture " Out of the Depth?." She said it had often been asked, " Why do you women meddle with politics ?" The reason why she talks of woman's wrong?, woes and suffering, was because she was a woman, and as long as there women degraded and were beieft of hope and friends, she would ask the reason why. The reason of the present state ot affiirs is that people have forgotten God, and men have not the proper respect for woman. Now-a-days women are fitted out with accomplishments, and are not taught how to prepare themselves for a proper life. It is not paying tie respect due to womankind to train a young girl for the matiimonial market — it is degradation. The people of this country respect labor ; but, while doing so, they honor the man with a white shirt and soft delicate hands, but they turn aside and pay no respect to the man dressed in a red shirt and A\ho has hard hands derived from manly labor. So i is with woman. A woman finely dres-sed in silks, satins, and jewels receives attention on every hand. In many of these cases the finery is purchased at the expense of a father's or brother's honor, or perchance that of the ■wearer's virtue. A woman who work« is not considered a lad}'. We hear the expressions " that person in the kitchen — that woman at work — that lady in the parlor." The woman who spends her father's mon^y lavishly has a good chance of marrying well. If women are fitted for the best positions in the world they should occupy them. She then spoke of the female clerks in stores in Philadelphia. Complaints were made that women were pert and out of their places in such posit on--. She had never had any tiouble with them, because she treated them with the same courtesy and civility as if they were her guests in her parlor These girls in many cases are not properly trained. Women who go into stores where girls are employed as clerks usually make their desires known by giving orders for this and that, and treating girls as if they were outcasts from good society. The girls in turn treat 6uch persons, as they deserve, with scorn. These girls are manacled by the chains of society — the whole weight of society is dragging them down. She had said that the men of this const stood head and shoulders above the women, and she meant it. "If the women could have occupied the same positions, and have had the same advantages as the men, they would have stood head and shoulders above the men. There is no such thing as keeping women At a certain position and there holding them. They, as men,, must go up or down forward, or retreat. When I say these things, and address myself to " you," I do not mean you who are before me ; I do not mean an isolated community, but the whole human species. Men strive hard to fucceed in business, and to surround themselves ■with all the nice things and comforts of life. They do not want to live on the third floor back room. Women have the same ambition and desires in regard to this as men. In order to secure this, they have marriage on the one hand, and prostitution on the other. I could walk up and down your principal streets, and point out many Louses in which there are wives sitting alone, their husbands being, perhaps, jnst round the corner with some other woman. These women have been educated to look upon their husbands merely as a means of support, and it was for this that marriage was contracted, There were probably many who were laughing at her, and saying " Trash, nonsense," but it was nothing of the kind. She then spoke of how girls were brought up to sit in the parlor ; it would be disgraceful to have it said that they worked. Fathers who have had their pockets severely drawn upon to support daughters in idleness, get anxious to marry them off, so that some other man's pockets may suffer. (Laughter.) These girls are taught that the one great idea is marriage. If it were possible, she would keep many apart, and divorce others. What God hath joined together let no man put asunder — neither can all the powers of heaven or hell put them asunder, but many of the matches made wore not of that chara l cter^ ; the)' were for money and position. Much is said about scandal among women. The reason of .this is because the world is full of vroe, and because women are kept from their proper sphere of usefulness. She spoke of Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe's scandal about Lord Byron, and the comments made upon if; by the press, calling for concealment of such things. Now-a-days women sell themselves for fine dresses, and at the marriage altar. There are now, at the time I speak, forty thousand young girls in the city of New York, going up and down the side walks, outcasts and abandoned. They are ntn t old women, neither are they there because they Avant to be. In most cases a woman had rather be good than had — some are driven there by starvation and want. Miss Dickenson tnen related a very touching story where a young girl was driven by want and love

for a sick and dying mother, to part with her virtue. In. many cases a girl has to face the Question, " Destitution or dishonor." They are traiiied to Avatit firte clothing and display, and in some instances they seek a life of shame that they may obtain them. Magdalen Asylums cannot make them ri,-.e — they want justice ; make it honorable for women to work, and there will be no. need of these asylums. Society is driving its strongest and best women to a life of excitement. If you wish to claim these women you must bid higher than the devil. Some women will have dresses when tliey are educated to believe that in that they must look for enjoyment. In order to do so women will go out of their homes, around corners and in other streets, to find companionship.

Australian Fxploration. — The Ovens Spectator furnishes the following particulars of the expedition which has just set out to define the boundary line between Victoria and New South "Wales, from the great dividing range at Forest-hill, to Cape Howe: — '• The party consists of Mr W. A. Black, Mr J f lll Clark, second officer, and nine men. They Avill take with them twelve pack and saddle horses, carrying instruments, tents, and blankets, tools of all kinds, a fowling piece, a breech-loading rifle, a couple of revolvers, fish hooks and lines, simple medicines, a syringe, and ammonia in case of snake bite, and a variety of articles Avhich are likely to prove useful on such an expedition. The first great difficulty Avhich may be apprehended — although the entire journey may be anything but plain sailing — Avill be the Snowy River, as it Avill be flooded by the melting snow, and is quite unknown Avherethe line crosses it. It is not at all impossible that the party will have to turn northwards before they can cross the main stream. Up to this the base of operations will be the Omeo. After they pass that river, Mr Black Avill endeavor to open up communications with Twofold Bay. Beyond this the country is a terra incognita, nothing being known ot it except that it is cut up by rapid rivers and precipitous ranges, and that it is extremely scrubby. As far as the Omeo the party will carry their own provisions, but from that point they will take Avith them a flock of sheep. This is a capital idea, especially as, owing to the nature of the Avork in hand, the rate of actual travelling avill be slow. In fact, Avedo not anticipate hearing of Mr Black's appearance at Cape Howe before six months. The whole of the expedition is one of the greatest importance, and under the leadership of Mr Black, who Avhile carrying out his own particular business thoroughly, is observant of ever) Tthing of interest Avhich he meets is almost certain to result in some valuable discoveries. The rivers are knoAvn to be auriferous but have never been followed throughout their Avhole course, and goldbearing quartz is likely to be met Avitb." The London correspondent of the Nciv lork Tribune comments as follows on the recent movement in London amongst the "influential colonists" :—": — " London, July 24, 1864 A statement has reached me of a startling kind, but from a quarter which renders it impossible not to \ give it attention. It Avould appear, accerding to this statement, that the remarkable indifference of England to the feeling.' of her colonists, which originally alienated the United States from her dominion and in Avhich she has never varied up to the present hour, is likely to involve consequences of the sime kind with all those communities Avhich she has planted during the last century. A meeting Avas lately held in London, consisting of all the most eminent representatives of the Pacific colonies, and presided over by one of the most, eminent if not the most eminent of colonial governors. At this gathering, deep and general dissatisfaction Avas expressed with the political and moral relations of these important and growing countries with the parent State. And all the influential colonists present, representing, in fact, all the important interests of iheir respective settlements, joined in the expression of a determination to require from Great Britain some reconstitution ef her Colonial Empire, Avhich should afford them a guarantee that the interests of the variou-5 colonies should receiA'e due and prompt attention. In the event of this being found impracticable — and the sense of the meeting was decidedly that it Avould be so found — it Avas declared by all present that they should use all their influence Avith their respective settlements to lea\ r e the British allegiance, and s-eek in some form the protectorate of the United States ; or, at all events, to beco'iie in such a manner as may be decided, members of the system of the Great Republic. The meeting Avas not public."

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