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The Proper Sphere Of Woman: From The Speech Of Mr. Rayner, O...

The Proper Sphere Of Woman: From The Speech Of Mr. Rayner, O... image
Parent Issue
Day
8
Month
September
Year
1841
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

"Those who know me well, know that Í am incapable of any dierespect lo tho fairer portion of creation. No man bows wiih moro sincere devotion to the power and majesty of woman. And it ia my great regard, my inexpressible veneration for the female charucter, my elevated conception of ils dignity and its worth that causes me to louk wiih such utter abhorrence upon the conduct of the female portion of abohtion petitions here. At least half of the signers of these petitions, breathing venoni and denunciation against the entire South, are women. Sir, women have no business interfering where men are contending for empire. They are as unfit to teach ua our political dutiea, as they are to Iead our armiea in war, or to conduct ourcouncils in peace. The scènes here are too exciting; the conflicts too bitter for their tender and delicate naturos. Their business is to soothe the impetuous and hardened nature of man, insteud of exciting it into süll more violent cotnmotion. Their empire is decidedly ono of theheart: "Wherever a tear is dried, a vrounded heart Bound up, a bruised spirit with the dow Of sympathy anoinled, or a pang Of honest suiTerincr soothed,therc is woman'a sphore, there is the prop er theaire tor her action. Bul when they will unsexthemselves, by thrusting themselves into scènes for which nature never intended them; the)' must expect their conduct toundergo the ordeal of ctrilicism - for a reprobution of iheir courso isa duty which we owe lo others üf their eex, whose modesty and sense of propriety restrain them within their own sphere. It always denotes a distcmpered staieofmor al feeling, to seo women busily interfering in thepoliticahaiTairs of anation. English history reads us many lessonson this subject. The plans and intrigues that led to the elevation of Cromwell, the most finished hypocrite of modern history, wcreoriginated and matured at the pretended tnuet ings for prayer, in which the women of the time not only participated, but excrcised an important influence. What sort of an administration had England in the reign of Charles II. when ministers even, held seals to day,and were expelled from oilice to morrow, as one favorite or another happened to predominate in the Sovereign's offections? The revoluiion in France,was hurried in it3 progress by tho fi.sh-women in Paris; and many of the horrors of that bloody time were perpetrated by témale hands. And ali the hypocritical cant of the days of Cromweil; all the idisgusting intrigue of the court of Charles Il.all the horrid excesses of the French revolution;I proceeded not from a more flendish 9pirt,j than tlmt wliich bornes oü,Io tjgeiivcourseí llie abolitionists of the present day.; for they are not only regardless ofihe human j suflering which may result írom thcirj course, bul the inevitable tendeney of their measures is to ovcrthrow thogovernment itself, nnd ihereby oxtinguish! forever thc hopos of freedom ihroúghout ihe world. j