blican, was supplied with a
petition. As it had been rumored about that Mr. Greeley's report would
be against suffrage for women, the Democrats entered with great zest
into the presentation. George William Curtis, at the special
request[102] of the ladies, reserved his for the last, and when he
arose and said: "Mr. President, I hold in my hand a petition from Mrs.
Horace Greeley and three hundred other women citizens of Westchester,
asking that the word 'male' be stricken from the Constitution," the
sensation throughout the house was as profound as unexpected. Mr.
Greeley's chagrin was only equaled by the amusement of the other
members, and of the ladies in the gallery. As he arose to read his
report, it being the next thing in order, he was evidently embarrassed
in view of such a flood of petitions from all parts of the State; from
his own wife, and most of the ladies in his immediate social circle,
by seeming to antagonize the measure.

After Mr. Greeley's report, Mr. Graves made several efforts to get his
resolution adopted in time for the women to vote upon it in the spring
of 1868. Mr. Weed, of Clinton, also desired that the vote for the
measure should consist of the majority of the women of the State. The
great event of the Convention was the speech of George William Curtis
on the report of the "Committee on the right of suffrage and the
qualifications to hold office."

GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS offered the following amendment:[103]

"In the first section, strike out the word 'man'; and wherever in
that section the word 'he' occurs, add 'or she'; and wherever the
word 'his' occurs, add 'or her.'"

Mr. CURTIS said: In proposing a change so new to our political
practice, but so harmonious with the spirit and principles of our
Government, it is only just that I should attempt to show that it
is neither repugnant to reason nor hurtful to the State. Yet I
confess some embarrassment; for, while the essential reason of
the proposition seems to me to be clearly defined, the objection
to it is vague and shadowy. From the formal opening of the
general discussion of the question in this country, by the
Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, down to the present moment,
the opposition to the suggestion, so far as I am acquainted with
it, has been only the repetition of a traditional prejudice, or
the protest of mere sentimentality; and to cope with th