o work
for the great object we have at heart. Let Republicans go to
their primary meetings, and offer woman suffrage resolutions
there. Let Democrats go and do likewise. Let every woman take
tracts bearing on the subject and give her influence and labor to
the work. Let us all stand up as faithful representatives of a
great idea. Sooner or later, we shall see a noble reform party in
this country--I care not what its name--which will sweep away
forever the dens of immorality and drunkenness by which we are
surrounded, which will build up a Christian commonwealth--and
rule over it--not because it is powerful in numbers, but because
it is based upon the principles of the Declaration of
Independence, of universal justice and of impartial liberty.

Rev. HENRY WARD BEECHER said: I heartily concur with every word
spoken by Mr. Blackwell, and while on this point I wish to call
your attention to an argument used as against woman suffrage, by
men who perhaps might otherwise be with us. They argue that
universal suffrage is itself not a good but an evil, and that to
add to the evil is not to correct it. "It is bad," say they,
"that every white man shall vote," and it had to be pledged, for
political reasons, to give the ballot to 800,000 ignorant blacks;
but two bad things are not to be made right by now extending the
vote to women, a great majority of whom are in the lower walks of
life, and are not supposed to be competent to inform themselves.
This is a most plausible argument to those who are under the
unconscious influence of Pharisaism, to those who think that
wisdom lives and dies with them. It is a strong argument, too; I
don't know that you can put any stronger; but I am bold to make
the statement that, low and bad as human nature may be in some of
its phases, there is nothing in this world that is so safe to
trust or to believe in. And though governments may grow, and gain
experience here and there with perpetually shifting dynasties and
times, yet after all it is human nature that keeps governments up
and gives to the world its laws. The great underlying force is
genuine human nature with all its mistakes. We have recently had
a great illustration of this. I wish to call your attention to
one fact. If there was anything in this world that the