equality.

The American Woman Suffrage Association held in 1872 its fourth
annual meeting, and celebrated its third anniversary at St.
Louis.

Dr. STONE, of Michigan, said: Friends of the cause of universal
suffrage--We live in an era of common sense. Sir William
Hamilton, who was a great philosopher, and who investigated all
the systems of philosophy from Aristotle down to Descartes and
Kant, who went to the lowest depths of philosophy, dived deep for
pearls, sometimes bringing up also mud and clams, declared after
all his survey of the various schools of philosophy, that the
great regulating power of the human mind was common sense; that
of all the faculties, that which controlled all others was common
sense. That was the basis of his system of philosophy. Now it is
just as appropriate as friends of social and political reform,
that we should rely upon common sense, as it was for this great
philosopher, and it is this on which we purpose to rely. Wherever
there is a battle to be fought, they who make the best use and
most continued exercise of common sense are sure to win. This is
not only true in moral contests, in the strife of mind with mind,
but it is true in those material contests such as we have
recently had. It was true in the great contest between Germany
and France. It was this the crusaders lacked, and the reason why
they spent so many ages in doing nothing was that they did not
exercise their common sense. When the Jews, by their follies, by
their obduracy, had destroyed themselves, and the Almighty wished
to bring them to their senses, he said, "Come, let us reason
together." For he knew if they would exercise their common sense
they would no longer be rebellious as they had been. And it is
true at the present time. I think if we can succeed in inducing
those who differ from us to reason--I mean to exercise that
regulating power which the common mind as well as the philosophic
mind possesses, if they would exercise their common sense, the
battle would be fought and the victory would be won. Sometimes
circumstances unexpectedly bring men to their senses in these
matters. We know there has been a great deal of discussion on the
subject of slavery, and we needed a Dred Scott decision to bring
men to their senses. When they c