PETERBORO, N. Y., _November 15, 1872_. GERRIT SMITH.

DEAR LUCY:--I am glad to hear that the American Woman
Suffrage Association is to meet at St. Louis this month. The
more women are brought to think on this subject, the more
they will be convinced that their spiritual growth has been
stinted by customs and opinions which have no real
foundation in nature and truth; and the frank, free West is
more courageous than the East in carrying its convictions
promptly into practice. I rejoiced in the recent political
action of women in Massachusetts and elsewhere--first,
because it was salutary for women themselves as all things
are which promote the activity of their minds on important
subjects; and, secondly, because the promptness and
earnestness with which they almost universally took the
right side has greatly helped to convince those who needed
convincing that women are competent to examine into affairs
of National interest and to form rational conclusions
therefrom.

Although I feel grateful to the Republican party for
treating our claims with more respectful consideration than
any other party has done, yet my principal reason for
earnestly desiring its continuance in power is, that it is
essentially the party of progress. It owes its existence to
progress, and its vitality has been preserved by its
practical support of progressive ideas. It embodies a very
large portion of the culture, the conscientiousness, and the
enlightened good sense of the nation, and its elements are
so harmonized as to produce a safe medium between old
fogyism and radical rashness. It is natural for such a party
to respect our claims, because they have become accustomed
to respect what is founded on principles of justice. It was
the learning of that lesson which originally made them a
powerful party, and they can not be false to ideas of true
progress without committing suicide. Of course, with
changing events, party names will change; but I hope women
will carefully notice what principles underlie these
changes, and will conscientiously give their influence to