sors, members of the State Boards of Education and of
Health, Lunacy and Charity, without special legislation. It was
required that there should be women on the boards of the three State
Primary and Reform Schools, State workhouse, State almshouse and Board
of Prison Commissioners, and that certain managers and officers of the
Reformatory Prison for Women at Sherborn should be women.

In 1884 a bill was passed requiring the appointment of two women on
the board of every Hospital for the Insane and one woman physician for
each. In 1885 it was enacted that women might be assistant registers
of deeds; in 1886 that they might be elected overseers of the poor. In
1887 a law was passed requiring police matrons in all cities of 30,000
inhabitants or more. There had been matrons in Boston fifteen years.

In 1890 the Supreme Court decided that a woman could not act as notary
public. In 1891 it was enacted that there should be women factory
inspectors; in 1895 that a woman could be appointed assistant town or
city clerk; in 1896 that county commissioners might appoint a woman
clerk _pro tempore_!

The evolution of the Special Commissioner shows the laborious
processes by which women make any gains in Massachusetts. In 1883 a
law was passed that women attorneys could be appointed Special
Commissioners to administer oaths, take depositions and acknowledge
deeds. In 1889 it was amended to give Special Commissioners the same
powers as justices of the peace in the above respects and also that of
issuing summonses for witnesses. In 1896 it was provided that any
woman over twenty-one, the same as any man, whether a lawyer or not,
could be appointed commissioner; a change of name by marriage should
terminate her commission but should not disqualify her for
re-appointment. In 1898 the powers were extended to appointments of
appraisers of estates. In 1899 the powers of the Special Commissioner
were made coincident with those of justice of the peace, but the
authority to perform the marriage ceremony was taken from justices
generally and is now given to specified ones only.

Women can not be justices of the peace. They may be appointed by the
State to take acknowledgments of deeds but not to perform the marriage
ceremony unless regularly ordained ministers.

Women at present are serving on State Boards as follows: Commissioners
of Prisons, Charity and Free Public Library--two each; trustees of
Insane Hospitals at Danvers, Northampton,