illanos, who buzzes as the Society Bee, and Mrs. Mollie Moore
Davis, known as the "Texas Song Bird." Mrs. Ada Hilderbrand,
editor of the _Courier_ at Gretna, did the printing for the
Woman's Exposition.

New Orleans has a Woman's National Press Association of which
Mrs. E. J. Nicholson is president; a Christian Woman's Exchange,
Mrs. R. M. Wamsley, president, doing a business of $45,000 a
year,[520] a Southern Art Union and Woman's Industrial
Association, with Mrs. J. H. Stauffer and others on the auxiliary
executive committee, and a Woman's Club,[521] originated by Miss
Bessie Bisland who was the president of the club for the first
year, 1885.

The laws of Louisiana relating to women have been given by Judge
E. T. Merrick, a well-known legal authority and for ten years the
chief-justice of the Supreme Court of the State:

The rights of married women to their estates are probably
better secured in Louisiana than in any other of these
United States. The laws on this subject are derived from
Spain. Certain provinces of that kingdom were conquered and
for centuries held by the Visigoths, among whom, as among
the Franks at Paris, the institution called the community of
aquets and gains between husband and wife, prevailed. In
Spain, as in France, there were certain provinces in which
the ancient Roman law continued in force, and they were
called the provinces of the written law. In these (called
also the countries of the _dotal regime_) there was no
community between the spouses of their acquisitions. Both of
these systems are recognized by the Louisiana civil code,
but if the parties marry without any marriage settlement the
law implies that they have married under the _regime_ of the
community. To prevent error it is proper to observe that
there have been three civil codes adopted in Louisiana,
viz., in 1808, 1825 and 1870. The marriage laws are
substantially the same in all, but bear different numbers in
each code. The following references are to the code of 1870.
Except in a very limited number of cases the husband and
wife are incapable of making binding contracts with each
other during the marriage. Hence all settlements