ABSTRACT
To the ordinary English reader the magnitude of the aubject is in itself bewildering. The extensive are& covered by the movement in America is a bar to a cleat' comprehension of its progress to all bot those who have given it very close aml accurate study. In Eo gland we are too apt to consider the United 8tates as a homogeneous country, forgetful that it contains nearly as many nationalities with their appropriate customs and prejudices as Europe. Thus, anyone who from an acquaintance with some New England State should try to draw a picture of the southern Creole population of Louisiana, or the wild and still tolerably lawless colonists of Arizona, would fail· as completely as if he pictured the social life of Sweden after a visit to France. The position of women varies immensely in these different portions of that mighty country. Each state has its separate code of laws, and they differ most from each other in precisely those points in which
December 15th, 1886. women are most concerned. The old English law prevails in the New England and other eastern States,. but it has been modified more or leBB in some of them,. in matters such as the property of married women, custody of children, &c., and New York claims to be the State that led the movement. In the South the position of women remains very much where it was,. while in the great and growing West is to be found the fullest recognition of woman's equality, and in one or two of these states the laws almost approach a. standard of fairness. So-great, however, are the differences that we doubt if even Miss Anthony or :Mrs. Stanton, the t.alented editors of this immense work, could at short notice tell us all the varieties inthe state laws: in many the position of women is distinctly worse than in· England, in others it is decidedly better. Strange to say, the municipal franchise, which to us seems a matter of course, bas only been conceded in one or two States (though in Canada it is rapidly extending), while even the school-board franchise is only partially obtaine~ and in some States unfair conditions, such as a higher degree of assessment, are annexed to it for women.
