This is a short abstract of Mr. Powell's paper, so far as it relates to the status of women among the Wyandottes, and I feel sure it will be a surprise to many to find that the despised Indian squaw holds a position so honourable; one to which her civilised white sister may never hope to attain, but the truth is, we find here, among the Wyandotte the survival of a social state once very widely spread, and which probably existed wherever we find kinship traced on the female side-that is, through the mother instead of the father. It was perhaps the earliest of all forms of government, especially among people of Mongoloid affinities. Among the Semites the government was patriarchal and paternal, but even among the Hebrews we find prophetesses possessed of no small amount of authority. It remained for the Aryan races to deprive women of every shred of real power, whilst professing to treat her with chivalrous deference, and it is to this probably that we may attribute the diminution in the size of the heads of women in modern times as compared with those of men-a difference which is not to be found in the more ancient skulls, as the late Professor Rolleston and other able anatomists have so often pointed out, and which it might be safely affirmed would not be found among the Wyandotte councillors, for there can be little doubt that the brain developes by use, and that in a tribe or nation wherein the burthen of government is divided between the sexes, there will be no disparity in the brain power of men and women, nor in the skulls wherein those brains are contained. Knowledge, December 23rd. I AN AFRICAN PRINCESS.-As a companion picture to the Wyandotte women councillors, let us take a few lines from the "Survey of Lake Tanganyika," by Edward Coode Hore, Master Mariner, read at the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, November 28th: "Next morning, moving across to the Kalambo side, we made friends with the natives there. I found that the chief of the district was a woman, 'Sultani Mwema,' that is, 'the good chief,' and no other name could I get. Early next morning I was told that Sultani Mwema was coming in person to meet me. She appeared about 10 o'clock with a numerous train of ladies-in-waiting. showed her everything I had in the boat, which she in turn pointed out, and explained, and criticised to her women. This princess had a self-confident manner quite different from the ordinary look of the women. She is probably about forty years of age. Her husband was with her, 'not the chief,' I was told, but the chief's husband.' They appeared much pleased with what they saw, and after I had explained the reasons for our visiting her country, I really think the 'good princess' really meant it when she said she should be very pleased to give a place for houses and gardens, if white men would come and live as friends in her district. I gave the Sultani a suitable present of cloth and beads, and a necklace to each of her women. She gave me some fowls in return, and we parted with the understanding that, when I brought my brethren, a place should be given them in which to live." THE ENGLISH WOMAN'S REVIEW. (NEW SERIES.) No. CVI.-FEBRUARY 15TH, 1882. ART. I.-EDUCATIONAL EQUALITY. STEP by step the work of improvement in the facilities possessed by women for education goes on. The last month has witnessed some very important improvements. The House of Convocation of the London University met on January 17th, and after a long and animated debate it was resolved, by a large majority, that women who were graduates of the University should be entitled to become members of Convocation. It will be remembered that the supplementary charter of 1868, which gave to the University the power of conferring degrees upon women, distinctly provided that they were not to be members of Convocation until it should pass a resolution admitting them to that body. Since that time women have obtained the University degree, and it was felt that no possible reason existed against giving them a share in the legislative work of the University which membership of Convocation implies. This is a distinct step towards a recognition of their full equality. The Royal University of Ireland has published its first list of successful candidates, and names of women stand side by side with names of men in carrying off second honours. Nineteen girls passed the matriculation examination. The New Victoria University, established in 1880, has power to grant and confer degrees "to and on all persons, male and female," without even restricting women from being members of Convocation, and voting in the election of members of the University Council or being themselves elected on the Council. These privileges however have hitherto been a dead letter because none of the colleges affiliated to the University, chief among whom was Owen's College, Manchester, admitted The obstacle has now been removed. The new Liverpool University College admits women students with men (except for the medical classes) and thus this injustice has been remedied. So little by little we climb upward. women. ART. II.-EMIGRATION FOR WOMEN. A Paper read at the Somerville Club, 38, Belgrave Road, S. W., by Mrs. WALTER BROWNE, Hon. Sec. of the Women's Emigration Society. IN the following short paper on Emigration for Women I shall keep chiefly to the prospect offered by various colonies to educated women, partly because their difficulties here and in the colonies are greater than those of servants, and partly because it was with a view to especially helping that class, that the Women's Emigration Society was originally started. I have added, however, a few details of the very high wages obtained by very ignorant servants, as many people are interested in the over-worked London maid-of-all-work, and would gladly help her to a country where she would become a valued general servant. Firstly, then, as to governesses. When the Women's Emigration Society began to work, we wrote to leading people in various colonies, and asked them whether there was much opening for educated women in those colonies, either as governesses or lady-helps. I may say that without exception they replied with a stern denial, "lady-helps were intolerable; their schools were Review so near perfection that no other mode of teaching could be thought of. Servants, of course, were wanted, but they must be the best England could supply," with much more in a like strain. This was not encouraging, but, determined not to give up, we directed our attention to sending a few servants and ladies, who were willing to become servants, to Queensland in the emigrant ships, by means of free passages. At the same time we sent three ladies (two officer's daughters and a sea-captain's daughter) to one colony which had entirely refused to receive ladies, saying no work could be found for them. Private introductions were obtained, and their success from the time of their arrival was undoubted, and as far as I know, they have never expressed any wish to return home again. Now, however, a change is gradually taking place, and colonies with which we had quite given up hope of working, are beginning to write encouragingly. As yet no such letters have been received from Melbourne, but from every other colony conciliatory letters are coming, and I think that with patience and a judicious selection of emigrants in about a year's time we shall have established good friends everywhere. The first place to which we were invited to send governesses was Queensland, and hitherto our efforts have been chiefly directed thither. Good health and spirits, with a willingness to rough it, are as necessary as French and music, which, I regret to say, are there as here absolutely essential. Our emigrants do not write back and say, "we have no work to do," although some say, "we don't get paid enough," or "the country is quite different from what I expected." One young lady wrote in this strain from a situation where she was receiving £80 per annum. Her salary was to have been raised to £100, but presumably she did not wait for this, as a month or so afterwards she wrote from New Zealand, saying, "she had not liked Queensland, which did not offer good openings for governesses," and had gone to New Zealand, where she was receiving a salary equivalent to £70. Clearly, she is so difficult to please, that it would have been better had she stayed at home. woman's 15th, The salaries offered vary from £30 to £100 (£50 is very usual); thus, the actual money given is not much more than a woman receives in England, but the present and the future for her are both far brighter than what she may expect at home. When an educated woman begins to work for her living in England, it generally means that there is no money in the family, and if she is of gentle birth, it is practically a step downwards. Therefore she is keenly sensitive to slights which are often more imaginary than real. There may be many, it is true, for whom a governess's life is a step upward, but even these live at a disadvantage, for their employers, whose children they are educating, do not associate themselves on equal terms with women whose views and tastes are those of a less refined class of our complicated society. Consequently, in either case, with rare exceptions, the governess is left out in the cold, and passes many lonely evenings, even when the elder members of the family are engaged with parties at home, at which she might easily be present. In the colonies all this is different. The governess is completely one of the family, if she only responds to the heartiness with which she is received. This, of course, rests with her, and the tendency to feel herself slighted, which is the bane of poor ladies, or to "give herself airs," must be suppressed. Colonists write to us, saying: "Governesses can get employment if only they will rough it, but they are so particular about keeping their hands clean, that they are only additional burdens to the already over-burdened housewives." Knowledge of domestic work, and willingness to use that knowledge practically, as well as theoretically, are absolutely necessary to all women who emigrate. Possibly they may not be required to put it into practice, but most probably they will, and every kind of domestic work, from scrubbing floors to making pastry, may be demanded of them. The following extract from the letter of a lady who landed in Queensland last August, will give some idea of the diversity of duties which a governess earning £50 a year may be called upon to perform:I came here a few days after landing. The people I live with are |
