owed, and prefaced her remarks by
saying: "Ours has always been a free platform. We have believed in the
fullest freedom of thought and in the free expression of individual
opinion. I propose to speak upon the subject discussed by our friend,
Mrs. Stanton. It is often said that there are two sides to every
question; but there are three sides, many sides, to every question.
Let Mrs. Stanton take hers; let Horace Greeley take his; I only ask
the privilege of stating mine. (Applause). I have embodied my thought,
hastily, in a series of resolutions,[170] and my remarks following
them will be very brief."

Mrs. Blackwell continued:

I believe that the highest laws of life are those which we find
written within our being; that the first moral laws which we are
to obey are the laws which God's own finger has traced upon our
own souls. Therefore, our first duty is to ourselves, and we may
never, under any circumstances, yield this to any other. I say we
are first responsible to ourselves, and to the God who has laid
the obligation upon us, to make ourselves the grandest we may.
Marriage grows out of the relations of parties. The law of our
development comes wholly from within; but the relation of
marriage supposes two persons as being united to each other, and
from this relation originates the law. Mrs. Stanton calls
marriage a "tie." No, marriage is a _relation_; and, once formed,
that relation continues as long as the parties continue with the
natures which they now essentially have. Let, then, the two
parties deliberately, voluntarily consent to enter into this
relation. It is one which, from its very nature, must be
permanent. Can the mother ever destroy the relation which exists
between herself and her child? Can the father annul the relation
which exists between himself and his child? Then, can the father
and mother annul the relation which exists between themselves,
the parents of the child? It can not be. The interests of
marriage are such that they can not be destroyed, and the only
question must be, "Has there been a marriage in this case or
not?" If there has, then the social law, the obligations growing
out of the relation, must be life-long.

But I assert that every woman, in the present state of society,
is bound to maintain her own independence and her own integrity
of ch