her, when first
the new-born babe nestles in her bosom, and a heretofore unknown
love springs up in her heart, finds herself unprepared for this
new relation in life, and she sends forth the child scarred and
dwarfed by her own weakness and imbecility, as no stream can rise
higher than its fountain.

We find no report of the speeches of Frances D. Gage, Lydia Ann
Jenkins, Ernestine L. Rose, Euphemia Cochrane, of Michigan, nor J.
Mitchell, of Missouri, editor of the _St. Louis Intelligencer_, nor of
the presence of James Mott, whose services were always invaluable on
the committees for business and resolutions.

In 1857, the Legislature of Ohio passed a bill enacting that no
married man shall dispose of any personal property without having
first obtained the consent of his wife; the wife being empowered in
case of the violation of such act, to commence a civil suit in her own
name for the recovery of said property; and also that any married
woman whose husband shall desert her or neglect to provide for his
family, shall be entitled to his wages and to those of her minor
children. These amendments were warmly recommended by Gov. Salmon P.
Chase in his annual message. The Select Committee[20] of the Senate on
the petition asking the right of suffrage for woman, reported in favor
of the proposed amendment, recommending the adoption of the following
resolution:

_Resolved_, That the Judiciary Committee be instructed to report
to the Senate a bill to submit to the qualified electors at the
next election for Senators and Representatives an amendment to
the Constitution, whereby the elective franchise shall be
extended to the citizens of Ohio without distinction of sex.

But the bill was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 44 to 44. The
petition had received 10,000 signatures. We give this able report in
full.[21]

The proceedings of these early Conventions might be read with pride
and satisfaction by the women of Ohio to-day, with all their superior
advantages of education. Frances D. Gage was a natural orator. Her wit
and pathos always delighted her audiences, and were highly appreciated
by those on the platform. Her off-hand speeches, ready for any
occasion, were exactly complemented by J. Elizabeth Jones, whose
carefully prepared essays on philosophy, law, and government, would do
honor to any statesman. Together they were a great power in Ohio. From
this time Convent