a decree of divorce or separation for woman, if the court
can give the children to the father at its pleasure? Here is the
strong cord by which woman is held in bondage, and the courts,
all composed of men, know this, and act on it in their decisions.

A petition was addressed to the constitutional commission of
1873, requesting an amendment restoring to the women of New
Jersey their original right to vote, which that body decided
would be "inexpedient." A bill introduced in the legislature by
Senator Cutler, of Morris county, making women eligible to the
office of school-trustee, became a law March 25, 1873:

Be it enacted, That hereafter no person shall be eligible to
the office of school-trustee, unless he or she can read and
write; and women who are residents in the district and over
twenty years of age, shall also be eligible to the office of
school-trustee, and may hold such office and perform the
duties of the same, when duly elected by ten votes of the
district.--[Chap. 386.

February 26, 1874, a law for the better protection of the
property of married women was passed:

1. Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the
State of New Jersey, That any married woman who now is, or
may hereafter become, entitled, by gift, devise or bequest,
to any contingent estate, or any interest in any real or
personal property or estate, may, with the concurrence of
her husband, compound and receipt for, assign and convey the
same, in all cases where she lawfully might, if a _feme
sole_; and every release, receipt, assignment, discharge,
agreement, covenant, or contract, thereupon entered into by
her in regard to the same and to the said property, shall be
as valid and binding in every respect, upon her, her heirs,
executors, administrators, and assigns, and any and all
persons claiming under her, them or either of them, as if
she were at the time of entering into the same, a _feme
sole_, and when duly executed and acknowledged in the manner
provided by law for conveyance of real estate, may be
recorded in the surrogate's office, and whenever it relates
to real estate in the clerk's or recorder's office, of the