trongest utterance of Bishop Gilbert
Haven. Once at an equal rights society convention in the Academy
of Music, Brooklyn, where from floor to ceiling was gathered an
admirable and immense audience, with profound respect I heard
these memorable words:

"I shall never be satisfied until a _black woman_ is seated in
the presidential chair of the United States," than which no more
advanced claim for the complete legal recognition of woman has
been made in our country.

In February, 1879, a spirited debate took place in the
legislature upon an amendment to the Episcopal Church bill, which
struck out the word "male" from the qualification of voters. The
Detroit _Post and Tribune_ says a vigorous effort was made to
defeat the measure, but without success. The justice of allowing
women to take part in church government was recognized, and the
amendment carried.

We have written persistently to leading women all over the State
for facts in regard to their local societies, and such responses
as have been received are embodied in this chapter. We give
interesting reports of a few of the county societies in which
much has been accomplished.

Of the work in Quincy Mrs. Sarah Turner says:

We never organized a woman suffrage society, although our
literary club has done much for the cause in a general way.
We had crowded houses on the occasions of a very able speech
from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a most spirited one from
Miss Phoebe Couzins. For the past eight years a dozen
tax-paying women of this town have availed themselves of the
privilege granted them years ago, and voted at the school
meetings; and two years ago a woman was elected member of
the school-board.

Lansing reports for January, 1871, Mrs. Livermore's lecture
on "The Reasons Why" [women should be enfranchised]; the
organization of a city society with sixty members at the
close of the annual meeting of the State Association held in
that city in March; a lecture from Mrs. Stanton before the
Young Men's Association; the adoption of a declaration of
rights by the Ingham County Society, March, 1872, signed by
169 of the best people of the county. In 1874, of the many
meetings held thos