d at the age of twenty-one years, and who
shall be a citizen of the United States, or is at the time
of the adoption of this constitution by the congress of the
United States a citizen of the State of Texas, and shall
have resided in this State one year next preceding an
election, and the last six months within the district,
county, city or town in which he or she offers to vote,
shall be an elector.

The _Woman's Journal_ of December 4, 1875, contains a letter from
Mrs. Sarah W. Hiatt, who presented a memorial to the constitutional
convention. The memorial was referred to the Committee on Suffrage.
In regard to the effect, she says:

Since the presentation of the memorial I have had some very
interesting letters on the subject from a few of our leading men;
some for, others against woman suffrage, but all treating the
subject respectfully. I copy below a portion of one just
received. I should like to give it entire with the writer's name,
but have not his permission to do so:

As you apprehended, the question of suffrage had been
definitely settled in the convention before the reception of
your letter. It remains as heretofore, unrestricted manhood
suffrage. That all the rabble, the very _debris_ of society,
should be allowed a voice in government, and yet
intelligent, highly-cultivated women who are amenable to the
laws of the State and who own and pay taxes on property,
should be debarred from a voice in making the laws which are
to affect their persons and property equally with that of
the men, is to my mind simply an outrage on reason and
justice. * * * The fear of ignoring the right of petition,
and gallantry towards your sex on the part of a few,
prevented the memorial from being summarily rejected.
Outside of ---- and ---- I know of no member of the
convention who openly favors woman suffrage in any form. It
is true there are a number of gentlemen who, in private
conversation, will admit the justice of your plea, but avoid
it by saying that ladies generally neither demand nor desire
the right to vote. The truth is, these men (and society is
full of them) have not the moral courage to do simple
justice.