THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN GERMANY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1007, 23 November 1883, Page 4

THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN GERMANY.

I would riot like to be »- Ge«nan- peasants woman (says: Mr ex-Oonsul HenryRaffles, in- his newlyrpublished work ** Germany’ Seen 'without" 'spectacles’’); I would prefer tp~be a German horse, for German houses are 'well treated and are s*atq?ally kind to all dumb animals. Women, hownone of these kind attentions and' considerations at the hands' of the male portion qf the' community, but are trdated aa if tHey’were of a species lower thad'tho Brutes, with ho feelings and no is made to perform every kind of degrading labor. She prepares the fields'‘for 'planting, she drives the oxen and holds, the plough, and not unfreqnently she tikes the pltfce- of the ox before; the ‘plough. She sows the seed and tills the soil, -she shovels, she hoes, she reaps,' she gathers the harvest, she threshes the grain and carries it tojfche mill, she grinds it £it the mill,; sji,e markets the products of |wir small st|rip,of,land to buy bread for hnr.childran.and beer for ,|»er lord syraiiptffer.' ■“SKe, dpps the .work and the imatfaef in‘the fabtofieS she is the scavSnger for cleaning the streets and for' gathering’oflal in the cities and highways for enriching the land: She does everything but ’play soldier and /hang around beershops and drink beer from early morn until late at-riight,- like the 'German men, and these would b? ; assigned' to her,,provided; they required hard labor or of apy k’nd, pet- they are strong 'and robust, and perform' what is called a * man’s hthof.’', .While at work in the fieldsjfjknd'.lt’, 'fe,drily; dating the warm months of tbit 11 they can, they are only paid 10 or. 12 cents for a day’s labor hours. ( When they ’board themselves they receive from 20 to 28 or 30 Wmts ri day.*’ s; .JCohwrik; Jdiggiq?on, waiting <in the “ Woman’s Joqrqal ” maintains that adnpjrable w .the pgripaqs mpy be in many respects, their views concerning woman are barbarous. Women, said a German lady recently, was created to be the servant 'of man. t -i He': says':—“All the theories of social courtesy in Germany, as far as l.have known, imply deference as due to the man, not the woman. Mrs Pitman) t ihl 3fer “Jpfuropesn gives an amusing accoui.t of the awkwardness of Hungarian army officers at being asked ,tO':hdl4'f s jJ* < *y’aj shawl for her ; since their profeaaibnal forbids their carrying anything in their hands. But; (the same ix’ ther- rule in rail good society in Germany ; and if a gentleman and lady, walk together In the it is drift fhe lidjfyinbt her eUtprt,’ whom proripits id carry a-parcel.; 1 To such s doea thisgd, that a dried htgl&d of’-a'yhiing' Atflericrin to allow heri, d !6* ’Hd*" dirfa ’sskri, Hiobkrry the bundle; it aould never do for her to be seen walking .with a,,man who would so. bimaeff as td'tako iti It looks as' if the whole civilised -lyerld were in a fair way to be perceptibly through tho^c« r ioua #3acaic< } bat aemi-cifuldea nation.