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Southland Times, Issue 638, 1 March 1867, Page 2

Advantages of Femaee Education. — At the Edinburgh Working Men's Club soriee on Saturday, Professor Masson concluded an excellent address as follows : — I see here ladies who probably will not belong to this club. I may have opinions on that subject, but I shall not say anything at present beyond this, that you see extraordinary phenomena connected with, those clubs and associations of men on account of ladies being excluded from these associations. For example there is one large club which is called the Eepublic of the United States of America — (laughter) — and there are certain ladies, namely, all the women in America — who have been excluded from that club, or at least excluded from its external organisation, and there is one " brick " of a lady who is protesting against this, and is going to stand for Congress, or as a member of the American Parliament. (Laughter.) Well, we will not go into that. It is a very large question. But there is a little bit, one may say, of the same question which may be quite pertinent here, and that is — whether men belong to clubs or no they will always find their highest intellectual gratification where they can also be most intimate in a hearty way. And whatever plan our country may adopt generations hence as to this matter of the rights of women, one doctrine is perfectly sure, and it is that there is no woman — no wife, no mother, no daughter, no sister — but is much more splendid as a woman, much more splendid as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, or as a sister the more she is educated, the higher her intellect, the more nearly in all respects she knows what the man knows, and can talk with frim face to face on his own ground. (Applause.) A great deal of rubbish has been talked upon this queetion, and some of our public writers ought to be ashamed of tbemselves for introducing thatphrase, " strong-minded woman," as if it were an opprobriun to be strong-mindedw They have had certain people in their eye who, I think, are weak-minded, and who would be weakminded as men. But, taking strong-minded in its true sense, no man worth his salt— no man worth being called a man — will hold any other opinion than that the woman is more thoroughly a woman the stronger-minded she is — the' abler and more cultivated in every respect. (Applause.) I hope this club will never interfere with that most intimate and noble of all clubs — the club of a man's own fire side. (Loud applause.