WOMEN AND ANARCHY.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 245, 10 March 1888, Page 3

WOMEN AND ANARCHY.

A Modern Joan of Arc. "In all the great countries of Europe (he said) there are women for whom their fellow anarchists would gladly shed the last drop of their heart's blood. In Franco theic is the illustrious Louise Michel, the nineteenth century Joan of Arc. From her childhood she has devoted herself to tho cause of the people, and the paople idoliso her as woman has seldom been idolised before. When she was exiled to New Caledonia for 12 years she stripped herself of all her clothes except an old cloak, in order that she might be able to cover the nakedness of a few unfortunates who Mere exiled with her. When Franco heard of this act of self-sacrifice, through Rochefort, it saw that Louise Michel was more than a communist, that she was a true woman. "To-day Louise comes little before the public. Occasionally she is seen in the fctreets of Paris, dressed in sombre black, bound on somo mission of charity or mercy. She wears no ornament, and pays no heed to the dictates of fashion, yet there is nothing commonplace about her. How can there bo, when she is a descendant of great nobles, tho only plebeian blood in her veins being derived from her mother, who was a true daughter of the people ? "So much for France. In Germany there is more than one woman who has sacriiiced much for the cause of humanity, but owing to the rigorous police system the public have heard little of them. The best known of these woman is the Countess Shanck. Of noblo birth and very wealthy, she has proved for many years an efficient agitator. The Government became suspicious of her actions somo time ago and ordered her to leave Germany. She same to London and is there to-day. She is en rapport with all the leading socialists in Great Britain, and has proved herself a valuable coadjutor to them. There is nothing striking about her personal appearance, except that she is rather masculine and determined looking. lam told that she receives a handsome yearly income from her husband, who is still in Germany. "In Austria, Italy, and Russia there are, of course, many female agitators, but even if I knew their names, I would not tell them to you. All the world has heard of the women who have died for Nihilism in Russia, ana it is pretty certain that the world will hear of a good many more women dying in the same way.

The Darling of London Socialists. " But now turn to England. The female agitators best known in London are Mrs Annie Besant, May Morris, and Mrs Wilson. Of these May Morris is unquestionable the loveliest, the most admired, and the most advanced in her political opinions. The daughter of "William Morris, the poet, she is brought into constant communication -with men like Prince Karapotkin and other revolutionists as well as with hardworking day labourers, who have pinned their faith to Socialism. The men who have learned to know her thoroughly almost worship her, and I once heard a poor socialist say of her, * She looks like an angel, and she's too good for this crazy worla.' Dressed a3 she always is in the old English stylo, you can readily imagine thatC with her rare beauty and exceptional intellectual attainments, it is easy for her to win hosts of friends among the thousands in London who are discontented with the condition of modern society. " May's sisteri another charming girl, is also a revolutionist, but occasional fits of sickness prevent her from coming to the front as muoh as her younger sister, who, by the way, is only twenty- two years of age, and yet may fairly claim to be the darling of the London socialists. " Mrs Besant is by no means so extreme in her views as is generally supposed. She and Bradlaugh edit a paper together, and she gives all her spare time to the propagation*^ her socialistic ideas. In tuno of trouble she comes to the front with characteristic courage. She makes a living by her pen, and I believe her husband, who is a clergyman, allows her a small income. Her children, a boy and a girl, live with their father, and only see their mother at stated intervals. Personally, Mrs Besant is by no means an impressive woman. "Mrs Wilson, anotherwell-known socialist (or anarchist, if you like the torrn better), is the wife of a stock-broker. She, tda, devotes most; of her time to literary, work, and is a sort of collaborateur with Prince Krapotkin. Socially her position is good, and it is a surprise to many that she should be a socialist. She is a frequent visitor at William Morris's house, and is considered to be one of the ablest propagators of the new religion. "I am told that another London lady does a good deal of literary work for Stopniak, the well-known Russian, and that she is a pronounced revolutionist. I have not heard her name, however, and, anyhow, Stepniak is very little of an agita- 1 tor now, and his services to the cause are of slight account. Women Agitator a in America.

" Of women agitators in America I know little, but I do know that there id only one : of them who \b thought anything of in Europe, and that is Mrs Parsqns. The 1 courage with which she has upheld hor husband and tho zeal with which she is trying to spread the' doctrines of anarchy have drawn universal attention to her. Other American women talk loudly about 'the downtrodden masses and the sacred cause of humanity, but Mrs Parsons is tho only American woman whom European revolutionists believe to have the courage to die for her conviction." A long silence ensued. The speaker lit a cigar and puffed furiously at it, and his j fellow anarchists bent tkeir heads and seemed lost in thought, while the reporter i slipped on tiptoe out of the room.