Doctor Hunter's "Divorce Amendment" bill for England was heartily supported by the committee. The conveners sent an appeal to each Scottish member of Parliament asking him to be in the House, and to support the second reading, which was set down for the 15th of March. Unfortunately, the bill was crowded out. This was also the fate of Mr. Stuart's "Women as County Councillors" bill; and Mr. Woodall's bill for "Extending the Franchise to Women" had to give place to other public business. The committee petitioned in favor of these bills.

Another bill brought in at the beginning of that session. affecting the conditions of women's work was Mr. Provand's "Shop Hours" bill. After consideration by the committee, the following resolution and amendment to the bill were adopted and recommended for discussion at the meeting of the council:

"That, while in favor of a reduction in the excessive hours of labor of shop assistants, both in the case of men and women, the Scottish Women's Liberal Federation considers that Mr. Provand's bill, by fixing a maximum number of hours for shop-women only, will place them at a disadvantage with men in that kind of work, but approves of the principle of the bill in regard to young persons.

"The federation is of the opinion that Section 10 of Mr. Provand's bill, which exempts the employer's family from the provisions of the bill, is inequitable, and ought not to be passed into law."

The following bills dealing with temperance were also supported: "Grocers' License" bill, "Local Veto" bill, "Early Closing Act Amendment" bill, "Sale of Intoxicating Liquors to Children" bill. The committee petitioned. in favor of Mr. Buchanan's "Right of Way "bill. The "Married Women's (Artisans' Wives)" bill was considered, as also Sir J. Lubbock's "Shops Weekly Half-Holiday " bill, and Mr. Burt's "Employers' Liability" bill.

On the recommendation of the bills committee, the executive submitted several resolutions to the University

Commissioners appointed under the University Act of 1889, as amendments on the draft ordinance dealing with the graduation of women and their instruction in the universities.

It is gratifying to learn that the final ordinances empower the University Court to open all the faculties to women; that the museums and libraries may be used by women, although no provision is made for women's sharing in the bursaries; and that the ordinances with certain restrictions are retrospective-allowing women to graduate who have already attended regular courses and obtained certificates in examinations of the same character and standard as those for the M. A. degree.

On account of the general election which took place last summer there was no proposed legislation for the bills committee to discuss until after the opening of Parliament in the end of January of this year 1893.

Among the government measures which the committee recommended the executive of the federation to support, without binding itself to approval of all details, are the Government of Ireland bill and the Liquor Traffic Local Control bill.

The literature committee has also published and distributed leaflets dealing with the questions of the day, such as, "Why Am I a Liberal?" "Can People be Made Sober by Act of Parliament?" "Why Should Women Desire Relig ious Equality?" "Trades Unions for Working-Women," "Woman's Suffrage."

During the last year several municipal bodies were asked to consider the advisability of appointing women inspectors under the Shop Hours Act; and the Countess of Aberdeen represented the Scottish Women's Liberal Federation on a deputation to the home secretary desiring that women be appointed factory inspectors.

In answer to this request two women factory inspectors have been appointed, and if the experiment succeeds the number will be increased.

At present the federation embraces thirty associations, with a membership of four thousand nine hundred and eighty-three, and these under the organizing secretary, Miss Kellie, are being gradually added to.

The work of the federation is carried on by the officebearers and executive committee of twenty members, representing eastern and western constituencies of Scotland.

The general result of the movement has been, so far, the development of women's interest and zeal for all questions affecting the public welfare. It may also be said that the indirect influence of the movement has been to hasten women's emancipation from the old bonds of custom and prejudice, stronger often than statutes.

FINSK QVINNOFORENING, THE FINNISH WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION ADDRESS BY BARONESS GRIPENBERG OF FINLAND, READ BY MERI TOPPELIUS OF FINLAND.

Far away, beyond the seas, unknown and forgotten, there is one of civilization's most northern outposts, Finland, like a reflex in the snow, of European culture. In America the spring has entered long ago, with warm winds, and dressed nature in fresh verdure. In Finland at this time the ice has but just gone from the thousand lonely lakes, and the birch begins cautiously to put forth small, tender leaves. In the same way the woman's cause in America has long ago had its spring, while in Finland it now first develops the leaves. One of those leaves is the association which I have the honor to represent, Finsk Qvinnoforening, the Finnish women's association, the first organization for women's rights in Finland. Its name in the Finnish language is Suomen Neisyhdistys. Some of you have heard of it before, as it was represented also at the first international council of women in Washington, 1888, by Alexandra Gripenberg. Finsk Qvinnoforening is one of the most northern outposts of women's work, a reflex high in the north of

the movement which is going on in the large countries for the enfranchisement of women. I will in a few words touch upon the causes for its organization. History shows us that in countries which have had to struggle for their existence women through this struggle have received strong impulses in their own causes. It has been so in Finland. We are a little nation, which belonged to Sweden for more than six hundred years, until we, in 1809, were united to Russia. Our chief endeavor now became to maintain our national individuality. Perhaps you who belong to the great American people find it ridiculous that we, a handful of men and women, did not prefer to be assimilated by a greater nation, but obstinately kept to our existence as a separate one. Perhaps such an endeavor is chimerical, nevertheless many small nations before us have struggled successfully for the same Utopia. We had meanwhile great and serious obstacles to conquer. Since our long union with Sweden, the Swedish language had grown to be the predominant one in the schools, the offices, the law courts, and among the educated classes. The people's own language, the Finnish tongue, was entirely different from the Swedish, and though it was spoken by six-sevenths of the population, it had no rights whatever. It was uncultivated and despised, and every one who wished to participate in western culture had as a first step to give up his native language.

The depreciation following this neglect was most dangerous, because if our nationality was to be maintained, the language, which is the expression of that nationality, must be preserved and cultivated. It must be the medium of education and government or national self-respect can not be sustained. A great reform movement now arose whose aim was to gain for the Finnish language its natural rights. I can not here dwell upon the fact that there were many who in these efforts saw a danger for our people. The main thing is, that the Finnish nationality movement broke forth with irresistible power. The whole people became

seized by this idea, which swept through the country like a mighty spring storm. The leading men appealed to the mothers, through whom the idea was to go to the coming generation by the education of the children in their native tongue. The women did not remain indifferent, and for them this movement became the plow which prepared the field for another great idea-that of their own rights. Their activity in the nationality movement awoke them to their duties by the possibility of their usefulness in other public reforms. Women participated in the work for the improvement of the language and the starting of schools and newspapers. Women managed large sales of their work and gave the money to the national party. Side by side with men women worked for the nationality idea, and many sacrificed their best years, their youthful enthusiasm, their wealth to this movement.

The homes of the more prominent women became headquarters for many of the leaders, and women learned through their discussions the value and importance of organized work and associated powers.

This happened at the same time that our country was reached by the echoes of the great movement for the enfranchisement of women which was going on in England and Sweden in the sixties. Thus it is natural that the nationality work became an important means of development for the women of Finland. Even those who did not approve of the language movement were forced to become acquainted with its attendant social questions, with which our press resounded, and which in greater or less degree had been called forth through the awakened self-consciousness of the nation. Thus the language movement became also an indirect means of awakening the women to a sense of their rights and responsibilities. I can not here dwell upon the work done by the individual women at this time. I want only to tell about the Finnish women's first attempt to organize their effort to raise the position of their sex. In the spring of 1883 a number of ladies in Helsingfors, our