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Modern Persecution, or Married Woman's Liabilities

From: Modern Persecution
Creator: Elizabeth P. W. Packard (author)
Date: 1873
Source: Available at selected libraries
Figures From This Artifact: Figure 1  Figure 2  Figure 3  Figure 4  Figure 5  Figure 6  Figure 7  Figure 8  Figure 9  Figure 10  Figure 11  Figure 12  Figure 13  Figure 14  Figure 15  Figure 16

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Page 67:

1432  

"Mac, are you in favor of the bill, or not?" Mac hesitated.

1433  

Turning his eye upward to the gallery, and meeting my own looking down directly upon him, he quickly replied:

1434  

"I am in favor of the bill, and shall vote for it!"

1435  

The wave of sympathy for the bill now seemed universal, as under its influence, even Murry McConnell arose and said:

1436  

"I shall not oppose the bill, but shall vote for it!"

1437  

All opposition being thus overcome, the Bill was ordered into the omnibus to be passed with others that were sustained without opposition.

1438  

Here a motion for adjournment was introduced, and was quickly laid aside by the motion to pass the omnibus before they adjourned, which was carried.

1439  

The omnibus was then passed, including my bill, by a vote of yeas and nays, and every one voted for it.

1440  

Thus the bill finally passed by a unanimous vote of both houses.

1441  

Until this point was attained, I was in a state of almost breathless suspense, and when a gentleman sitting by me exclaimed:

1442  

"Mrs. Packard, your bill is safe!"

1443  

I felt such a relief, accompanied with an indescribable emotion of joy and thankfulness, even surpassing as it seemed to me, the feeling of grateful joy experienced when the verdict of the jury at Kankakee proclaimed my own personal liberty; for in that decision, only the interests of one individual were involved, while on this decision, the personal liberty of hundreds was suspended.

1444  

As we dispersed I met them at the door, and grasped the hand of as many as was convenient, and thanked them for standing so nobly by the bill.

1445  

But there was one, and one only, of those whose hand I grasped, who evidently did not reciprocate my joyful emotion; and this was Senator Mac, of Kankakee. I could not help noticing an evident misgiving in the manner he responded to my thankful congratulations, which impressed this sentiment upon my heart, viz.:

1446  

"No thanks are due me, Mrs. Packard, for the triumph of your bill, for it was my intention to prove traitor to my promise, and defeat the bill; but dared not risk such an attempt, under the circumstances!"

1447  

And when I thanked Governor Bross for his patience, and timely interference just at the crisis between its life and death, he replied:

1448  

"Yes, Mrs. Packard, your bill had a very narrow escape -- it was but just saved."

1449  

But saved it was! in spite of all the evil machinations formed against it, to be a blessing to the interests of humanity, not only in this State but throughout the country, since Illinois is now regarded as having the best law on committals into Insane Asylums of any state in the Union.

1450  

Here I would pause for a moment and note the overruling Providence of God in this transaction.

1451  

It is as yet an unsolved mystery how this Enacting Clause happened to be omitted. If any of the Engrossing Clerks had been hired to omit it, in transcribing the bill, with the intention of thus defeating it, this "counsel of Ahithopel was brought to naught," by a second attempt to defeat it, by withdrawing it from the omnibus, for thereby this omission was detected and rectified.

1452  

I have been told that quite a large sum of money was paid to a certain clerk to induce him to steal the bill from the omnibus, trusting to the shortness of the time, and the pressure of business, as his means of escape from detection until it was too late, at least, to repair the injury.

1453  

But as it proved this attempt to defeat the bill was the very means of saving it from defeat. For had it been allowed to remain in the omnibus it would not have been known that this defect existed, until it would have been too late to have remedied it, and thus the bill would have been lost.

1454  

So this attempt to defeat the bill was the very means of saving the bill from defeat.

1455  

And if Dr. McFarland did pay this clerk for stealing the bill, to Dr. McFarland must be ascribed the credit of getting the bill through! His money was well appropriated to save such a bill from annihilation.

1456  

Thus the "wise are taken in their own craftiness," and the Lord overrules their own evil purposes to promote His good ones.

1457  

CHAPTER XXVI.
Signing of the Bill by the Governor.

1458  

Having been so long too familiar with the subtle devices of this arch enemy of the bill, I dared not leave Springfield until the bill had been signed by the Governor.

1459  

But as it would take two weeks more for my bill to come before the Governor in its natural order, being among the very last that had been passed, I ventured to make an effort to get it signed, as a special favor, forthwith.

1460  

I therefore sought the Secretary of State, Mr. Tyndal, as my helper in this matter, and asked him if he would be so kind as to ask the Governor to sign it at once. Said he:

1461  

"I will do this as a favor for you, although I never did such a thing before for any one, for I know how exceedingly vigilant and watchful you have been during all this long session. I feel disposed to help you through, if I can!"

1462  

He went to the Senate engrossing clerks to get the bill, and they told him it had been sent to the Governor's office.

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