WOMEN IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE '' SPECTATOR.']
Sin,—A notice occurs in your issue of last week of a paper read by me before the Economic Department of the Social Science Association, on "A Project for Opening the Civil Service to Women." From the wording of it your readers might be led to infer that I advised the employment of married women in that department. This is an error. I especially disclaimed such an intention. My exact words were,—the only words which could possibly bear this interpretation :—" I do not say, I wish it to be distinctly understood, that a married woman should not have other employment than her domestic duties, nor yet do 1 say she should ; what I do say is, that her own circumstances and her own wishes is the proper tribunal to decide." It is true that I quoted from a former paper some expedients which I had said might be resorted to even in this extreme case, but this was in reply to those persons who seem to think that all women must of necessity be not only wives, but mothers, in face of the well known facts to the contrary. It may be that in following my opponents up into this their last fastness, I did, as you seem to suggest, injure my cause, but it was almost worth while to risk doing so to show how poor a logical defence even this last pretence afforded. Practically, 1 do not believe that mcsthers would be, as a rule, able or willing to retain their positions as clerks, if permitted ; and personally, I should not feel greatly disposed to advocate it.-1 am, Sir, &c., WeaTeur COoKE TAYLOR.
[We did not misapprehend Mr. Taylor. We only thought and said that he used one of those arguments which make good causes seem ridiculous.—ED. Spectator.]
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