Note 568 — Chapter LVII

Before closing this brief sketch, I desire to mention with deep gratitude the name of the man who first lifted up his voice in the Italian parliament to defend and protect women. Salvatore Morelli deserves the veneration of every Italian woman. His first book, "Woman and Science" (La Donna e la Scienza), dedicated to Antona Traversi, was animated by a just and noble spirit, too radical, however, to meet with universal approbation. When he entered parliament, Morelli, with the same courage, constancy, and radicalism, demanded the complete emancipation of women. Conservatives laughed, and many friends of our movement trembled for the cause. Ably seconded by Mancini, he succeeded in securing for women the right to testify in civil actions, a dignity which they had not previously enjoyed, although, by an absurd contradiction they could be witnesses in criminal cases, convict of murder by a single word and send the criminal to the scaffold. One of Morelli's last acts was a divorce bill which was examined by the Chamber. Guardasigilli Tomman Villa, the then Minister of Justice, was inclined to accept it, but death, which occurred in 1880, saved poor Morelli the pain of seeing his proposition rejected. An appeal to women has been made to raise a modest monument to Salvatore Morelli in memory of his good deeds, by Aurelia Cimino Folliero de Luna. The author of this essay has been requested to receive subscriptions to this fund. Such subscriptions will be acknowledged and forwarded to the Italian Committee. They should be addressed to Theodore Stanton, 9 rue de Bassano, Paris, France.