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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Needed Change in the Age of Consent, by
-Richard Arthur
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: The Needed Change in the Age of Consent
-       An Appeal For the Better Protection of Our Girls
-
-Author: Richard Arthur
-
-Release Date: September 25, 2021 [eBook #66377]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-             https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of
-             public domain works at The National Library of Australia.)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF
-CONSENT ***
-
-THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF CONSENT.
-
-
-AN APPEAL For the Better Protection of Our Girls.
-
-
-BY RICHARD ARTHUR, M.A., M.D.
-
-
-SYDNEY: THE CHRISTIAN WORLD PRESS, 301 PITT STREET. 1896.
-
-
-
-
-The Needed Change in the Age of Consent.
-
-
-Good laws, as a great statesman has said, are for the purpose of making
-it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. Such laws protect the
-weak and ignorant who are unable to take care of themselves, and deter
-the cunning and unscrupulous from injuring their fellows. When the
-strong prey upon the weak in any community, without the law in any way
-attempting to prevent it, such apathy points to a low moral sensibility
-in the community in which it exists.
-
-This moral indifference and tolerance of injustice, must be charged
-against the people of New South Wales. Their representatives in
-Parliament have so devoted themselves to the strife for office and the
-incidence of taxation, that the question of protecting by law, the
-chastity of young girls, has been ignored. And the people have been
-content to have it so. In New South Wales, at the present time, any
-girl of fourteen years and a day, may be outraged, and unless it can
-be proved that actual violence was used, the law will do nothing to
-the man who has ruined her. In other words, the law of New South Wales
-gives its sanction to the seduction of every girl above fourteen, if
-this can be done without the employment of brute force. And experience
-shows that men are not slow to avail themselves of this license. In
-Sydney, the Rescue Homes, the Lying-in Hospitals, and the lock wards
-are filled with girls, some about to become mothers, others suffering
-from loathsome diseases, all social outcasts, and with a future of woe
-and tragedy before them.
-
-Is not this a foul blot on this colony? Are there no men with
-chivalrous feeling and pity for the weak, whose blood boils when
-they hear of these things, are there no women whose hearts go out to
-these poor, fallen children to save them? And cannot all see that it
-is infinitely better and easier to try and prevent this fall, than
-to remedy it after it has happened? For the means of doing this is
-at hand. It is to raise the age at which a girl can consent to her
-own seduction. The “Age of Consent” so-called, at present stands at
-fourteen years. Increase this age to at least eighteen, and thus
-give the girl protection during the four years of her life in which
-experience proves that danger threatens her most.
-
-After this age, the girl must be the guardian of her own virtue, and it
-is most probable that increased knowledge and strength of will power
-would preserve her from moral ruin. It is a significant fact that while
-the law holds the child of fourteen capable of defending her honour, it
-does not allow any girl who may possess property to manage or dispose
-of it in any way till she is 21 years old, and anyone marrying her
-without the consent of her legal guardians, even though she may be
-willing herself, is liable to severe punishment.
-
-If the girl of fourteen is capable of being the guardian of her own
-virtue then we must concede that physically she is fitted to become a
-mother, that she realizes to the full, the consequences of immorality,
-and that her self-control and power of moral resistance render her
-proof against any bribes or threats by which it may be sought to
-influence her.
-
-Now all medical authorities would utterly condemn the idea that a girl
-of fourteen was fit for the stress and strain of motherhood. Not only
-would she run great danger herself, but her offspring would in all
-probability be sickly and unfit for the battle of life.
-
-Again, can a young girl comprehend in the least degree, the
-consequences of consenting to her own ruin?
-
-The majority of girls are brought up in entire ignorance of all matters
-connected with sex. It is the parent’s boast that they are perfectly
-“innocent,” by which is meant that they know none of the facts of the
-genesis of life, and are totally unwarned against the dangers which
-may assail them at any moment. Nothing could be better fitted for the
-purpose of the seducer, and the innocence which is supposed to throw a
-halo of purity round the girl, is sometimes the instrument of her ruin.
-But, granting that she has learnt in some imperfect and unsatisfactory
-way, about these matters, can she adequately grasp the results which
-may come upon her? Is she aware that she may become a mother, with all
-the dangers attending maternity, can she estimate the social ostracism,
-the life-long shame that will be her lot if her fall is discovered;
-does she know that this first downward step taken through ignorance or
-thoughtlessness, is the first on the path which leads by the streets of
-the city to the harlot’s grave?
-
-And further, is the period between 14 and 18, one in which
-self-control is firmly established, and the actions governed by
-prudence and reason? We know it is not. Girls at this age have little
-resisting power. Their vanity is easily appealed to, their ignorance
-of life leads them into situations which older women would avoid,
-often their affections are easily engaged, and under the caresses and
-blandishments of the man--generally much older than themselves, they
-are but as clay in the potter’s hands. And it would be difficult to say
-how many of these case are actually, if not legally, cases of rape, for
-often a considerable amount of resistance has to be overcome before the
-crime is effected.
-
-In fact, if we considered this subject calmly and without prejudice, we
-will see that it is monstrous that in our colony, a young girl may be
-robbed of her most precious possession, dearer to her than any material
-wealth, or even than life itself, and our law tacitly connives at it.
-_The girl consented to her moral ruin, and so there is nothing more to
-be done._
-
-This law, or rather want of law, is altogether in the interests of
-immoral men. Here, adequate protection is not given, because if it
-were, men would have to desist from debauching young girls, or run the
-risk of severe penalties.
-
-The only argument ever brought forward by those opposed to giving girls
-adequate protection, is that if this were done, false charges would
-constantly be brought against men for the purpose of blackmailing.
-Now, we may admit that this argument has a certain relevancy, but very
-much less than those who use it, claim for it. It is true that some
-additional cases of false charges might arise, but in all probability
-they would be very few. And for this reason, that in, the majority of
-these cases of attempted blackmailing, the charges are brought either
-by very young children, at the instigation of older people, or by adult
-women who have the knowledge and cunning necessary for the planning out
-of such a charge. The period from 14 to 18 during which it is suggested
-to give the protection already accorded to those below 14, is one where
-there is the least likelihood of false charges being brought.
-
-But the most important counterargument is this. Any girl or any woman
-can bring a charge of indecent assault against a man, and the same
-evidence as is required in a case of seduction, would be needed here.
-Thus any man in this colony, whatever his position, is liable to the
-danger of false accusation, and the age of the woman bringing the
-charge, makes no difference. Especially are medical men exposed to this
-danger, and yet they have never clamoured for additional protection
-from the law, but have so regulated their actions as to minimise the
-possibility of such false charges.
-
-It can thus be seen that if a girl wishes to attempt blackmailing, by
-far the easiest course open to her is to bring a charge of indecent
-assault, and this is really more difficult of disproof than a charge of
-seduction. When this can be so readily done, the theory of a greatly
-increased number of false charges from raising the age of consent, can
-practically be ignored.
-
-Again, it is urged that girls will tempt young men and then extort
-money from them. But all who have given attention to the subject agree
-that it is almost an unheard of thing for a previously chaste girl
-to invite a man to immorality. If a girl does this, it points to the
-fact that she has already been seduced, and the change in the law is
-asked for that this very thing may be prevented. If men are kept from
-violating young girls, there will be no unchaste girls to tempt men in
-their turn.
-
-It may be that in a few cases, injustice may be done and men wrongly
-punished, but this may be urged against every law. And can this
-possibility outweigh the hundreds of cases of girls who, every year
-in this colony, meet with physical and moral disaster, which a juster
-state of law might have prevented? Have we no pity for these children,
-who on the threshold of what might have been a bright and prosperous
-life, meet with woeful shipwreck, and instead of becoming the happy
-wives and mothers of the future, join the unspeakably sad ranks of the
-prostitute?
-
-Men who have any chivalrous feeling in their nature will gladly accept
-whatever increased risk there may be, in order that this further
-protection, till an age when knowledge and prudence are greater, may be
-given, and immoral men will have to learn that, if they do not wish to
-incur this danger, they must not place themselves in positions in which
-they will be liable to false charges.
-
-What then must be done? It must first be recognised that unless the
-public voice unmistakably demands this reform those who can give effect
-to it will not move in the matter. This was shown in England, where for
-some years the proposal to raise the age of consent was contemptuously
-rejected by the House of Commons, until Mr. Stead’s memorable articles
-in the _Pall Mall Gazette_ raised public feeling to white heat, and the
-desired legislation was rushed through with almost no opposition in a
-few days. In the United States, too, during the last eighteen months
-a well-organised agitation, in which the Women’s Christian Temperance
-Union has taken a leading part, has succeeded in obtaining the age of
-eighteen in eight States, and the agitation is still being continued to
-raise it to this in other States where the age is lower.
-
-The W.T.C.U. of New South Wales has determined to follow the example
-of the American unions, and undertake this momentous work on behalf of
-its sex. If it can succeed in enlisting the sympathy and co-operation
-of the Churches and philanthropic societies, and all work together
-cordially for this great object, public opinion will soon be roused,
-and from one end of the colony to the other will come the demand that
-this scandalous state of affairs be instantly remedied. If this be
-so, the government will hasten to carry out the wishes of the people,
-and we will take rank with those who cherish and defend at all costs
-the honour of their daughters. All can help in this work. There
-are petitions to be signed, public meetings organised, members of
-Parliament to be interviewed, and many other means by which success
-may be ensured.
-
-It is to be hoped that none will hold back from assisting on account
-of prudery, or false delicacy. The purest can and should aid in this
-crusade, and if they decline to do so from any selfish motive, and this
-reform is not carried, the blood of those who perished because this has
-not been done will be upon their heads. But we believe better things of
-the men and women of New South Wales, and are convinced that, with the
-help of God, 1896 will not pass till this most needed of all laws has
-been placed on our Statute Book.
-
-[Illustration: Decoration]
-
-
-_After reading, kindly give this to a friend, and sign, if possible, a
-petition in favour of this object._
-
-
-“Christian World” Press, 301 Pitt-st., Sydney.
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF
-CONSENT ***
-
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 66377 ***
+
+THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF CONSENT.
+
+
+AN APPEAL For the Better Protection of Our Girls.
+
+
+BY RICHARD ARTHUR, M.A., M.D.
+
+
+SYDNEY: THE CHRISTIAN WORLD PRESS, 301 PITT STREET. 1896.
+
+
+
+
+The Needed Change in the Age of Consent.
+
+
+Good laws, as a great statesman has said, are for the purpose of making
+it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. Such laws protect the
+weak and ignorant who are unable to take care of themselves, and deter
+the cunning and unscrupulous from injuring their fellows. When the
+strong prey upon the weak in any community, without the law in any way
+attempting to prevent it, such apathy points to a low moral sensibility
+in the community in which it exists.
+
+This moral indifference and tolerance of injustice, must be charged
+against the people of New South Wales. Their representatives in
+Parliament have so devoted themselves to the strife for office and the
+incidence of taxation, that the question of protecting by law, the
+chastity of young girls, has been ignored. And the people have been
+content to have it so. In New South Wales, at the present time, any
+girl of fourteen years and a day, may be outraged, and unless it can
+be proved that actual violence was used, the law will do nothing to
+the man who has ruined her. In other words, the law of New South Wales
+gives its sanction to the seduction of every girl above fourteen, if
+this can be done without the employment of brute force. And experience
+shows that men are not slow to avail themselves of this license. In
+Sydney, the Rescue Homes, the Lying-in Hospitals, and the lock wards
+are filled with girls, some about to become mothers, others suffering
+from loathsome diseases, all social outcasts, and with a future of woe
+and tragedy before them.
+
+Is not this a foul blot on this colony? Are there no men with
+chivalrous feeling and pity for the weak, whose blood boils when
+they hear of these things, are there no women whose hearts go out to
+these poor, fallen children to save them? And cannot all see that it
+is infinitely better and easier to try and prevent this fall, than
+to remedy it after it has happened? For the means of doing this is
+at hand. It is to raise the age at which a girl can consent to her
+own seduction. The “Age of Consent” so-called, at present stands at
+fourteen years. Increase this age to at least eighteen, and thus
+give the girl protection during the four years of her life in which
+experience proves that danger threatens her most.
+
+After this age, the girl must be the guardian of her own virtue, and it
+is most probable that increased knowledge and strength of will power
+would preserve her from moral ruin. It is a significant fact that while
+the law holds the child of fourteen capable of defending her honour, it
+does not allow any girl who may possess property to manage or dispose
+of it in any way till she is 21 years old, and anyone marrying her
+without the consent of her legal guardians, even though she may be
+willing herself, is liable to severe punishment.
+
+If the girl of fourteen is capable of being the guardian of her own
+virtue then we must concede that physically she is fitted to become a
+mother, that she realizes to the full, the consequences of immorality,
+and that her self-control and power of moral resistance render her
+proof against any bribes or threats by which it may be sought to
+influence her.
+
+Now all medical authorities would utterly condemn the idea that a girl
+of fourteen was fit for the stress and strain of motherhood. Not only
+would she run great danger herself, but her offspring would in all
+probability be sickly and unfit for the battle of life.
+
+Again, can a young girl comprehend in the least degree, the
+consequences of consenting to her own ruin?
+
+The majority of girls are brought up in entire ignorance of all matters
+connected with sex. It is the parent’s boast that they are perfectly
+“innocent,” by which is meant that they know none of the facts of the
+genesis of life, and are totally unwarned against the dangers which
+may assail them at any moment. Nothing could be better fitted for the
+purpose of the seducer, and the innocence which is supposed to throw a
+halo of purity round the girl, is sometimes the instrument of her ruin.
+But, granting that she has learnt in some imperfect and unsatisfactory
+way, about these matters, can she adequately grasp the results which
+may come upon her? Is she aware that she may become a mother, with all
+the dangers attending maternity, can she estimate the social ostracism,
+the life-long shame that will be her lot if her fall is discovered;
+does she know that this first downward step taken through ignorance or
+thoughtlessness, is the first on the path which leads by the streets of
+the city to the harlot’s grave?
+
+And further, is the period between 14 and 18, one in which
+self-control is firmly established, and the actions governed by
+prudence and reason? We know it is not. Girls at this age have little
+resisting power. Their vanity is easily appealed to, their ignorance
+of life leads them into situations which older women would avoid,
+often their affections are easily engaged, and under the caresses and
+blandishments of the man--generally much older than themselves, they
+are but as clay in the potter’s hands. And it would be difficult to say
+how many of these case are actually, if not legally, cases of rape, for
+often a considerable amount of resistance has to be overcome before the
+crime is effected.
+
+In fact, if we considered this subject calmly and without prejudice, we
+will see that it is monstrous that in our colony, a young girl may be
+robbed of her most precious possession, dearer to her than any material
+wealth, or even than life itself, and our law tacitly connives at it.
+_The girl consented to her moral ruin, and so there is nothing more to
+be done._
+
+This law, or rather want of law, is altogether in the interests of
+immoral men. Here, adequate protection is not given, because if it
+were, men would have to desist from debauching young girls, or run the
+risk of severe penalties.
+
+The only argument ever brought forward by those opposed to giving girls
+adequate protection, is that if this were done, false charges would
+constantly be brought against men for the purpose of blackmailing.
+Now, we may admit that this argument has a certain relevancy, but very
+much less than those who use it, claim for it. It is true that some
+additional cases of false charges might arise, but in all probability
+they would be very few. And for this reason, that in, the majority of
+these cases of attempted blackmailing, the charges are brought either
+by very young children, at the instigation of older people, or by adult
+women who have the knowledge and cunning necessary for the planning out
+of such a charge. The period from 14 to 18 during which it is suggested
+to give the protection already accorded to those below 14, is one where
+there is the least likelihood of false charges being brought.
+
+But the most important counterargument is this. Any girl or any woman
+can bring a charge of indecent assault against a man, and the same
+evidence as is required in a case of seduction, would be needed here.
+Thus any man in this colony, whatever his position, is liable to the
+danger of false accusation, and the age of the woman bringing the
+charge, makes no difference. Especially are medical men exposed to this
+danger, and yet they have never clamoured for additional protection
+from the law, but have so regulated their actions as to minimise the
+possibility of such false charges.
+
+It can thus be seen that if a girl wishes to attempt blackmailing, by
+far the easiest course open to her is to bring a charge of indecent
+assault, and this is really more difficult of disproof than a charge of
+seduction. When this can be so readily done, the theory of a greatly
+increased number of false charges from raising the age of consent, can
+practically be ignored.
+
+Again, it is urged that girls will tempt young men and then extort
+money from them. But all who have given attention to the subject agree
+that it is almost an unheard of thing for a previously chaste girl
+to invite a man to immorality. If a girl does this, it points to the
+fact that she has already been seduced, and the change in the law is
+asked for that this very thing may be prevented. If men are kept from
+violating young girls, there will be no unchaste girls to tempt men in
+their turn.
+
+It may be that in a few cases, injustice may be done and men wrongly
+punished, but this may be urged against every law. And can this
+possibility outweigh the hundreds of cases of girls who, every year
+in this colony, meet with physical and moral disaster, which a juster
+state of law might have prevented? Have we no pity for these children,
+who on the threshold of what might have been a bright and prosperous
+life, meet with woeful shipwreck, and instead of becoming the happy
+wives and mothers of the future, join the unspeakably sad ranks of the
+prostitute?
+
+Men who have any chivalrous feeling in their nature will gladly accept
+whatever increased risk there may be, in order that this further
+protection, till an age when knowledge and prudence are greater, may be
+given, and immoral men will have to learn that, if they do not wish to
+incur this danger, they must not place themselves in positions in which
+they will be liable to false charges.
+
+What then must be done? It must first be recognised that unless the
+public voice unmistakably demands this reform those who can give effect
+to it will not move in the matter. This was shown in England, where for
+some years the proposal to raise the age of consent was contemptuously
+rejected by the House of Commons, until Mr. Stead’s memorable articles
+in the _Pall Mall Gazette_ raised public feeling to white heat, and the
+desired legislation was rushed through with almost no opposition in a
+few days. In the United States, too, during the last eighteen months
+a well-organised agitation, in which the Women’s Christian Temperance
+Union has taken a leading part, has succeeded in obtaining the age of
+eighteen in eight States, and the agitation is still being continued to
+raise it to this in other States where the age is lower.
+
+The W.T.C.U. of New South Wales has determined to follow the example
+of the American unions, and undertake this momentous work on behalf of
+its sex. If it can succeed in enlisting the sympathy and co-operation
+of the Churches and philanthropic societies, and all work together
+cordially for this great object, public opinion will soon be roused,
+and from one end of the colony to the other will come the demand that
+this scandalous state of affairs be instantly remedied. If this be
+so, the government will hasten to carry out the wishes of the people,
+and we will take rank with those who cherish and defend at all costs
+the honour of their daughters. All can help in this work. There
+are petitions to be signed, public meetings organised, members of
+Parliament to be interviewed, and many other means by which success
+may be ensured.
+
+It is to be hoped that none will hold back from assisting on account
+of prudery, or false delicacy. The purest can and should aid in this
+crusade, and if they decline to do so from any selfish motive, and this
+reform is not carried, the blood of those who perished because this has
+not been done will be upon their heads. But we believe better things of
+the men and women of New South Wales, and are convinced that, with the
+help of God, 1896 will not pass till this most needed of all laws has
+been placed on our Statute Book.
+
+[Illustration: Decoration]
+
+
+_After reading, kindly give this to a friend, and sign, if possible, a
+petition in favour of this object._
+
+
+“Christian World” Press, 301 Pitt-st., Sydney.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 66377 ***
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-<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Needed Change in the Age of Consent, by Richard Arthur</div>
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-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
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-</div>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Needed Change in the Age of Consent</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0;'>An Appeal For the Better Protection of Our Girls</p>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Richard Arthur</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 25, 2021 [eBook #66377]</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
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-
-<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain works at The National Library of Australia.)</div>
-
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF CONSENT ***</div>
-
-<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="title page" /></div>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
-
-<h1>THE NEEDED CHANGE<br />  IN THE<br /> AGE OF CONSENT.</h1>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p class="bold">AN APPEAL<br /><br />For the Better Protection<br /><br />of Our Girls.</p>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p class="bold">BY</p>
-
-<p class="bold2">RICHARD ARTHUR, M.A., M.D.</p>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p class="bold"><span class="smcap">Sydney</span>:<br /><span class="smcap">The Christian World Press,
-301 Pitt Street.</span><br />&mdash;&mdash;<br />1896.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="center"><img src="images/heading.jpg" alt="heading" /></div>
-
-<p>Good laws, as a great statesman has said, are for the purpose of making
-it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. Such laws protect the
-weak and ignorant who are unable to take care of themselves, and deter
-the cunning and unscrupulous from injuring their fellows. When the
-strong prey upon the weak in any community, without the law in any way
-attempting to prevent it, such apathy points to a low moral sensibility
-in the community in which it exists.</p>
-
-<p>This moral indifference and tolerance of injustice, must be charged
-against the people of New South Wales. Their representatives in
-Parliament have so devoted themselves to the strife for office and the
-incidence of taxation, that the question of protecting by law, the
-chastity of young girls, has been ignored. And the people have been
-content to have it so. In New South Wales, at the present time, any
-girl of fourteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> years and a day, may be outraged, and unless it can
-be proved that actual violence was used, the law will do nothing to
-the man who has ruined her. In other words, the law of New South Wales
-gives its sanction to the seduction of every girl above fourteen, if
-this can be done without the employment of brute force. And experience
-shows that men are not slow to avail themselves of this license. In
-Sydney, the Rescue Homes, the Lying-in Hospitals, and the lock wards
-are filled with girls, some about to become mothers, others suffering
-from loathsome diseases, all social outcasts, and with a future of woe
-and tragedy before them.</p>
-
-<p>Is not this a foul blot on this colony? Are there no men with
-chivalrous feeling and pity for the weak, whose blood boils when
-they hear of these things, are there no women whose hearts go out to
-these poor, fallen children to save them? And cannot all see that it
-is infinitely better and easier to try and prevent this fall, than
-to remedy it after it has happened? For the means of doing this is
-at hand. It is to raise the age at which a girl can consent to her
-own seduction. The &#8220;Age of Consent&#8221; so-called, at present stands at
-fourteen years. Increase this age to at least eighteen, and thus
-give the girl <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>protection during the four years of her life in which
-experience proves that danger threatens her most.</p>
-
-<p>After this age, the girl must be the guardian of her own virtue, and it
-is most probable that increased knowledge and strength of will power
-would preserve her from moral ruin. It is a significant fact that while
-the law holds the child of fourteen capable of defending her honour, it
-does not allow any girl who may possess property to manage or dispose
-of it in any way till she is 21 years old, and anyone marrying her
-without the consent of her legal guardians, even though she may be
-willing herself, is liable to severe punishment.</p>
-
-<p>If the girl of fourteen is capable of being the guardian of her own
-virtue then we must concede that physically she is fitted to become a
-mother, that she realizes to the full, the consequences of immorality,
-and that her self-control and power of moral resistance render her
-proof against any bribes or threats by which it may be sought to
-influence her.</p>
-
-<p>Now all medical authorities would utterly condemn the idea that a girl
-of fourteen was fit for the stress and strain of motherhood. Not only
-would she run great danger herself, but her <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>offspring would in all
-probability be sickly and unfit for the battle of life.</p>
-
-<p>Again, can a young girl comprehend in the least degree, the
-consequences of consenting to her own ruin?</p>
-
-<p>The majority of girls are brought up in entire ignorance of all matters
-connected with sex. It is the parent&#8217;s boast that they are perfectly
-&#8220;innocent,&#8221; by which is meant that they know none of the facts of the
-genesis of life, and are totally unwarned against the dangers which
-may assail them at any moment. Nothing could be better fitted for the
-purpose of the seducer, and the innocence which is supposed to throw a
-halo of purity round the girl, is sometimes the instrument of her ruin.
-But, granting that she has learnt in some imperfect and unsatisfactory
-way, about these matters, can she adequately grasp the results which
-may come upon her? Is she aware that she may become a mother, with all
-the dangers attending maternity, can she estimate the social ostracism,
-the life-long shame that will be her lot if her fall is discovered;
-does she know that this first downward step taken through ignorance or
-thoughtlessness, is the first on the path which leads by the streets of
-the city to the harlot&#8217;s grave?</p>
-
-<p>And further, is the period between 14<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> and 18, one in which
-self-control is firmly established, and the actions governed by
-prudence and reason? We know it is not. Girls at this age have little
-resisting power. Their vanity is easily appealed to, their ignorance
-of life leads them into situations which older women would avoid,
-often their affections are easily engaged, and under the caresses and
-blandishments of the man&mdash;generally much older than themselves, they
-are but as clay in the potter&#8217;s hands. And it would be difficult to say
-how many of these case are actually, if not legally, cases of rape, for
-often a considerable amount of resistance has to be overcome before the
-crime is effected.</p>
-
-<p>In fact, if we considered this subject calmly and without prejudice, we
-will see that it is monstrous that in our colony, a young girl may be
-robbed of her most precious possession, dearer to her than any material
-wealth, or even than life itself, and our law tacitly connives at it.
-<i>The girl consented to her moral ruin, and so there is nothing more to
-be done.</i></p>
-
-<p>This law, or rather want of law, is altogether in the interests of
-immoral men. Here, adequate protection is not given, because if it
-were, men would have to desist from debauching young girls, or run the
-risk of severe penalties. </p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The only argument ever brought forward by those opposed to giving girls
-adequate protection, is that if this were done, false charges would
-constantly be brought against men for the purpose of blackmailing.
-Now, we may admit that this argument has a certain relevancy, but very
-much less than those who use it, claim for it. It is true that some
-additional cases of false charges might arise, but in all probability
-they would be very few. And for this reason, that in, the majority of
-these cases of attempted blackmailing, the charges are brought either
-by very young children, at the instigation of older people, or by adult
-women who have the knowledge and cunning necessary for the planning out
-of such a charge. The period from 14 to 18 during which it is suggested
-to give the protection already accorded to those below 14, is one where
-there is the least likelihood of false charges being brought.</p>
-
-<p>But the most important counterargument is this. Any girl or any woman
-can bring a charge of indecent assault against a man, and the same
-evidence as is required in a case of seduction, would be needed here.
-Thus any man in this colony, whatever his position, is liable to the
-danger of false<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> accusation, and the age of the woman bringing the
-charge, makes no difference. Especially are medical men exposed to this
-danger, and yet they have never clamoured for additional protection
-from the law, but have so regulated their actions as to minimise the
-possibility of such false charges.</p>
-
-<p>It can thus be seen that if a girl wishes to attempt blackmailing, by
-far the easiest course open to her is to bring a charge of indecent
-assault, and this is really more difficult of disproof than a charge of
-seduction. When this can be so readily done, the theory of a greatly
-increased number of false charges from raising the age of consent, can
-practically be ignored.</p>
-
-<p>Again, it is urged that girls will tempt young men and then extort
-money from them. But all who have given attention to the subject agree
-that it is almost an unheard of thing for a previously chaste girl
-to invite a man to immorality. If a girl does this, it points to the
-fact that she has already been seduced, and the change in the law is
-asked for that this very thing may be prevented. If men are kept from
-violating young girls, there will be no unchaste girls to tempt men in
-their turn.</p>
-
-<p>It may be that in a few cases, injustice may be done and men wrongly
-punished,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> but this may be urged against every law. And can this
-possibility outweigh the hundreds of cases of girls who, every year
-in this colony, meet with physical and moral disaster, which a juster
-state of law might have prevented? Have we no pity for these children,
-who on the threshold of what might have been a bright and prosperous
-life, meet with woeful shipwreck, and instead of becoming the happy
-wives and mothers of the future, join the unspeakably sad ranks of the
-prostitute?</p>
-
-<p>Men who have any chivalrous feeling in their nature will gladly accept
-whatever increased risk there may be, in order that this further
-protection, till an age when knowledge and prudence are greater, may be
-given, and immoral men will have to learn that, if they do not wish to
-incur this danger, they must not place themselves in positions in which
-they will be liable to false charges.</p>
-
-<p>What then must be done? It must first be recognised that unless the
-public voice unmistakably demands this reform those who can give effect
-to it will not move in the matter. This was shown in England, where for
-some years the proposal to raise the age of consent was contemptuously
-rejected by the House of Commons, until Mr. Stead&#8217;s <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>memorable articles
-in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i> raised public feeling to white heat, and the
-desired legislation was rushed through with almost no opposition in a
-few days. In the United States, too, during the last eighteen months
-a well-organised agitation, in which the Women&#8217;s Christian Temperance
-Union has taken a leading part, has succeeded in obtaining the age of
-eighteen in eight States, and the agitation is still being continued to
-raise it to this in other States where the age is lower.</p>
-
-<p>The W.T.C.U. of New South Wales has determined to follow the example
-of the American unions, and undertake this momentous work on behalf of
-its sex. If it can succeed in enlisting the sympathy and co-operation
-of the Churches and philanthropic societies, and all work together
-cordially for this great object, public opinion will soon be roused,
-and from one end of the colony to the other will come the demand that
-this scandalous state of affairs be instantly remedied. If this be
-so, the government will hasten to carry out the wishes of the people,
-and we will take rank with those who cherish and defend at all costs
-the honour of their daughters. All can help in this work. There
-are petitions to be signed, public meetings organised, members of
-Parliament to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> interviewed, and many other means by which success
-may be ensured.</p>
-
-<p>It is to be hoped that none will hold back from assisting on account
-of prudery, or false delicacy. The purest can and should aid in this
-crusade, and if they decline to do so from any selfish motive, and this
-reform is not carried, the blood of those who perished because this has
-not been done will be upon their heads. But we believe better things of
-the men and women of New South Wales, and are convinced that, with the
-help of God, 1896 will not pass till this most needed of all laws has
-been placed on our Statute Book.</p>
-
-<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/i012.jpg" alt="Decoration" /></div>
-
-<p class="center space-above"><i>After reading, kindly give this to a friend, and sign, if possible, a
-petition in favour of this object.</i></p>
-
-<hr class="smler" />
-
-<p class="center">&#8220;Christian World&#8221; Press, 301 Pitt-st., Sydney.</p>
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+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 66377 ***</div>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="title page" /></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>THE NEEDED CHANGE<br />  IN THE<br /> AGE OF CONSENT.</h1>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold">AN APPEAL<br /><br />For the Better Protection<br /><br />of Our Girls.</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold">BY</p>
+
+<p class="bold2">RICHARD ARTHUR, M.A., M.D.</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold"><span class="smcap">Sydney</span>:<br /><span class="smcap">The Christian World Press,
+301 Pitt Street.</span><br />&mdash;&mdash;<br />1896.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/heading.jpg" alt="heading" /></div>
+
+<p>Good laws, as a great statesman has said, are for the purpose of making
+it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. Such laws protect the
+weak and ignorant who are unable to take care of themselves, and deter
+the cunning and unscrupulous from injuring their fellows. When the
+strong prey upon the weak in any community, without the law in any way
+attempting to prevent it, such apathy points to a low moral sensibility
+in the community in which it exists.</p>
+
+<p>This moral indifference and tolerance of injustice, must be charged
+against the people of New South Wales. Their representatives in
+Parliament have so devoted themselves to the strife for office and the
+incidence of taxation, that the question of protecting by law, the
+chastity of young girls, has been ignored. And the people have been
+content to have it so. In New South Wales, at the present time, any
+girl of fourteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> years and a day, may be outraged, and unless it can
+be proved that actual violence was used, the law will do nothing to
+the man who has ruined her. In other words, the law of New South Wales
+gives its sanction to the seduction of every girl above fourteen, if
+this can be done without the employment of brute force. And experience
+shows that men are not slow to avail themselves of this license. In
+Sydney, the Rescue Homes, the Lying-in Hospitals, and the lock wards
+are filled with girls, some about to become mothers, others suffering
+from loathsome diseases, all social outcasts, and with a future of woe
+and tragedy before them.</p>
+
+<p>Is not this a foul blot on this colony? Are there no men with
+chivalrous feeling and pity for the weak, whose blood boils when
+they hear of these things, are there no women whose hearts go out to
+these poor, fallen children to save them? And cannot all see that it
+is infinitely better and easier to try and prevent this fall, than
+to remedy it after it has happened? For the means of doing this is
+at hand. It is to raise the age at which a girl can consent to her
+own seduction. The &#8220;Age of Consent&#8221; so-called, at present stands at
+fourteen years. Increase this age to at least eighteen, and thus
+give the girl <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>protection during the four years of her life in which
+experience proves that danger threatens her most.</p>
+
+<p>After this age, the girl must be the guardian of her own virtue, and it
+is most probable that increased knowledge and strength of will power
+would preserve her from moral ruin. It is a significant fact that while
+the law holds the child of fourteen capable of defending her honour, it
+does not allow any girl who may possess property to manage or dispose
+of it in any way till she is 21 years old, and anyone marrying her
+without the consent of her legal guardians, even though she may be
+willing herself, is liable to severe punishment.</p>
+
+<p>If the girl of fourteen is capable of being the guardian of her own
+virtue then we must concede that physically she is fitted to become a
+mother, that she realizes to the full, the consequences of immorality,
+and that her self-control and power of moral resistance render her
+proof against any bribes or threats by which it may be sought to
+influence her.</p>
+
+<p>Now all medical authorities would utterly condemn the idea that a girl
+of fourteen was fit for the stress and strain of motherhood. Not only
+would she run great danger herself, but her <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>offspring would in all
+probability be sickly and unfit for the battle of life.</p>
+
+<p>Again, can a young girl comprehend in the least degree, the
+consequences of consenting to her own ruin?</p>
+
+<p>The majority of girls are brought up in entire ignorance of all matters
+connected with sex. It is the parent&#8217;s boast that they are perfectly
+&#8220;innocent,&#8221; by which is meant that they know none of the facts of the
+genesis of life, and are totally unwarned against the dangers which
+may assail them at any moment. Nothing could be better fitted for the
+purpose of the seducer, and the innocence which is supposed to throw a
+halo of purity round the girl, is sometimes the instrument of her ruin.
+But, granting that she has learnt in some imperfect and unsatisfactory
+way, about these matters, can she adequately grasp the results which
+may come upon her? Is she aware that she may become a mother, with all
+the dangers attending maternity, can she estimate the social ostracism,
+the life-long shame that will be her lot if her fall is discovered;
+does she know that this first downward step taken through ignorance or
+thoughtlessness, is the first on the path which leads by the streets of
+the city to the harlot&#8217;s grave?</p>
+
+<p>And further, is the period between 14<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> and 18, one in which
+self-control is firmly established, and the actions governed by
+prudence and reason? We know it is not. Girls at this age have little
+resisting power. Their vanity is easily appealed to, their ignorance
+of life leads them into situations which older women would avoid,
+often their affections are easily engaged, and under the caresses and
+blandishments of the man&mdash;generally much older than themselves, they
+are but as clay in the potter&#8217;s hands. And it would be difficult to say
+how many of these case are actually, if not legally, cases of rape, for
+often a considerable amount of resistance has to be overcome before the
+crime is effected.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, if we considered this subject calmly and without prejudice, we
+will see that it is monstrous that in our colony, a young girl may be
+robbed of her most precious possession, dearer to her than any material
+wealth, or even than life itself, and our law tacitly connives at it.
+<i>The girl consented to her moral ruin, and so there is nothing more to
+be done.</i></p>
+
+<p>This law, or rather want of law, is altogether in the interests of
+immoral men. Here, adequate protection is not given, because if it
+were, men would have to desist from debauching young girls, or run the
+risk of severe penalties. </p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The only argument ever brought forward by those opposed to giving girls
+adequate protection, is that if this were done, false charges would
+constantly be brought against men for the purpose of blackmailing.
+Now, we may admit that this argument has a certain relevancy, but very
+much less than those who use it, claim for it. It is true that some
+additional cases of false charges might arise, but in all probability
+they would be very few. And for this reason, that in, the majority of
+these cases of attempted blackmailing, the charges are brought either
+by very young children, at the instigation of older people, or by adult
+women who have the knowledge and cunning necessary for the planning out
+of such a charge. The period from 14 to 18 during which it is suggested
+to give the protection already accorded to those below 14, is one where
+there is the least likelihood of false charges being brought.</p>
+
+<p>But the most important counterargument is this. Any girl or any woman
+can bring a charge of indecent assault against a man, and the same
+evidence as is required in a case of seduction, would be needed here.
+Thus any man in this colony, whatever his position, is liable to the
+danger of false<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> accusation, and the age of the woman bringing the
+charge, makes no difference. Especially are medical men exposed to this
+danger, and yet they have never clamoured for additional protection
+from the law, but have so regulated their actions as to minimise the
+possibility of such false charges.</p>
+
+<p>It can thus be seen that if a girl wishes to attempt blackmailing, by
+far the easiest course open to her is to bring a charge of indecent
+assault, and this is really more difficult of disproof than a charge of
+seduction. When this can be so readily done, the theory of a greatly
+increased number of false charges from raising the age of consent, can
+practically be ignored.</p>
+
+<p>Again, it is urged that girls will tempt young men and then extort
+money from them. But all who have given attention to the subject agree
+that it is almost an unheard of thing for a previously chaste girl
+to invite a man to immorality. If a girl does this, it points to the
+fact that she has already been seduced, and the change in the law is
+asked for that this very thing may be prevented. If men are kept from
+violating young girls, there will be no unchaste girls to tempt men in
+their turn.</p>
+
+<p>It may be that in a few cases, injustice may be done and men wrongly
+punished,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> but this may be urged against every law. And can this
+possibility outweigh the hundreds of cases of girls who, every year
+in this colony, meet with physical and moral disaster, which a juster
+state of law might have prevented? Have we no pity for these children,
+who on the threshold of what might have been a bright and prosperous
+life, meet with woeful shipwreck, and instead of becoming the happy
+wives and mothers of the future, join the unspeakably sad ranks of the
+prostitute?</p>
+
+<p>Men who have any chivalrous feeling in their nature will gladly accept
+whatever increased risk there may be, in order that this further
+protection, till an age when knowledge and prudence are greater, may be
+given, and immoral men will have to learn that, if they do not wish to
+incur this danger, they must not place themselves in positions in which
+they will be liable to false charges.</p>
+
+<p>What then must be done? It must first be recognised that unless the
+public voice unmistakably demands this reform those who can give effect
+to it will not move in the matter. This was shown in England, where for
+some years the proposal to raise the age of consent was contemptuously
+rejected by the House of Commons, until Mr. Stead&#8217;s <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>memorable articles
+in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i> raised public feeling to white heat, and the
+desired legislation was rushed through with almost no opposition in a
+few days. In the United States, too, during the last eighteen months
+a well-organised agitation, in which the Women&#8217;s Christian Temperance
+Union has taken a leading part, has succeeded in obtaining the age of
+eighteen in eight States, and the agitation is still being continued to
+raise it to this in other States where the age is lower.</p>
+
+<p>The W.T.C.U. of New South Wales has determined to follow the example
+of the American unions, and undertake this momentous work on behalf of
+its sex. If it can succeed in enlisting the sympathy and co-operation
+of the Churches and philanthropic societies, and all work together
+cordially for this great object, public opinion will soon be roused,
+and from one end of the colony to the other will come the demand that
+this scandalous state of affairs be instantly remedied. If this be
+so, the government will hasten to carry out the wishes of the people,
+and we will take rank with those who cherish and defend at all costs
+the honour of their daughters. All can help in this work. There
+are petitions to be signed, public meetings organised, members of
+Parliament to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> interviewed, and many other means by which success
+may be ensured.</p>
+
+<p>It is to be hoped that none will hold back from assisting on account
+of prudery, or false delicacy. The purest can and should aid in this
+crusade, and if they decline to do so from any selfish motive, and this
+reform is not carried, the blood of those who perished because this has
+not been done will be upon their heads. But we believe better things of
+the men and women of New South Wales, and are convinced that, with the
+help of God, 1896 will not pass till this most needed of all laws has
+been placed on our Statute Book.</p>
+
+<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/i012.jpg" alt="Decoration" /></div>
+
+<p class="center space-above"><i>After reading, kindly give this to a friend, and sign, if possible, a
+petition in favour of this object.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;Christian World&#8221; Press, 301 Pitt-st., Sydney.</p>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 66377 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Needed Change in the Age of Consent, by
+Richard Arthur
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: The Needed Change in the Age of Consent
+       An Appeal For the Better Protection of Our Girls
+
+Author: Richard Arthur
+
+Release Date: September 25, 2021 [eBook #66377]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+             https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of
+             public domain works at The National Library of Australia.)
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF
+CONSENT ***
+
+THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF CONSENT.
+
+
+AN APPEAL For the Better Protection of Our Girls.
+
+
+BY RICHARD ARTHUR, M.A., M.D.
+
+
+SYDNEY: THE CHRISTIAN WORLD PRESS, 301 PITT STREET. 1896.
+
+
+
+
+The Needed Change in the Age of Consent.
+
+
+Good laws, as a great statesman has said, are for the purpose of making
+it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. Such laws protect the
+weak and ignorant who are unable to take care of themselves, and deter
+the cunning and unscrupulous from injuring their fellows. When the
+strong prey upon the weak in any community, without the law in any way
+attempting to prevent it, such apathy points to a low moral sensibility
+in the community in which it exists.
+
+This moral indifference and tolerance of injustice, must be charged
+against the people of New South Wales. Their representatives in
+Parliament have so devoted themselves to the strife for office and the
+incidence of taxation, that the question of protecting by law, the
+chastity of young girls, has been ignored. And the people have been
+content to have it so. In New South Wales, at the present time, any
+girl of fourteen years and a day, may be outraged, and unless it can
+be proved that actual violence was used, the law will do nothing to
+the man who has ruined her. In other words, the law of New South Wales
+gives its sanction to the seduction of every girl above fourteen, if
+this can be done without the employment of brute force. And experience
+shows that men are not slow to avail themselves of this license. In
+Sydney, the Rescue Homes, the Lying-in Hospitals, and the lock wards
+are filled with girls, some about to become mothers, others suffering
+from loathsome diseases, all social outcasts, and with a future of woe
+and tragedy before them.
+
+Is not this a foul blot on this colony? Are there no men with
+chivalrous feeling and pity for the weak, whose blood boils when
+they hear of these things, are there no women whose hearts go out to
+these poor, fallen children to save them? And cannot all see that it
+is infinitely better and easier to try and prevent this fall, than
+to remedy it after it has happened? For the means of doing this is
+at hand. It is to raise the age at which a girl can consent to her
+own seduction. The “Age of Consent” so-called, at present stands at
+fourteen years. Increase this age to at least eighteen, and thus
+give the girl protection during the four years of her life in which
+experience proves that danger threatens her most.
+
+After this age, the girl must be the guardian of her own virtue, and it
+is most probable that increased knowledge and strength of will power
+would preserve her from moral ruin. It is a significant fact that while
+the law holds the child of fourteen capable of defending her honour, it
+does not allow any girl who may possess property to manage or dispose
+of it in any way till she is 21 years old, and anyone marrying her
+without the consent of her legal guardians, even though she may be
+willing herself, is liable to severe punishment.
+
+If the girl of fourteen is capable of being the guardian of her own
+virtue then we must concede that physically she is fitted to become a
+mother, that she realizes to the full, the consequences of immorality,
+and that her self-control and power of moral resistance render her
+proof against any bribes or threats by which it may be sought to
+influence her.
+
+Now all medical authorities would utterly condemn the idea that a girl
+of fourteen was fit for the stress and strain of motherhood. Not only
+would she run great danger herself, but her offspring would in all
+probability be sickly and unfit for the battle of life.
+
+Again, can a young girl comprehend in the least degree, the
+consequences of consenting to her own ruin?
+
+The majority of girls are brought up in entire ignorance of all matters
+connected with sex. It is the parent’s boast that they are perfectly
+“innocent,” by which is meant that they know none of the facts of the
+genesis of life, and are totally unwarned against the dangers which
+may assail them at any moment. Nothing could be better fitted for the
+purpose of the seducer, and the innocence which is supposed to throw a
+halo of purity round the girl, is sometimes the instrument of her ruin.
+But, granting that she has learnt in some imperfect and unsatisfactory
+way, about these matters, can she adequately grasp the results which
+may come upon her? Is she aware that she may become a mother, with all
+the dangers attending maternity, can she estimate the social ostracism,
+the life-long shame that will be her lot if her fall is discovered;
+does she know that this first downward step taken through ignorance or
+thoughtlessness, is the first on the path which leads by the streets of
+the city to the harlot’s grave?
+
+And further, is the period between 14 and 18, one in which
+self-control is firmly established, and the actions governed by
+prudence and reason? We know it is not. Girls at this age have little
+resisting power. Their vanity is easily appealed to, their ignorance
+of life leads them into situations which older women would avoid,
+often their affections are easily engaged, and under the caresses and
+blandishments of the man--generally much older than themselves, they
+are but as clay in the potter’s hands. And it would be difficult to say
+how many of these case are actually, if not legally, cases of rape, for
+often a considerable amount of resistance has to be overcome before the
+crime is effected.
+
+In fact, if we considered this subject calmly and without prejudice, we
+will see that it is monstrous that in our colony, a young girl may be
+robbed of her most precious possession, dearer to her than any material
+wealth, or even than life itself, and our law tacitly connives at it.
+_The girl consented to her moral ruin, and so there is nothing more to
+be done._
+
+This law, or rather want of law, is altogether in the interests of
+immoral men. Here, adequate protection is not given, because if it
+were, men would have to desist from debauching young girls, or run the
+risk of severe penalties.
+
+The only argument ever brought forward by those opposed to giving girls
+adequate protection, is that if this were done, false charges would
+constantly be brought against men for the purpose of blackmailing.
+Now, we may admit that this argument has a certain relevancy, but very
+much less than those who use it, claim for it. It is true that some
+additional cases of false charges might arise, but in all probability
+they would be very few. And for this reason, that in, the majority of
+these cases of attempted blackmailing, the charges are brought either
+by very young children, at the instigation of older people, or by adult
+women who have the knowledge and cunning necessary for the planning out
+of such a charge. The period from 14 to 18 during which it is suggested
+to give the protection already accorded to those below 14, is one where
+there is the least likelihood of false charges being brought.
+
+But the most important counterargument is this. Any girl or any woman
+can bring a charge of indecent assault against a man, and the same
+evidence as is required in a case of seduction, would be needed here.
+Thus any man in this colony, whatever his position, is liable to the
+danger of false accusation, and the age of the woman bringing the
+charge, makes no difference. Especially are medical men exposed to this
+danger, and yet they have never clamoured for additional protection
+from the law, but have so regulated their actions as to minimise the
+possibility of such false charges.
+
+It can thus be seen that if a girl wishes to attempt blackmailing, by
+far the easiest course open to her is to bring a charge of indecent
+assault, and this is really more difficult of disproof than a charge of
+seduction. When this can be so readily done, the theory of a greatly
+increased number of false charges from raising the age of consent, can
+practically be ignored.
+
+Again, it is urged that girls will tempt young men and then extort
+money from them. But all who have given attention to the subject agree
+that it is almost an unheard of thing for a previously chaste girl
+to invite a man to immorality. If a girl does this, it points to the
+fact that she has already been seduced, and the change in the law is
+asked for that this very thing may be prevented. If men are kept from
+violating young girls, there will be no unchaste girls to tempt men in
+their turn.
+
+It may be that in a few cases, injustice may be done and men wrongly
+punished, but this may be urged against every law. And can this
+possibility outweigh the hundreds of cases of girls who, every year
+in this colony, meet with physical and moral disaster, which a juster
+state of law might have prevented? Have we no pity for these children,
+who on the threshold of what might have been a bright and prosperous
+life, meet with woeful shipwreck, and instead of becoming the happy
+wives and mothers of the future, join the unspeakably sad ranks of the
+prostitute?
+
+Men who have any chivalrous feeling in their nature will gladly accept
+whatever increased risk there may be, in order that this further
+protection, till an age when knowledge and prudence are greater, may be
+given, and immoral men will have to learn that, if they do not wish to
+incur this danger, they must not place themselves in positions in which
+they will be liable to false charges.
+
+What then must be done? It must first be recognised that unless the
+public voice unmistakably demands this reform those who can give effect
+to it will not move in the matter. This was shown in England, where for
+some years the proposal to raise the age of consent was contemptuously
+rejected by the House of Commons, until Mr. Stead’s memorable articles
+in the _Pall Mall Gazette_ raised public feeling to white heat, and the
+desired legislation was rushed through with almost no opposition in a
+few days. In the United States, too, during the last eighteen months
+a well-organised agitation, in which the Women’s Christian Temperance
+Union has taken a leading part, has succeeded in obtaining the age of
+eighteen in eight States, and the agitation is still being continued to
+raise it to this in other States where the age is lower.
+
+The W.T.C.U. of New South Wales has determined to follow the example
+of the American unions, and undertake this momentous work on behalf of
+its sex. If it can succeed in enlisting the sympathy and co-operation
+of the Churches and philanthropic societies, and all work together
+cordially for this great object, public opinion will soon be roused,
+and from one end of the colony to the other will come the demand that
+this scandalous state of affairs be instantly remedied. If this be
+so, the government will hasten to carry out the wishes of the people,
+and we will take rank with those who cherish and defend at all costs
+the honour of their daughters. All can help in this work. There
+are petitions to be signed, public meetings organised, members of
+Parliament to be interviewed, and many other means by which success
+may be ensured.
+
+It is to be hoped that none will hold back from assisting on account
+of prudery, or false delicacy. The purest can and should aid in this
+crusade, and if they decline to do so from any selfish motive, and this
+reform is not carried, the blood of those who perished because this has
+not been done will be upon their heads. But we believe better things of
+the men and women of New South Wales, and are convinced that, with the
+help of God, 1896 will not pass till this most needed of all laws has
+been placed on our Statute Book.
+
+[Illustration: Decoration]
+
+
+_After reading, kindly give this to a friend, and sign, if possible, a
+petition in favour of this object._
+
+
+“Christian World” Press, 301 Pitt-st., Sydney.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF
+CONSENT ***
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
+be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
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+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Needed Change in the Age of Consent, by Richard Arthur.
+    </title>
+    <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" />
+    <style type="text/css">
+
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+         text-align: justify;
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+<body>
+
+<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Needed Change in the Age of Consent, by Richard Arthur</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
+at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
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+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Needed Change in the Age of Consent</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0;'>An Appeal For the Better Protection of Our Girls</p>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Richard Arthur</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 25, 2021 [eBook #66377]</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain works at The National Library of Australia.)</div>
+
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEEDED CHANGE IN THE AGE OF CONSENT ***</div>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="title page" /></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>THE NEEDED CHANGE<br />  IN THE<br /> AGE OF CONSENT.</h1>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold">AN APPEAL<br /><br />For the Better Protection<br /><br />of Our Girls.</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold">BY</p>
+
+<p class="bold2">RICHARD ARTHUR, M.A., M.D.</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold"><span class="smcap">Sydney</span>:<br /><span class="smcap">The Christian World Press,
+301 Pitt Street.</span><br />&mdash;&mdash;<br />1896.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/heading.jpg" alt="heading" /></div>
+
+<p>Good laws, as a great statesman has said, are for the purpose of making
+it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. Such laws protect the
+weak and ignorant who are unable to take care of themselves, and deter
+the cunning and unscrupulous from injuring their fellows. When the
+strong prey upon the weak in any community, without the law in any way
+attempting to prevent it, such apathy points to a low moral sensibility
+in the community in which it exists.</p>
+
+<p>This moral indifference and tolerance of injustice, must be charged
+against the people of New South Wales. Their representatives in
+Parliament have so devoted themselves to the strife for office and the
+incidence of taxation, that the question of protecting by law, the
+chastity of young girls, has been ignored. And the people have been
+content to have it so. In New South Wales, at the present time, any
+girl of fourteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> years and a day, may be outraged, and unless it can
+be proved that actual violence was used, the law will do nothing to
+the man who has ruined her. In other words, the law of New South Wales
+gives its sanction to the seduction of every girl above fourteen, if
+this can be done without the employment of brute force. And experience
+shows that men are not slow to avail themselves of this license. In
+Sydney, the Rescue Homes, the Lying-in Hospitals, and the lock wards
+are filled with girls, some about to become mothers, others suffering
+from loathsome diseases, all social outcasts, and with a future of woe
+and tragedy before them.</p>
+
+<p>Is not this a foul blot on this colony? Are there no men with
+chivalrous feeling and pity for the weak, whose blood boils when
+they hear of these things, are there no women whose hearts go out to
+these poor, fallen children to save them? And cannot all see that it
+is infinitely better and easier to try and prevent this fall, than
+to remedy it after it has happened? For the means of doing this is
+at hand. It is to raise the age at which a girl can consent to her
+own seduction. The &#8220;Age of Consent&#8221; so-called, at present stands at
+fourteen years. Increase this age to at least eighteen, and thus
+give the girl <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>protection during the four years of her life in which
+experience proves that danger threatens her most.</p>
+
+<p>After this age, the girl must be the guardian of her own virtue, and it
+is most probable that increased knowledge and strength of will power
+would preserve her from moral ruin. It is a significant fact that while
+the law holds the child of fourteen capable of defending her honour, it
+does not allow any girl who may possess property to manage or dispose
+of it in any way till she is 21 years old, and anyone marrying her
+without the consent of her legal guardians, even though she may be
+willing herself, is liable to severe punishment.</p>
+
+<p>If the girl of fourteen is capable of being the guardian of her own
+virtue then we must concede that physically she is fitted to become a
+mother, that she realizes to the full, the consequences of immorality,
+and that her self-control and power of moral resistance render her
+proof against any bribes or threats by which it may be sought to
+influence her.</p>
+
+<p>Now all medical authorities would utterly condemn the idea that a girl
+of fourteen was fit for the stress and strain of motherhood. Not only
+would she run great danger herself, but her <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>offspring would in all
+probability be sickly and unfit for the battle of life.</p>
+
+<p>Again, can a young girl comprehend in the least degree, the
+consequences of consenting to her own ruin?</p>
+
+<p>The majority of girls are brought up in entire ignorance of all matters
+connected with sex. It is the parent&#8217;s boast that they are perfectly
+&#8220;innocent,&#8221; by which is meant that they know none of the facts of the
+genesis of life, and are totally unwarned against the dangers which
+may assail them at any moment. Nothing could be better fitted for the
+purpose of the seducer, and the innocence which is supposed to throw a
+halo of purity round the girl, is sometimes the instrument of her ruin.
+But, granting that she has learnt in some imperfect and unsatisfactory
+way, about these matters, can she adequately grasp the results which
+may come upon her? Is she aware that she may become a mother, with all
+the dangers attending maternity, can she estimate the social ostracism,
+the life-long shame that will be her lot if her fall is discovered;
+does she know that this first downward step taken through ignorance or
+thoughtlessness, is the first on the path which leads by the streets of
+the city to the harlot&#8217;s grave?</p>
+
+<p>And further, is the period between 14<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> and 18, one in which
+self-control is firmly established, and the actions governed by
+prudence and reason? We know it is not. Girls at this age have little
+resisting power. Their vanity is easily appealed to, their ignorance
+of life leads them into situations which older women would avoid,
+often their affections are easily engaged, and under the caresses and
+blandishments of the man&mdash;generally much older than themselves, they
+are but as clay in the potter&#8217;s hands. And it would be difficult to say
+how many of these case are actually, if not legally, cases of rape, for
+often a considerable amount of resistance has to be overcome before the
+crime is effected.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, if we considered this subject calmly and without prejudice, we
+will see that it is monstrous that in our colony, a young girl may be
+robbed of her most precious possession, dearer to her than any material
+wealth, or even than life itself, and our law tacitly connives at it.
+<i>The girl consented to her moral ruin, and so there is nothing more to
+be done.</i></p>
+
+<p>This law, or rather want of law, is altogether in the interests of
+immoral men. Here, adequate protection is not given, because if it
+were, men would have to desist from debauching young girls, or run the
+risk of severe penalties. </p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The only argument ever brought forward by those opposed to giving girls
+adequate protection, is that if this were done, false charges would
+constantly be brought against men for the purpose of blackmailing.
+Now, we may admit that this argument has a certain relevancy, but very
+much less than those who use it, claim for it. It is true that some
+additional cases of false charges might arise, but in all probability
+they would be very few. And for this reason, that in, the majority of
+these cases of attempted blackmailing, the charges are brought either
+by very young children, at the instigation of older people, or by adult
+women who have the knowledge and cunning necessary for the planning out
+of such a charge. The period from 14 to 18 during which it is suggested
+to give the protection already accorded to those below 14, is one where
+there is the least likelihood of false charges being brought.</p>
+
+<p>But the most important counterargument is this. Any girl or any woman
+can bring a charge of indecent assault against a man, and the same
+evidence as is required in a case of seduction, would be needed here.
+Thus any man in this colony, whatever his position, is liable to the
+danger of false<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> accusation, and the age of the woman bringing the
+charge, makes no difference. Especially are medical men exposed to this
+danger, and yet they have never clamoured for additional protection
+from the law, but have so regulated their actions as to minimise the
+possibility of such false charges.</p>
+
+<p>It can thus be seen that if a girl wishes to attempt blackmailing, by
+far the easiest course open to her is to bring a charge of indecent
+assault, and this is really more difficult of disproof than a charge of
+seduction. When this can be so readily done, the theory of a greatly
+increased number of false charges from raising the age of consent, can
+practically be ignored.</p>
+
+<p>Again, it is urged that girls will tempt young men and then extort
+money from them. But all who have given attention to the subject agree
+that it is almost an unheard of thing for a previously chaste girl
+to invite a man to immorality. If a girl does this, it points to the
+fact that she has already been seduced, and the change in the law is
+asked for that this very thing may be prevented. If men are kept from
+violating young girls, there will be no unchaste girls to tempt men in
+their turn.</p>
+
+<p>It may be that in a few cases, injustice may be done and men wrongly
+punished,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> but this may be urged against every law. And can this
+possibility outweigh the hundreds of cases of girls who, every year
+in this colony, meet with physical and moral disaster, which a juster
+state of law might have prevented? Have we no pity for these children,
+who on the threshold of what might have been a bright and prosperous
+life, meet with woeful shipwreck, and instead of becoming the happy
+wives and mothers of the future, join the unspeakably sad ranks of the
+prostitute?</p>
+
+<p>Men who have any chivalrous feeling in their nature will gladly accept
+whatever increased risk there may be, in order that this further
+protection, till an age when knowledge and prudence are greater, may be
+given, and immoral men will have to learn that, if they do not wish to
+incur this danger, they must not place themselves in positions in which
+they will be liable to false charges.</p>
+
+<p>What then must be done? It must first be recognised that unless the
+public voice unmistakably demands this reform those who can give effect
+to it will not move in the matter. This was shown in England, where for
+some years the proposal to raise the age of consent was contemptuously
+rejected by the House of Commons, until Mr. Stead&#8217;s <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>memorable articles
+in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i> raised public feeling to white heat, and the
+desired legislation was rushed through with almost no opposition in a
+few days. In the United States, too, during the last eighteen months
+a well-organised agitation, in which the Women&#8217;s Christian Temperance
+Union has taken a leading part, has succeeded in obtaining the age of
+eighteen in eight States, and the agitation is still being continued to
+raise it to this in other States where the age is lower.</p>
+
+<p>The W.T.C.U. of New South Wales has determined to follow the example
+of the American unions, and undertake this momentous work on behalf of
+its sex. If it can succeed in enlisting the sympathy and co-operation
+of the Churches and philanthropic societies, and all work together
+cordially for this great object, public opinion will soon be roused,
+and from one end of the colony to the other will come the demand that
+this scandalous state of affairs be instantly remedied. If this be
+so, the government will hasten to carry out the wishes of the people,
+and we will take rank with those who cherish and defend at all costs
+the honour of their daughters. All can help in this work. There
+are petitions to be signed, public meetings organised, members of
+Parliament to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> interviewed, and many other means by which success
+may be ensured.</p>
+
+<p>It is to be hoped that none will hold back from assisting on account
+of prudery, or false delicacy. The purest can and should aid in this
+crusade, and if they decline to do so from any selfish motive, and this
+reform is not carried, the blood of those who perished because this has
+not been done will be upon their heads. But we believe better things of
+the men and women of New South Wales, and are convinced that, with the
+help of God, 1896 will not pass till this most needed of all laws has
+been placed on our Statute Book.</p>
+
+<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/i012.jpg" alt="Decoration" /></div>
+
+<p class="center space-above"><i>After reading, kindly give this to a friend, and sign, if possible, a
+petition in favour of this object.</i></p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;Christian World&#8221; Press, 301 Pitt-st., Sydney.</p>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-22 16:18:10 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-22 16:18:10 -0800
commit	9c8d8d3a26454e6d281a8e5ecefabc5dae6c114f (patch)
tree	f36ca1ccc8fbaf58cc7df271d7d3e16c8bb29c11
parent	d5c204c96861d7b62196e2e1c57a1eb5f0550e33 (diff)