Buffalo, Aug. 13th, 1849.

Frederick Douglass:—As one of the Committee of Arrangements of the first of August Celebration, at Buffalo, you will confer a favor by allowing me through your columns, to call attention to the following extract from an Editorial in the Impartial Citizen of the 8th inst. After speaking of the peaceable and orderly manner in which the Ball of Auburn passed off, the magnanimous Editor adds as follows:

"It is due to our friend, J. W. Quincy, and others of the Commitee of Arrangements, that they exhibited a more—a much more liberal disposition than did the Buffalo Convention.—The latter refused to pay H. H. Garnet a single red cent over and above his travelling expenses, for his services as Orator. They however went to great expense for printing, paying largely to printers, but asking speakers to work for nothing. The Auburn Committee were as willing to pay speakers as printers.—We preferred not to say anything about this before the Celebration, lest we should be regarded as desiring to disparage the Buffalo meeting, or to show partiality betwixt them.—We had no personal reason to do so. As a printer both committees treated us alike. But as a speaker, the one wanted us for nothing, and the other offered compensation. Our object in mentioning this difference between the two committees, is, to call attention to the fact that just here lies the secret of the poverty and embarrassment of our public men; in the unwillingness of some to compensate them for their labors.

We penned a line to Mr. G. Weir on this subject, but to no avail. We doubt, hoever, whether they asked Mr. Beman to come from New Haven, simply for his travelling expenses. If they did they are more unreasonable than they suppose they are.

When will black men learn to pay their own laborers as liberally as they pay white men?—May the Buffalo folks improve in this matter."

Now we certainly have no objection to the Rev. Editor's exposing himself to the world, through his misnamed paper, providing he would make, an impartial statement of the facts in the case and not endeavour, through cunning and craft to present the Buffalo Committee in an unfavorable light before the public; for the most casual reader will readily observe that the gratuitous article, while it claims sympathy for us on the one hand, is intended upon the other hand to reflect discredit and disparagement upon our efforts.

"Away with such disguised sympathy."

Some time in the month of January last the Committee at Buffalo addressed a letter to the Rev. S. R. Ward, inviting him to Buffalo as one of the Orators for the first of August, and requesting him to state upon what terms he would come, &c.; to which letter he replied by referring us to the Canandaigua Celebration held some two years previous, leaving us to judge from that, what his terms would be; &c., to which letter the Committee responded by telling him that they could not take the Canandaigua celebration for their criterion; but that they would pay his traveling expenses to Buffalo and back again; and pay all expenses that might be incurred by him during his stay in our city. To this letter Mr. Ward replied as follows:

Syracuse, March 2, 1849.

G. Weir, Jr., Dear Sir:—I am disposed to say that for ought I now see, it is probable that I will comply with the request of your fellow citizens in respect to the first of August next, on the terms you propose. Should any thing occur so to change the minds of the Committee as that they will not need me, you will please let me know by the first of May, so that I may be free to engage myself elsewhere.

Your obedt. Servant,

S. R. Ward.

From this letter the Committee, as a matter of course, enrolled the name of Mr. Ward, as one of their speakers. Subsequent to this, however, the Committee received a letter from him stating that owing to business matters &c., he should be obliged to delcine serving us at Buffalo on the first of August upon the terms intimated in a former letter; stating that if he did, he should embarrass his business, &c.

The Committee not wishing by any means to embarrass Mr. Ward in his business or other engagements, immediately wrote him a letter releasing him from his obligation, which, of course they supposed was all that he asked. But it seems that he has now taken a public opportunity of thrusting the javelin at them, and all because they would not consent to give him twenty-five dollars, together with his traveling expenses, for making a first of August speech. In the article above, he freely makes use of the name of Mr. Garnet and says that we would not agree to give him a single red cent over and above his expenses. Whether Mr. Garnet authorized this assertion on the part of Mr. Ward or not, we do not know. But this we do know—as Mr. Ward has assumed to mention his name, that both of the gentlemen in our opinion have entirely disregarded the true principles of genuine greatness; for they both agreed to come to Buffalo, and both backed out. As to Mr. Garnet, the published proceedings of our meeting will show in what estimation we hold him. Because we did not see fit to pay him forty dollars, he refused to come, even after assuring us by his letters that he would come, God being willing. Had Mr. Garnet not said positively that he would be here, we never should have used his name on our Bills,—and consequently we should have got rid of paying the printer for that job. And as Mr. Ward seems disposed to find fault with our paying largely to printers, we will assure him that his friend whose name he uses with such emotions of pity has been the means of incurring a portion of the expenses; and secondly, we inform him that we do not know that it is any of his or any person's business what we pay for printing, or what we do not. We paid him according to his request in advance for one notice in his paper; and that we believe is all that should concern him, especially when the editorial &c., which he promised us in relation to our Celebration, has never appeared. The twenty-five dollars bonus was not found forthcoming, neither was the editorial, although he had promised it. Alas, what an effect the Almighty Dollar will have! We are sorry to see it so in this case. It betrays a want of interest and feeling, upon the part of the worthy editor, much to be lamented. We exhort him to repentance. He seems to be wonderfully concerned about the terms upon which Mr. Beman came to Buffalo. We simply remark upon this point, that whether he believes that Mr. Beman came simply for his traveling expenses or not, is a matter of indifference to us. Mr. Beman has a soul too big with p[h]ilanthropy, and has too much interest in the welfare of bleeding humanity, to make dollars and cents a standard. Pure philanthropy prompts him to action; and his letter to the Buffalo Committee will ever be borne in mind with the most pleasing recollection. Would that we could say as much for the letters of Mr. Ward and Mr. Garnet. That J. W. Quincy and the Auburn Committee possessed a great deal of liberality and magnan[i]mity we do not hesitate to believe. But be that as it may, our friend Ward possessing as little as he does, should certainly not undertake to draw a contrast between them and the Buffalo committee. The Buffalo committee are responsible for their acts, and when they wish tutoring in regard to their duty, they will call upon some candid man and not one who assumes to have so much sympathy with us that he would not speak of us at the Auburn celebration, and at the same time would publish us to the world through the columns of his paper. He closes up his article by inquiring When will black men learn to pay their own laborers as liberally as they pay white men? &c.ーusing the very language which were a white man to use, he would be quick to condemn. We admit that the Buffalo folks have need for improvement in many matters; but we fear that if they wait for certin Rev. Editors to set the example, unless money can purchase it, they will wait in vain.

Yours for truth and justice,

George Weir, Jr.Weir, George, Jr.

The son of a minister of Buffalo’s Vine Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, George Weir, Jr., was a minister and abolitionist in Buffalo. Arthur O. White, “The Black Movement against Jim Crow Education in Buffalo, New York, 1800-1900,” , 30:383 (Winter 1969).