William J. Watkins to Frederick Douglass, January 6, 1854
Letter from Wm. J. Watkins.
BOSTON, Jan. 6th, 1854.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: DEAR SIR:—You
know it is a physiclogical fact that when the
physical system is in a state of derangement,
the mental is correspondently affected. This
being the case, it may be unwise in me, to-
day, to speak to your numerous readers thro'
the columns of your valuable paper. When
I write for the people, or speak to them, I
am not satisfied unless the thinking part be
clear and unclouded. This is not the case
with me to-day. Did you ever have a "sick
headache?" And the toothache—did you
ever have the "thumping, jumping tooth-
ache?" Well, I have them both. They
seem to be joined together by a "copulative"
conjunction, and will not be separated; con-
sequently, my reflections just now are of the
most painful character. The headache is
owing, doubtless, in part, to my attendance
last evening at Rev. Mr. Grimes' Church, in
which the Massachusetts State Council was
holding its session. And the toothache—how do you think I contracted that? I will
tell you. This morning I was thus soliloquiz-
ing: this headache is the worst pain a man
can have; I had the toothache two years
ago, and I thought that the quintessence
of every other pain; but I think now the
headache is far the stronger, and more ex-
cruciating and aggravating. And it is a stub-
born fact, that while in the act of thinking,
as we say sometimes, two of my teeth commenced aching most violently; and for the last
few hours, my head and teeth have ached
and ached, one part of the time simultane-
ously, and then they'd take it alternately,
giving me a very feeling demonstration of
each other's power.
"O, that some power, the gift would gi[v]e us,"
to free ourselves from the loving embrace of
these faithful companions!
But the head-and-toothache shall not pre-
vent me from giving you a sketch of the do-
ings of the Massachusetts State Council, to
which I incidentally adverted.
As an official report will, doubtless, be
furnished for publication, I shall now, of
course, enter upon a detailed account of the
Council's deliberations. The Council was
organized by the appointment of Rev. L. A.
Grimes of Boston, President; William H.
Woods of New Bedford, Mr. Ringold of
Springfield, Vice Presidents; and N. P.
Freeman of Boston, J. B. Sanderson of Fair-
haven, Secretaries. Messrs. Nell and San-
derson, members of the National Council,
were invited to participate in the delibera-
tions of the Convention. A Business Com-
mittee, Committee on Protective Union, Fi-
nance, and others, were formed, which Com-
mittees reported at different stages of the
Convention. A very profitable discussion
was had upon the subject of the Protective
Union. Mr. Remington of New Bedford,
Lewis Hayden of Boston, and others, advoca-
ted, in a very forcible manner, the formation
of a Protective Union. Mr. Remington, hav-
ing had considerable experience in the mat-
ter, was prepared to give very valuable in-
formation on the subject. A resolution to
this effect was adopted:
Resolved, That we form a Protective
Union.
The idea seemed to be that Boston, on ac-
count of its superior commercial advantages,
being a great sea-port town, should be the
centre, and that throughout the State,
branches or auxiliaries be formed. Wm. C.
Nell offered sundry resolutions on Coloniza-
tion, Emigration, &c. The proposed Cleve-
land Convention received it just deserts
from the Council. The plan and object of
this so-called National Convention were de-
nounced in toto. Robert Morris, Esq. in a
speech replete with argument and eloquence,
clearly portrayed the evil tendency of this
"Emigration" movement. J. B. Sanderson
did not question the right of any individual
to seek a home in the West Indies, Central
America, or any where in the wide, wide
world, but he had no sympathy with the
Cleveland Convention. Various other gen-
tlemen spoke in advocacy of the resolutions,
whereupon they were unanimously adopted.
The closing session of the Convention was a
pretty stormy one. Two additional members
of the National Council were to be elected.
The time agreed upon at an early stage of
the Convention arrived. The election of
colored Senators was looked upon as some-
thing of more than ordinary importance.—It was proposed that they be elected by se-
cret ballot, which was agreed to. Then came
the tug of war. It was quite a lively time, I
assure you—and one which I enjoyed con-
siderably, till the interlocutory sparring and
personal recrimination commenced. Words
red with uncommon wrath were spoken, and
eyes with daggers in them gleamed from ev-
ery quarter. Mr. Sanderson tho't the name of
Mr. Remond entitled to special consideration.
He was a man of eminent ability, and one
whose unwavering fidelity to the Anti-Sla-
very cause could not be doubted, and he hoped
the members would elect him a member of
the National Council. Ah, then, they had
it. Remington, of New Bedford, sprang to
his feet, and denounced Mr. Remond as a
man wholly unworthy of the confidence of
the Colored People. Said he, "Mr. President,
if Jno. C. Calhoun were alive, I would just as
soon vote for him, as Chas. L. Remond. If
he could change his skin, I verily believe he
would do so. O, no! I can't vote for such a
man." He was proceeding in this strain,
when the President called him to order. At
this crisis, Lewis Hayden moved the previ-
ous question, which prevented a rejoinder.—W. C. Nell then arose, and designated the
moving of the previous question just here as
exceedingly tyrannical, and remarked that
this was not the first time attempts had been
made to crush him. He advocated full, free
unrestricted liberty of speech. Lewis Hay-
den explained by stating he had no wish to
crush any one, but merely to prevent further
quarreling. Mr. N. was not satisfied with
the explanation, and remarked that he would
rather withdraw his connection from the
National Council, than be identified with
such men. The President hoped that every
thing would be conducted with harmony. A
member then moved that the election now
take place. The Council then proceeded to
elect by ballot. On the first ballot, there
was no choice; on the second, Robert Morris,
Esq., was declared elected. The second
Senator was then balloted for, the result of
which was the election of Mr. Ringold, of
Springfield. These gentlemen bore their
honors very gracefully. The struggle being
over, the Council proceeded to elect perma-
nent officers. The following gentlemen were
elected. H. O. Remington, of New Bedford,
President; Messrs. Grimes, of Boston, and
Adams, of Springfield, Vice Presidents; Jno.
M. Lenox, Correponding Secretary, and
N. P. Freeman, Recording Secretary. Cer-
tain resolves relative to the Industrial Col-
lege and Mrs. Stowe, were placed in the
hands of the Business Committee, by Lewis
Hayden, who urged their passage in a forci-
ble manner. It is not expedient at the pres-
ent for me to give a detailed account of the
Council's action on these resolutions. Suf-
fice it to say that they were adopted. Messrs.
Sanderson, Nell, Hatton, and Clark protes-
ted against the action of the Council, as be-
ing wholly premature. I was not present
during the passage of these resolutions. It
being past midnight, I had retired to my
home. In justice to Mr. Morris, it would be
well for me to state that he was absent also.
He was opposed to the passage of any reso-
lutions condemnatory of Mrs. Stowe's action
with reference to the Industrial College, until
we had heard her reasons for that action;
then if they were not satisfactory, he would
go for the passage of such resolutions, and
stronger ones, if necessary. This he told
me in a conference with him on the subject.
Mr. P. F. Adams suggested to the Council,
the propriety of laying the subject over until
its next meeting, as he would then know
more about the matter. After the passage
of other resolutions on various subjects,
mutual congratulations of members, &c., &c.
the Council adjourned, sine die, having had
an interesting session of two days.—W. J. W.