Charles H. Langston, George B. Vashon, William
J. Wilson, William Whipper and Charles B. Ray, all of them men of more
than ordinary intelligence, information and ability.

But those who saw only in emigration the solution of the evils with which
they were beset, immediately called another convention to consider and
decide upon the subject of emigration from the United States. According to
the call, no one was to be admitted to the convention who would introduce
the subject of emigration to any part of the Eastern Hemisphere, and
opponents of emigration were also to be excluded. Among the signers to the
call in and from the States of Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Indiana,
Canada and California were: Rev. Wm. Webb, Martin R. Delaney, Pittsburg,
Pa., Dr. J. J. Gould Bias of Philadelphia, Franklin Turner of the same
city, Rev. Augustus R. Green of Allegheny, Pa., James M. Whitfield, New
York, William Lambert of Michigan, Henry Bibb, James Theodore Holly of
Canada and Henry M. Collins of California.

Douglass in his paper "The North Star," characterized the call as uncalled
for, unwise and unfortunate and premature. As far too narrow and illiberal
to meet with acceptance among the intelligent. "A convention to consider
the subject of emigration when every delegate must declare himself in
favor of it before hand as a condition of taking his seat, is like the
handle of a jug, all on one side. We hope no colored man, will omit during
the coming twelve months an opportunity which may offer to buy a piece of
property, a house lot, a farm or anything else in the United States which
looks to permanent residence here."

James M. Whitfield of Buffalo, N. Y., the Negro poet of America, and one
of the signers of the call, responded to the attacks in the same journal.
Douglass made a reply and Whitfield responded again, and so on until
several articles on each side were produced by these and other disputants.
The articles were collected and published in pamphlet form by Rev. and
Bishop James Theodore Holly of Port au Prince, Haiti, making a valuable
contribution to literature, for I doubt if there is anywhere throughout
the range of controversial literature anything to surpass it.

I am indebted to Bishop Holly for further information respecting this
convention. In a private letter he says:

"The convention was accordingly held. The Rev. William Munroe was
President, the Rt. Rev. [William] Paul Quinn, Vice President, Dr. Delaney,