CHAPTER X.

A YEAR OF MOBS AND CONVENTIONS.

Friends of Temperance assemble in New York, 1853.

--

Women excluded from the Convention. A Busy Autumn. - Comments of "The Tribune."- Rev. Antoinette L. Brown. - Her Experience at the Temperance Convention. Exclusion of Miss Brown and Mr. Phillips. - The Woman's Rights Convention. - Riotous Disturbances. Madame Annekè. — Phillips's Bitter Invective. - The Convention forced to adjourn sine die.

"My idea of American nationality makes it the last best growth of the thoughtful mind of the century, treading under foot sex and race, caste and condition, and collecting on the broad bosom of what deserves the name of an empire, under the shelter of noble, just, and equal laws, all races, all customs, all religions, all languages, all literature, and all ideas."

"I welcome woman to the platform of the world's teachers; and I look upon the world, in a very important sense, as one great school."- PHILLIPS.

ΟΝ

N the 12th of May, 1853, the friends of temperance assembled in New-York City, to make arrangements for a world's temperance convention. The meeting was held in Dr. Spring's Old Brick Church, on Franklin Square, where "The New-York Times” building now stands. It was organized by nominating the Hon. A. C. Barstow of Rhode Island chairman. The meeting opened with prayer, "asking God's blessing on the proceedings." A motion was then made, that all "gentlemen" present be admitted as delegates. Dr.

Trall of New York moved an amendment, that the word "ladies" be inserted, as there were delegates present from the Woman's State Temperance Society. The motion was carried.

A business committee of one from each State was then appointed. A motion was made, that Susan B. Anthony, secretary of the Woman's State Temperance Society, be added to the business committee; and, after a hot debate, it was ruled out of order. Next Thomas Wentworth Higginson requested that he be excused from serving on the committee, and that his place be filled by Mrs. Lucy Stone. The confusion was increased. A committee of credentials was appointed, to decide who were members of the convention. They reported, that, in their opinion, the call for the meeting was not intended to include female delegates, and that the credentials of the ladies should be rejected. The report was adopted by a vote of thirty-four to thirty-two, ten of those voting being women.

The opening days of the autumn of this year were days of intense excitement in the city of New York. The great World's Fair was in progress; also an anti-slavery, a woman's rights, and two temperance, conventions. On the anti-slavery platform William Henry Channing, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, and other eloquent speakers, were pleading for the black man's freedom; on the woman's rights platform these same men were asserting the equality of their mothers, wives,

and daughters; and on the temperance platform they were inculcating noble lessons for both white and black.

The temperance convention, from which, of course, by a previous ruling, women were excluded, was in session in Metropolitan Hall. Truthfully characterized, it was no other than an organized mob, under the complete control of the clergy:

In "The New-York Tribune," under date of Sept. 7, 1853, Horace Greeley thus summed up the proceedings of the session:

"This convention has completed three of its four business sessions, and the results may be summed up as follows:

"First day, crowding a woman off the platform.

"Second day, gagging her.

"Third day, voting that she shall stay gagged. Having thus disposed of the main question, we presume the incidentals will be finished this morning."

It was Antoinette L. Brown (since Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell) whom the convention crowded off the platform. How came she there, is a question which must be answered.

On the day of the opening of the World's Temperance Convention, the Woman's Rights Convention was also in session. Miss Brown and Wendell Phillips sat at the latter, reconsidering the matter of the rejection of women. Miss Brown expressed the opinion, that as the Brick-chapel meeting was merely an informal, pre

liminary meeting, and its decisions of no importance or authority upon the convention proper, perhaps, after all, women would be admitted if proper application were made.

"Go, by all means," said Phillips: "if they receive you, you have only to thank them for rebuking the action of the Brick-chapel meeting. Then we will withdraw, and come back to our own meeting. If, on the other hand, they do not receive you, we will quietly and without protest withdraw, and, in that case, not be gone half an hour."

Miss Brown, Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, and Mr. Phillips then wended their way to Metropolitan Hall.

On arriving at the hall, Miss Brown presented her credentials to the secretary, and went down from the platform. After a little time it was decided that the call admitted all delegates, and, thinking that this decision settled her case, Miss Brown again went upon the platform. In the mean time a permanent organization was effected. Miss Brown arose, and inquired of the president, Neal Dow, if she were rightly a member of the convention. He replied, "Yes, if you have credentials from any abstinence societies." She stated that she had, and then attempted to thank him; but the convention would not receive any expression of thanks. She took her seat, and awaited a better opportunity.

The first day's session came to an end. On going out of the convention, Mr. Phillips stated to persons

with whom he came in contact, that a woman delegate had been received by the president, and that she had been insulted, and nobody had risen to sustain her. He said to Miss Brown, "I shall not go to-morrow, but do you go. I can do nothing for you, because I am not a delegate."

That evening a few earnest friends in New York met together, organized a society, and appointed just three delegates to that temperance convention. Those three persons were Wendell Phillips, Mr. Cleveland, - one of the editors of "The Tribune," and Mr. Gibbon, son-in-law of the late Isaac T. Hopper of New York.

The next morning Miss Brown and the new delegates went to the hall. Mr. Phillips presented his credentials. During the discussion Mr. Phillips took part, and persisted in holding the convention to parliamentary rules. When the preliminary business was over, and various resolutions were being brought forward, Miss Brown arose, and the president gave her the floor. She was invited upon the stand; but, once there, she was not allowed to speak. For the space of three hours she endeavored to be heard. Finally some one insisted that there might be persons voting in the house who were not delegates; and it was decided that the hall should be cleared by the police, and that those who were delegates might come in, one by one, and resume their seats.

There were printed lists of the delegates of the con

A