About Garrison’s public personality

In 1837 in a couple of issues of the Liberator, there are comments from and responses to a John Gulliver,  who has had a disagreement with Garrison.   Gulliver has complained, that, in a previous paper, Garrison had done him an “injustice in your strictures on my remarks at the Worcester Convention….”  He asks that Garrison publish a copy of his remarks into the paper. Garrison responds:  “Certainly your request shall be complied with, yet we shall be sorry to be compelled to make you publicly ridiculous in publishing your remarks. We have treated you tenderly, instead of unkindly, considering the virulence and personality of your attack.” Gulliver’s remarks are printed later, and the gist of his complaint is that one fault of the Liberator is that it is “cruel and unrelening in its spirit.” He complains that followers of Garrison seem to be expected to treat him like a king … having led us right so often, we have appeared to think he can never lead us wrong.”