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UNITED STATES PUBLISHING CO., 11 & 13 University Place, New York. r * 4 l>Y Augustus CHARLES SUMNER LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF CHAELES SUMMER, Bv C. EDWARDS LESTER, Author of " Glory and Shame of England," " The Napoleon Dynasty," " Our First Hiindred Years?* etc., etc. SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION. UNITED STATES PUBLISHING COMPANY, ii AND 13 UNIVERSITY PLACE. 1874. LOAN STACK Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by the UNITED STATES PUBLISHING COMPANY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. JOHN F. TROW & SON, PRINTKRS AND BOOKBINDERS, 205-213 East i2t/i St., NEW YORK. May it please your Excellency We are com manded by the Senate of the United States to render back to you your illustrious dead. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, you dedicated to the public service a man who was even then greatly distinguished. He remained in it, quick ening its patriotism, informing its councils, and leading in its deliberations, until having survived in continuous service all his original associates, he has closed his earthly career. With reverent hands we bring to you his mortal part, that it may be committed to the soil of the Common wealth, already renowned, that gave him birth. Take it ; it is yours. The part which we do not return to you, is not wholly yours to receive ; nor altogether ours to give. It belongs to the country, to mankind, to freedom, to civilization, to humanity. We come to you with emblems of mourning which faintly typify the sorrow that dwells in the breasts upon which they lie. So much is due to the infirmity of human nature. But, in the view of reason and philosophy, is it not rather a matter of exultation, that a life so pure in its personal qualities, so high in its pub lic aims, so fortunate in the fruition of noble effort, has closed safely before age had marred its intellectual vigor, before time had dimmed the lustre of its genius. May it please your Excellency Our mission is completed. We commit to you the body of Charles Sumner. His undying fame the Muse of history has already taken in her keeping. SENATOR ANTHONY. LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF CHARLES SUMNER. SECTION FIRST.. ..PARENTAGE AND EDUCATION. SECTION SECOND EUROPEAN TRAVELS AND STUDIES. SECTION THIRD PROFESSIONAL LIFE. SECTION FOURTH . ..ORATIONS AND POLITICAL SPEECHES. SECTION FIFTH SENATORIAL CAREER. SECTION SIXTH THE INTERVAL OF ILLNESS. AND REPOSE. SECTION SEVENTH.. ..RETURN TO THE SENATE. SECTION EIGHTH THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. SECTION NINTH DOWNFALL OF SLAVERY. SECTION TENTH EMANCIPATION OF THE AFRICAN RACE. SECTION ELEVENTH His LAST GREAT EFFORTS. SECTION TWELFTH PUBLIC HONORS TO His MEMORY. SECTION THIRTEENTH., ..His INFLUENCE UPON His AGE. LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF CHARLES SUMNER. Born Jan. 6, 1811. Died March n, 1874. SECTION FIRST. Parentage and Education. MANY a grander tribute to the noble life of CHARLES SUMNER will hereafter be paid by the pen ; but this one, however unworthy, cannot be withheld while tears of mingled love and sorrow are yet undried upon the cheek of the nation. In private life, the first tributes to the loved and the lost, are the best, because they are the tenderest and most sincere. So, too, is it with a mourn ing people ; and no offering of affection can be held more sacred than that which flows unbidden from the bereav ed heart. Since the death of the Father of the Republic, which filled the country with grief, and threw distant nations into mourning, there have been but three funerals in America which bore even a faint resemblance to that, in the depth and extent of the public sorrow ; and these have all occurred within the last few years: Theyfr^ was of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, who holds the next place to 2 LINCOLN GREELEY SUMNER. WASHINGTON in the hearts of our people, and who is enshrined among the few beloved names which all man kind cherish : The second was of HORACE GREELEY, whose death revealed so wide-spread and strangely tender an affec tion amongst all classes and conditions of men : And now comes the last name in this wonderful tri umvirate of great, gifted, and good men, who, taken together, will in ages to come be mentioned on the same historic page, whenever the leaf is turned which records memorials of the astounding events which have transpired so near the close of our First Hundred Years. We by no means intimate that they alone will reflect all the glory of their period ; for every scene of activity and every field of achievement has been illustrated by loyalty, patriotism, and valor, and they will long be re membered with honor and gratitude ; but THESE THREE NAMES CANNOT PERISH. To one and all we may safely apply the words which WEBSTER from Bunker Hill ad dressed to the soul of its departed hero : " Our poor work may perish, but thine shall endure ! This monument may moulder away : the solid ground it rests upon may sink down to a level with the sea ; but his memory shall not fail. Wherever among men a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of Patriotism and Liberty, its aspirations shall be to claim kindred with thy spirit." CHARLES SUMNER was born in Boston, January 6, 1811. He was fortunate in his ancestry, for they were the best stock of the two Englands the Old and the New and that meant the best stock of men on the earth. Physically, they were tall, broad-shouldered, strong, fine- looking men. From the early settlement of Massachu setts Bay, the Sumners had been distinguished for their AUSPICIOUS BIRTH. 3 learning, valor, and public services. Among them, INCREASE SUMNER had distinguished himself as one of the greatest judges and governors of the State. When he was inducted into office, his personal appearance was so imposing, as compared with HANCOCK and ADAMS the former a cripple from the gout, the other bowed down with infirmity that there was an exclamation of satisfaction on all sides " Thank God we have at last got a Governor that can walk ! " The late Senator s father, CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNER, maintained the judicial and scholarly prestige of his an cestry, and his father had done good work in the public cause during Colonial and Revolutionary days. We attach a good deal of importance to these facts ; for, however common it may be in Democracies, to speak slightingly of noble descent, yet all men of sense are well aware that nothing more valuable can be inherited than good sound blood strong, healthy constitutions, ample and vigorous frames, well put together, unless indeed it may be what is so generally allied to all these quali ties strong, healthy brains, vigorous intellect, and manly character. But, when to all this are joined habits of learning, graces of scholarship, dignified manners, broad intelligence, familiarity with public affairs, the respect of their fellow-men, with high standing in good society, and enough of fortune lands and money to command all the advantages which a competency of this world s goods can bestow; it would be strange indeed if, from such sources, strong characters should not grow up. It was under such auspices that CHARLES SUMNER S boy hood began, and the ripened fruit of all this auspicious planting showed itself throughout his well-rounded life. From the first colonizing of the country, Massachu- 4 ACADEMIC AND UNIVERSITY COURSE. setts Bay had planted institutions of learning, and nur tured them with the utmost care. In less than twenty years from the landing of the Pilgrims, the foundations of Harvard College had been laid, and her teachers were among the most learned men of England. The common schools of the Colony were then the best in the world, those of Boston leading the way. At the time CHARLES SUMNER S education began, these common schools had grown to be so excellent, that JOHN QUINCY ADAMS said if he had as many sons as King Priam, he would send them all to the district school. In his tenth year he entered the Public Latin School of Boston, where he began his preparation for maturer studies, carrying away from all rivals the prizes for English composition and Latin poetry, besides gaining medals for distinction in other departments. His final preparation for college was completed at the Phillips Academy, when he entered the University, where a brilliant list of SUMNERS on the scrolls, stretched through more than a hundred years. Having formed thorough habits of study, he easily surmounted every difficulty that lay in his way, and being graduated with honor in 1830, he still continued his studies, with the aid of private tutors, for another year, when he entered the law school at Cambridge, under the special encouragement of Judge STORY, who formed for him a deep attachment, which grew more earnest and genial to the end of that great man s life. He predicted for his protege the earliest and highest success as a jurist, remarking that he had never seen a young man so readily master the profound principles of law. From early boyhood History had for him a special fascination. He loved investigation for its own PRACTICE OF LAW. 5 sake so well, that almost insensibly to himself he be came the best historical student of his time ; and this alone can account for the endless wealth of illustration he had stored up for future use in public life. Having the Law Library under his control as its librarian, he could lay his hand instantly upon any volume, and he amazed the ripe jurists around him with the enormous extent and minuteness of his learning. He seemed to make an exhaustive study of every subject that came before him. The text-books which filled the scope of study for his associates, were but guides for him to broader and deeper explorations. During his law studies he wrote several articles for The American Jurist, of which he subsequently be came editor. Being admitted to the Bar in 1834, he found himself suddenly launched into a successful and lucrative practice, which even with able men, had been considered the reward only of long years of patient industry and assiduous application. He was soon appointed Reporter of the United States Circuit Court, over which Judge STORY presided ; and his three volumes of that jurist s decisions, made him as well-known to the lawyers of England as he was at home. In fact, he soon reached so hiofh a standing-, that he delivered lectures before the o o Law School, in the absence of either Judge STORY or Professor GREEN LEAF; and with so much acceptance that, by the advice of those eminent men, he was invited to the chair of a Professor in the institution. But, regard ing all he had hitherto done as only preliminary to larger attainments, he unhesitatingly declined the honor. The learned ANDREW DUNLAP had before this written " A Treatise on the Practice of the Courts of Admiralty in Civil Causes of Maritime Jurisdiction," but was prevented 6 EUROPEAN TRAVELS AND STUDIES. by illness from bringing it out. The editorship of it was committed to Mr. SUMNER, who received from the author on his death-bed, the most unqualified and grateful praise for the manner in which he had performed his task. The young lawyer had now entered upon a brilliant career, with prospects that would have gratified the am bition of almost any other man. But with a loftier ambi tion, he threw up his practice, to visit Europe, where he could pursue his studies to greater advantage, and care fully survey the structure of society and government in the old world. Unrestricted in means, he could travel as far, or reside as long, as he pleased. SECTION SECOND. European Travels and Studies. HE sailed for England, with letters of introduction from Judge STORY and many distinguished Americans, to the most eminent jurists and public men of Europe. Judge STORY, in particular, had requested Lord BROUGHAM. then Lord Chancellor, to afford him the means of witness ing most advantageously, the proceedings of the Courts of Westminster Hall, and observe the workings of the British Constitution in every department of the Govern ment. It is not surprising that with his high attainments, and with such letters, he was warmly received by the great men of England, and everywhere treated as a com panion, and a guest. He was invited to a seat on the bench in every court he entered. There was not a book, FRANCE GERMANY ITALY. 7 manuscript, or authority in a public or private library of England, that was not at his command ; everybody was ready to assist him in his more recondite researches ; and for a whole Session he was an attentive listener to the debates of Parliament. It was the same in Paris, where, a perfect French scholar, he was in constant attendance in the Chamber of Deputies, frequently visiting the lecture-rooms of the Sorbonne, and the College of France, all of whose Pro fessors acceded to his slightest wish to aid him with the fruits of their learning and experience. General CASS, then our minister to France, was en gaged in the investigation of our claim to the North eastern Boundary, and at his request, Mr. SUMNER wrote that celebrated Treatise on the subject, which excited such great admiration in this country. He went through Germany, with the same objects in view ; and being master of that language also, he accu mulated vast stores of learning by conversations with the great scientists and statesmen of that nation. He afterwards extended his journey to Italy, where again his ripe scholarship, in that most beautiful of all modern tongues, multiplied his facilities for acquisition, and en hanced greatly the charms of his visit. But his objects were not limited to the acquisition of mere learning. Endowed by nature with a delicate sense of the beautiful, and having an intense relish for society, he often said that it was impossible for him to give to ordinary persons anything like an adequate idea of the exquisite pleasure he experienced in studying Art in the best galleries of Europe, and enjoying the society of its most learned and gifted men and women. These few years he always looked back upon as the most use- 8 LEGAL AUTHORSHIP. ful and delightful of his life. He once said to me that the memory of those days often broke upon his mind like fresh fountains amidst the sterility of years. During this period, he commenced to gather whatever objects of art and beauty suited his refined, artistic taste ; and it grew into the beautiful collection he finally made, which was a source of so much pleasure to himself and his friends, and imparted a nameless charm to his library- home. He had a special passion for engravings, of which his was doubtless the finest private collection in this country. SECTION THIRD. Professional Life. IN 1840 Mr. SUMNER returned from what would have been to most men only a long holiday of pleasure, but which to him had been a University life and a holiday, all blended in one ; and, after a few hearty hand shakings, he dashed again with all his fervor into the study of the science of law, and its engrossing practice. Again he became Lecturer at the Law School, and before 1846 he had edited, with matchless ability, Veseys Reports, in twenty volumes. The learning he displayed in this labor was immense ; for it was by no means confined to verbal, or even judicial criticism. The volumes were enlivened by vivid and captivating biographical sketches of great lawyers and jurists, besides apt, fresh, and learned annotations. It would be difficult to find another instance, in any country, of MR. SUMNER IN HIS STUDY. ORATIONS AND SPEECHES. 9 so mature and splendid a reputation won at so early an age, for he had not reached his thirty-fifth year. But Charles Sumner s life-career had not yet com menced. Shining as was the structure he had already reared, none knew the depths of the foundations he had been laying. This ornate edifice of a dazzling reputation was soon to give way for a structure of more colossal proportions, which was to grow larger and grander every year; and which, although it had so often seemed complete, yet in his own judgment was still left unfinished when he was so suddenly summoned away. 1 SECTION FOURTH. Orations and Political Speeches. I. MR. SUMNER S political life was now to begin, and he chose for its opening the occasion of the National Anni versary of 1844, which was to be observed in Boston with unusual interest. A brief glance at the state of public affairs at the time, will faintly show what signifi cance there was in the choice of the orator, and what im portant results were to follow his startling utterances. American slavery was then in the zenith of its fearful 1 With a flippancy which hardly became a sacred place, and with a superficiality of judgment that was hardly expected, even from such a quarter, and while the dead Senator s body was resting in this city, on its way to the grave, the remark was made from a celebrated pulpit, that he had lived three years too long. It is a matter of sincere congratulation, among men who entertain a different opinion, that the Supreme Council that determined that matter was not swayed by the popular declaimer who made the remark. 10 THE SLAVE POWER. and unthreatened reign. It held the whole nation bound hand and foot. It dictated every law passed by Congress, and inspired every measure adopted in the Cabinet. It controlled the Press of a free, and exulted in the sanction of the Pulpit of a Christian, nation. It was extending its dark shadow over soil then free, and claiming its inhuman jurisdiction over every Northern hearth-stone. It unblushingly boasted that it would one day call the slave-roll on Bunker Hill And why should the menace seem so unmeaning ? Had not Boston seen William Lloyd Garrison, the chief apostle of freedom, dragged through her streets with a halter about his neck, within sight of that column of Liberty, with scarce a protest from her opulent and polite citizens ? Had not the Governor and Legislature of Georgia set a price upon the head of that prophet of the coming dispensa tion of freedom ; and should not the Northern Athens obey the behest of her cotton king ? African Slavery had become as sacred in the pre cincts of Faneuil Hall, as it was in the slave-den of Washington, where the sound of the auctioneer s hammer knocking down men, women, and children to the highest bidder, could be heard from the steps of the Capitol itself. More slave property was owned in Boston than in Charleston abolitionist was as odious a name in Bea con Street as it was in the St. Charles Hotel in New Or leans SLAVERY HAD BECOME THE LAW OF THE GREAT REPUBLIC. How then could Boston regard any word of irreverence towards that all-powerful Institution, as less than a de claration of war a I entrance against the slaveholdinof o o States ? And to inflame the indignity, these insulting words had been uttered by one of the most brilliant and TRUE GRANDEUR OF NATIONS. II admired of her own long-descended aristocrats ! What could not be tolerated, even in so plebeian a fanatic as Garrison, no longer than a rope could be thrown to a howling mob, rose when coming from the lips of the eloquent and travelled young patrician, the most atrocious blasphemy against God and the Constitution ! And yet his great theme was "The True Grandeur of Nations," and the burden of his oration was Peace, an oration which Cobden, the most eloquent advocate of peace in Europe, pronounced " the noblest contribution ever made by any modern writer to the cause of peace." But it gave offence to the magnates of the Whig Party in Massachusetts, since it was known that they were fast drifting, body and soul, into the embraces of the slave- power, which was demanding fresh aggressions upon the territory of Mexico, with a view to wrest from her some of her fairest possessions, to be devoted to the demon of human servitude. Mr. Sumner early foresaw that this would end in a collision with our sister republic, and which, under the dictation of the slave oligarchy, would be attended with outrages and injustice. The Whigs had been greatly weakened by the death of Harrison, and the wavering policy, and final defection of John Tyler ; and the Democrats, preparing to regain their lost power, were also ready to bid for the pro-slavery vote. Thus both parties would hold up their hands for any measure that would give them votes, no matter how great the demolition of principle. II. IN this oration, Mr. Sumner uttered the memorable declaration which went through the world : " In our 12 INDICATIONS OF POLITICAL PRINCIPLES. age, there can be no peace that is not honorable ; there can be no war that is not dishonorable." We shall give no space here to any part of that oration, since other speeches on the same subject were elicited by subse quent occasions, when his prophecies were fast becom ing history, by the anticipations of war with Mexico being turned into the most active hostilities. But a careful reading of that oration, which marked Mr. Sum- ner s first appearance before the country as a public man, will satisfy any student of his Speeches, that on this Fourth of July, 1844, he gave clear indications of the policy he was to pursue in future life. Nor could a prophet have marked out with greater clearness, than the historian could afterwards, the course Mr. Sumner would take in whatever crisis might arise, involving the fortunes of freedom, or of peace, in the coming struggles of parties. Another point should here be observed, for it gave an index to his character which distinguished him ever afterwards from nearly all the prominent men who were to flourish during the approaching times of excitement and trouble. We speak of his inflexibility of purpose; his steady persistence in opposing at any and at all hazards, whatever he believed to be morally, socially, or politically wrong, his absolute insensibility to oppo sition or criticism, come from what quarter they might ; and the admirable and absolutely unparalleled steadi ness with which he pursued the great objects of his life. He then began to experience, what he had so many occasions to encounter the criticisms of his friends, as well as the assaults of his enemies ; the one scarcely exceeding in bitterness the cold reproofs, or only half- SUMMER S TRIALS OF CHARACTER. 13 concealed satire of the others. Without a single excep tion, no man in our history has had to pass through such ordeals as CHARLES SUMNER. Whenever a new crisis rose in the country, he was found marching way ahead of the friends who had so reluctantly just come up to the last position he had taken; and thus they were continually falling off from him, one by one, all the time ; and sometimes whole battalions of them together. But with the single exception of the Supplemental Civil Rights Bill, which caused him almost the only lin gering regret he had in dying so soon, he lived to see every public measure he had proposed involving a great principle of liberty, either fully incorporated into the Amended Constitution, or fairly expressed in some sta tute that was never afterwards to be repealed. And yet he seldom rose on the floor of the Senate to announce for the first time a new step in advance, without finding himself nearly alone ; generally without supporters ; sometimes without one : and all through this protracted struggle for principle, he was not only subject to the violent persecution of the public press, and the desertion of personal friends, but the object of official insults, and even attempts at Senatorial degradation. Thus in trac ing his career, we shall mark these points as we pass by them, only indicating them now in brief, that the reader may bear in mind these strong attributes of Mr. SUM- NER S character, to enable him more fully to comprehend how arduous was his warfare, how immovable was his integrity, how sublime was his faith ; how he, more than any other man in our history, illustrated what was so well applied to BURKE, that " he never gave up to party what was meant for mankind." 14 HE JOINS THE ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. III. Although Mr. Sumner had not yet taken any prominent part in the anti-slavery movement, of which Boston was the chief centre, yet, as early as 1838 he had become a member of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, and had fully made known his hostility to slavery. But he differed widely with Mr. GARRISON, who cast off all alle giance to the Constitution of the United States, on the ground that it sanctioned slavery ; while Mr. SUMNER was determined to fight the battle inside of the Constitu tion ; declaring, in the most unqualified terms, that this sacred instrument was hostile to slavery in all respects that it was established in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, which he regarded as the charter of perpetual liberty to the nation. He insisted that while the Constitution did recognize the existence of involuntary servitude, and conceded temporarily certain privileges to slaveholders, yet, that the founders of the Instrument had no belief in the perpetuity of slavery ; and, therefore, he considered it to be sound policy to carry on the war against slavery, under the shield of the Constitittion. Hence he gave to the Party the watch-word which was everywhere inscribed upon their banners, " THE REPEAL OF SLAVERY UNDER THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT." IV. In the first address he delivered on a plan of action with a view to the ultimate abolition of slavery, he said, in Faneuil Hall, Nov. 4th, 1845: CONSTITUTIONAL HOSTILITY TO SLAVERY. 15 The time has passed when this can be opposed on constitutional grounds. It will not be questioned by any competent authority that Congress may, by express legislation, abolish slavery, first, in the Dis trict of Columbia ; second, in the Territories, if there should be any ; third, that it may abolish the slave trade on the high seas between the States ; fourth, that it may refuse to admit any new State with a consti tution sanctioning slavery. Nor can it be doubted that the people of the free States may, in the manner pointed out by the Constitution, proceed to its amendment. There is in the Constitution no compromise on the subject of slavery of a character not to be reached legally and constitutionally, which is the only way in which I propose to reach it. Wherever power and jurisdic tion are secured to Congress, they may unquestionably be exercised in conformity with the Constitution. And even in the matters beyond exist ing powers and jurisdiction there is a constitutional mode of action. The Constitution contains an article pointing out how, at any time, amend ments may be made thereto. This is an important article, giving to the Constitution a progressive character, and allowing it to be moulded to suit new exigencies and new conditions of feeling. The wise framers of this instrument did not treat the country as a Chinese foot, never to grow after its infancy, but anticipated the changes incident to its .growth. But it was not until November 4, 1845, that he took his final position on the subject ; and this he did in ad dressing a mass-meeting in Faneuil Hall, against the an nexation of Texas. In the opening of that speech, to every sentence of which the future was to impart strange significance, he paid a graceful tribute to the chairman, Hon. JOHN G. PALFREY, then Secretary of the Common wealth, for an act which won for him universal respect, and admiration, viz., the manumission of a body of slaves that had descended to him by inheritance, and whom he had " conducted far away from slavery, into these more cheerful precincts of freedom." " By this act," said Mr. SUMNER, " he has done as a citizen, what Massachusetts is now called upon to do as a State divest herself of all responsibility for any occasion of slave property." l6 ADMISSION OF TEXAS OPPOSED. In approaching his subject, he spoke of " occasions in the progress of affairs when the attention of all, though ordinarily opposed to each other, is arrested ; and even the lukewarm, the listless, the indifferent, unite heartily in a common object. Such is the case in great calamities, when the efforts of all are needed to avert a fatal blow. If the fire-bells startle us from our slumbers, we do not ask of what faith in politics or religion is the unfortunate brother who is exposed to destruction. It is enough that there is misfortune to be averted. In this spirit, we have assembled, putting aside all distinctions of party, forgetting all disagreements of opinion, renouncing all discords, only to cling to one ground on \vhich we all meet in concord I mean opposition to the admission of Texas as a slave State." The scheme for the annexation of Texas, he continued, begun in stealth and fraud, and with the view to extend and strengthen slavery, has not yet received the final sanction of Congress. Even according to the course pursued by the framers of this measure, it is necessary that Texas should be formally admitted into the family of States by a vote of Congress, and that her Constitution should be approved by Congress. The question on this measure will arise this winter, and we would, if we could, strengthen the hands and the hearts of the friends of freedom by whom the measure will be opposed. Ours is no factious or irregular course. It has the sanction of the highest examples on a kindred occasion. In 1819, the question now before us arose on the admission of Missouri as a slave State. I need not remind you of the ardor and constancy with which this was opposed at the North, by men of all parties, with scarcely a dissenting voice. One universal chorus of protests thundered from the Free States against the formation of what was called another black State. Meetings were convened in all the considerable towns in Philadelphia, Trenton, New York, New Haven, and everywhere throughout Massachusetts, in order to give expression to this opposition in a manner to be audible on the floor of Congress. At Boston, on December 3d, 1819, a meet ing was held in the State-house, without distinction of party, and em- OPPOSITION TO ADMISSION OF MISSOURI. I/ bracing the leaders of both sides. That meeting, in its objects, was precisely like this now assembled. A large committee was appointed to prepare resolutions. Of this committee, William Eustis, afterwards Governor of Massachusetts, was chairman. With him were associated John Phillips, at that time President of the Senate of Massachusetts a name dear to every friend of the slave as the father of him to whose eloquent voice we hope to listen to-night Timothy Bigelow, Speaker of the House of Representatives, William Gray, Henry Dearborn, Josiah Quincy, Daniel Webster, William Ward, of Medford, William Prescott, Thomas H. Perkins, Stephen White, Benjamin Pickman, William Sullivan, George Blake, David Cummings, James Savage, John Gallison, James T. Austin, and Henry Orne. A committee, more calculated to inspire the confidence of all sides, *could not have been appointed. Numerous as were its members, they were all men of mark, high in the confidence and affections of the country. This com mittee reported the following resolutions, which were adopted by the meeting : Resolved, As the opinion of this meeting, that the Congress of the United States possess the constitutional power upon the admission of any new State created beyond the limits of the original territory of the United States, to make the prohibition of the further extension of slavery, or involuntary servitude, in such new State, a condition of its admission. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is just and ex pedient that this power should be exercised by Congress upon the admission of all new States, created beyond the original limits of the United States. The meeting in Boston was followed by one in Salem, called, accord ing to the terms of the notice, "to consider whether the immense region of country extending from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean is destined to be the abode of Happiness, Independence, and Freedom, or the wide prison of misery and slavery" Resolutions against the admission of any slave State were passed, being supported by Benjamin T. Pickman, Andrew Dunlap, and Joseph Story, a name of authority wherever found. By these assemblies, the Commonwealth was aroused. It opposed an unbroken front to slavery. Twenty-five years have passed since these efforts in the cause of freedom. Some of the partakers in them are still spared to us, full of years and honors ; but the larger part have been called from the duty 2 1 8 SLAVERY MADE OUR OWN ORIGINAL SIN. of opposing slavery on earth, to His presence, whose service is perfect freedom. But the same question which aroused their energies, presents itself to us. Shall we be less faithful than they ? Will Massachusetts oppose a less unbroken front now than then ? In the lapse of these few years has the love of freedom diminished ? Has the sensibility to human suffering lost any of the keenness of its edge ? Let us regard the question closely. Congress is called upon to sanc tion the Constitution of Texas, which not only supports slavery, but which contains a clause prohibiting the Legislature of the State from abolishing slavery. In doing this, it will give a fresh stamp of legis lative approbation to an unrighteous system ; it will assume a new and .active responsibility for the system ; it will again become a dealer, on a gigantic scale, in human flesh. Yes, at this moment, when the con science of mankind is at last aroused to the enormity of holding a fellow-man in bondage ; when, throughout the civilized world, a slave- dealer is a bye- word and a reproach, we, as a nation, are about to become proprietors of a large population of slaves. Such an act, at this time, is removed from the reach of the palliation often extended to : slavery. Slavery, we are speciously told by those who seek to defend it, is not our original sin. It was entailed upon us, so we are in structed, by our ancestors ; and the responsibility is often, with exulta tion, thrown upon the mother country. Now, without stopping to inquire into the truth of this suggestion, it is sufficient for the present purpose, to know that by welcoming Texas as a slave State we do make slavery our own original sin. Here is a new case of actual transgres sion which we cannot cast upon the shoulders of any progenitors, nor upon any mother country, distant in time or place. The Congress of the United States, the people of the United States, at this day, in this -vaunted period of light, will be responsible for it ; so that it shall be said ihereafter, so long as the dismal history of slavery is read, that in the year of Christ, 1846, a new and deliberate act was passed to confirm and extend it. By the present movement we propose no measure of change. We do not offer to .interfere with any institutions of the Southern States, nor to modify any law on the subject of slavery anywhere under the Constitution of the United States. Our movement is conservative in its character. It is to preserve the existing supports of freedom ; it is to prevent a violation of the vital principles of free institutions. By the proposed measure, we not only become parties to the acquisi tion of a large population of slaves, with all the crime of slavery ; but we open a new market for the slaves of Virginia and the Carolinas, "LET US TRY." 19 and legalize a new slave trade. A new slave trade ! Consider this well. You cannot forget the horrors of what is called " the middle passage," when the crowds of unfortunate human beings, stolen, and borne by sea far from their warm African homes, are pressed on ship board into spaces of smaller dimensions for each than a coffin. And yet the deadly consequences of this middle passage have been supposed to fall short of those, which are sometimes undergone by the wretched caravans, driven from the exhausted lands of the Northern slave States to the sugar plantations nearer to the sun of the South. It is supposed, that one-quarter part often perish in these removals. I see them, in ima gination, on this painful passage, chained in bands or troops, and driven like cattle, leaving behind what has become to them a home and a coun try (alas ! what a home, and what a country !) husband torn from wife, and parent from child, and sold anew into a more direful captivity. Can this take place with our consent, nay, without our most determined opposition ? If the slave trade is to receive a new adoption from our country, let us have no part or lot in it. Let us wash our hands of this great guilt. As we read its horrors, may each of us be able to exclaim, with a conscience void of offence, "Thou canst not say I did it." God forbid, that the votes and voices of the freemen of the North should help to bind anew the fetter of the slave ! God forbid, that the lash of the slave-dealer should be nerved by any sanction from New England ! God forbid, that the blood which spirts from the lacerated, quivering flesh of the slave, should soil the hem of the white garments of Massachusetts ! But we are told that all exertions will be vain, and that the admis sion of a new slave State is "a foregone conclusion." But this is no reason why we should shrink from our duty. " I will try," was the ex clamation of an American general on the field of battle. " England expects every man to do his duty," was the signal of the British admi ral. Ours is a contest holier than those which aroused these animating words. Let us try ; let every man do his duty. And suppose New England stands alone in these efforts ; suppose Massachusetts stands alone ; is it not a noble solitude ? Is it not a position of honor ? Is it not a position where she will find companion ship with all that is great and generous in the past with all the disci ples of truth, of right, of liberty ? It has not been her wont on former occasions to inquire whether she should stand alone. Your honored ancestor, Mr. Chairman, who from these walls regards our proceedings to-night, did not ask whether Massachusetts would be alone, when she 20 MASSACHUSETTS FOREMOST. commenced the opposition which ended in the independence of the Thirteen Colonies. But we cannot fail to accomplish great good. It is in obedience to a prevailing law of Providence, that no act of self-sacrifice, no act of devotion to duty, no act of humanity can fail. It stands forever as a landmark ; as a point from which to make a new effort. The cham pions of equal rights and of human brotherhood shall hereafter derive new strength from these exertions. Let Massachusetts, then, be aroused. Let all her children be sum moned to join in this holy cause. There are questions of ordinary politics in which men may remain neutral but neutrality now is trea son to liberty, to humanity, and to the fundamental principles of our free institutions. Let her united voice, with the accumulated echoes of freedom that fill this ancient Hall, go forth with comfort and cheer to all who labor in the same cause everywhere throughout the land. Let it help to confirm the wavering, and to reclaim those who have erred from the right path. Especially may it exert a proper influence in Congress upon the representatives of the free States. May it serve to make them as firm in the defence of freedom as their opponents are pertinacious in the cause of slavery. Let Massachusetts continue to be known as foremost in the cause of freedom ; and let none of her children yield to the fatal dalliance with slavery. You will remember the Arabian story of the magnetic mount ain, under whose irresistible attraction the iron bolts which held together the strong timbers of a stately ship were drawn out, till the whole fell apart, and became a disjointed wreck. Do we not find in this story an image of what happens to many Northern men, under the potent mag netism of Southern companionship or Southern influence ? Those principles, which constitute the individuality of the Northern character, which render it stanch, strong, and seaworthy, which bind it together, as with iron, are drawn out one by one, like the bolts from the ill-fated vessel, and out of the miserable loosened fragments is formed that hu man anomaly A Northern man with Southern principles. Such a man is no true son of Massachusetts. There is a precious incident in the life of one whom our country has delighted to honor, furnishing an example that we shall do well to imi tate. When Napoleon, having reached the pinnacle of military honor, lusting for a higher title than that of First Consul, caused a formal vote to be taken on the question, whether he should be declared Emperor of .France, Lafayette, at that time in retirement, and only recently, by ANTI-SLAVERY DUTIES OF WHIGS. 21 the intervention of the First Consul, liberated from the dungeons of Olmutz, deliberately registered his No. At a period, in the golden de cline of his high career, resplendent with heroic virtues, revisiting our shores, the scene of his youthful devotion to freedom, and receiving on all sides that beautiful homage of thanksgiving, which is of itself an all- sufficient answer to the sarcasm against the alleged ingratitude of repub lics, here in Boston, this illustrious Frenchman listened with especial pride to the felicitation addressed to him, as " the man who knew so well how to say no" Be this the example for Massachusetts, and may it be among her praises hereafter, that on this occasion she knew so well how to say NO ! V. So far as Mr. SUMNER had been a party man, he had been counted among 1 the Whigs, for he had more hopes, he said, that they would be the party of freedom. He had been elected to a Whig State Convention, which assembled at Faneuil Hall on the 23d of September, 1846, where a good deal of curiosity was excited, and some solicitude felt, in regard to the course he would take. But at an early stage of the meeting, being" called upon by the President, he delivered a powerful speech upon " The Anti-Slavery Duties of the Whig Party," which produced a profound impression of admi ration among all, for the boldness, the candor, and the manliness of his words. But by a large majority of the Convention it was regarded as a speech for unhealthy agitation ; the Whigs were not prepared to go so far. Neither Mr. WEBSTER nor Mr. EVERETT sympathized with the sentiments of Mr. SUMNER, nor did they approve of the policy of any such course as he recommended. Both of those eminent men were still looking forward to larger rewards for their public services. They were both held in high honor at home and abroad ; Mr. 22 CONSERVATISM OF EVERETT AND WEBSTER. EVERETT being regarded as of much riper scholarship and higher intellectual culture than almost any other man in America ; while men felt as profound a venera tion for the majesty and power of WEBSTER S mind, and placed a loftier estimate upon his eloquence than per haps upon that of any other living statesman. Nor could it be expected that these illustrious citizens, who were much older than Mr. SUMNER, and who had won their enviable reputation in the calmer days of the republic, could enter very warmly into such radical views as the rising orator was now putting forth. Long experience generally teaches the wisdom of conciliation ; and the proverbial conservatism of age is, always roused into alarm or hostility, when the young reformer enters the field. In the beginning of his speech, Mr. SUMNER did not conceal his regret that the Convention had not been summoned to sit in the country, " believing that the opinions of the country, free as its bracing air, more than those of Boston, would be in harmony with the tone which it became them to adopt at the present crisis." " In the country," he said, " is the spirit of freedom ; in the city, the spirit of commerce ; and though these two spirits may at times act in admirable conjunction, and with irresistible strength, yet it some times occurs that the generous and unselfish impulses of the one, are checked and controlled by the careful calculations of economy suggested by the other. Even Right and Liberty are, in some minds, of less signifi cance than dividends and dollars." But I am happy, said he, that the Convention has been convoked in Faneuil Hall. This place is vocal with inspiring accents, and though, on other occasions, words have been uttered here which the lover of WHIGS SHOULD BE FOR FREEDOM. 23 morals, of freedom, and humanity must regret, these walls, faithful only to Freedom, refuse to echo them. The Whigs of Massachusetts, assem bled in Faneuil Hall, must be true to this early scene of the struggles for Freedom ; they must be true to their own name, which has descended to them from those who partook of those struggles. We are a Convention of Whigs. And who are the Whigs? Some may say they are the supporters of the tariff ; others, that they are the advocates of internal improvements ; of measures to restrain the exer cise of the veto power ; or of a bank. All these are now, or have been, prominent articles in the faith of the party. But this enumeration does not do justice to the character of the Whigs. The Whigs, as their name imports, are, or ought to be, the party of Freedom. They seek, or should seek, on all occasions, to carry out fully and practically the principles of our institutions. The principles which our fathers declared, and sealed with their blood, their Whig chil dren should seek to manifest in their acts. The Whigs, therefore, rever ence the Declaration of Independence, as embodying the vital truths of freedom, especially that great truth, "that all men are born equal." They reverence the Constitution of the United States, and seek to guard it against infractions ; believing that under the Constitution, Freedom can be best preserved. They reverence the Union of the States ; be lieving that the peace, happiness, and welfare of all depend upon this blessed bond. They reverence the public faith, and require that it should be punctiliously kept in all laws, charters, and obligations. They reverence the principles of morality, of truth, of justice, of right. They seek to advance their country, rather than individuals ; and to promote the welfare of the people, rather than of their leaders. A member of such an association, founded on the highest moral sentiments, recogniz ing conscience and benevolence as its animating ideas, cannot be said "to give to party what was meant for mankind ;" for all the interests of the party must be coincident and commensurate with the manifold interests of humanity. Such is, as I trust, or certainly should be, the Whig party of Massa chusetts. It refuses to identify itself exclusively with those measures of transient policy, which may, like the Bank, become "obsolete ideas ; " but connects itself with everlasting principles, which can never fade or decay. In doing this, it does not neglect other things ; as the tariff, or internal improvements. But it treats these as subordinate. Far less does it show indifference to the Constitution or the Union ; for 24 DUTY OF THE WHIG PARTY. it seeks to render these the guardians and representatives of the lofty principles to which we are attached. The Whigs have been called by you, Mr. President, the conservatives. In a just sense, they should be conservatives; not of forms only, but of substance ; not of the letter only, but of the living spirit. The Whigs should be the conservators of the spirit of our ancestors ; conservators of the great animating ideas of our institutions. They should profess that truest and highest conservatism, which watches, guards, and pre serves the great principles of Truth, Right, Freedom, and Humanity. Such a conservatism is not narrow and exclusive ; but broad and ex pansive. It is not trivial and bigoted ; but manly and generous. * It is the conservatism of the Whigs of 76. Let me say, then, that the Whigs of Massachusetts are I hope it is not my wish only that is father to the thought -the party who seek the establishment of Truth, Freedom, Right and Humanity, under the Constitution of the United States, and by the Union of the States. They are Unionists, Constitutionalists, Friends of the Right. And the question here arises, how shall this party, inspired by these principles, now act ? The answer is easy. In accordance with their principles. It must utter them with distinctness, and act upon them with energy. The time, I believe, has gone by when the question is asked, What has the North to do with Slavery? It might almost be answered, that, politically, it had little to do with anything else, so are all the acts of our government connected, directly or indirectly, with this institution. Slavery is everywhere. It constitutionally enters the halls of Con gress, in the disproportionate representation of the slave States. It shows its disgusting front in the District of Columbia, in the shadow of the Capitol, under the legislative jurisdiction of the nation ; of the North as well as the South. It sends its miserable victims on the high seas, from the ports of Virginia to the ports of Louisiana, beneath the protecting flag of the republic. It follows into the free States, in pur suance of a provision of the Constitution, those fugitives, who, under the inspiration of freedom, seek our altars for safety ; nay, more, with profane hands it seizes those who have never known the name of slave, colored freemen of the North, and dooms them to irremediable bondage. It insults and exiles from its jurisdiction the honored representatives of Massachusetts, who seek, as messengers of the Commonwealth, to secure for her colored citizens the peaceful safeguard of the lavv-s of the Union. It not only uses the Constitution for its purposes, but abuses WEBSTER IN l82O. 25 it also. It violates the Constitution at pleasure, to build up new slave- holding States. It seeks perpetually to widen its area, while profess ing to extend the area of freedom. It has brought upon the country war with Mexico, with its enormous expenditures, and more enormous guilt. By the spirit of union among its supporters, it controls the affairs uf government ; interferes with the cherished interests of the North, enforcing and then refusing protection to her manufactures ; makes and unmakes presidents ; usurps to itself the larger portion of all offices of honor and profit, both in the army and navy, and also in the civil department ; and stamps upon our whole country the charac ter, before the world, of that monstrous anomaly and mockery, a slave- holding republic, with the living truths of freedom on its lips, and the dark mark of slavery printed on its brow. And shall this Commonwealth continue in any way to sustain an institution which its laws declare to be contrary to natural right, to justice, to humanity and sound policy ? Shall the Whigs support what is contrary to the fundamental principles of the party? Here the con sciences of good men respond to the judgment of the court. If it be wrong to hold a single slave, it must be wrong to hold many. If it be wrong for an individual to hold a slave, it must be wrong for a State. If it be wrong for a State, in its individual capacity, it must be wrong also, in association with other States. Massachusetts does not allow any of her citizens within her borders to hold slaves. Let her be con sistent, and call for the abolition of slavery wherever she is, to any extent, responsible for it, wherever she is a party to it, wherever it may be reached by her influence ; that is, everywhere beneath the constitu tion and laws of the Federal Government. " If any practice exist," said Mr. Webster, in one of those earlier efforts which commended him to our admiration, his address at Plymouth in 1820 "If any practices exist, contrary to the principles of justice and humanity, within the reach of our laws or our influence, we are inexcusable if we do not exert ourselves to restrain and abolish them." Certainly, to labor in this cause is far higher and nobler than to strive merely for a repeal of the Tariff, which was once mentioned as the tocsin to rally the Whigs. REPEAL OF SLAVERY UNDER THE CON STITUTION AND LAWS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is a more Christian and more potent watchword, because it embodies a higher sentiment, and a more commanding duty. The time has passed when this can be opposed on constitutional grounds. It will not be questioned by any competent authority, that 26 FRANKLIN S ABOLITION SOCIETY. Congress may, by express legislation, abolish slavery, ist, in the District of Columbia ; 2d, in the Territories, if there should be any ; 3d, that it may abolish the slave trade on the high seas between the States ; 4th, that it may refuse to admit any new State with a constitution sanction ing slavery. Nor can it be questioned that the people of the United States may, in the manner pointed out by the Constitution, proceed to its amendment. It is, then, by constitutional legislation, and even by amendment of the Constitution, that slavery may be reached. And here the question arises : Are there any compromises in the Con stitution of such a character as to prevent action on this subject ? I wish to say, distinctly, that there is no compromise on the subject of slavery, of a character not to be reached legally and constitutionally, which is the only way in which I propose to reach it. Wherever power and jurisdiction are secured to Congress, they may unquestionably be exercised in conformity with the Constitution. And even in matters beyond existing powers and jurisdiction, there is a constitutional method of action. The Constitution contains an article pointing out how, at any time, amendments may be made thereto. This is an important ele ment, giving to the Constitution a progressive character ; and allowing it to be moulded to suit new exigencies and new conditions of feeling. The wise framers of this instrument did not treat the country as a Chi nese foot never to grow after its infancy but anticipated the changes incident to its growth. They openly declare, " Legislate, as you please, in conformity with the Constitution ; and even make amendments in this instrument, rendered proper by change of opinion or character, fol lowing always the manner therein prescribed." Nor can we dishonor the memories of the revered authors of the Constitution, by supposing that they set their hands to it, believing that slavery was to be perpetual that the republic, which, reared by them to its giant stature, had snatched from Heaven the sacred fire of free dom, was to be bound, like another Prometheus, in the adamantine chains of fate, while slavery, like another vulture, preyed upon its vitals. Let Franklin speak for them. He was President of the earliest "Aboli tion Society " in the United States, and in 1 790, only two years after the adoption of the Constitution, addressed a petition to Congress, calling upon them " to step to the very verge of the power vested in them for discouraging every species of traffic in our fellow-men." Let Jefferson speak for them. His desire for the abolition of slavery was often ex pressed with philanthropic warmth and emphasis. Let Washington speak for them. " It is among my first wishes," he said, in a letter to JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 2/ John Fenton Mercer, " to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country may be abolished by law." And in his will, penned with his own hand, in. the last year of his life, he bore his testimony again, by providing for the emancipation of all his slaves. It is thus that Wash ington speaks, not only by words, but by actions louder than words, " Give freedom to your slaves." The Father of his country requires, as a token of the filial piety which all profess, that his example should be followed. I am not insensible to the many glories of his character ; but I cannot contemplate this act, without a fresh gush of admiration and gratitude. The martial scene depicted on that votive canvas may fade from the memories of men ; but this act of justice and benevolence shall never perish. I assume, then, that it is the duty of the Whigs, professing the prin ciples of the fathers, to express themselves openly, distinctly, and solemnly against slavery ; not only against its further extension, but against its longer continuance under the Constitution and laws of the Union. But while it is their duty to enter upon this holy warfare, it should be their aim to temper it with moderation, with gentleness, with tenderness, towards slave owners. These should be won, if possible, rather than driven, to the duties of emancipation. But emancipation should always be presented as the cardinal object of our National policy. Our representatives must be courageous and willing on all occasions to stand alone, provided Right is with them. " Though every tile were a devil," said Martin Luther, " yet will I enter Worms." Such a spirit is needed now by the advocates of Right. They must not be ashamed of the name which belongs to Franklin, Jefferson and Washington and which express the idea to which they should be devoted Abolition ist. They must be thorough, uncompromising advocates of the repeal of slavery, of its abolition under the laws and Constitution of the United States. They must be Repealers, Abolitionists. There are a few such men now in Congress. Massachusetts has a venerable representative, John Quincy Adams, whose aged bosom still glows with inextinguishable fires ; like the central heats of the monarch mountain of the Andes, beneath its canopy of snow. To this cause he dedicates the closing energies of a long and illustrious life. Would that all would join him ! There is a Senator of Massachusetts, whom we had hoped to wel come here to-day, whose position is one of commanding influence. Let me address him with the respectful frankness of a constituent and a 28 APPEAL TO WEBSTER. friend : You have, Sir, by various labors, already acquired an honorable place in the history of our country. By the vigor, argumentation, and eloquence with which you have upheld the Union, and that interpreta tion of the Constitution which makes us a Nation, you have justly earned the title of Defender of the Constitution. By the successful and masterly negotiation of the treaty of Washington, and by your efforts to compose the strife of the Oregon, you have earned another title Defender of Peace. There are yet other duties, claiming your care^ whose performance will be the crown to a life of high public service. Let me ask you, when again at your post in the Senate, not to forget them. Dedicate, Sir, the golden years of experience happily in store for you, to the grand endeavor, in the name of Freedom, to remove from your country its greatest evil. In this cause you shall find inspi rations to eloquence, higher than any you have yet confessed ; To heavenly themes sublimer strains belong. Do not shrink from the task. With your marvellous powers, and the auspicious influences of an awakened public sentiment, under God, who always smiles upon conscientious labors for the welfare of man, we may hope for beneficent results. Assume, then, these unperformed duties. The aged shall bear witness to you ; the young shall kindle with rapture, as they repeat the name of Webster ; and the large com pany of the ransomed shall teach their children, and their children s children, to the latest generation, to call you blessed ; while all shall award to you yet another title, which shall never be forgotten on earth or in heaven Defender of Humanity ; by the side of which that earlier title shall fade into insignificance ; as the Constitution, which is the work of mortal hands, dwindles by the side of Man, who is created in the image of God. Let us here then, in Faneuil Hall, beneath the images of our fathers, vow ourselves to perpetual allegiance to the Right and to perpetual hostility to slavery. Ours is a noble cause ; nobler even than that of our fathers, inasmuch as it is more exalted to struggle for the freedom of others than for our own. The love of Right, which is the animating impulse of our movement, is higher even than the love of Freedom. But Right, Freedom, and Humanity all concur in demanding the aboli tion of slavery. WAR WITH MEXICO. 29 VI. v On the i ith of May, 1846, a resolution was passed b) both Houses of Congress, that " By the act of the Republic of Mexico, a state of war exists between that government and the United States," and the President was authorized to raise fifty thousand volunteers, when two days later, ten millions of dollars were appropriated towards carrying on the contest. It had been plain enough, after a joint resolution for the admission of Texas as a State into the Union, a collision with Mexico had become inevitable. It was alleged that no blame could be attached to the United States, for the war which fol lowed, for several reasons ; JirsfofaSl, after Santa Anna, the dictator of Mexico, had been captured on the field of San Jacinto, he had recognized the independence of Texas, after which she could decide her political alliances and relations ; second, that ever since the establishment of the Republic of Mexico, in 1824, she had been an un just and injurious neighbor that her treasury was re plenished by plundering American vessels in the Gulf, and confiscating the property of American merchants within her border ; third, our Republic had remon strated in vain, till 1831, when by treaty, promises of re dress were made. But this had put no end to aggres sions, which, by the year 1840, had amounted to upwards of six millions of dollars. No settlement of these claims having been made, the annexation of Texas, which took place July 4, 1845, gave Mexico a full justification, in her opinion, for commencing hostilities. The war promised to be popular, and all Parties were ready to join in its prosecution. No considerations of 3O MR. SUMNER TO REPRESENT HIMSELF. justice entered into the question, so far as politicians were concerned ; all sides being determined to make the most capital out of it they could. The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop being" the Represen tative in Congress from Boston, had voted for the war; and in doing so, doubtless represented the sentiment of the merchants of that city, and probably the popular feeling of its citizens. But the Declaration made by Congress, and the vote of Mr. Winthrop, excited the deepest indignation of some of the best men in Boston. Mr. Sumner feeling himself aggrieved and humiliated in behalf of his native town, but more especially in behalf of the cause of peace and humanity, of which he had now become the most power ful advocate on this continent, he addressed to Mr. Win throp a letter which is worthy of the most careful atten tion of all those who desire to have a complete compre hension of Mr. Sumner s political principles, and the depth and earnestness of his convictions as a man, and a citizen. We cannot in this instance, nor in any other, find space for any unabridged speech, or production of his pen. The most we can do will be to preserve the chain of his argument, allowing him, in all cases, to speak for himself. We shall hope in this manner, to furnish the reader everything essential for tracing the progress of Mr. Sumner s views on the important interests that, during his mature life, came up for action, and in whose disposal he acted a prominent part. VII. It cost Mr. Sumner no small sacrifice of personal feel ing to address such a letter to one who had from boy- SUMNER S REBUKE OF WINTHROP. 31 hood been among his intimate and most highly esteemed personal friends. But while he could never allow his conscience to give way to personal considerations, we search in vain for any trace of personal animosity, or other sentiment than one of regret. He tells Mr. Winthrop that he had never failed to vote for him as a Whig, whenever he had an opportunity, and had on other occasions considered it proper to review his public course, and to express, as he sometimes had, the sorrow it had caused him. " Conscious," says he, " of no feel ing towards yourself personally, except good-will, min gled with the recollection of pleasant social intercourse, I enter with pain upon the consideration of your vote, and of the apologies for it which you and others have set up. I am not a politician ; and you will pardon me, therefore, if I decline to bring your conduct to any of the tests of party, or of numbers ; to any sliding scale of expediency ; to any standard except the golden rule of right and wrong." In speaking of the Act of Congress appropriating money and men for the Mexican war, he says that he shall consider the Act in six different aspects : It is six times wrong. Six different and unanswerable reasons should have urged its rejection. Six different appeals should have touched every Christian heart. Let me consider them separately. First. It is practically a DECLARATION OF WAR against a sister Republic. In Congress is vested, by the Constitution of the United States, the power of declaring war. Before this Act was passed, the Mexican War had no legislative sanction. Without this Act, it would have no legislative sanction. It is by virtue of this Act, that the pre sent war is waged. It is by virtue of this Act, that an American fleet, at immense cost of money, and without any gain of character, is now disturbing the commerce of Mexico, and of the civilized world, by the blockade of Vera Cruz. It is by virtue of this Act, that a distant ex- 32 OPPOSITION TO THE MEXICAN WAR. pedition has seized, with pilfering rapacity, the defenceless province of California. It is by virtue of this Act, that General Kearney has marched upon and captured Santa Fe. It is by virtue of this Act, that General Taylor has perpetrated the massacre at Monterey. It is by virtue of this Act, that desolation has been carried into a thousand homes, that mothers, sisters, daughters and wives have been plunged in the comfortless despair of bloody bereavement, while the uncoffined bodies of sons, brothers and husbands are consigned to premature graves. Lastly, it is by virtue of this Act, that the army of the United States has been converted into a legalized band of brigands, marauders, and banditti, in violation of the sanctions of civilization, justice and humanity. The American soldiers, who have died ignobly in the streets of a foreign city, in the attack upon a Bishop s palace, in con test with Christian fellow-men, who were defending fire-sides and altars, may claim the epitaph of Simonides : " Go, tell at Sparta, that we died here in obedience to her laws" It was in obedience to this Act of Congress that they laid down their lives in a barbarous war. Second. This Act gives the sanction of Congress to an unjust war. War is barbarous and brutal ; but this is unjust. It grows out of ag gression on our part, and is continued by aggression. The statement of facts already made is sufficient to substantiate this point. Third. It declares that war exists " by the act of the Republic of Mexico." This statement of brazen falsehood is inserted in the front of the Act. But it is now admitted by most, if not all of the Whigs, who unhappily voted for it, that it is not founded in fact. It is a Na tional lie. Fourth. It provides for the prosecution of the war " to a speedy and successful termination" that is, for the successful prosecution of an un just war. Surely no rule can be more firmly founded in morals, than that we should seek the establishment of right. Never strive for the triumph of wrong. Fifth. The war has its origin in a series of measures to extend and perpetuate Slavery. A wise and humane legislator should have dis cerned its source, and derived therefrom fresh impulses to oppose it. Sixth. The war is dishonorable and cowardly, as being the attack of a rich, powerful, numerous and united Republic, upon a weak and defenceless neighbor, distracted by civil feuds. Every consideration of true honor, manliness and Christian duty, prompted gentleness and for bearance towards our unfortunate Sister. Such, Sir, is the Act of Congress, which received your sanction. It WINTHROP S SUBTERFUGES. 33 will hardly yield in importance to any measure of our Government since the adoption of the Federal Constitution. It is certainly the most wicked in our history, as it is one of the most wicked in all his tory. The recording Muse will drop a tear over its turpitude and in justice, while she gibbets it for the disgust and reprobation of mankind. Such, Sir, is the Act of Congress to which, by your affirmative vote, the people of Boston have been made parties. Through you, they have been made to declare an unjust and cowardly war, with falsehood, in the cause of slavery. Through you, they have been made partakers in the blockade of Vera Cruz, in the seizure of California, in the capture of Santa Fe, in the bloodshed of Monterey. It were idle to suppose that the poor soldier, or officer only, is stained by this guilt. It reaches far back, and incarnadines the Halls of Congress ; nay more, through you, it reddens the hands of your constituents in Boston. Pardon this language. Strong as it may seem, it is weak to express the aggrava tion of your act, in joining in the declaration of an unjust war. Oh ! Mr. Winthrop, rather than lend your vote to this wickedness, you should have suffered the army of the United States to pass submissively, through the Caudine Forks of Mexican power to perish, it might be, irretrievably, like the legions of Varus. Their bleached bones, in the distant valleys where they were waging an unjust war, would not tell to posterity such a tale of ignominy as this lying Act of Congress. Another apology, suggested by yourself, and vouchsafed by your de fenders, is founded on the alleged duty of voting succors to General Taylor s troops, and the impossibility of doing this, without voting also for the Bill, after it had been converted into a Declaration of Falsehood and of War. It is said that patriotism required this vote. Patriotism ! is not thy name profaned by this apology ! Let one of your honored predecessors, Sir, a representative of Boston on the floor of Congress, Mr. Quincy, give the reply to this apology. On an occasion of trial not unlike that through which you have passed, and in the same place, . he gave utterance to these noble words : But it is said this resolution must be taken " as a test of patriotism." To this I have but one answer. If patriotism ask me to assert a false hood, I have no hesitation in telling patriotism, "I am not prepared to- make that sacrifice." The duty we owe to our country is indeed among the most solemn and impressive of all obligations. But, high as it may be, it is nevertheless subordinate to that, which we owe to that Being, with whose name and character truth is identified. In this respect, I deem myself acting, upon this resolution, under a higher responsibility than either to this House, or this people. 3 34 WINTHROP S SUBSERVIENCY TO SLAVE POWER. Another apology, which is often supplied by your defenders, is, that the majority of the Whig party joined with you, or, as it has been ex pressed, that " Mr. Winthrop voted with all the rest of the weight of moral character in Congress, from the Free States, belonging to the Whig party, not included in the Massachusetts delegation ; " and sugges tions have been made in disparagement of the fourteen, who remained unshaken in their loyalty to Truth and Peace. In the question of Right or Wrong, it can be of little importance, that a few fallible men, constituting what is called a majority, were all of one mind. In every age supple or insane majorities have been found to sanction injustice. It was a majority which passed the Stamp Act, and Tea Tax ; which smiled upon the persecution of Galileo ; which stood about the stake of Serverus ; which administered the hemlock to Socrates ; which called for the crucifixion of our Lord. But these majorities cannot make us withhold condemnation from the partakers in these acts. Let me add that, in other respects, your course has been in disagree able harmony with your vote on the Mexican War Bill. I cannot forget for I sat by your side at the time that on the 4th of July, 1845, in Faneuil Hall, you extended the hand of fellowship to Texas ; al though she had not yet been received among the States of the Union. -1 cannot forget the toast, which you uttered on the same occasion, by which you have connected your name with an epigram of dishonest patriotism. I cannot forget your apathy at a later day, when many of your constituents entered upon holy and constitutional efforts to oppose the admission of Texas, with a slaveholding constitution con duct strangely inconsistent with your recent avowal of " uncompromis ing hostility to all measures for introducing new slave States and new .-slave Territories into the Union." Nor can I forget the ardor with which you devoted yourself to the less important question of the Tariff indicating the relative position of the two questions in your imind. As I review your course, the vote on the Mexican War Bill seems to be the dark com summation. And now let me ask you, when you resume your seat in Congress, to i>ear your testimony at once, without hesitation or delay, against the further prosecution of this war. Forget for a while the Sub-Treasury, the Veto, even the Tariff ; and remember this wicked war. With the eloquence which you command so easily, and which is your pride, call for the instant cessation of hostilities. Let your cry be that of Falkland in the civil wars, " Peace ! Peace ! " Think not of what you have called, in your speeches, " An honorable peace." There can be no peace with FINAL APPEAL TO WINTHROP. 35 Mexico which will not be more honorable than this war. Every fresh victory is a fresh dishonor. "Unquestionably," you have strangely said, "We must not forget that Mexico must be willing to negotiate ! No ! No ! Mr. Winthrop. We are not to wait for Mexico. Her con sent is not needed ; nor is it to be asked, by a Christian statesman, while our armies are defiling her soil by their aggressive footsteps. She is passive. We alone are active. Stop the war. Withdraw our forces. In the words of Colonel Washington, RETREAT! RETREAT! By so doing, we shall cease from further wrong ; and peace will ensue. Let me ask you, Sir, to remember in your public course the rules of Right, which you obey in your private capacity. The principles of morals are the same for nations and for individuals. Pardon me, if I suggest that you do not appear to have acted invariably in accordance with this truth. You would not, in your private capacity, set your name to a falsehood ; but you have done so, as a Representative in Congress. You would not, in your private capacity, countenance wrong, even in your friend or your child ; but, as a Representative, you have pledged yourself " not to withhold your vote from any reasonable supplies which may be called for" in the prosecution of this wicked war. Do by your country as by your child. You would not furnish to him means of offence against his neighbors ; do not furnish them to your country. Do not vote for any supplies to sustain this unrighteous purpose. Again, you would not hold slaves. I doubt not you would join with Mr. Pal frey, in emancipating any who should become yours by inheritance or otherwise. But I have never heard of your joining in efforts, or sym pathy, with those who seek to carry into our institutions that practical conscience, which declares it to be equally wrong in individuals and in States to sanction Slavery. Let me ask you still further and you will know if there is any reason to justify this request to bear your testimony against the Mexican War, and all supplies for its prosecution, regardless of the minority in which you may be placed. Think, Sir, of the cause, and not of your associates. Forget for a while the tactics of party, and all its subtle combinations. Emancipate yourself from its close-woven web, spun as from a spider s belly, and walk in the luminous pathway of Right. Re member that you represent the conscience of Boston, the churches of the Puritans, the city of Channing. Meanwhile a fresh election is at hand, and you are again a candidate for the suffrages of your fellow-citizens. I shall not anticipate their verdict. Your blameless private life, and your respectable attainments, 36 ADVOCACY OF DR. HOWE S ELECTION. cannot fail to receive the approbation of all ; but more than one of your neighbors will be obliged to say, Cassio, I love thee, But never more be officer of mine. 1 VIII. Ten days later Nov. 4, 1846 on the eve of the Con gressional Election, at a meeting in the Tremont Temple to advance the cause of the Election of Dr. Howe in op position to Mr. Winthrop, the regular Whig candidate, Mr. Sumner made one of his most effective speeches, in which he said : When in the month of July, 1830, the people of Paris rose against the arbitrary ordinances of Charles X., and, after three days of bloody combat, succeeded in that Revolution, by virtue of which the Dynasty of Orleans now occupies the throne of France, Lafayette, votary of Liberty in two hemispheres, placing himself at the head of the move ment, on the second day, walked from his residence to the City Hall, through streets impassable to carriages, filled with barricades, and strewn with the wrecks of war. Moving along with a thin, attendance, he was unexpectedly joined by a gallant Bostonian, who, though young in life, was already eminent by seven years of d : sinterested service in the strug gle for Grecian independence against the Turks, who had himself lis tened to the whizzing of bullets, and had narrowly escaped the descend ing scimitar. Lafayette, considerate as he was brave, turned to his faithful friend, and said, " Do not join me ; this is a danger for French men only ; reserve yourself for your own country, where you will be needed." Our fellow-citizen heeded him not, but continued by his side, sharing his perils. That Bostonian was Dr. Howe. And now the words of Lafayette are verified. He is needed by his country. At the present crisis, in our Revolution of " Three Days," he Comes forward to the post of danger. I cannot disguise the satisfaction I shall feel in voting for him beyond even the gratification of personal friendship because he is not a politician. His whole life is thickly studded with various labors in the highest of all causes, the good of man. He is the friend of the INSTANTLY CEASE WRONG-DOING. 37 poor the friend of the blind the friend of the prisoner the friend of the slave. Wherever there is suffering, there his friendship is manifest. Generosity, disinterestedness, self-sacrifice and courage, have been his inspiring sentiments, directed by rare sagacity and intelligence ; and now, wherever Humanity is regarded, wherever there are bosoms that beat responsive to philanthropic exertions, his name is cherished and beloved. Such a man reflects lustre upon the place of his birth ; far more than any one who has excelled only in the strife of politics, or the servitude of party. He has qualities which commend him, especially at this time. He is firm, ever true, honest, inflexible, a lover of the Right. With a courage that charms opposition, he would not fear to stand alone against a fervid majority. Knowing War by a fearful familiarity, he is an earnest defender of Peace. With a singular experience of life in other coun tries, he now bring the stores which he has garnered up, and his noble spirit, to the service of his fellow-citizens. May they know how to value them I * * The true Whig ground, the only ground, consistent with our profess ed loyalty to the higher sentiments of dut}^, is constant uncompromising opposition to the war, in all the forms in which opposition may be made. Expecting right from Mexico, we must begin by doing right. We are the aggressors. We must cease to be the aggressors. This is the proper course of duty, having its foundations in the immutable laws of God. Our country must do as an individual in similar circumstances ; for though politicians may disown it and this principle cannot be too often repeated there is but one rule of duty for nations and for individuals. If any one of you, fellow-citizens, find ing yourself in dispute with a neighbor, had unfortunately resorted to blows and felled him to the earth, but, with returning reason, discovered that you were in the wrong, what would you do ? Of course, cease instantly from wrong-doing. You would help your neighbor to his feet. With Christian benevolence you would seek to soothe his wrongs. You would not, in the language of President Polk, seek " to conquer a peace," nor, in the language of Mr. Winthrop, " to achieve an honorable peace " by force. Precisely so must our country act now. We must help our down-trodden Mexican neighbor to her feet. We must withdraw our forces to the Neuces, and then, when ample justice has been done on our side, seek justice and peace from her. Be assured these would easily follow. Perhaps the same response might come from the Mexi cans, that the Falerii sent to the Roman Senate, through Camillus : 38 FRIENDS OF AMERICA IN PARLIAMENT. " The Romans having preferred justice to conquest, have taught us to be satisfied with submission instead of liberty." That I may not seem to found these conclusions upon general princi ples of morals only, let me invoke the example of the Whigs of England, of Chatham, Camden, Burke, Fox and Sheridan, in their opposition to the war of our Revolution ; denouncing it, at the outset, as unjust, and never, during its whole progress, failing to declare their condemnation of it ; voting against supplies for its prosecution, and against thanks for the military services by which it was waged. Holding their example, as of the highest practical authority on the present question of political duty, and as particularly fit to be regarded by persons professing to be Whigs in America, I shall make no apology for introducing at some length the authentic evidence which places it beyond doubt. This is to be found in the volumes of the Parliamentary Debates. I am not aware that it has ever before been applied to the present discussion. In the Debate in the Lords on the address of Thanks in Oct. 1775, after the battle of Lexington and Bunker Hill the Duke of Grafton said: I pledge myself to your lordships and my country, that, if necessity should require it, and my health not otherwise permit it, I mean to come down to this House in a litter, in order to express my full and hearty disapprobation of the measures now pursuing ; and, as I under stand from the noble lords in office, meant to be pursued. 1 do pro test, that if my brother or dearest friend were to be affected by the vote I mean to give this evening, I cannot, possibly, resist the faithful dis charge of my conscience and my duty. Were I to lose my fortune, and every other thing I esteem, were I to be reduced to beggary itself, the strong conviction and compulsion at once operating on my mind and conscience, would not permit me to take any other part on the present occasion, than that i now mean to adopt. At the close of this Debate, a protest was signed by several peers, containing the following clause : Because we cannot, as Englishmen, as Christians, or as men of com mon humanity, consent to the prosecution of a cruel civil war, so little supported by justice, and so very fatal in its necessary consequences, as that which is now waging against our brethren and fellow-subjects in America. In the House of Commons, on the same Address, Mr. Wilkes said : I call the war with our brethren in America, an unjust felonious war. * * * I assert that it is a murderous war, because it is an effort to deprive men of their lives for standing up in the just cause of the de fence of their property, and their clear rights. It becomes no less a LIBERTY DEFENDED IN PARLIAMENT. 39 murderous war, with respect to many of our fellow-subjects of this Island ; for every man, either of the army or navy, who has been sent by Government to America, and fallen a victim in this unnatural and unjust contest, has, in my opinion, been murdered by the administra tion, and his blood lies at their door. Such a war, I fear, Sir, will draw down the vengeance of Heaven upon this devoted kingdom. Mr. Fox said : He could not consent to the bloody consequences of so silly a contest about so silly an object, conducted in the silliest manner that history, or observation, had ever furnished an instance of; and from which we were likely to derive nothing but poverty, misery, disgrace, defeat, and ruin. Mr. Serjeant Adair said : I am against the present war, because I think it unjust in its com mencement, injurious to both countries in its prosecution, and ruinous in its event. * * * I think from the bottom of my soul, that the Colonies are engaged in a noble and glorious struggle. * * * Sir, I could not be easy in my own mind, without entering the strongest and most public protestations against measures which appear to me to be fraught with the destruction of this mighty Empire. / wash my hands of the blood of my fellow-subjects ; and shall at least have this satisfaction, amidst the impending calamities of the public, not only to think that I have contributed to, but that I have done all in my power to oppose and avert the ruin of my country. In another debate in the Lords, Nov. i5th, 1775, that strenuous friend of freedom, and upholder of Whig principles, Lord Camden. said : Peace is still within our power ; nay, we can command it. A sus pension of arms on our part, if adopted in time, will secure it for us ; and I may add on our own terms, from which it is plain, as we have been the original aggressors in this business, if we obstinately persist, we are fairly answerable for all the consequences. I again repeat, what I often urged before, that I was against this unnatural war from the beginning. I was equally against every measure from the instant the first tax was proposed, to this minute. When, therefore, it is insisted, that we are only to defend and enforce our own right, I positively deny it. I contend that America has been driven by cruel necessity to de fend her rights from the united attacks of violence, oppression, and in justice. I contend that America has been indisputably aggrieved. * * * I must still think, and shall uniformly continue to assert, that Great Britain has been the aggressor ; that most, if not all, the acts were founded on oppression, and that if I was in America, I should resist to the last such manifest exertion of tyranny, violence, and in justice. In another debate in the Commons, Dec. 8th, 1785, Mr. Fox said : 40 FOX BARRE BURKE. I have always said that the war carrying on against America is unjust. In the Commons, March nth, 1776, Col. Barre, Mr. Burke, Mr. Fox, all vied in eulogies upon General Montgomery, the account of whose death before Quebec had arrived some days before. In the Commons, April 24th, 1776, a debate arose on the Budget, containing resolutions to raise taxes to carry on the war against America. Mr. Fox then said : To the resolutions he should give a flat negative, and that not be cause of any particular objection to the taxes proposed (although it might be a sufficient ground for urging many) but because he could not conscientiously agree to grant any money for so destructive, so ignoble a purpose as the carrying on a war commenced unjustly, and supported with no other view than to the extirpation of freedom, and the violation of every social comfort. THIS HE CONCEIVED TO BE THE STRICT LINE OF CONDUCT TO BE OBSERVED BY A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. He then painted the war with America as unjust, and the pursuance of the war as blood-thirsty and oppressive. Col. Barre followed, and adopted the phrase of Mr. Fox, giving his flat negative to the Resolutions, as they were calculated to tax the sub ject for an unjust purpose. In the Lords, Oct. 3ist, 1776, the Duke of Grafton said: He pledged himself to the House, and to the Public, that while he had a leg to stand on, he would come down day after day to express the most marked abhorrence of the measures hitherto pursued, and meant to be adhered to in respect to America. In the Commons, on the same night, Mr. Fox said : The noble Lord who moved the amendment, said that we were in the dilemma of conquering or abandoning America ; if we are reduced to that, 1 am for abandoning America. In the Commons, Nov. 6th, 1776, Mr. Burke said : You simply tell the Colonists to lay down their arms, and then you will do just as you please. Could the most cruel conqueror say less ? Had you conquered the devil himself in hell, could you be less liberal ? No! In the Commons, Feb. i8th, 1777, Col. Barre said : America must be reclaimed, not conquered or subdued. Conciliation or concession are the only sure means of either gaining or retaining America. In the Commons, May i4th, 1777, another debate occurred on the Budget, in the course of which Mr. Burke said : LORD CHATHAM DUKE OF RICHMOND. 41 He was and ever would be ready to support a just war, whether against subjects or alien enemies; but where justice, or a color of justice, was wanting, he should ever be the first to oppose it. In the Lords, May 28th, 1777, Lord Chatham brought forward a motion to put a stop to American hostilities, and said : We have tried for unconditional submission ; try what can be gained by unconditional redress. We are the aggressors. We have invaded them. We have invaded them as much as the Spanish Armada invaded England. * * * * In the sportsman s phrase, when you have found yourself at fault, you must try back. I shall no doubt hear it objected, Why should we submit or concede ? Has America done anything, on her part, to induce us to agree to so large a ground of concession ? I will tell you, my lords, why I think you should. You Jiave been the aggressors from the beginning. If then we are the aggressors, it is your lordships business to make the first overture. I say again, this country has been the aggressor. You have made descents upon their coasts ; you have burnt their towns, plundered their country, made war upon the inhabitants, confiscated their pro perty, proscribed and imprisoned their persons. / do therefore affirm, that, instead of exacting unconditional submission from the Colonies, we should grant them unconditional redress. We have injured them; we have endeavored to enslave and oppress them. Upon this clear ground, instead of chastisement they are entitled to redress. If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms never never never. And again Lord Chatham said : I would sell my shirt from off my back to assist in proper measures, properly and wisely conducted ; but I would not part with a single shilling to the present ministers. Their plans are founded in destruc tion and disgrace. It is, my lord, a ruinous and destructive war ; it is full of danger ; it teems with disgrace, and must end in ruin. In the Lords, Nov. i8th, 1777, the Duke of Richmond said : Can we too soon put a stop to such a scene of carnage ? I know, that what I am going to say is not fashionable language, but a time will come when every one of us must account to God for his actions ; and how can we justify causing so many innocent lives to be lost ? In the Commons, Dec. 5th, 1778, Mr. Hartley, the constant friend of America, brought forward a motion : That it is unbecoming the wisdom and prudence of Parliament, to proceed any further in the support of this fruitless, expensive, and destructive war ; more especially without any specific terms of accom modation declared. 42 WILKES FOX SHERIDAN. In the Lords, Feb. i6th, 1778, the Marquis of Rockingham said : He was determined to serve his country, by making peace at any rate. In the Lords, March 23d, 1778, the Duke of Richmond brought forward a motion for the withdrawal of the forces from America. In the Commons, Nov. 27th, 1780, on a motion to thank General Clinton and others, for their military services in America, Mr. Wilkes said : I think it my duty to oppose this motion, because in my idea every part of it conveys an approbation of the American war ; a war unfounded in principle, and fatal in its consequences to this country. * * Sir, I will not thank for victories which only tend to protract a destructive war. * * As I reprobate the want of principle in the origin of the American war, I the more lament all the spirited exertions of valor and the wisdom of conduct, which, in a good cause, I warmly applaud. Thinking as I do, I see more matter of grief than of triumph, of bewailing than thanksgiving, in this civil contest, and the deluge of blood which has overflowed America. * * I deeply lament that the lustre of such splendid victories is obscured and darkened by the want of a good cause, without which no war, in the eye of truth and reason, before God or man, can be justified. Mr. Fox said : He allowed the merits of the officers now in question, but he made a distinction between thanks and praise. He might admire their valor, but he could not separate the intention from the action ; they were united in his mind ; there they formed one whole, and he would not attempt to divide them. Mr. Sheridan said : There were in that House different descriptions of men who could not assent to a vote of thanks that seemed to imply a recognition or approbation of the American war. Such is the doctrine of morals, sanctioned by high English examples. Such should be the doctrine of an American statesman. If we apply this to the existing exigency ; nay, more, if we undertake to try the candidates on the present occasion by this standard, we shall find, that, as Dr. Howe is unquestionably right, so Mr. Winthrop is too certainly wrong. In thus exalting our own candidate, I would not unduly dis parage another. It is for the sake of the cause in which we are engaged, by the side of which all individuals dwindle into insignifi cance, that we now oppose Mr. Winthrop. We desire to bear oui testimony earnestly, heartily, sincerely, against Slavery, and the longer THE FREE-SOIL PARTY COMING. 43 continuance of the M ixican war. We demand the retreat of General Taylor, and the instant withdrawal of the American forces. And even if we seem to fail, in this election, we shall not fail in reality. The influence of this effort will be felt. It will help to awaken and organize that powerful public opinion by which this war will at last be arrested. Hang out, then, fellow-citizens, the white banner of Peace. Unfurl all its ample folds, streaming with Christian trophies. Let the citizens of Boston rally about it ; and let it be borne by an enlightened, conscien tious people, aroused to the condemnation of this murderous war, until Mexico, wet with blood unjustly shed, shall repose undisturbed at last beneath its celestial folds. IX. The war with Mexico had ended in the conquest of that country, and the annexation of just as large a por tion of its territory as we saw fit to demand. The ex tension of our republic to the Pacific Ocean, with the vast domain thus acquired, would now call for new legisla tion, and slavery was stretching forth her hands to grasp those vast regions which were now open for the first time to the enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon race. The Pro-slavery party at the North seemed more ready than ever to yield to any demands that slavery might make, and both parties vied with each other in bowing to the now all-powerful Moloch. But signs were every where appearing of the birth of a new party which would resist the further extension of slavery over free soil. There were strong men throughout the country, who were preparing for a new movement. Mr. Van Buren was not strong enough to command the nomi- o o nation of his party at Baltimore, and the Democratic statesmen of New York, embracing such men as Silas Wright and Gov. Dix, were preparing to stand by their former political leader, in making some movement to 44 CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS NOBLE COURSE. resist the imperious demands of the slave power. Sal mon P. Chase, who entertained strong anti-slavery sen timents, as well as Joshua Giddings, commanded great influence in Ohio, while Mr. Charles Francis Adams, and his friend, Charles Sumner, were putting forth their mightiest efforts to restore to the old Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay the spirit of liberty, whose beacon- fires had long ago begun to grow dim. There was a general disposition, through many portions of the North, to throw off despotism of party ; and with a view to unite men* of all parties against the future encroachments of slavery, a mass Convention was called, to meet at Wor cester on the 28th of June, 1848. In that convention, Mr. Charles Francis Adams, Mr. Giddings, and Mr. Sumner were the chief speakers, and the leading spirits. Before Mr. Sumner spoke, Charles Francis Adams, after showing how basely the Whig Party had prosti tuted itself to the behests of slavery, closed with the following stirring words : The only thing to be done by all under such circumstances, is what as one, individually, I have made up my mind to do, that is to have nothing more to do with it. Hereafter, then, I stand free, clear, a freeman, without any pledges, without any promise to any party. I stand, then, ready to go forward as one in this great movement, which shall establish, I hope, forever, the sacred principle of freedom through out this hemisphere. Forgetting the things that are behind, I pro pose that we press forward to the high calling of our new occupa tion ; and, fellow-citizens, whatever may be the fate of you or me, all I can now add is, to repeat the words of one with whom I take pride in remembering that I have been connected " Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish; " to go with the liberties of my country, is my fixed determination. These words, which had something of the ring of the old Revolution in them, transported the assembly with SUMNER S GREAT SPEECH AT WORCESTER. 45 the wildest enthusiasm. Perhaps no man, except Charles Sumner, could have followed such a speaker as Mr. Adams proved himself to be that day, and maintained the fervor of the meeting. In alluding to what Mr. Adams had said, he modestly renounced any hope of exciting a deeper feeling, or even a desire to fan the fires of patriotism and liberty which had been once more re-kindled in the old Bay State. But one thing, at least, he declared that he could do, " I can join them Giddings and Adams in a renunciation of those party relations which seem now inconsistent with the support of freedom. Like them, I have been a Whig, because I thought this Party represented the moral sentiments of the country ; that it was the Party of Humanity : but it has ceased to sustain this character. It does not repre sent the moral sentiments of the country ; it is not the Party of Humanity: and a party which renounces its sentiments, must itself expect to be renounced. For myself, therefore, in the coming conflict, I wish it to be understood that I belong to the Party of Freedom to that party which plants itself on the Declaration of In dependence and the Constitution of the United States/ He then proceeded with his speech, in terms of fervid eloquence. I am reminded, he said, by the transactions in which we are now engaged, of an incident in French history. It was late in the night, at Versailles, that a courtier of Louis XVI., penetrating the bed-cham ber of his master, and arousing him from his slumbers, communicated to him the intelligence big with gigantic destinies that the people of Paris, smarting under wrong and falsehood, had risen in their might, and, after a severe contest with hireling troops, destroyed the Bastile. The unhappy monarch, turning upon his couch, said, " It is an insurrection" " No, Sire," was the reply of the honest courtier, " it is a revolution: And such is our Movement to-day. It is a REVOLUTION not begin- 46 AUDACITY OF THE SLAVE POWER. ning with the destruction of a Bastile, but destined to end only with the overthrow of a tyranny, differing little in hardship and audacity from that which sustained the Bastile of France I mean the Slave Power of the United States. By the Slave Power, I understand that combination of persons, or, perhaps, of politicians, whose animating principle is the perpetuation and extension of Slavery, and the advancement of Slaveholders. That such a combination exists, will be apparent from a review of our his tory. It shows itself, in the mildest, and perhaps the least offensive form, in the undue proportion of offices under the Federal Constitution, which has been held by Slaveholders. It is still worse apparent in a succession of acts by which the Federal Government has been prosti tuted to the cause of Slavery. Among the most important of these is the Missouri Compromise, the Annexation of Texas, and the War with Mexico. Mindful of the sanctions, which Slavery derived under the Constitution from the Missouri Compromise of the fraud and iniquity of the Annexation of Texas and of the great crime of waging an unne cessary and unjust war with Mexico of the mothers, wives, and sisters compelled to mourn sons, husbands, and brothers, untimely slain, as these things, dark, dismal, atrocious, rise to the mind, may we not brand their author, the Slave Power, as a tyranny hardly less hateful than that which sustained the Bastile. This combination is unknown to the Constitution ; nay, it exists in defiance of the spirit of that instrument, and of the recorded opinions of its founders. The Constitution was the crowning labor of the auth ors of the Declaration of Independence. It was established to per petuate, in the form of an organic law, those rights which the Declara tion had promulgated, and which die sword of Washington had secured " We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" Such are the emphatic words which our country took upon -its lips, when it first claimed its place among the nations of the earth. These were its bap tismal vows. And the preamble of the Constitution renews them, when it declares its objects to be, among other things, "to establish justice, to promote the general welfare, and secure the blessifigs of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." Mark ; it is not to establish injustice not to promote the welfare of a class, or of a few slaveholders, but the general welfare ; not to foster the curse of slavery, but to secure the blessings of liberty. And the declared opinions of the fathers were all THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHERS. 47 in harmony with these instruments. " I can only say," said Washing ton, " that there is not a man living, who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery ; but there is only one proper and effectual mode by which it can be accomplished, and that is, by the legislative authority ; and this, as far as my suffrage will go, shall not be wanting." Patrick Henry, while confessing that he was a master of slaves, said, " I will not, I cannot justify it. However cul pable my conduct, I will so far pay my devoir to virtue, as to own the excellence and rectitude of her precepts, and lament my want of con formity to them. I believe a time will come, when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil." And Franklin, as President of the earliest Abolition Society of the country, signed a petition to the first Congress, in which he declared that he " considered himself bound to use all justifiable endeavors to loosen the bands of slavery, and pro mote a general enjoyment of the blessings of freedom." Thus the soldier, the orator, and the philosopher of the Revolution, all unite in homage to Freedom. Washington, so wise in counsel and in battle ; Patrick Henry, with his tongue of flame; Franklin, with his heaven- descended sagacity and humanity, all bear testimony to the true spirit of the times in which they lived, and of the institutions which they helped to establish. It is apparent that our constitution was formed by the lovers of Hu man Freedom ; that it was animated by their divine spirit ; that the in stitution of Domestic Slavery was regarded by them with aversion, so that, though covertly alluded to, it was not named in the instrument ; and that they all looked forward to the day when this evil and shame would be obliterated from the land. Surely, then, it is right to say that the combination, whose object is to perpetuate and extend Slavery, is unknown to the Constitution, and exists in defiance of the spirit of that instrument, and of the recorded opinions of its founders. Time would fail me to dwell on the growing influence which it has exerted from the foundation of the government. In the earlier periods of our history it was moderate and reserved. The spirit of the founders still prevailed. But with the advance of time, and as these early champions passed from the scene, it became more audacious, aggressive and tyrannical, till at last it has obtained the control of the government, and caused it to be administered, not in the spirit of Free dom, but in the spirit of Slavery. Yes ! the government of the United States is now (let it be said with shame) not what it was at the begin ning, a government merely permitting, while it regretted Slavery, but a 48 FREEDOM POWER VS. SLAVE POWER. government openly favoring and vindicating it, visiting also with its displeasure all who oppose it. It is during late years that the Slave Power has introduced a new test for office a test which would have excluded Washington, Jeffer son and Franklin. It applies an arrogant and unrelenting ostracism to all who express themselves against Slavery. And now, in the mad ness of its tyranny, it proposes to extend this curse to new soils not darkened by its presence. It seeks to make the flag of our country the carrier of Slavery into distant landb ; to scale the mountain fast nesses of Oregon, and descend with its prey upon the shores of the Pacific ; to cross the Rio Grande, and there, in broad territories, re cently obtained by robber hands from Mexico, to plant a shameful institution, which that republic has expressly abolished. * * And now the question occurs, What is the true line of duty with re gard to these two candidates ? Mr. Van Buren (and I honor him for his trumpet call to the North) has sounded the true note, when he said he could not vote for either of them. Though nominated by different parties, they represent, as I have said, substantially the same interest the Slave Power. The election of either would be a triumph of the Slave Power, and entail upon the country, in all probability, the sin of extending slavery. How, then, shall they be encountered ? It seems to me, in a very plain way. The lovers of Freedom, of all parties, and irrespective of all party association, must unite, and, by a new combina tion, congenial with the Constitution, oppose both candidates. This will be the FREEDOM POWER, whose single object shall be to resist the SLAVE POWER. We shall put them face to face, and let them grapple. Who can doubt the result ? But it is said that we shall throw away our votes, and that our oppo sition will fail. Fail, Sir ! No honest, earnest effort in a good cause ever fails. It may not be crowned with the applause of men ; it may not seem to touch the goal of immediate worldly success, which is the end and aim of so much of life. But still it is not lost. It helps to strengthen the weak with new virtue ; to arm the irresolute with proper energy ; to animate all with devotion to duty, which in the end conquers all. Fail ! Did the martyrs fail, when with their precious blood they sow ed the seed of the Church ? Did the discomfited champions of Freedom fail, who have left those names in history which can never die ? Did the three hundred Spartans fail, when, in the narrow pass, they did not fear to brave the innumerable Persian hosts, whose very arrows dark ened the sun ? No ! Overborne by numbers, crushed to earth, they CONTINUANCE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 49 have left an example which is greater far .than any victory. Arid this is the least we can do. Our example shall be the source of triumph here after. It will not be the first time in history that the hosts of Slavery have outnumbered the champions of freedom. But where is it written that Slavery finally prevailed ? But the assurances received here to-day show that we need not post pone our anticipations of success. 1 1 seems already at hand. The heart of Ohio beats responsive to the heart of Massachusetts, and all the Free States are animated with the vigorous breath of Freedom. Let us not, then, waste time in vain speculations between the two candidates. Both are bad. Both represent a principle which we cannot sanction. Whatever may be said by politicians to the contrary, the question of Freedom is the only one now before the American people. All other questions being withdrawn, what remains for those who, in casting their votes, regard princip hs rather than men? It is clear, that the only question of any present practical interest is that arising from the usurpations of the Slave Power, and the efforts to extend slavery. This is the vital question of our country at this time. It is the question of questions. It was lately said in the Convention of the New York Democracy at Utica, (and I am glad to allude to the doings of that most respectable body of men,) that the movement in which we are now engaged was the most important of any since the American Revolution. Something more might have been said. // is a continuance of the Amer ican Revolution. It is an effort to carry into effect the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and to revive in the administration of our government the spirit of Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson ; to bring back the Constitution to the principles and practice of its early founders ; to the end that it shall promote Freedom and not Slavery, and shall be administered in harmony with the spirit of Freedom, and not with the spirit of Slavery. There are emphatic words in the last will and testament of Wash ington, which may be adopted as a motto for the present contest. After providing for the emancipation of his slaves, to take place on the death of his wife, he says, " And I do expressly forbid the sale or trans portation out of the said Commonwealth, of any slave I may die pos sessed of under any pretence whatever! So at least should the people of the United States expressly forbid the sale or transportation of any slave beyond their ancient borders, under any pretence whatever. Returning to our forefathers for their principles, let us borrow, also, something of their courage and union. Let us summon to our sides 4 50 LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY. the majestic forms of those civil heroes, whose firmness in council was equalled only by the firmness of Washington in war. Let us listen again to the eloquence of the elder Adams, animating his associates in Con gress to independence ; let us hang anew upon the sententious wisdom of Franklin ; let us be enkindled, as were the men of other days, by the fervid devotion to Freedom, which flamed from the heart of Jefferson. Deriving instruction from our enemies, let us also be taught by the Slave Power. The two hundred thousand slaveholders are always united in purpose. Hence their strength. Like arrows in a quiver, they cannot be broken. The friends of Freedom have thus far been divided. Union^ then, must be our watchword, union among men of all parties. By such a union we shall consolidate an opposition which must prevail. Let Massachusetts nurse of the men and principles which made our earliest revolution vow herself anew to her early faith. Let her elevate once more the torch, which she first held aloft. Let us, if need be, pluck some fresh coals from the living altars of France. Let us, too, proclaim " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," Liberty to the captive Equality between the master and his slave Fraternity with all men, the whole comprehended in that sublime revelation of Christianity, the Brotherhood of Mankind. In the contemplation of these great interests, the intrigues of party, the machinations of politicians, the combinations of office-seekers, seem all to pass from our sight. Politics and morals, no longer divorced from each other, become one and inseparable in the holy wedlock of Christian sentiment. Such a union elevates politics, while it gives a new sphere to morals. Political discussions have a grandeur which they have never before assumed. Released from those topics, which concern only the selfish strife for gain, and which are perhaps indepen dent of morals, they come home to the hearts and consciences of men. A novel forre passes into the contests of party, breathing into them the breath of a new life, of Hope, of Progress, of Justice, of Humanity. It is easy to see from this demonstration to-day, and from the glad tidings that swell upon us from all the Free States, that this great cause of Freedom, to which we now dedicate ourselves, will sweep the heart strings of the people ! It will smite all the chords with a might to draw forth emotions, such as no political struggle has ever caused before. It will move the young, the middle-aged, and the old. It will find a place in the family circle, and mingle with the flame of the household hearth. Jt will touch the souls of mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, until PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS AT BUFFALO. 5 1 the sympathies of all shall swell in one firm and irresistible voice against the deep damnation, in this age of Christian light, of lending new sanc tions to the slavery of our brother-man. Come forth, then, men of all parties ; let us range together. Come forth, all who have thus far stood aloof from parties. Here is an occasion for action. Men of peace ! come forward. All who feel in any way the wrong of slavery, take your stand ! Join us, ye lovers of Truth, of Justice, of Humanity ! And let me call especially upon the young. You are the natural guardians of Freedom. In your firm re solves and generous souls, she will find her surest protection. The young man, who is not willing to serve in her cause to suffer, if need be, for her gives little promise of those qualities which secure an honorable age. X." The agitation which had now for some time been go ing on through the country, began to assume formidable proportions the seed sown by a few strong hands had begun to bear fruit. The foremost of the leading spirits throughout the North assembled in convention at Buffalo, announcing a platform of opposition to the further exten sion of slavery, and by acclamation nominated Martin Van Buren for President, and Charles Francis Adams as Vice-President. On the 22d of August, the same year 1848 a public meeting was called at Faneuil Hall to ra tify the nominations of the Buffalo Convention. Mr. Sum- ner, as the presiding officer of the meeting, made the following brief, but bold and comprehensive speech : And why, in this nineteenth century, are we assembled here in Fan euil Hall, to vow ourselves to this cause ? It is because it is now in danger. The principles of our fathers, of Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, nay. the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Indepen dence, have been assailed. Our Constitution, which was the work of the lovers of Freedom, which was watched by its most devoted champions, which, like the ark of the covenant, was borne on the 52 SUMMER S RATIFICATION SPEECH. shoulders of the early patriarchs of our Israel, has been prostituted to the uses of Slavery. A body of men, whose principle of union was unknown to the authors of the Constitution, have obtained the control of the government, and caused it to be administered, not in the spirit of Freedom, but in the spirit of Slavery. This combination is known as the Slave Power of the United States. This combination has obtained the sway of both the great political factions of the country. Whatever may be said of the opinions of in dividuals belonging to these different factions, it would be difficult to say whether the whigs or democrats, in their recent conduct as national parties, had most succumbed to this malign influence. The late Con ventions at Baltimore and Philadelphia were controlled by it. At Balti more, the delegation of the most important State of the Union known to be opposed to the Wihuot Proviso--w T as refused admission to the Convention. At Philadelphia, tire Wilmot Proviso itself was stifled, according to the report of an Ohio delegate, amidst the cries of " Kick it out ! " General Cass was nominated at Baltimore, pledged against the Wilmot Proviso. General Taylor, at Philadelphia, without any pledge on this all-important question, was forced upon the Conven tion by the Slave Power ; nor were any principles of any kind put forth by this body of professing whigs. These two candidates, apparently representing opposite parties, both concur in being the representatives of Slavery. They are the leaders of the two contending factions of the Slave Power. I say factions ; for, what are factions but combinations of men whose sole cement is a selfish desire for place and power, in disregard of principles ? And such were the Conventions at Baltimore and Philadelphia. In marked contrast with these was the recent Convention at Buffalo, where were* represented the good men of all the parties, whigs, demo crats, and liberty men, forgetting alike all former differences, and uniting in a common opposition to the Slave Power. There, by their delegates, was the formidable and unsubdued Democracy of New York ; there also was the devoted, inflexible Liberty party of the country ; there also were the true-hearted whigs and democrats of all the Free States, who in this great cause of Freedom have been, among the faithless, faithful found. There also were welcome delegates from the Slave States, from Maryland and Virginia, anxious to join in this new and truly holy alliance. In uncounted multitude, mighty, in numbers, mightier still in the harmony and unity of their proceedings, this Convention consummated the object for which it was called. It PROTECTION TO MAN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM. 53 has presented to the country a platform of principles, and candidates who are the exponents of these principles. In their support the repre sentatives of the parties there assembled, whigs, democrats, and liberty men, all united. In the strength and completeness of this union, I am reminded of the Mississippi, Father of Rivers, where the commingling waters of the Missouri and Ohio are lost in one broad, united, irresistible current, in one channel descending to the sea. The principles which caused this union have already been widely received, and will be responded to by this vast assembly. Look at them. They are frankly and explicitly expressed. They were solemnly and deliberately considered by a large committee, and enthusiastically adopted in the Convention. They not only propose to guard the ter ritories against Slavery, but to relieve the Federal Government from all responsibility therefor, everywhere within the sphere of its consti tutional powers. In short, on the subject of Slavery, they adopt sub stantially the prayer of Franklin, who by formal petition called upon Congress " to step to the verge of its constitutional power to discour age every species of traffic in human flesh." They propose to bring back the government to the truths of the Declaration of Independence and to the principles of the fathers, to the end that it shall be admin istered no longer in the spirit of Slavery, but in the spirit of Freedom. It is no longer banks and tariffs which are to occupy the foremost place in our discussions, and to give their tone, sounding always with the chink of dollars and cents, to the policy of the country. Hence forward, PROTECTION TO MAN shall be the true AMERICAN SYSTEM. The candidates selected as the exponents of these principles have claims upon your support, in forgetfulness of all former differences of opinion. They were brought forward, not because of the past, but the present ; I may add, they were sustained in the Convention by many persons, notwithstanding the past. I name them with pride : Martin Van Buren, the New York democrat, and Charles Francis Adams, the Massachusetts whig. But these designations can no longer denote dif ferent principles. Those to whom they are applied, whether democrat or whig, concur in making opposition to Slavery and the Slave Power the paramount principle of political action. The designations may now be interchanged. Mr. Adams may be properly hailed as a New York democrat, and Mr. Van Buren as a Massachusetts whig. There are many here, doubtless, among those once connected with the whig party, who, like myself on former occasions, have voted against Mr. Van Buren, and who regard some portion of his career with 54 THE CANDIDATES VAN BUREN AND ADAMS. anything but satisfaction. Mr. Adams is a younger man ; but there are some, doubtless, among those once connected with the democratic party, who have voted against him. But these differences, and the prejudices they have engendered, are all forgotten, absorbed, and lost in the entire sympathy with their present position. Time changes, and we change with it. He has lived to little purpose, whose mind and character continue, through a lapse of years, untouched by these muta tions. It is not foj the Van Buren of 1838 that we are to vote ; but for the Van Buren of to-day, the veteran statesman, sagacious, deter mined, experienced, who, at an age when most men are rejoicing to put off their armor, girds himself anew, and enters the list as the cham pion of Freedom. Having implicit confidence in the sincerity and earnestness of his devotion to the cause, and in his ability to maintain it to a successful result, I call upon you, as you love Freedom, and value the fair fame of your country, now dishonored, to render him your earnest and enthusiastic support. Of Mr. Adams I need say nothing in this place, where his honorable and efficient public services, and his private life, are so familiar. Stand ing as I now do beneath the images of his father and grandfather, it will be sufficient if I say that he is the heir, not only to their name, but to the virtues, the abilities, and the indomitable spirit that rendered that name so illustrious. Such are our principles, and such our candidates. We present them fearlessly to the country. Upon the people depends the question, whether their certain triumph shall be immediate or postponed ; for triumph they must. The old and ill-compacted party organizations are broken, and from their ruins is now formed a new party, The Party of Freedom. There are good men who longed for this, and have died with out the sight. John Quincy Adams longed for it. William Ellery Channing longed for it. Their spirits hover over us, and urge us to persevere. Let us be true to the moral grandeur of our cause. Have faith in Truth and in God, who giveth the victory. Oh, a fair cause stands firm and will abide ; Legions of angels fight upon its side ! Fellow-citizens, I am tempted to exclaim, seeing the spirit which ani mates your faces, that the work is already done to-night that the vic tory is already achieved. But I would not lull you to the repose which springs from too great confidence. I would rather arouse you to renewed and incessant exertions. A great cause is staked upon your constancy ; for without you, where among us would Freedom find its defenders ? WASHINGTON LAFAYETTE OTIS HENRY. 5 5 The sentiment of opposition to the Slave Power, to the extension of Slavery, and to its longer continuance under the Constitution wherever the Federal Government is responsible for it, though recognized by in dividuals, and adopted also by a small and faithful party, has now for the first time become the leading principle of a broad, formidable, and national organization. It is indeed, as Mr. Webster has lately said, no new idea; it is as old as the Declaration of Independence. But it is an idea now for the first time recognized by a great political party ; for if the old parties had been true to it, there would have been no occa sion for our organization. It is said our idea is sectional. How is this? Because the slaveholders live at the South ? As well might we say that the tariff is sectional, because the manufacturers live at the North. It is said that we have but one idea. This I deny ; but admitting that it is so, are we not, with our one idea, better than a party with no ideas at all ? And what is our one idea? It is the idea which com bined our fathers on the heights of Bunker Hill. It is the idea which carried Washington through a seven years war ; which inspired Lafa yette ; which touched with coals of fire the lips of Adams, Otis, and Patrick Henry. Ours is an idea which is, at least, noble and elevating ; it is an idea which draws in its train virtue, goodness, and all the charities of life all that makes earth a home of improvement and happiness. Her path where er the goddess roves, Glory pursues, and generous shame, The unconquerable mind, and freedom s holy flame. We found now a new party. Its corner-stone is Freedom. Its broad, all-sustaining arches are Truth, Justice, and Humanity. Like the an cient Roman Capitol, at once a Temple and a Citadel, it shall be the fit shrine of the genius of American institutions. XL The National and State elections of 1848 had come and gone. The Free-soil Party, which was afterwards to control the government, and give an entirely new direction to public affairs, was slowly forming, and where- ever the great issues were made and met, the friends of Freedom had been steadily gaining ground. Strange 56 SOME PRACTICAL PLAN FOR ACTION. as it may seem, the hardest work in this great battle had to be fought in Massachusetts, where Mr. Sumner was the acknowledged leader of the Liberal host. Clothed with no official dignity or power, to give pres tige to his words or actions, -he was already commanding a national influence which ma !e every speech delivered in Massachusetts effective far beyond the bounds of the State. John Quincy Adams had died at his post, the last undismayed champion of the Revolutionary school of Freedom, his heart still burning with the love of liberty, and the eloquent utterances of freedom still fresh from his lips. But his son, Charles Francis, had already come forward in the same spirit, to tread in the steps of his father, and in all quarters the roused spirit of insulted American liberty was no longer to cower back from the presence of her foes. But there was yet lacking, as there always is in such reforms, a practical plan of oper ations, to give effect to the efforts of the friends of freedom. By the great majority of them, the radical Anti-slavery men were still looked upon as fanatical, and generally, as hostile to the Constitution ; many of them, like Mr. Garrison, regarding it as the chief impediment, not only to emancipation, but to the spread of slavery itself. Much had been done at Buffalo by the enunciations made in the Platform, and the nomination of candidates pledg ed to resist the further encroachments of slavery ; and around them a large body of voters had gathered at the ballot-box. But the great mass of the people had yet no clear idea of any practical plan of operations, that could be carried out without open war upon the Consti tution. At this time September 12, 1849 a Free-soil Convention met at Worcester, and Mr. Sumner was in vited to present an address explaining and vindicating SPEECH AT THE WORCESTER CONVENTION. $? the Free-soil movement, and that address was adopted by the Convention. As nothing appeared at the time which put forth so clearly, or with so much power, the great issue which was coming before the nation, we shall make as copious extracts from that address, as our space will admit ; for it will give every reader a better under standing of the state of public feeling at the time, and serve as a chart for tracing the early progress of the mighty movement then starting, which will hereafter doubtless be regarded as the most important feature in the political history of this nation, since the adoption of the Federal Constitution. Omnipresent, as Mr. Sumner then declared the great issue to be, wherever any poli tical election occurred, it was never to cease to challenge attention, until, in his own language, " at least two things are accomplished : first, the divorce of the Federal Go vernment from all support or sanction of Slavery ; and secondly, the conversion of this government, within its Constitutional limits, to the cause of Freedom, so that it shall become Freedom s open, active, and perpetual ally." Impressed by the magnitude of these interests, devoted to the triumph of the righteous cause, solicitous of the true welfare of the country, animated by the example of the Fathers of the Republic, and desirous of breathing their spirit into our Government, the Free Democracy of Massachusetts, in Convention assembled at Worcester, no\v address their fellow-citizens throughout the Commonwealth. Imperfectly, according to the necessity of the occasion earnestly, according to the fulness of their convictions hopefully, according to the confidence of their aspirations, they will proceed to unfold the reasons of their appeal. They now ask your best attention. They trust, through this, to secure your votes. Our Party a permanent National Party. Fellow-citizens ; we make our appeal as a National party, established to promote principles deemed to be of paramount importance to the country. In assuming $8 A PERMANENT NATIONAL PARTY. our place as a distinct party, we simply give form and direction, in harmony with the usage and the genius of popular governments, to a Movement which stirs the whole country, and does not find an ade quate and constant organ in either of the other existing parties. In France, under the royalty of Louis Philippe, the faithful friends of the yet unborn Republic, formed a band together, and by their publica tions, speeches, and votes, sought to influence the public mind. Few at first in numbers, they became strong by united political action. In England, the most brilliant popular triumph in her history, the repeal of the monopoly of the Corn Laws, was finally carried, by means of a newly-formed, but wide spread political organization, which combined men of all the old parties, Whigs, Tories, and Radicals, and recognized opposition to the Corn Laws as a special test. In the spirit of these examples, the friends of Freedom have come together, in well-com pacted ranks, to uphold their cherished principles, and, by combined efforts, according to the course of parties, to urge them upon the Government, and upon the country. All the old organizations have contributed to our numbers, and good citizens have come to us, who have not heretofore mingled in the con tests of party. Here are men from the ancient democracy, believing all that any democracy must be a name only, no better than sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, which does not recognize, on every occa sion, the supremacy of Human .Rights, and which is not ready to do and to suffer in their behalf. Here also are men, who have come out of the Whig party, weary of its many professions, and of its little per formance, and especially revolting at its recent sinister course with regard to the cause of Freedom ; believing all that, in any devotion to Human Rights, they cannot err. Here also, in solid legion, is the well- tried band of the Liberty Party, to whom belongs the praise of first placing the cause of Freedom under the guardianship of a special political organization, whose exclusive test was opposition to Slavery. In thus associating and harmonizing from opposite quarters, in order to promote a common cause, we have learned to forget former differ ences of opinion, and to appreciate the motives of each other. We have learned how trivial are the matters on which we may disagree, compared with the Great Issue on which we all agree. Old prejudices have van ished. Fven the rancors of political antagonism have been changed and dissolved, as in a potent alembic, by the natural irresistible affinities of Freedom. In our union we have ceased to wear the badges of either of the old organizations. We hare become a party, distinct, independent, OLD PARTY ISSUES OBSOLETE. 59 permanent, under the name of the Free Democracy. Thus in our very designation expressing our devotion to Human Rights, and especially to Human Freedom. Professing honestly the sairfe sentiments, wherever we exist, in all parts of the country, East and West, North and South, we are truly a NATIONAL party. We are not compelled to assume one face at the South and another at the North ; to blow hot in one place, and blow cold in another ; to speak loudly of Freedom in one region, and vindi cate Slavery in another ; in short, to present a combination, in which the two extreme wings profess opinions, on the Great Issue before the country, diametrically opposed to each other. We are the same every where. And the reason is, because our party, unlike the other parties, is bound together in support of certain fixed and well-defined principles. It is not a combination, fired by partisan zeal, and kept together, as with mechanical force, by considerations of political expediency only ; but a sincere, conscientious, inflexible union for the sake of Freedom. The Address shows that all the old Issues which had hitherto divided the country were obsolete ; that the Bank, the Sub-Treasury, the Public Lands, had disap peared from the political field, and that even the Tariff question could not draw a distinguishing line. The devices of party could no longer stave off the Great Issue. Politicians could by no subterfuge escape it. Office-seekers could not dodge it by any trick. It would mix itself up in every election. Wherever men met to speak of public affairs, it would come up, in city, village, field, workshop --- everywhere the question sounded in the ears of men, would be, "Are you for Freedom, or against it ? " And now, instead of these superseded questions, which were con nected for the most part only with the material interests of the country, and which, though not unimportant in their time, all had the odor of the dollar, you are called to consider a cause which is connected with all that is divine in Religion, with all that is pure and noble in Morals, with all that is truly practical in Politics. Unlike the other questions, it is 60 THE FOUNDERS OF THE REPUBLIC. not temporary or local in its character. It belongs to all times, and to all countries. It is an everlasting link in the golden chain of Human Progress. It is a part of the great Movement, under whose strong pulsations all Christendom now shakes from side to side. It is a cause, which, though long kept in check throughout our country, as also in Europe, now confronts the people and their rulers, demanding to be heard. It can no longer be avoided, or silenced. To every man in the land it now says, with clear penetrating voice, " Are you for Free dom, or are you for slavery ? " And every man in the land must answer this question when he votes. The next point to which attention was directed, was the Anti-slavery sentiments of the Founders of the Re public, where a plain recital of facts is given. At the period of the Declaration of Independence there were up wards of half a million of colored persons held in slavery in the United States. These unhappy people were originally stolen from Africa, or were the children of those who had been so stolen, and, though dis tributed throughout the whole country, were to be found in the largest numbers in the Southern States. But the spirit of Freedom was then abroad in the land. The fathers of the Republic, leaders in the War of Independence, were struck with the impious inconsistency of an appeal for their own liberties while holding in bondage their fellow- men, "guilty of a skin not colored like their own." In private and in public they did not hesitate to bear their testimony against the atrocity. The following resolution, passed at Darien, in Georgia, in 1775, and preserved in the American Archives, (Vol. i., 4th series, p. 1134,) speaks, in tones worthy of freemen, the sentiments of the time: "We, there fore, the representatives of the extensive district of Darien, in the Colony of Georgia, having now assembled in Congress, by authority and free choice of the inhabitants of the said District, now freed from their fetters, do resolve ; To show the world that we are not influenced by any contracted or interested motives, but by a general philanthropy for all mankind, of whatever climate, language, or complexion, we hereby declare our disapprobation and abhorrence of the unnatural prac tice of Slavery in America, however the uncultivated state of our country, or other specious arguments may plead for it ; a practice found ed in injustice and cruelty, and highly dangerous to our liberties as well as lives, debasing part of our fellow-creatures below men, and corrupt- JEFFERSON AN ABOLITIONIST. 6l ing the virtue and morals of the rest, and as laying the basis of that liberty we contend for (and which we pray the Almighty to continue to the latest posterity) upon a very wrong foundation. We, therefore, resolve to use our utmost endeavors for the manumission of our slaves in this colony, upon the most safe and equitable footing for the masters and themselves." Would that such a voice could be heard once more from Georgia ! The spirit of Virginia is spoken of, as it found expres sion through Jefferson, who by his precocious and im mortal words against slavery, enrolled himself among the earliest Abolitionists of the country. In the Declaration of Independence he embodied sentiments, which, when practically applied, will give Freedom to every Slave throughout the land. " We hold these truths to be self-evident," says our country speaking by his voice, "that all men are created equal that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And again, in the Congress of the Confederation, he brought forward, as early as 1784, a resolution to exclude Slavery from all the territory "ceded or to be ceded" by the States of the Federal Government, and including the territory now cov ered by Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. Lost at first by a single vote only, this measure was substantially renewed at a subsequent day by a son of Massachusetts, and in 178 7 was finally confirmed, in the Ordinance of the North-Western Territory, by a unanimous vote of the States and their respective delegates. The same spirit is discerned in the Federal Constitu tion which was adopted in 1788, where express provision was made for the abolition of the slave-trade, the discredit able words slave and slavery being allowed no place in that sacred instrument ; while a clause subsequently added, specifically declared that " no person shall be de prived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." It is evident, from a perusal of the debates on the Federal Constitu tion, that Slavery, like the slave trade, was regarded as temporary ; and 62 FRANKLIN S ABOLITION PETITION. it seems to have been supposed by many that they would both disap pear together. Nor do any words employed in our day denounce it with an indignation more burning than that which glowed on the lips of the fathers. Mr. Morris, of Pennsylvania, said in Convention, that "he would never concur in upholding domestic slavery. It is a nefari ous institution." In another mood, and with mild judicial phrase, Mr. Madison " thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea of property in man." And Washington, in a letter written near this period, says, with a frankness worthy of imitation, " There is but one proper and effectual mode by which the abolition of slavery can be ac complished, and that is by legislative action, and this as far as my suffrage will go, shall never be wanting" When the earliest Congress assembled, under the Constitution, a petition was early presented from the Abolition Society of Pennsylvania, signed by Benjamin Franklin, as President. This venerable man, whose active life had been devoted to the welfare of mankind at home and abroad, who both as a philosopher and a statesman had arrested the attention of the world, who had ravished the lightning from the skies, and the sceptre from a tyrant, who, as a member of the Continental Congress, had set his name to the Declara tion of Independence, and as a member of the Convention, had again set his name to the Federal Constitution, in whom, more perhaps than in any other person, the true spirit of American institutions, at once practical and humane, was embodied, than whom no one could be more familiar with the purposes and aspirations of the founders, this veteran, eighty-four years of age, within a few months only of his death, now appeared by his petition at the bar of that Congress, whose powers he had helped to define and establish. "Your memorialists," he says, and this Convention now repeats the words of Franklin, " particularly engaged in attending to the distresses arising from slavery, believe it to be their indispensable duty to present this subject to your notice. They have observed with real satisfaction that many important and salutary powers are vested in you for promoting the welfare and securing the blessings of liberty to the people of the United States; and as they conceive that these blessings ought rightfully to be administered, with out distinction of color, to all descriptions of people, so they indulge THE COUNTRY BECOMES PRO-SLAVERY. 63 themselves in the pleasing expectation, that nothing which can be done for the relief of the unhappy objects of their care, will be either omitted or delayed 1 And the memorialists conclude as follows : " Under these impressions they earnestly entreat your serious attention to the subject of Slavery ; that you will be pleased to countenance the restoration of liberty to those unhappy men, who alone, in this land of Freedom, are degraded into perpetual bondage, and who, amidst the general joy of surrounding freemen, are groaning in servile subjection ; that you will promote mercy and justice towards this distressed race, and that you will step to the very verge of the power vested in you for DISCOURAG ING every species of traffic in the persons of our fellow -men" The Address also makes the assertion which is an historical fact not often alluded to that at the time, no where, under the Federal Government, did slavery ex ist. It was in States only, skulking beneath the shelter of local laws, that it was allowed to remain. But the country had changed from Anti-slavery to Pro-slavery. The generous sentiments which filled the souls of the early patriots, had been impressed upon the government they founded, as it was upon the coin they circulated the image and superscription of LIBERTY. But the blessings of Freedom being secured to them selves, the freemen of the land grew indifferent to the freedom of others : they ceased to think of the slaves. The slave-masters were but few in numbers, even in the slave States ; but by persevering union among them selves, and through skilful tactics carrying their influ ence with whatever party was in power, to promote their personal interests, they succeeded through a long period of years, in obtaining control of the Federal Gov ernment, which resulted in a fundamental change in its character. The Usurpations and Aggressions of the Slave Power. Look at the extent to which this malign influence has predominated. The Slave 64 CATALOGUE OF SLAVERY AGGRESSIONS. States are far inferior to the Free States in population, in wealth, in education, in libraries, in resources of all kinds, and yet they have taken to themselves the lion s share of the offices of honor and profit under the Constitution. They have held the presidency for fifty-seven years, while the Free States have held it for twelve years only. But without pursuing the exposition of this game of political " sweep-stakes," which the Slave Power has perpetually played, let us present what is more important, as indicative of its spirit the aggressions and usurpations by which it has turned the Federal Government from its original cha racter of Freedom, and prostituted it to Slavery. The following catalogue is given, which should be carefully noticed : Early in this century, when the District of Columbia was finally oc cupied as the national capital, the Slave Power succeeded, in defiance of the spirit of the Constitution, and even of the express letter of one of its amendments, in securing for Slavery, within the District, the counte nance of the Federal Government. Until then Slavery had existed nowhere within the exclusive jurisdiction of this Government. It next secured for Slavery another recognition under the Federal Government, in the broad territory of Louisiana, purchased from France. It next placed Slavery again under the sanction of the Federal Govern ment, in the territory of Florida, purchased from Spain. Waxing powerful, it was able, after a severe struggle, to dictate terms to the Federal Government, in the Missouri Compromise, compel ling it to receive that State into the Union with a slave-holding Con stitution. It instigated and carried on a most expensive war in Florida, mainly to recover fugitive slaves, thus employing the army of the United States as slave-catchers. It wrested from Mexico the Province of Texas in order to extend Slavery, and triumphing over all opposition, finally secured its admission into the Union with a Constitution making Slavery perpetual. It next plunged the country in war with Mexico, in order to gain new lands for Slavery. With the meanness, as well as the insolence of tyranny, it has com pelled the Federal Government to abstain from acknowledging the USURPATIONS OF SLAVERY. 65 neighbor republic of Hayti, where slaves have become freemen, and established an independent nation. It has compelled the Federal Government to stoop ignobly and in vain, before the British Queen, to secure compensation for slaves, who, in the exercise of the natural rights of man, had asserted and achieved their Freedom on the Atlantic ocean, and afterwards sought shelter in Bermuda. It has compelled the Federal Government to seek to negotiate treaties for the surrender of fugitive slaves, thus making it assert pro perty in human flesh. It has joined in declaring the foreign slave trade piracy, but insists upon the coastwise slave tiade, with the sanction of the Federal Government. For several years it rejected the petitions to Congress adverse to Slavery, thus, in order to shield Slavery, practically denying the right of petition. It denies to the free colored citizens of Massachusetts the privileges secured to them tinder the Constitution of the United States, by im prisoning them, and sometimes selling them into Slavery. It insulted and exiled from Charleston and New Orleans, the honored representatives of Massachusetts who were sent to those places in order to throw the shield of the Constitution over her colored citizens. It has, by the pen of Mr. Calhoun, as Secretary of State, in formal dispatches, made the Republic stand before the nations of the earth as the vindicator of Slavery. It has put forth the hideous effrontery that Slavery can go to all new ly acquired territories, and have the protection of the national flag. Such are some of the usurpations and aggressions of the Slave Power ! By such steps the Federal Government has been perverted from its original purposes, its character changed, and its powers subjected to Slavery. It is pitiful to see Freedom suffer at any time from any hands. It is doubly pitiful when she suffers from a Government, whose earliest energies were inspired by her breath, and who learned by her teachings to be strong. So the struck eagle, stretched upon the plain, No more through rolling clouds to soar again, Viewed his own feather on the fatal dart, And winged the shaft that quivered in his heart. 5 66 DEGRADING INFLUENCE OF SLAVERY. Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel, He nursed the pinion which impelled the steel, While the same plumage that had warmed his nest Drank the last life-drop of his bleeding breast. A frightful, but a true picture, is drawn of the evils of slavery, where it existed ; not least of which was that for the husband and wife there is no marriage. The o mother has no assurance that her infant child will not be torn from her breast, since for all who bear the name of Slave, there is nothing which they can call their own. But the bondman is not the only sufferer he does not sit alone, in his degradation. By his side is his master, who, in the debasing influences on his own soul, is compelled to share the degradation to which he dooms his fel low-man. " He must be a prodigy," says Jefferson, " who can retain ihis manners and morals undepraved by such circumstances." And this :is not all. The whole social fabric is disorganized ; labor loses its dig- mity ; industry sickens ; education finds no schools ; religion finds no churches ; and all the land of Slavery is impoverished. The address then reaches the main question, that was soon to be determined, and which constituted the rally- ing-cry of the rising Party. Shall Slavery be extended ? And now at last the Slave Power threat ens to carry Slavery to the vast regions of New Mexico and California, existing territories of the United States, already purged of this evil by the express legislation of the recent Mexican government. It is the immediate urgency of this question that has contributed to arouse the Country to the successive aggressions of the Slave Power, and to its undue influence over the Federal Government. This is without doubt the most pressing form in which the Great Issue can be presented. Nor can it be exaggerated. These territories, excluding Oregon, embrace upwards of five hundred thousand square miles. The im mensity of this tract may be partially comprehended, when we con sider that Massachusetts contains only 7,800 miles, all New Eng- THE REMEDY SLAVERY PROHIBITION. 6/ land only 66,280, and all the original thirteen States, which declared independence, only 352,000. And the distinct question is presented, whether the Federal Government shall carry to this imperial region the curse of Slavery, with its monstrous brood of ignorance, poverty, and degradation; or Freedom, with her attendant train of blessings. The only remedy that can be applied : It thus be came plain enough, that in order to secure freedom in the Territories, slavery there must be prohibited by an Act of Congress. A direct Prohibition by Congress necessary to prevent Extension of Slavery. An attempt has been made to divert attention from this question, by denying the necessity of legislation by Congress to pre vent the extension of Slavery to California, on the ground that the climate and physical condition of the territory furnish natural obstacles to its existence there. This is a weak device of the enemy. It is well known that Slavery did exist there for many years, until excluded by law, that California lies in the same range of latitude as the Slave States of the Union, and it may be added also, as the Barbary States of Africa, that the mineral wealth of California creates a demand for slave labor, which would overcome any physical obstacles to its intro duction, that slavery has existed in every country from which it was not excluded by the laws or religion of the people, and still further, it is an undeniable fact, that slaves have already been taken into California and publicly sold there at enormous prices, and thousands are now on thJr way thither from the Southern States and from South America. In support of this last statement numerous authorities, might be adduced. It is stated that a member of Congress from Tennessee has recently declared, that, within his own knowledge, there would be taken to California, during the summer just passed, from ten to twelve thousand slaves. And another person states, from reliable evidence, that whole families are moving with their slaves from Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. Mr. Rowe, under date of May 13, at Independence, Mo., on his way to the Pacific, writes to the paper, of which he was recently the editor, the Belfast Journal, Maine, "1 have seen as many as a dozen teams going along with their families of slaves" And Mr. Boggs, once Governor of Missouri, now a resident of California, is quoted as writing to a friend at home as follows, " If your sons will bring out two or three negroes, who can cook and attend at a hotel, 68 THE WILMOT PROVISO. your brother will pay cash for them at a good profit, and take it as a great favor." The Wilmot Proviso next receives the notice of the address. An obscure member of Congress from the State of Pennsylvania, but who became a powerful champion of the new Party, had introduced a resolution prohibiting the extension of slavery over soil then free. This measure was earnestly endorsed, in the following words : To the end that the country and the age may not witness the foul sin of a Republic dedicated to Freedom, pouring into vast unsettled lands, as into the veins of an infant, the festering poison of Slavery, destined as time advances, to show itself only in cancers and leprous disease, we pledge ourselves to unremitting endeavors to procure the passage of the Wilmot Proviso, or some other form of Congressional legisla tion, prohibiting slavery in the territories, without equivocation or com promise of any kind. But the Worcester men advanced still further, and pressed upon the public the question of moral responsi bility in "opposition to Slavery wherever we are respon sible for it" standing upon the ground of principle that Slavery is wrong" ; that no human legislation can elevate into respectability the blasphemy of tyranny, that man can hold property in his fellow-man : Wherever we are responsible for Slavery, we oppose it. Our oppo sition is co-extensive with our responsibility. In the States, Slavery is sustained by local laws ; and although we may be compelled to share the stigma which its presence inflicts upon the fair fame of the country, yet it receives no direct sanction at our hands. We are not responsible for it there. The Federal Government, in whom we are represented, is not responsible for it there. The evil is not at our own particular doors. But Slavery everywhere under the Constitution of the United States everywhere under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government everywhere under the national flag is at our own par- GOVERNMENT MUST FAVOR FREEDOM. 69 ticular doors. The freemen of the North are responsible for it equally with the traffickers in flesh, who haunt the shambles of the South. Nor will this responsibility cease, so long as Slavery continues to exist in the District of Columbia, in any territories of the United States, or anywhere on the high seas, beneath the protecting flag of the Republic. The fetters of every slave within these jurisdictions are bound and clasped in part by the votes of Massachusetts. Their chains, as they clank, seem to say, " Massachusetts helps commit this outrage." They were not satisfied with even a complete " Di vorce of the Federal Government from Slavery " that it should no longer receive its sanction or support : Federal Government must be on the side of Freedom. In accom plishing these specific changes, a new tone would be given to the Re public. The Slave Power would be broken, and. Slavery driven from its present intrenchments under the Federal Government. The influ ence of such a change would be incalculable. The whole weight of the Government would then be taken from the side of Slavery, where it has been placed by the Slave Power, and put on the side of Freedom, according to the original purposes and aspirations of its founders. This of itself is an end for which we should labor earnestly, in the spirit of the Constitution. Let it never be forgotten, as the pole-star of our policy, that the Federal Government must be placed openly, actively and perpetually, on the side of Freedom. // must be openly on the side of Freedom. There must be no equivo cation, concealment, or reserve in its opinions. It must not, like the witches in Macbeth, "palter in a double sense." Let it avow itself dis tinctly and firmly as the enemy of Slavery, and thus give to the friends of Freedom, now struggling throughout the Slave States, the advantage of its countenance. // must be actively on the side of Freedom. It should not be content with bearing its testimony openly. It must act. Within the constitu tional sphere of its influence, it must be felt as the enemy of Slavery. Let it now study to exert itself for Freedom as zealously and effectively as for many years it has exerted itself for slavery. It must be perpetually on the side of Freedom. It must not be un certain, vacillating or temporary, in this beneficent policy. Let it be 70 TAYLOR S ADMINISTRATION CONDEMNED. fixed and constant in its hostility to Slavery, so that hereafter it shall know no change. Other national matters engaged the attention of the Convention, such as cheap postage ; the abolition of all unnecessary offices and salaries ; the election of civil officers, as far as practicable, by the people ; the im provement of rivers and harbors, and a general Home stead Law for actual settlers. But these were all of a subordinate character. The administration of Gen. TAYLOR having now com menced, its Pro-slavery character was severely exposed, in the following passage : In support of these principles, we felt it our duty to oppose the elec tion of General Cass and General Taylor both of them being brought forward under the influence of the Slave Power ; the first, as openly pledged against the Wilniot Proviso, and the second, as a large slave holder and recent purchaser of slaves, who was not known, by any acts or declared opinions, to be hostile in any way to Slavery, or even against its extension, and who, from his position, and from the declara tions of many of his friends and neighbors, was supposed to be friendly to that institution. General Taylor was elected by the people. And now, while it becomes all to regard his administration with candor, we cannot forget our duty to the cause which has brought us together. His most ardent supporters will not venture the assertion, that his con duct will bear the test of the principles of our party. We look in vain for any token that the Federal Government, while in his hands, will be placed, openly, actively, and perpetually, on the side of Freedom. In deed, all that his " Free Soil " supporters vouchsafe, in his behalf, is the assurance, that the "Second Washington" will not assume the respon sibility, if the Wilmot Proviso should receive the sanction of both branches of Congress, if it should prevail in the House of Representa tives, and then, in that citadel of slavery, the American Senate of ar resting its final passage by the Presidential Veto ! This is all. The first Washington freely declared his affinity with Anti-Slavery Societies, and said, that in support of any legislative measure for the abolition of Slavery, HIS SUFFRAGE SHOULD NEVER BE WANTING. ITS PRO SLAVERY CHARACTER. 71 But the character of the Administration may be inferred from other circumstances. First. The Slave Power continues to hold its lion s share in the cabinet, and in the diplomatic posts abroad, thus ruling the country at home, and representing it in foreign lands. The number of votes cast in the Slave States, exclusive of South Carolina, where the electors are chosen by the Legislature, at the last Presidential election, was 845,050, while the number of votes cast in the Free States was 2,027,006. And yet there are four persons in the cabinet from the Slave States, and three only from the Free States, while a slave-holding President presides over all. The diplomatic representation of the country at Paris, St. Petersburg, Vienna, the Hague, Brussels, Frank fort, Madrid, Lisbon, Naples, Chili, Mexico, is now confided to persons from Slave-holding States ; and at Rome, our Republic is represented by the son of the great adversary of the Wilmot Proviso, and in Berlin, by a late Senator, who was rewarded with this high appointment in con sideration of his services to Slavery ; while the principles of Freedom abroad are confined to the anxious care of the recently appointed Minister to England. But this is not all. Secondly. The administra tion, through one of its official organs at Washington, has made the President threaten to "frown indignantly" upon the movements of the friends of Freedom at the North, though he has had no word of indig nation, and no frown, for the schemes of disunion openly put forth by the friends of Slavery at the South. Thirdly. Mr. Clayton, as Secre tary of State, in defiance of justice, and in mockery of the principles of the Declaration of Independence, has refused a national passport to a free-colored citizen, alleging that by a rule of his Department, pass ports are not granted to colored persons. In marked contrast are the laws of Massachusetts, recognizing such persons as citizens ; and also those words of gratitude and commendation, in which General Jackson, after the battle of New Orleans, addressed the black soldiers who had shared, with a " nobl e enthusiasm," "the perils and glory of their white fellow-citizens." Fourthly. The Post-Office Department, in a formal communication with regard to what are called "incendiary publica tions," has stated that the Postmaster-General "leaves the whole sub ject to the discretion of Postmasters under the authority of State Gov ernments." Here is no word of indignation at the idea that the mails of the United States are exposed to lawless interruption from the parti sans of Slavery. The Post-Office, intrusted to a son of New England, assumes an abject neutrality, when the letters intrusted to its care are rifled at the instigation of the Slave Power. 72 A NATIONAL PARTY NECESSARY. The necessity of a national organization is strongly insisted upon. Such is the national position of the Free Democracy. We are a national party, established for national purposes, such as can be accom plished by a national party only. If the principles, which we have at heart, were supported openly, actively, constantly, by either of the other parties, there would be no occasion for our organization. But what ever may have been, or whatever may now be, the opinions of individ ual members of these parties, it is undeniable that, as national parties, they have never opposed Slavery in any form. Neither of them has ever sustained any measure for the abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, but, on the other hand, discountenanced all such measures. Neither of them has ever opposed, in any form, the coastwise slave trade under the flag of the United States. Neither of them has opposed the extension of Slavery. Neither of them has ever striven to divorce the Federal Government from Slavery. Neither of them has ever labored to place the Federal Government openly, actively, and perpet ually on the side of Freedom. Nor is there any assurance, satisfactory to persons not biassed by their political associations, that either of these organizations will ever, as a national party, undertake the cause of Freedom. There are circumstances in the very constitution of these parties which render it difficult, if not impossible, for them to act in this behalf. Constructed subtly with a view to political success, they are spread every where throughout the Union, and the principles which they uphold are pruned and modified to meet existing states of sentiment in different parts of the country. Neither can venture, as a party, to place itself on the side of Freedom, because, by such a course, it would disaffect the slave-holding support, which is essential to its political success. The Anti-slavery resolutions, passed by the legislatures of the North, are regarded as the expressions of individual or local opinion only, and are not suffered to control the action of the national party. To such an extent has this been carried, that Whigs of Massachusetts, professing immitigable hostility to Slavery, recently united in support of a candi date for the Presidency, in whose behalf the eminent slave-holding Whig, Mr. Berrien, had " implored his fellow-citizens of Georgia, Whig and Democratic, to forget for a time their party divisions, and to know each other only as Southern men." Fellow-citizens, Individuals in each of the old parties strove in vain FREE-SOILISM not SECTIONALISM. 73 to. produce a change, and to induce them to become the exponents of the growing Anti-slavery sentiments of the country. At Baltimore and Philadelphia, in the great Conventions of these parties, Slavery tri umphed. So strongly were they both arrayed against Freedom, and so unrelenting were they, in ostracism of its generous supporters of all who had written or spoken in its behalf that it is not going too far to say, that if Jefferson, or Franklin, or Washington could have descended from their spheres above, and revisited the country which they had nobly dedicated to Freedom, they could not, with their well-known and recorded opinions against Slavery, have received a nomination for the Presidency from either of these Conventions ! To maintain the principles of Freedom, as they have been set forth in this Address, it becomes necessary to borrow a lesson from the old parties to learn from them the importance of perseverance, union, and especially of a distinct political organization in their support and, pro fiting by these instructions, to direct the efforts of the Friends of Free dom everywhere throughout the country into this channel. The charge of sectionalism against the Free-soilers is thus repelled : Our aim is in no respect sectional, but in every respect national. It is in no respect against the South, but against the Evil Spirit, whose chief home is at the South, that has obtained the control of the Govern ment. As well might it be said that Jefferson, Franklin, and Washing ton were sectional, and against the South. It is true that at present a large portion of the party are at the North ; but if our cause is sectional on this account, then is the Tariff sectional, because its chief supporters are also in the North. Unquestionably there is a particular class of individuals against whom we are obliged to act. These are the slave-masters, wherever situated throughout the country, constituting, according to recent calculations, not many more than 100,000 in all. This band has for years acted against the whole country, and subjugated it to Slavery. Surely it does not become them, or their partisans, to complain that an effort is now made to rally the whole country against their tyranny. There are many who forget that the larger portion of the people at the South are non- slaveholders, interested equally with ourselves nay, more than we are in the overthrow of that power which has so long dictated its disas trous and discreditable policy to the Government. To these we may 74 SAME PRINCIPLES IN STATE ELECTIONS. ultimately look for support, so soon as our Movement is able to furnish them with the needful hope and strength. If at the present moment our efforts shall seem in any respect sec tional or against the South, it is simply because the chief opponents of our principles are there. But our principles are not sectional they are applicable to the whole Union nay more, to all the human race. They are as universal as Man. The inquiry was everywhere made, " Why carry the question of Slavery into State elections, since at the North we have no laws to enact on the subject?" It is thus answered : It is our duty so to cast our votes on all occasions, as most to pro mote the principles which we have at heart. And it would be wrong in us to disregard the experience of political history, both at home and abroad, which teaches that it is through the constant, well directed or ganization of party, that these can be best maintained. The influence which has already been exerted by our Movement over both the old parties, and over the general sentiment of the country, affords additional encouragement. And still further, assuming what few will be so hardy as to deny, that it is proper for people to combine in parties to promote their cherished convictions, it follows, as an irresistible consequence, that this combination should be so made as to be most effective for the purpose in view. What is worth doing, is worth well doing. If men unite in constructing the powerful and complex machine of a political organization, it must be rendered complete, and thoroughly competent to do its work. This will be admitted by all. Fellow-citizens, the question again returns, " Are you for Freedom, or are you for Slavery?" If you are for Freedom, do not hesitate to support the National party dedicated to this cause. The Address closes with the following appeal : Fellow-citizens : Such are our principles, and such our candidates. Join us in their support. Join us, all who love Freedom and hate Slavery. Join us, all who cherish the Constitution and the Union. Help us in our endeavors to restore to them their early virtue. Join us, all who reverence the memory of the fathers of the Republic, and would have their spirit once more animate the land. Join us, all who RIGHTS OF COLORED PEOPLE TO EDUCATION. /5 would have the Federal Government administered in the spirit of Freedom, and not in the spirit of Slavery. The occasion is urgent. Active, resolute exertions must be made. It will not become the sons of the Pilgrims, and the sons of the Revolution, to be neutral in this contest. Such was not the temper of their fathers. In such a contest neutrality is treason to Human Rights. In questions merely political, an honest man may stand neuter ; but what true heart can be neuter, when the distinct question is put, which we now address to the people of Massachusetts, "Are you for Freedom, or are you for Slavery ?" Finally, we appeal to the moral and religious sentiments of the Commonwealth. When these are fully moved, there can be no ques tion of the result. We invoke the sympathy of the pulpit in our cause. Let it preach deliverance to the captive. We call upon good men, of all sects and of all parties, to lend us their support. You all agree in our PRINCIPLES. Do not practically oppose them, by continuing your adhesion to a national party that is hostile to them. Join us in pro claiming them through the new Party of Freedom. And may God, whose service is perfect freedom, grant his succor to our cause ! XII. At this early period in the struggle between Slavery and Freedom, Mr. Sumner, who was always thorough and practical in the application of principle, to every act, and on every occasion, appeared before the Su preme Court of Massachusetts, in the case of Sarah C. Roberts vs. The City of Boston. The object of this suit was, to have some decision of a Court of Final Appeal, which should determine the civil rights of the Colored people of the State. This was the most powerful and exhaustive argument in behalf of the equality of every human being before the Law of Equity, which is the law of nature, and the law of God, that had then been pronounced, and it has never been equalled. It settled the question in Massa- 76 HIS DEMOCRATIC CHRISTIAN SOUL. chusetts, as it has since been virtually established throughout the country. Even Mr. Sumner never was obliged to elucidate the subject again. It constituted the first great charter ever distinctly drawn up in favor of the equal right of the Colored people of the United States to education and the corresponding privileges that grow out of it, with all other citizens. The argu ment in Equity stands upon the eternal basis of justice. No reply has ever been attempted against it as an argu ment in Law ; and wherever its principles come in con flict with municipal statutes, those statutes are arbitrary, and on appeal to Courts of Final Jurisdiction, will, in every free country, be overthrown. It will be seen, in Mr. Sumner s subsequent career, how fully he conformed his life and official acts to the high standard he had raised. He carried out every one of those principles to their logical conclusion, never deviating, even in the smallest thing, from the courtesies which they implied. He lived a large and generous life ; he moved in the best society, at home and abroad : his companions were the most illustrious men living. But in no instance so genuinely democratic, and so purely Christian was his soul, did he ever give the slightest countenance to that principle of unjust Caste which, in this argument, he so mercilessly condemned. In this respect, he has probably had no equal among his countrymen. His ex ample more perfectly illustrated the principles he advo cated than that of any other man ; and he certainly had a higher and broader field for their exemplification than almost any other public character of his times was favored with. Considering the time when this argument was made the heavy structure of Southern slavery still unshaken OSTRACISM OF THE COLORED RACE. 77 the dark cloud of prejudice against the African race hanging still undispelled over the whole North the race itself, without exception, ostracised from the pale of Northern charity, from the precincts of Northern justice, from the sacred amenities of Northern homes, from the priceless advantages of Northern education, exiled from every scene of social amusement and culture, shut out from theatres, from lecture-rooms, from univer sities, from all schools of higher education excluded from the learned professions condemned everywhere to the most menial and degrading offices, nowhere allow ed to enter the charmed circle of a common brotherhood of a universal humanity banished absolutely from all the sunlight of civilization, and all the sympathies of earth and spurned from every covert of refuge except the bosom of Almighty God ! Such was the condition of this doomed race such was the defender they found in Charles Sumner, and such the argument he delivered before the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. It reads now, except to the young, who were fortunate enough to be born in better days of the Re public, where they have escaped much of the contami nation of that spirit of Caste that so deeply clouded our young days, like a thrice-told tale. It seems but a tame enunciation of axioms no longer disputed. Ah ! thank God, there is some truth in this. But let the young go back, if it be to gain but a faint impression of the hard road the colored people have had to tread in reaching this better day ; and they may half conceive how many a wounded spirit, like Charles Sumner s, bled in secret sorrow, with hearts grown sore in waiting for the emancipation of an enslaved race. Then will they cease to wonder that to their salvation the great Senator 78 TRIAL BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT. so unreservedly dedicated his life. Then will they learn why his name will be mentioned with veneration by their latest posterity why he is to them, even now, the best beloved name in all history. He opened his argument by asking the Court : " Can any discrimination on account of color, or race, be made, under the Constitution and laws of Massachusetts, among the children entitled to the benefits of our Public Schools ? This is the question which the Court is now to hear, to consider, and to decide." There had been a long controversy on the subject, and a great deal of angry debate had, for five years, been witnessed in the School Committee. The controversy had been heated and virulent. It was now to be deter mined for the first time before a judicial tribunal, in an action by a colored child, only five years old, who, by her next friend, sued the City of Boston for damages, on ac count of a refusal to receive her into one of the Public Schools. It would be difficult to imagine any case which could appeal more strongly to your best judgment, whether you regard the parties or the subject. On the one side is the city of Boston, strong in its wealth, in its influence, in its character ; on the other side is a little child, of a degraded color, of humble parents, still within the period of natural in fancy, but strong from her very weakness, and from the irrepressible sympathies of good men, which, by a divine compensation, come to succor the weak. This little child asks at your hands her personal rights. So doing, she calls upon you to decide a question which con cerns the personal rights of other colored children ; which concerns the Constitution and Laws of the Commonwealth ; which concerns that peculiar institution of New England, the Common Schools ; which con cerns the fundamental principles of human rights ; which concerns the Christian character of this community. Such parties, and such inte rests, so grand and various, may justly challenge your most earnest attention. ALL MEN EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW. 79 The great principle involved in this case, I shall first exhibit in the Constitution of Massachusetts, next in the legislation, and then in the judicial decisions. I shall then consider the special circumstances of this case, and show the violation of the Constitution and Laws, by the School Committee of Boston answering, before I close, some of the grounds on which their conduct has been vindicated. I. I begin with the principle, that, according to the spirit of Ameri can institutions, and especially of the Constitution of Massachusetts, all me?t, without distinction of color or race, are equal before the law. I might, perhaps, leave this proposition without one word of com ment. The Equality of men will not be directly denied on this occa sion. But that we may better appreciate its character and its limita tions, let me develop with some care the origin and growth of this sentiment, until it finally ripened into a formula of civil and political right. The sentiment of Equality among men was early cherished by gener ous souls. It showed itself in the dreams of ancient philosophy. It was declared by Seneca ; when writing to a friend a letter of consola tion on death, he said, Prima enim pars Equitatis est Equalitas. (Epist. 30.) The first part of Equity is Equality. But it was enun ciated with persuasive force in the truths of the Christian Religion. Here we learn that God is no respecter of persons ; that he is the father of all ; and that we are all his children, and brethren to each other. When the Saviour taught the Lord s prayer, he taught the sublime doc trine of the Brotherhood of Mankind, infolding the Equality of men. Slowly did this sentiment enter the State. The whole constitution of government in modern times was inconsistent with it. An hereditary monarchy, an order of nobility, and the complex ranks of superiors and inferiors established by the feudal system, all declared, not the Equality, but the inequality of men, and they all conspired to perpetu ate this inequality. Every infant of royal blood, every noble, every vassal, was a present example, that, whatever might be the truths of religion, or the sentiments of the heart, men living under these institu tions were not born equal. The boldest political reformers of early times did not venture to proclaim this truth ; nor did they truly perceive it. Cromwell be headed his king, but caused the supreme power to be secured in heredi tary succession to his eldest son. It was left to John Milton, in poetic vision, to be entranced With fair Equality, fraternal state. Sidney, who perished a martyr to liberal sentiments, drew his inspira- 80 THE ENCYCLOPEDIE D ALEMBERT DIDEROT. tion from the classic, and not from the Christian fountains. The exam ples of Greece and Rome fed his soul. The Revolution of 1688, partly by force} and partly by the popular voice, brought a foreigner to the crown of Great Britain, and according to the boast of loyal English men, the establishment of Freedom throughout the land. But the Bill of Rights did not declare, nor did the genius of Somers or Maynard conceive the political axiom, that all men are born equal. It may find acceptance in our day from individuals in England ; but it is disowned by English institutions. It is to France that we must pass for the earliest development of this idea, for its amplest illustration, and for its most complete, accurate, and logical expression. In the middle of the last century appeared the renowned Encyclopedic^ edited by D Alembert and Diderot. This re markable production, where science, religion, and government were all discussed with a revolutionary freedom, contains an article on Equality, which was published in 1755. Here we find the boldest expression that had then been given to this sentiment. " Natural Equality," says the Encyclopedia, "is that which exists between all men by the constitution of their nature only. This Equality is the principle and the foundation of liberty. Natural or moral equality is then founded upon the constitu tion of human nature, common to all men, who are born, grow, sub sist, and die in the same manner. Since human nature finds itself the same in all men, it is clear, that, according to nature s law, each ought to esteem and treat the others as beings who are naturally equal to himself; that is to say, who are men as well as himself." When we consider the period at which this article was written, we shall be astonished less by its incompleteness and vagueness, than by its bravery and generosity. The dissolute despotism of Louis XV. overshadowed France. Selfish nobles and fawning courtiers filled the royal antechambers. The councils of Government were controlled by royal mistresses. Only a few years before, in 1751, the King had founded, in defiance of the principles of Equality, but in entire har mony with the conduct of the School Committee in Boston a military school, for nobles only, carrying into education the distinction of Caste. At such a period the Encyclopedia did well in uttering such important and effective truth. The sentiment of Equality was here fully declared. Nor should we be disappointed, that, at this early day, even the boldest philosophers did not adequately perceive, or if they perceived, did not dare to utter, our axiom of liberty, that all men are born equal, in civil and political rights. ORIGIN OF EQUALITY AMONG MEN. 8 1 He pays a touching tribute to Jean Jacques Rousseau that solitary person, poor, of humble extraction, born in Switzerland, of irregular education and life, enjoying a temporary home in France, a man of audacious genius, who set at naught the received opinions of mankind ! His earliest appearance before the public was by an eccentric Essay on the Origin of Inequality among Men, in which he sustained the irra tional paradox, that men are happier in a state of nature than under the laws of civilization. This was followed by a later work, the Social Con tract. In both of these productions, the sentiment of Equality was invoked against many of the abuses of society, and language was employed going far beyond Equality in Civil and Political Rights. The conspicuous position, since awarded to the speculations of Rousseau, and the influence they have exerted in diffusing this sentiment, make it proper to refer to them on this occasion ; but the absence of precision in his propositions renders him an uncertain guide. He next seizes hold of the French Revolution, which he finely calls " that great movement for enfranchise ment ; " it was the expression of this same sentiment- There it received a distinct and authoritative annuncia tion; for, in the successive Constitutions adopted amidst the throes of those bloody struggles, the Equality of men was always proclaimed. In this sweeping wave went away Nobles, and Kings, and all distinctions of birth they could not withstand so mighty and triumphant a. truth. The Constitution of 1791 declares in its first article as follows : " Men are born and continue free and equal in their rights" In its sixth ar ticle it says : "The law is the expression of the general will. It ought to be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens be ing equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all dignities, places, and public employments according to their capacity, and without other dis tinction than their virtues and talents" At the close of the Declaration of Rights there is this further explanation of it : " The National Assem- 82 CONDORCET S DECLARATION. bly, wishing to establish the French Constitution on principles which it has just acknowledged and declared, abolishes irrevocably the institutions which bounded liberty and equality of rights. There is no longer, neither nobility, nor peerage, nor hereditary distinctions, nor distinction of order, nor feudal rule, nor patrimonial justices, nor any titles, denominations and prerogatives, which were thence derived, nor any order of chivalry, nor any corporations or decorations, for which proofs of nobility are re quired, or which supposed distinctions of birth, nor any other superiority than that of public functionaries in discharge of their functions. * * * There is no longer, for any part of the nation, nor for any individual, any privilege or exception to the law, common to all Frenchmen." (Moni- teur, 1791, No. 259.) The Declaration of Rights of Condorcet Feb. 15, 1793 contained fresh inculcations of the Equality of men, Article 8th saying: " The Law ought to be equal for all" " Instruction is the need of all, and society owes it equally to all its members." The natural and imprescriptible rights of men are " Equality, liberty, safety, property." And in the next article it shows what is meant by Equality. It says, "All men are equal by nature, and before the law" (Maniteur, 1793, No. 178.) Here we first meet this form of definition. .At a Later day, after France had passed through an unprecedented series of political vicissitudes, in some of which the rights of Equality had been trampled under foot, when, at the revolution of 1830. Louis .Philippe was called to a" throne surrounded by republican institutions," the charter then promulgated repeated this phrase. In its first article it. declared, "that Frenchmen are equal before the law, whatever may may be their titles or ranks." While recognizing this peculiar enunciation of the Equality of men, as. more specific and satisfactory than the naked statement that all men are borne equal, it is impossible not to be reminded that this form of speech finds its prototype in the ancient Greek language. In the his tory of Herodotus, we are told that "the government of the many has the most beautiful name of iVovojuu a " or Equality before the law. (Book 3, 80.) Thus this remarkable language, by its comprehensive ness and flexibility, in an age when Equality before the law was practi- .caUy unknown, nevertheless supplied a single word, which is not to be DECLARATIONS OF RIGHTS IN FRANCE. 83 found in modern tongues, to express an idea which has been practically recognized only in modern times. Such a word in our own language, as a substitute for Equality, might have superseded some of the criticism to which this political doctrine has been exposed. After this review, the way is now prepared to consider the nature of Equality, as secured by the Constitution of Massachusetts. The De claration of Independence, which was put forth after the French Ency clopedia, and the political writings of Rousseau, places among self- evident truths this proposition, " That all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The Constitution of Massachusetts repeats the same idea in a different form. In the first article it says : " All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties." The sixth section further explains the doctrine of Equality. It says : " No man, nor corporation, or association of men, have aity other title to obtain advantages, or particular and exclusive privileges, distinct from those of the community, than what arises from the consideration of ser~ vices rendered to the public ; and this title being in nature neither hereditary, nor transmissible to children, or descendants, or relations by blood, the idea of a man being born a magistrate, lawgiver, or judge, is absurd and unnatural." The language here employed, in its natural signification, condemns every form of inequality, in civil and political institutions. Though these declarations preceded, in point of time, the ampler de clarations of Erance, they may, if necessary, be construed in the light of the latter. It is evident that they aim to declare substantially the same things. They are declarations of Rights, and the language em ployed, though general in its character, is obviously to be restrained to those matters which are within the design and sphere of a declaration of Rights. It is a childish sophism to adduce in argument against them the physical or mental inequalities by which men are characterized. It is a palpable truth, that men are not born equal in physical strength, or in mental capacities ; in beauty of form or health of body. Diversity or inequality, in these respects, is the law of creation. From this dif ference springs divine harmony. But this inequality is in no particular inconsistent with a complete civil and political equality. The equality declared by our fathers in 1776, and made the funda mental law of Massachusetts in 1780, was Equality before the law. 84 RIGHTS OF ALL TO SCHOOLS. Its object was to efface all political or civil distinctions, and to abolish all institutions founded upon birth. " All men are created equal," says the Declaration of Independence. " All men are born free and equal," says the Massachusetts Bill of Rights. These are not vain words. Within the sphere of their influence no person can be created, no per son can be born, with civil or political privileges, not enjoyed equally by all his fellow-citizens ; nor can any institution be established recog nizing any distinctions of birth. Here is the Great Charter of every human being drawing his vital breath upon this soil, whatever may be his condition, and whoever may be his parents. He may be poor, weak, humble, black he may be of Caucasian, of Jewish, of Indian, or of Ethiopian race he may be of French, of German, of English, of Irish extraction but before the Constitution of Massachusetts all these distinctions disappear. He is not poor, or weak, or humble, or black nor Caucasian, nor Jew, nor Indian, nor Ethiopian nor French, nor German, nor English, nor Irish ; he is a MAN, the equal of all his fellow-men. He is one of the children of the State, which, like an im partial parent, regards all its offspring with an equal care. To some it may justly allot higher duties, according to their higher capacities, but it welcomes all to its equal, hospitable board. The State, imitating the divine justice, is no respecter of persons. II. I now pass to the second stage of this argument, and ask atten tion to a further proposition. The Legislature of Massachusetts, in entire harmony with the Constitution, has made no discrimination of color or race, in the establishment of Public Schools. If such discrimination were made by the Laws, they would be uncon stitutional and void. But the legislature of Massachusetts has been too just and generous, too mindful of the Bill of Rights, to establish any such privilege of birth. The language of the statutes is general, and applies equally to all children, of whatever color or race. The provisions of the law regulating this subject are entitled, Of the Public Schools. (Revised Statutes, ch. 23.) The first section provides, that in " Every town containing fifty fami lies, or householders, there shall be kept in each year, at the charge of the town, by a teacher or teachers of competent ability and good morals, one school for the instruction of children in Orthography, Read ing, Writing, English Grammar, Geography, Arithmetic and Good Be havior, for the term of six months, or two or more such schools for terms of time that shall together be equivalent to six months." The 2d, 3d, and 4th sections provide for the number of such schools to be COURTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 85 kept in other towns having more than five hundred inhabitants. The language here employed does not recognize any discrimination of color or race. Thus in every town, whether there be one or more schools, they are all to be " schools for the instruction of children" generally not children of any particular class, or color, or race, but children, meaning the children of the town where the schools are. The 5th and 6th sections provide for the establishment, in certain cases, of a school, in which additional studies are to be pursued, "which shall be kept for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the town." Here the language not only does not recognize any discrimination among the children, but seems directly to exclude it. In conformity with these sections is the peculiar phraseology of the memorable law of the Colonies in 1647, founding Public Schools, "to the end that learning be not buried in the graves of our forefathers." This law obliged towns having fifty families "forthwith to appoint one" within their limits " to teach all such children as shall resort to him, to write and read." (Ancient Charters, 186.) III. The Courts of Massachusetts have never recognized any dis crimination, founded on color or race, in the administration of the Public Schools ; but have recognized the equal rights of all the inhabi tants. There are a few decisions only of our Court bearing on this subject, but they all breathe one spirit. The sentiment of Equality animates them. In the case of Commonwealth v. Davis (6 Mass. R. 146), while declaring the equal rights of all the inhabitants, both in the grammar and district schools, the Court said: "The schools required by the statute are to be maintained for the benefit of the whole town, as it is the wise policy of the law to give all the inhabitants equal privileges for the education of their children in the Public Schools. Nor is it in the power of the majority to deprive the minority of this privilege. * * * * Every inhabitant of the town has a right to participate in the benefits of both descriptions of schools, and it is not competent for a town to establish a grammar school for the benefit of one part of the town to the exclusion of the other, although the money raised for the support of schools may be in other respects fairly apportioned." In the case of Withington v. Eveleth (7 Pick. 106), the Court said, they "were all satisfied that the power given to towns to determine and define the limits of school districts, can be executed only by a geogra phical division of the town for that purpose." A limitation of the dis. trict, which was merely personal, was held invalid. This same principle 86 EXCLUSION OF THE COLORED FROM SCHOOLS. was again recognized in Perry v. Doe (12 Pick. R. 213), where the Court s, y : "Towns, in executing the power to form school districts, are bound so to do it as to include every inhabitant in some of the dis tricts. They cannot lawfully omit any, and thus deprive them of the benefits of our invaluable system of free schools" IV. The exclusion of colored children from the Public Schools, open to white children, is a source of practical inconvenience to them and their parents, to which white persons are not exposed, and is, therefore, a vio lation of Equality. The black and the w/iu e are not equal before the law. In this rule without the exception is seen a part of the beauty of our Public School system. It is the boast of England, that justice, through the multitude of courts, is brought to every man s door. It may also be the boast of our Public School system, that education in Boston, through the multitude of schools, is brought to every white man s door. But it is not brought to every black man s door. He is obliged to go for it to travel for it often a great distance. Surely this is not Equality before the law. Mr. Sumner showed that the inconvenience arising from the exclusion of colored children seriously affected the comfort and condition of the African race in Boston ; that many colored parents, anxious to be near the only two schools open to their children, were compelled to gather in those neighborhoods, as people in Eastern countries come from a distance to rest near a fountain or a well. This is the conduct of a colored parent. He is well deserving of honor for his generous efforts for his children. As they grow in knowl edge, they will rise and call him blessed ; but at the same time they will brand as accursed the arbitrary discrimination of color, in the Pub lic Schools of Boston, which rendered it necessary for their father, out of his small means, to make such sacrifices for their education. Such a grievance, even independent of any stigma from color, calls for redress. It is an inequality which the Constitution and Laws of Massachusetts repudiate. But it is not on the ground of inconvenience only that it is odious. And this brings me to the next point. COLOR--RACE CASTE. 87 He next takes up Caste, for which we must allow liberal space, since it makes so large a portion of the foundation of all human injustice. V. The separation of children in the Public Schools of Boston, on account of color or race, is in the nature of Caste, and, on this account, is a violation of Equality. The facts in this case show expressly that the child was excluded from the school nearest to her dwelling, the number in the school at the time warranting her admission, " on the sole ground of color." The first Majority Report presented to the School Committee, to which reference is made in the statement of facts, gives, with more fulness, the grounds of this discrimination, saying, " It is one of races, not of color, merely. The distinction is one which the Almighty has seen fit to establish, and it is founded deep in the physical, mental, and moral natures of the two races. No legislation, no social customs, can efface this distinction." Words more apt than these to describe the heathen ish relation of Caste, could not be chosen. This will be apparent from the very definition of Caste. This term is borrowed from the Portuguese word casta, which signifies family, breed, race. It has become generally used to designate any hereditary distinction, particularly of race. In India it is most often applied ; and it is there that we must go in order to understand its full force. A recent English writer on the subject says, that it is "not only a distinc tion by birth, but is founded on the doctrine of an essentially distinct origin of the different races, which are thus * unalterably separated." (Roberts on Caste, p. 134.) This is the very ground of the Boston School Committee. But this word is not now applied for the first time to the distinction between the white and black races. Alexander von Humboldt, in speaking of the negroes in Mexico, has characterized them as a Caste, and a recent political and juridical writer of France has used the same term to denote, not only the distinctions in India, but those of our own country. (Charles Comte, Traite de Legislation, torn. 4, pp. 129, 445.) In the course of his remarks, he refers to the exclusion of colored chil dren from the Public Schools, as among "the humiliating and brutal distinctions" by which their caste is characterized. It is, then, on au thority and reason, that we apply this term to the hereditary distinction on account of color, which is established in the Public Schools of Boston. 88 BARBARISM AND CRUELTY OF CASTE. It is when we see this discrimination in this light, that we learn to ap preciate its true character. The Brahmins and the Sudras, in India, from generation to generation, were kept apart. If a Sudra presumed to sit upon a Brahmin s carpet, he was punished with banishment. With a similar inhumanity among us, the black child, who goes to sit on the same benches at school with the white child, is banished, not from the country, but from the school. In both cases it is the triumph of Caste. But the offence is greater with us, because, unlike the Hindoos, we acknowledge that men are born equal. The Advocate cites from high authorities, many illus trations of the cruelty and barbarous character of caste, as it appears in India. Bishop Heber, of Calcutta, characterizes Caste as follows : // is a system which tends, more than any else the devil has yet invented, to destroy the feelings of general benevolence, and to make nine-tenths of mankind the hopeless slaves of the remainder. Bishop Wilson, also of Calcutta, the successor of Heber, says : The Gospel recognizes no such distinctions as those of castes, im posed by a heathen usage, bearing in some respects a supposed religious obligation, condemning those in the lower ranks to perpetual abasement, placing an immovable barrier against all general advance and improve ment in society, cutting asunder the bonds of human fellowship on the one hand, and preventing those of Christian love on the other. Such distinctions, I say, the Gospel does not recognize. On the contrary, it teaches us that God " h ath made of one blood all the nations of men." This is the testimony of a native of Hindostan, converted to Christianity: Caste is the stronghold of that principle of pride which makes a man think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Caste infuses itself into, and forms the very essence of pride itself. Another native speaks as follows : I therefore regard Caste as opposed to the main scope, principles, and doctrines of Christianity; for, either Caste must be admitted to be true and of divine authority, or Christianity must be so admitted. If you admit Caste to be true, the whole fabric of Christianity must come down ; for the nature of Caste and its associations destroy the first principles of Christianity. Caste makes distinction among creatures where God has made none. Disguise it as you will, it is this hatefal ii stitution. But the words Caste and Equality are contradictory. They mutually exclude each other. CHANGE IN THE TIMES. 89 Where Caste is, there cannot be Equality. Where Equality is, the^e cannot be Caste. It is unquestionably true that there is a distinction between the Ethiopian and Caucasian races. But this distinction can furnish no ground for any discrimination before the law. We abjure nobility of all kinds; but here is a nobility of the skin. We abjure all hereditary distinctions ; but here is an hereditary distinc tion, founded not on the merit of the ancestor, but on his color. We abjure all privileges derived from birth ; but here is a privilege which depends solely on the accident, whether an ancestor is black or white. We abjure all inequality before the law ; but here is an inequality which touches not an individual, but a race. We revolt at the relation of Caste ; ttut here is a Caste which is established under a Constitution declaring that all men are born equal. VI. The Committee of Boston, charged with the superintendence of the Public Schools, have no power under the Constitution and Laws of Massachusetts, to make any discrimination on account of color or race, among children in the Public Schools. It has been already seen that this power is inconsistent with the Constitution and Laws of Massachusetts, and with the adjudications of the Supreme Court. The stream cannot rise higher than the fountain- head, and if there be nothing in these elevated sources from which this power can draw its sanction, it must be considered a nullity. He shows still further that the times had changed that Boston people were not living" any longer in an age when they could practise these indignities with impunity. It is clear that the sentiments of the colored people have now changed. The present case, and the deep interest which they manifest in it, thronging the court to hang on this discussion, attest the change. With increasing knowledge, they have learned to know their rights, and to feel the degradation to which they have been doomed. Their present effort is the token of a manly character which this Court will cherish and respect. The spirit of Paul now revives in them, even as when he said, " I am a Roman citizen." But it is said that these separate schools are for the mutual benefit of children of both colors, and of the Public Schools. In similar spirit, Slavery is sometimes said to be for the mutual benefit of master and slave, and of the country where it exists. In the one case there is a go THE GRAND REVELATION OF CHRISTIANITY. mistake as great as in the other. This is clear. Nothing unjust, nothing ungenerous, can be for the benefit of any person, or any thing. Short-sighted mortals may, from some seeming selfish superiority, or from a gratified vanity of class, hope to draw a permanent good ; but even-handed justice rebukes these efforts, and with certain power re dresses the wrong. The whites themselves are injured by the separa tion. Who can doubt this ? With the law as their monitor, the)- are taught to regard a portion of the human family, children of God, created in his image, co-equals in his love, as a separate and degraded class ; they are taught practically to deny that grand revelation of Christianity the Brotherhood of Mankind. Their hearts, while yet tender with childhood, are necessarily hardened by this conduct, and their subse quent lives, perhaps, bear enduring testimony to this legalized un- charitableness. Nursed in the sentiment of Caste, receiving it with the earliest food of knowledge, they are unable to eradicate it from their natures, and then weakly and impiously charge upon their Heavenly Father the prejudice which they have derived from an un christian school, and which they continue to embody and perpetuate in their institutions. Their characters are debased, and they become less fit for the magnanimous duties of a good citizen. The Helots of Sparta were obliged to intoxicate themselves, that they might teach to the children of their masters the deformity of intemper ance. In thus sacrificing one class to the other, both were degraded the imperious Spartan and the abased Helot. But it is with a similar double-edged injustice that the School Committee of Boston have acted, in sacrificing the colored children to the prejudice or fancied advantage of the white. Who can say that this does not injure the blacks? Theirs, in its best estate, is an unhappy lot. Shut out by a still lingering prejudice from many social advantages, a despised class, they feel this pro scription from the Public Schools as a peculiar brand. Beyond this, it .deprives them of those healthful animating influences, which would come from a participation in the studies of their white brethren. It adds to their discouragements. It widens their separation from the rest of the community, and postpones that great day of reconciliation which is sure to come. The whole system of Public Schools suffers also. It is a narrow perception of their high aim, which teaches that they are merely to furnish to all the scholars an equal amount in knowledge, and that, therefore, provided all be taught, it is of little consequence where, and BENEFITS OF ACQUAINTANCE. QI in what company, it be done. The law contemplates not only that they shall all be taught, but that they shall be taught all together. They are not only to receive equal quantities of knowledge, but all are to receive it in the same way. All are to approach together the same common fountain ; nor can there be any exclusive source for any indi vidual or any class. The school is the little world in which the child is trained for the larger world of life. It must, therefore, cherish and develop the virtues and the sympathies employed in the larger world. And since, according to our institutions, all classes meet, without dis tinction of color, in the performance of civil duties, so should they all meet, without distinction of color, in the school beginning there those relations of Equality which our Constitution and Laws promise to all. As the State receives strength from the unity and solidarity of its citizens, without distinction of class, so the school receives new strength from the unity and solidarity of all classes beneath its roof. In this way the poor, the humble, the neglected, share not only the companionship of their more favored brethren, but enjoy also the protection of their presence, in drawing towards the school a more watchful superintendence. A degraded or neglected class, if left to themselves, will become more degraded or neglected. To him that hath shall be given ; and the world, true to these words, turns from the poor and outcast to the rich and fortunate. It is the aim of our system of Public Schools, by the blending of all classes, to draw upon the whole school the attention which is too apt to be given only to the favored few, and thus secure to the poor their portion of the fruitful sunshine. But the colored children, placed apart in separate schools, are deprived of this blessing. He shows with great force how the welfare of classes in all communities, as well as that of individuals, is promoted by mutual acquaintance. The French and English nations, separated only by a narrow channel, across which they can look upon each other s coasts, remained in a state of almost constant hostilities for hundreds of years ; but when the new age came on, with steamers and increased travel, prejudice, the child of ignorance, began to give way ; and as they mingled more and more together, they at last became friends. 92 EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW. May it please your Honors : Such are some of the things which it has occurred to me to say in this important cause. I have occupied much of your time, but I have not yet exhausted the topics. Still, which way soever we turn, we are brought back to one single proposi tion the Equality of men before the law. This stands as the mighty guardian of the rights of the colored children in this case. It is the constant, ever-present, tutelary genius of this Commonwealth, frown ing upon every privilege of birth, upon every distinction of race, upon every institution of Caste. You cannot slight it, or avoid it. You cannot restrain it. God grant that you may welcome it. Do this, and your words will be a "charter and freehold of rejoicing" to a race which, by much suffering, has earned a title to much regard. Your judgment will become a sacred landmark, not in jurisprudence only, but in the history of Freedom, giving precious encouragement to all the weary and heavy-laden wayfarers in this great cause. Massachu setts will then, through you, have a fresh title to regard, and be once more, as in times past, an example to the whole land. You have already banished Slavery from this Commonwealth. I call upon you now to obliterate the last of its footprints, and to banish the last of the hateful spirits in its train, that can be reached by this Court. The law, interfering to prohibit marriages between blacks and whites, has been abolished by the Legislature. The railroads, which, imitating the Boston schools, placed colored people apart by themselves, have been compelled, under the influence of an awakened public sentiment, to abandon this regulation, and to allow them to mingle with other travellers. Only recently I have read that his Excellency, the present Governor of Massachusetts, took his seat in a train by the side of a negro. It is in the Caste schools of Boston that the prejudice of color has sought its final legal refuge. It is for you to drive it forth. You do well when 3-011 rebuke and correct individual offences ; but it is a higher office for to rebuke and correct a vicious institution. Each individual is limited in his influence ; but an institution has the influence of numbers organized by law. The charity of one man may counteract or remedy the un- charitableness of another ; but no individual can counteract or remedy the uncharitableness of an established institution. Against it private benevolence is powerless. It is a monster which must be hunted down by the public, and by the constituted authorities. And such is the in stitution of Caste in the Public Schools of Boston, which now awaits its just condemnation from a just Court. The civilization of the age joins in this appeal. It is well known that this THE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT INVOKED. 93 prejudice of color is peculiar to our country. You have not forgotten that two youths of African blood only recently gained the highest honors in the college at Paris, and dined on the same day with the King of France, the descendant of St. Louis, at the Palace of the Tuileries. And let me add, if I may refer to my own experience, that in Paris, I have sat for weeks, at the School of Law, on the same benches with colored persons, listening, like myself, to the learned lectures of Dege- rando and of Rossi the last is the eminent minister who has unhappily fallen beneath the dagger of a Roman assassin ; nor do I remember observing in the throng of sensitive young men by whom they were sur rounded, any feeling towards them except of companionship and respect. In Italy, at the Convent of Pallazuola, on the shores of the Alban Lake, and on the site of the ancient Alba Longa, I have seen, for several days, a native of Abyssinia, only recently conducted from his torrid home, and ignorant of the language that was spoken about him, yet mingling with the Franciscan friars, whose guest and scholar he was, in delightful and affectionate familiarity. In these examples may be dis cerned the Christian spirit. And, finally, this spirit I invoke. Where this prevails, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, Greek nor barbarian, bond nor free ; but all are alike. From this we derive new and solemn assurances of the Equality of man kind, as an ordinance of God. The bodies of men may be unequal in beauty or strength ; these mortal cloaks of flesh may differ, as do these worldly garments ; these intellectual faculties may vary, as do the op portunities of action and the advantages of position ; but amidst all un essential differences there is an essential agreement and equality. Dives and Lazarus were equal in the sight of God. They must be equal in the sight of all just institutions. But this is not all. The vaunted superiority of the white race im poses upon it corresponding duties. The faculties with which they are endowed, and the advantages which they possess, are to be exercised for the good of all. If the colored people are ignorant, degraded, and unhappy, then should they be the especial objects of your care. From the abundance of your possessions you must seek to remedy their lot. And this Court, which is as a parent to all the unfortunate children of the Commonwealth, will show itself most truly parental, when it reaches down, and, with the strong arm of the law, elevates, encourages, and protects its colored fellow-citizens. 94 WEBSTER S ONLY SUCCESSOR. XIII. But these great efforts of the private citizen were drawing to a close. Mr. SUMNER was soon to be trans ferred to a broader field of effort and power. A radical change had passed over the public mind everywhere, especially in Massachusetts. There the indignation that had been aroused by the passage of the Fugitive Slave Bill can hardly be understood at this day. The vast popularity of DANIEL WEBSTER seemed to vanish in an hour after his speech of the 7th of March. Those words with which he opened that speech in the Senate " I find the Fugitive Slave law in the Constitution, and I take no step backwards " had alienated from him the friends of a lifetime, and slammed the doors of old Faneuil Hall in his face. There was but one man in Massachusetts that could be his successor. That man was CHARLES SUMNER. But before we give an account of his election, and the unforeseen circumstances which attended it, we shall give some extracts from a powerful speech he delivered at the Free-Soil State Convention in Boston, on the 3d of October, 1850, his theme being once more, OUR PRESENT ANTI-SLAVERY DUTIES. The long session of Congress had come to an end ; its members were hurrying to their homes to give an ac count of their stewardship. No man at the North, who had voted for the Fugitive Slave Law, was ever to recover his former popularity. Many of them were to leave public life forever : some with the regrets and the esteem of large minorities ; others with the hostility of former friends, and the contempt of whole communities. Mr. WEBSTER S usefulness, however, was by no means over. He was to vacate the Senate April 24, 1851, and be- WEBSTER S STATESMANSHIP. 95 come Secretary of State, under Mr. FILMORE. His management of our foreign affairs then somewhat com plicated commanded the confidence of the country, and the respect of foreign nations, which still left a broad field for the exercise of his consummate abilities in the public service. But it was felt then, as it was afterwards known, that his course on the Fugitive Slave Bill had been an act of political suicide. On the rock of Slavery the whig party had gone to pieces ; and very few good men regretted its fate. Like some of the convicts of a celebrated judge, it had survived its usefulness, and was put out of the way. The illustrious sage of Marsh- field had given place to the rising young statesman on whose broad shoulders Destiny had fixed the forlorn hope, not only of four million slaves, but perhaps of the Republic of Washington itself. But let us listen to the last trumpet-call to Freedom that CHARLES SUMNER sounded out from the ranks of the people, before he went into the National Councils to lead the crusaders for the recovery of the tomb of the Father of his country from the long and deep disgrace which still overshadowed the soil of Mount Vernon. XIV. Mr. SUMNER opened his speech with the words, "Watchman, what of the night? And well may the question be asked," he said, " for things have occurred, and measures have passed into laws, which fill the day itself into blackness. And yet, there are streaks of light an unwonted dawn in the distant west, out of which a full-orbed sun is beginning to ascend, rejoicing, like a stronor man, to run his race. 96 CALIFORNIA ADMITTED AS A FREE STATE. " California had been admitted to the Union with a Constitution forbidding" slavery. A hateful institution which thus far, without check, had travelled with the power of the Republic westward, was bidden to stop, and a new and rising State guarded from its contamina tion. Freedom in whose hands is the divining rod of magical power, pointing the way not only to wealth un told, but to every possession of virtue and intelligence whose presence is better far than any mine is now at last established in an extensive region on the distant Pacific, between the very parallels of latitude so long claimed by slavery as its peculiar home. Here is a mo ral and political victory : a moral victory inasmuch as Freedom has secured a new foothold where to exert her far-reaching influence ; a political victory also, inasmuch as, by the admission of California, the free States have obtained a majority of votes in the Senate, and the BAL ANCE OF POWER between Freedom and Slavery so pre posterously claimed by the Slave States, in forgetfulness of the true spirit of the Constitution, and in mockery of HUMAN RIGHTS has been overturned. May Free Cali fornia, and her Senators in Congress, never fail hereafter, amidst the trials before us, in loyalty to Freedom ! God forbid that the daughter should turn with ingratitude or neglect from the mother that bore her." Congress had also abolished the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, and banished from the national Capital the odious traffic, thus affixing upon the trade in human flesh everywhere in the broad domain of the Re public, the brand of Congressional reprobation. True, Congress had not, as in the case of the Foreign Slave- Trade, stamped it as piracy, and awarded to its perpe trators the doom of pirates ; but it had condemned the SLAVERY NOT PROHIBITED ELSEWHERE. 97 trade, and gave to general scorn those who partook of it ; thus preparing the way for that complete act of Abo lition which was necessary to purge the National Capital of its still remaining curse and shame. It had also abol ished flogging in the Navy, thus rebuking the lash wher ever and by whomsoever employed. These two props and stays of slavery had been undermined by Congres sional legislation. Without the slave-trade and the lash, slavery itself must fall to the earth. But other measures had passed, which the speaker contemplated only with indignation and disgust. The broad territories of New Mexico and Utah, under the ex clusive jurisdiction of Congress, had been organized without any prohibition of slavery. In laying the foun dations there, Congress had omitted the great Ordinances of Freedom, first suggested by Jefferson, and consecra ted by the experience of the Northwestern Territory. Moreover, a vast territory, larger than all New England, had been taken from New Mexico, and ten million dollars had been given to slave-holding Texas. And still further, as if to do a deed which should "make heaven weep, all earth amazed," this same Congress, in disregard of all the cherished safeguards of Freedom, has passed a most cruel, unchristian, devilish law to secure the return into Slavery of those fortunate bondmen who have found shelter by our firesides. This is the Fugitive Slave Bill a bill which despoils the party claimed as a slave whether he be in reality a slave or a freeman of the sacred right of Trial by Jury, and commits the question of Human Freedom the highest question known by the law to the unaided judgment of a single magistrate, on ex parte evi dence it may be, by affidavits, without the sanction of cross-exami nation. And yet there are streaks of light an unwonted dawn in the dis tant West, out of which a full-orbed sun is beginning to ascend, rejoic ing like a strong man to run his race. Video solem orientem in occi- dente. By an Act of the recent Congress, California, with a Constitu- 7 98 BALANCE OF POWER OVERTURNED. tion forbidding Slavery, adopted in the exercise of its sovereignty as a State, has been admitted into the Union. For a measure like this, required not only by the simplest justice, but by the uniform practice of the country, and the constitutional principles of the slave-holders them selves, we may well be ashamed to confess our gratitude ; and yet I cannot but rejoice in this great good accomplished. A hateful institu tion, which thus far, without check, had travelled with the power of the Republic, westward, is bidden to stop, and a new and rising State guarded from its contamination. Freedom in whose hands is the divining rod of magical power, pointing the way, not only to wealth un told, but to every possession of virtue and intelligence whose presence is better far than any mine of gold is now at last established in an ex tensive region on the distant Pacific, between the very parallels of lati tude so long claimed by Slavery as its peculiar home. Here is a moral and political victory ; a moral victory, inasmuch as Freedom has secured a new foothold where to exert her far-reaching influence ; a political victory also, inasmuch as by the admission of Cal ifornia, the Free States have obtained a majority of votes in the Senate, .and the balance of power ; between Freedom and Slavery so preposter ously claimed by the Slave States, in forgetfulness of the true spirit of -the Constitution, and in mockery of Human Rights has been over turned. May free California, and her Senators in Congress, never fail hereafter, amidst the trials before us, in loyalty to Freedom ! God for bid that the daughter should turn with ingratitude or neglect from the .mother that bore her ! Besides this Act, there are two others of this long session which may be regarded with satisfaction, and which I mention at once, before con sidering the reverse of the picture. The Slave trade has been abolished in the District of Columbia. This measure, though small in the sight of Justice, is most important. It banishes from the National Capital :an odious traffic. But this is its least office. It practically affixes to the whole traffic, wherever it exists not merely in Washington, within the immediate sphere of the legislative act but everywhere throughout the Slave States, whether at Richmond, or Charleston, or New Orleans, the brand of Congressional reprobation. Yes! The people of the United States, by the voice of Congress, have solemnly declared the domestic traffic in slaves to be offensive in their sight. The nation has judged this traffic. The nation has said to it, " Get thee behind me, Satan." It is true that Congress has not, as in the case of the foreign -trade, stamped it as piracy, and awarded to its perpetrators the DENIAL OF TRIAL BY JURY. 99 doom of pirates ; but it condemns the trade, and gives to general scorn those who partake of it. To this extent the North may be swept into ruthless captivity ; and there is no white citizen, born among us, bred in our schools, partaking in our affairs, voting in our elections, whose liberty is not assailed also. Without any discrimination of color, the Bill surrenders all, who may be claimed as " owing service or labor," to the same tyrannical judgment. And mark once more its heathenism. By unrelenting provisions it visits, with bitter penalties of fine and im prisonment, the faithful men and women who may render to the fugi tive that countenance, succor, and shelter which Christianity expressly requires ! Thus, from beginning to end, it sets at naught the best prin ciples of the Constitution, and the very laws of God ! I might occupy your time by exposing the unconstitutionality of this act. In denying the Trial by Jury, it is three times unconstitutional : first, as the Constitution declares " the right of the people to be secure in their persons against unreasonable seizures ; " secondly, as it further declares, that " No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law ;" and, thirdly, because it expressly de clares, that "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved" By this triple cord did the framers of the Constitution secure the Trial by Jury in every question of Human Freedom. That man can be little imbued with the true spirit of American institutions he can have little sympathy with Bills of Rights he must be lukewarm for Free dom, who can hesitate to construe the Constitution so as to secure this safeguard. XV. He could not withhold the following burst of indigna tion : The soul sickens in the contemplation of this legalized outrage. In the dreary annals of the Past there are many acts of shame there are ordinances of monarchs, and laws, which have become a bye-word and a -hissing to the nations. But, when we consider the cotmtry and the age, I ask fearlessly, What act of shame, what ordinance of monarch, what law can compare in atrocity with this enactment of an American Congress ? I do not forget Appius Claudius, the tyrant decemvir of ancient Rome, condemning Virginia as a slave ; nor Louis XIV. of 100 A WORSE TYRANNY THAN THE STAMP ACT. France, letting slip the dogs of religious persecution by the revocation of the edict of Nantes ; nor Charles I. of England, arousing the patriot rage of Hampden, by the extortion of Ship-money ; nor the British Parliament, provoking, in our own country, spirits kindred to Hamp den, by the tyranny of the Stamp Act and Tea Tax. I would not ex aggerate ; I wish to keep within bounds ; but I think no person can doubt that the condemnation now affixed to all these transactions, and to their authors, must be the lot hereafter of the Fugitive Slave Bill, and of every one, according to the measure of his influence, who gave it his support Into the immortal catalogue of national crimes this has now passed, drawing with it, by an inexorable necessity, its authors also, and chiefly him, who, as President of the United States, set his name to the Bill, and breathed into it that final breath, without which it would have no life. Other Presidents may be forgotten ; but the name signed to the Fugitive Slave Bill can never be forgotten. There are depths of infamy, as there are heights of fame. I regret to say what I must ; but truth compels me. Better far for him had he never been born ; better far for his memory, and for the good name of his children, had he never been President ! I have already likened this Bill to the Stamp Act, and I trust that the parallel may be continued yet further by a burst of popular feeling against all action under it, similar to that which glowed in the breasts of our fathers. Listen to the words of John Adams, as written in his Diary for the time : The year 1765 has been the most remarkable year of my life. That enormous engine, fabricated by the British Parliament, for battering down all the rights and liberties of America, I mean the Stamp Act, has raised and spread through the whole continent a spirit that will be recorded to our honor with all future generations. In every colony, from Georgia to New Hampshire inclusively, the stamp distributors and inspectors have been compelled by the unconquerable rage of the people to renounce their offices. Such and so universal has been the resentment of the people, that every man who has dared to speak in favor of the stamps, or to soften the detestation in which they are held, how great soever his abilities and virtues had been esteemed before, or whatever his fortune, connections, and influence had been, has been seen to sink into universal contempt and ignominy. Surely the love of Freedom, cannot have so far cooled among us, the descendants of those who opposed the Stamp Act, that we are insensible to the Fugitive Slave Bill. The unconquerable rage of the people, in those other days, compelled the stamp distributors and inspectors to renounce their offices, and held up to detestation all who dared to HIS FEELINGS TOWARDS THE LAW. IOI speak in favor of the stamps. And shall we be more tolerant of those who volunteer in favor of this Bill more tolerant of the Slave-Hunter, who, under its safeguard, pursues his prey upon our soil ? The Stamp Act could not be executed here. Can the Fugitive Slave Bill ? And here, Sir, let me say, that it becomes me to speak with peculiar caution. It happens to me to sustain an important relation to this Bill. Early in professional life I was designated by the late Mr. Justice Story one of the Commissioners of the Courts of the United States, and, though I have not very often exercised the functions of this post, yet my name is still upon the lists. As such I am one of those before whom, under the recent Act of Congress, the panting fugitive may be brought for the decision of the question, whether he is a freeman or a slave. But while it becomes me to speak witli caution, I shall not hesitate to speak with plainness. I cannot forget that I am a man, although I am a Commissioner. He thus gives vent to his own feelings : Surely, no person of humane feelings, and with any true sense of justice living in a land "where bells have knolled to church " what ever may be the apology of public station, could fail to recoil from such service. For myself let me say, that I can imagine no office, no salary, no consideration, which I would not gladly forego, rather than become in any way an agent in enslaving my brother-man. Where for me would be comfort and solace, after such a work ! In dreams and in waking hours, in solitude and in the street, in the meditations of the closet, and in the affairs of men, wherever I turned, there my victim would stare me in the face ; from the distant rice-fields and sugar plantations of the South, his cries beneath the vindictive lash, his moans at the thought of Liberty once his, now alas ! ravished from him, would pursue me, repeating the tale of his fearful doom, and sounding, forever sounding in my ears, " Thou art the man ! " XVI. And yet, in the face of these enormities of legislation, we are told, he says, that the Slavery question is settled. Nothing, sir, can be settled, which is not right. Noth ing can be settled which is adverse to Freedom, or con- 102 DUTIES OF MASSACHUSETTS MEN. trary to the principles of Christianity. God, nature, and all the holy sentiments of the heart, repudiate any such seeming settlement. o Turning at last to the duties of Massachusetts men, he thus sums up the demands which must be made upon Congress. Sir, I will not dishonor this home of the Pilgrims, and of the Revolution, by admitting nay, I cannot believe that this Bill will be executed here. Individuals among us, as elsewhere, may forget humanity in a fancied loyalty to law ; but the public conscience will not allow a man, who has trodden our streets as a freeman, to be dragged away as a slave. By his escape from bondage, he has shown that true manhood, which must grapple to him every honest heart. He may be ignorant, and rude, as he is poor, but he is of a true nobility. The Fugitive Slaves of the United States are among the heroes of our age. In sacrificing them to this foul enactment of Congress, we should violate every sentiment of hospitality, every whispering of the heart, every dictate of religion. There are many who will never shrink at any cost, and, notwithstand ing all the atrocious penalties of this Bill, from efforts to save a wander ing fellow-man from bondage ; they will offer him the shelter of their houses, and, if need be, will protect his liberty by force. But let me be understood ; I counsel no violence. There is another power stronger than any individual arm which I invoke ; I mean that invincible Public Opinion, inspired by love of God and man, which, without violence or noise, gently as the operations of nature, makes and unmakes laws. Let this opinion be felt in its Christian might, and the Fugitive Slave Bill will become everywhere upon our soil a dead letter. No lawyer will aid it by counsel ; no citizen will become its agent ; it will die of inanition like a spider beneath an exhausted receiver. Oh ! it were well the tidings should spread throughout the land, that here in Massa chusetts this accursed Bill has found no servants. "Sire, I have found in Bayonne honest citizens and brave soldiers only ; but not one execu tioner" was the reply of the governor of that place, to the royal man date from Charles IX. of France, ordering the Massacre of St. Barthol omew. But it rests with you, my fellow-citizens, by your words and your example, by your calm determinations, and your devoted lives, to do this work. From a humane, just, and religious people shall spring a SUMNER S ELECTION TO THE SENATE. 103 Public Opinion, to keep perpetual guard over the liberties of all within our borders. Nay, more, like the flaming sword of the cherubim at the gates of Paradise, turning on every side, it shall prevent any SLAVE- HUNTER from ever setting foot in this Commonwealth. Elsewhere, he may pursue his human prey; he may employ his congenial blood hounds, and exult in his successful game. But into Massachusetts he must not come. And yet again I say, I counsel no violence. I would not touch his person. Not with whips and thongs would I scourge him from the land. The contempt, the indignation, the abhorrence of the community shall be our weapons of offence. Wherever he moves, he shall find no house to receive him no table spread to nourish him no welcome to cheer him. The dismal lot of the Roman exile shall be his. He shall be a wanderer, without roof, fire, or water. XVII. The contest which resulted in the election of Mr. SUMNER to the United States Senate the first time, by the Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1851, was one of the most protracted and memorable in the history of any State. Mr. BOUTWELL, who is now the colleague of Mr. SUMNER in the United States Senate, was then Gov ernor of Massachusetts. On the 1 6th of January, on motion of Mr. BARRY, a member of the House, the election of a United States Senator was taken up, and the contest lasted three months. The Daily Evening Transcript for that year gave the following history of the great contest : The first ballot resulted as follows : Whole number 394 Necessary to a choice 198 Charles Sumner 180 Robert C. Winthrop 1 66 A second ballot failed to elect either candidate, and the matter was postponed for one week. On January 23d, the election came up again 104 VOTE OF THE LEGISLATURE. by assignment, and resulted in the same manner, Mr. Sumner receiving 187 votes, 192 being necessary to a choice. On the 26th of February, the sixteenth ballot was taken, but no choice was made, Mr. Sumner lacking two votes of the number necessary for his election. The matter came up every two weeks regularly, with the same result, until the 241)1 of April, when the end was reached, as will be seen by the following report of that day s proceedings : The House was called to order at 9 o clock, and prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Stone. The morning business was unimportant, and at 9. 30 the House proceeded to the twenty-fifth ballot for United States Senator, which resulted as follows : Whole number 386 Necessary to a choice 194 Charles Sumner 192 R. C. Winthrop 168 Scattering 26 Blanks i At the conclusion of the ballot given above, it was discovered that two more votes had been cast than there were members present, and, to avoid such an occurrence in future, it was ordered that, in subsequent trials, the ballots be enclosed in envelopes, and if any contained more than one vote, all but one should be rejected, if all the ballots so con tained were for the same person. In case there should be more than one candidate named, all should be thrown out. The result was as fol lows : Whole number 384 Necessary to a choice 193 Charles Sumner . . . , 193 Robert C. Winthrop 1 66 Scattering 25 Blank 2 And Charles Sumner was declared elected. In the same issue of that journal, the following" bright and pointed editorial appeared : The mountain that has been in labor for the last three months has brought forth, and Charles Sumner, Esq., has been elected for six years, from the 4th of March next, to succeed Mr. Webster in the Senate of the United States. This was consummated in the House of Repre- THE PRESS ON HIS ELECTION. IO5 sentatives this afternoon, on the twenty-sixth ballot, by a vote of 193, being the exact number necessary in concurrence with the choice of the Senate, made in January last. This will be a sore disappointment to the Whig Party, who have a plurality of some 20,000 votes in the State ; but the fates have so decreed, and so it must be. The die is cast, and the Whigs and the indomitable Democracy have lost the game. We are not prepared to proclaim the country ruined in consequence of this event. Mr. Simmer is a forcible and eloquent speaker, an apt scholar, a man of superioi abilities, of polished address and extensive acquaint ance with the men and events of his times, and he may become a states man of mark in the political arena. He will probably act and work with the Whig Party on all questions but one, a vital and momentous one, it is true, as he will find when he gets to Washington. Mr. Sum- ner will find, on reaching the Capital, that Massachusetts, and even New England, is but a fraction of the United States ; that there are in terests besides hers to be looked after ; that, under his oath of office, he is bound to legislate for the whole country, not a sectional part ; that the constitutional rights of others must be respected ; and all this his good sense will soon teach him, if he needs to be taught. Again, we say, we do not yet despair of the Union. Massachusetts might have seated in the Senate a man far more objectionable than Charles Sum- ner ! Vive la Republique ! The next day after the election, the Daily Advertiser, then under the control of the well-known journalist, Mr. NATHAN HALE, used the following severe language, which referred, however, to the coalition in the Legisla ture by which the election was secured, and having no reference to the personal fitness of Mr. SUMNER for the position : It is the grossest outrage upon the feelings of the majority of the people of the State, by a combination between two minorities, which we have known to be perpetrated in any of the States of the Union. We regard the event as a most unfortunate one for the reputation of the State, and one which must paralyze its influence in the councils of the Union, and in sustaining a course of legislation tending to har monize the dissensions which have so long disturbed the quiet of the country. 106 THE BOSTON JOURNALS. From a long editorial in the Courier, we extract a single paragraph : After every species and degree of fluctuation, the contest for the choice of a Senator of the United States has terminated in the election of Charles Simmer by a single vote. Slender as is this majority, it be comes still more attenuated when taken in connection with the fact that two blank votes were cast at the ballot, which were left out of the ac count in estimating the number necessary to a choice. So that Mr. Sumner did not in fact receive a majority of the votes of all who voted. The result has been unexpected by most people, and was in truth owing to the adoption of a new method of taking the vote at the last ballot, when they were inclosed in sealed envelopes. Two members, who ap pear to have cast real votes previously, took this occasion to vote blank. Such a consummation had been foreseen, and an earnest protest was made against the secret ballot by Mr. Colby, of Boston, unfortunately without effect, and the election was lost by the craven skulking of some poor-spirited thing. We need hardly say that the election of Mr. Sumner will be regretted by all who wish the State of Massachusetts to stand where she has stood, nobly and firmly fixed in her loyalty to the American Union. The Atlas treated the matter with more calmness and candor : We have from the beginning opposed the election of Mr. Sumner. We believe that the Legislature has made a mistake in electing him. Though a gentleman of talents and character, he is not the man best suited to represent Massachusetts in the Senate of the United States. We are not aware of any acts of his which require payment at a price so great. He is a known scholar more than a statesman. He has studied the world in the closet, through the medium of books. He has mingled little in every-day active life. He is a theorist, and views the world through the medium of the imagination, and not through the stern realities of life. In a word, we believe him to be an " impracti cable." We shall be glad if, upon further acquaintance, we find our selves mistaken. The people of Massachusetts, we are certain, did not wish Mr. Sumner s election. Put the question to them to-day, and a large majority would decide against him. The election was brought about by a coalition, by a bargain. The Governor of the State, we have reason to believe, cast his influence on that side. Not that he THE POST COMMONWEALTH TRANSCRIPT. IOJ wished Mr. Sumner elected particularly, but because he could get Mr. Simmer s friends to vote for him for Governor next Fall. We believe that the patronage of the State has been brought to bear upon this elec tion ; that promises have been made which we shall watch closely to see if they are redeemed hereafter. The Post summed up the whole question in its charac teristic way, with a bristling little paragraph : A Whig, who refused to support Gen. Taylor because he was not Whig enough ; an agitator, who would sacrifice the safety of the Union by aggravating sectional animosity ; an Abolitionist, who would treat the laws of the constitutional Legislature of his country as the colonists did the oppressive edicts of a tyrannical power ! This is the political beauty the Coalition Democrats have voted for as a member of the United States Senate. The Commonwealth was the only paper in Boston who then saw in Mr. SUMNER the great statesman of the future, and it gave utterance to the following re markable prophecy, which has been so strikingly ful filled : Mr. Sumner will go into the Senate unpledged to the measures of any party and free to pursue such a course upon all questions of national policy as his own judgment and feeling of responsibility to his constituents shall dictate. He will be a Senator worthy of Massachu setts, "legislating," as the Transcript truly says, " for the whole country, not for a sectional part, and respecting the constitutional rights of others," and of all. In commenting upon this last paragraph, the Tran script said : He goes to Washington "unpledged." There is a world of promise in that confession ; for Mr. Sumner will have the courage to do right, even if he contradict himself." IOS SERENITY UNDER VITUPERATION. XVIII. Thus ended the battle which determined the future career of the successful candidate ; and it may be reck oned among the important events which led to the grand crisis that was looming up in the future. There has been no instance, perhaps, since the case of Gen. JACKSON, in which any public man has been chosen for a high political station who became the object of such bitter assaults by the Press. The vituperation heaped upon him from every quarter of the Union was without a parallel. But Mr. SUMNER preserved through it all the most admirable dignity of behavior, and the completest serenity of spirit. Neither strangers, nor the most in timate friends, could discover that his spirits were even ruffled ; and to reply to any of the assaults made upon him, however malignant, or the prophecies of evil omen which were so profusely uttered, was the last thing he thought of. Indeed, through life he made it a rule never to reply to attacks, unless it became necessary to for tify by further authorities the facts he had stated, for his faith that truth would finally prevail was never shaken. He never displayed the least anxiety to win conviction from the obstinate or stolid by reiterating ar guments or statements already made. He believed that every truth could take care of itself; that if crushed to earth, it would rise again. This was sometimes at tributed to recklessness, and sorhetimes to indifference ; whilst all the time it was an assurance of faith which im pressed those who knew him best, with its positive sub limity. But wherever the news of his election to the Senate THE FREE-SOILERS OF THE SENATE. became known, among the three hundred thousand Free-Soil voters in the recent Presidential contest, it was received with unbounded joy : and these voters were scattered through all the Free States. The period of his election was a marked era in our politics. Most of the statesmen who had swayed the country, from the time of Madison, were disappearing from the field. Mr. CALHOUN was already dead : HENRY CLAY was soon to follow. The old Whig party had fought its last battle. The Democrats had centred all their chances upon the South and the Pro-Slavery party of the North, and there it was to fight its last fight before it dissolved in the fires of the Rebellion. XIX. In the Senate, Mr. SUMNER was to appear in the list as a Free-Soiler. There were but two others who claimed that distinction SALMON P. CHASE, from Ohio, and JOHN P. HALE, from New Hampshire. These were but the morning-stars of the great day of emancipation that was so soon to dawn upon a redeemed country, and a disenthralled race. In his letter to the Legislature of the State, accepting the honor of Senatorship, he speaks of the appointment finding him in a private station, and he accepts the office with " a grateful consciousness of personal indepen dence ; " as an honor that had come to him unsought and undesired. " I accept it," he continued, " as the servant of Massachusetts, mindful of the sentiments solemnly uttered by her successive Legislatures, of the genius which inspires her history, and of the men, her perpetual pride and ornament, who breathed into her that breath of liberty which early made her an exam- 110 HIS SENATORIAL CAREER BEGINS. pie to her sister States. With me, the union is twice blessed first, as the powerful guardian of the repose and happiness of thirty-one sovereign States, clasped by the endearing name of country : and next, as the model of that all-embracing federation of States by which unity, peace and concord will finally be organized among the nations." He declares himself fully resolved t;o oppose any effort to introduce " the sectional evil of slavery into Free States." He would follow the example of the great triumvirate of American Freedom, Washington, Franklin and Jefferson ; and in the words of the first, he concludes his letter: " I see my duty that in standing up for the liberties of my country, whatever difficulties and discouragements lie in my way, I dare not shrink from it ; and I rely on that Being who has not left to us the choice of duties, that while I shall conscientiously discharge mine, I shall not finally lose my reward." SECTION FIFTH. Senatorial Career. I. COMPARED with the narrow field where he had hitherto carried on the battle, the arena that was to witness his fu ture struggles was as the two days skirmishing of Ligny and Quatre Bras, to the final overthrow at Waterloo. The scene and its surroundings Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe has so finely sketched, it were a pity not to let the reader carry it on his fancy as he goes with the champions into the heat of the conflict : MRS. STOWE CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. Ill And now came the great battle of the Fugitive Slave Law. The sorceress slavery meditated a grand coup d etat that should found a Southern slave empire, and shake off the troublesome North, and to that intent her agents concocted a statute so insulting to Northern honor, so needlessly offensive in its provisions, so derisive of what were understood to be its religious convictions and humane sentiments, that it was thought verily, " The North never, will submit to this, and we shall make here the breaking point." Then arose Daniel Webster, that lost Archangel of New England he who had won her confidence by his knowledge of and reverence for all that was most sacred in her, and moved over to the side of evil ! It was as if a great constellation had changed sides in the heavens, drawing after it a third part of the stars. The North, perplexed, silenced, troubled, yielded for a moment. For a brief space all seemed to go down before that mighty influence, and all listened, as if spell-bound, to the serpent voice with which he scoffed at the idea that there was a law of God higher than any law or constitution of the United States. But that moment of degradation was the last. Back came the healthy blood, the re-awakened pulse of moral feeling in New Eng land, and there were found voices on all sides to speak for the right, and hearts to respond, and on this side of re-awakened moral feeling Suraner was carried into the United States Senate, to take the seat vacated by Webster. The right was not yet victorious, but the battle had turned so far that its champion had a place to stand on in the midst of the fray. And what a battle was that ! What an ordeal ! What a gauntlet to run was that of the man in Washington who in those days set himself against the will of the great sorceress ! Plied with temptation on the right hand and on the left, studied, mapped out like a fortress to be attacked and taken, was every Northern man who entered the arena. Could he be bought, bribed, cajoled, flattered, terrified? Which, or all ? So planned the conspirators in their secret conclaves. The gigantic Giddings he who brought to the strife nerves tough ened by backwoods toil and frontier fights with Indians once said of ii2 SUMNER S SENATORIAL OATH. this warfare : " I ve seen hard fighting with clubs and bullets ; I ve seen men falling all around me ; but I tell you it takes more courage to stand up in oire s seat in Congress and say the right thing, than to walk up to the cannon s mouth. There s no such courage as that of the anti-slavery men there." Now, Simmer s superb vitality, that hardy yeoman blood which his ancestors brought from England, stood him in excellent stead. His strong and active brain was based on a body muscular, vigorous, and healthy, incapable of nervous tremor, bearing him with a steady aplomb through much that would be confusing and weakening to men of less physical force. Sumner -had riot the character of a ready debater ; not a light-armed skirmisher was he ; he resembled rather one of the mailed warriors of ancient tourney. When he had deliberately put on his armor, all polished and finished down to buckle and shoe- latchet, and engraved with whatnot of classic, or Venetian, or Genoese device ; when he put down his visor, steadied his lance, took sure aim, and weVit man and horse against his antagonist, all went down before him, as went down all before the lance of Cceur-de-Lion. Such a charge into the enemy was his first great speech, " Freedom National, Slavery Sectional," which he directed against the Fugitive Slave Law. It was a perfect land-slide of history and argument ; an avalanche under which the opposing party were logically buried, and it has been a magazine from which catapults have been taken to beat down their fortresses ever since. II. Mr. Sumner s credentials as Senator were presented at the opening of the Thirty-second Congress, December i, 1851, when he took the oath of office. On the 26th of May, 1852, he presented a memorial against the Fugitive Slave Bill. But he was not allowed to proceed with the remarks he desired to make. On no other sub- ject except slavery was any check imposed upon Senators. HE GETS THE FLOOR AT LAST. 113 But in moving- the reference of the petition to the Com mittee on the Judiciary, he remarked that he hoped he was not expecting" too much if, at some fit moment, he should bespeak the clear and candid attention of the Senate, while he undertook to set forth frankly and fully, and with entire respect for that body, convictions deeply cherished in his own State, though disregarded in the Capital ; convictions to which he was bound by every sentiment of the heart, by every fibre of his being, by all his devotion to country, by his love of God and man. 11 Upon these," he said, " I do not now enter ; suffice it for the present for me to remark, that when I undertake that service, I believe I shall utter nothing which in any just sense can be called sectional ; unless the Constitu tion is sectional, and unless the sentiments of the Fathers were sectional. It is my happiness to believe, and my hope to be able to show, that according to the true spirit of the Constitution, and the sentiments of the Fathers, FREEDOM, and not Slavery, is national ; while SLAVERY, and not Freedom, is sectional." A vast majority of the Senate were determined that Mr. Sumner should not be allowed to deliver the speech which it was well known he had prepared. But he vigi lantly watched his opportunity. It came at last on the 26th of August, 1852, and being by the Rules of the Senate entitled to the floor, he held it against all oppo sition for nearly four hours ; during which he pronounced that immortal ORATION as it would have been called by the Romans in the days of Cicero which will forever be regarded as the most powerful defence of the eternal principles of Freedom ever uttered in that Senate House. It sounded like a voice from the dead it stirred the whole Nation it foretold the doom of American Slavery 8 114 PETITION OF SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. Its length precludes its full admission. But we give passages sufficiently copious to preserve the chain of the argument and without trying to describe the effect on the vast assembly that crowded the Senate Chamber, which would be at best but a poor attempt ; for, as an old Greek writer said of the eloquence of his countrymen " The wonder-working power of oratory must needs die with the delivery." III. The theme was FREEDOM NATIONAL ; SLAVERY SECTIONAL. The occasion was the following memorial of the mem bers of the Society of Friends of New England : We, therefore, respectfully, but earnestly and sincerely, entreat you to repeal the law of the last Congress respecting fugitive slaves ; first and principally, because of its injustice towards a long sorely-oppressed and deeply-injured people ; and, secondly, in order that we, together with other conscientious sufferers, may be exempted from the pen alties which it imposes on all who, in faithfulness to their Divine Master, and in discharge of their obligations to their distressed fellow-men, feel bound to regulate their conduct, even under the heaviest penalties which man can inflict for so doing, by the Divine injunction, " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; " and by the other commandment, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." " The subject is at last broadly before the Senate, and by the blessing of God, it shall be discussed." These were the words with which he opened his Speech, after the last impediment had been swept away. He then entered upon his main argument : Sir, a severe lawgiver of early Greece vainly sought to secure per manence for his imperfect institutions, by providing that the citizen who, at any time, attempted their alteration or repeal, should appear in ihe public assembly with a halter about his neck, ready to be drawn if FREEDOM NATIONAL SLAVERY SECTIONAL. Il5 his proposition failed to be adopted. A tyrannical spirit among us, in unconscious imitation of this antique and discarded barbarism, seeks to surround an offensive institution with a similar safeguard. In the ex isting distemper of the public mind and at this present juncture, no man can enter upon the service which I now undertake, without a per sonal responsibility, such as can be sustained only by that sense of duty which, under God, is always our best support. That personal respon sibility I accept Before the Senate and the country let me be held accountable for this act, and for every word which I utter. With me, sir, there is no alternative. Painfully convinced of the un utterable wrongs and woes of slavery ; profoundly believing that, ac cording to the true spirit of the Constitution and the sentiments of the fathers, it can find no place under our National Government that it is in every respect sectional, and in no respect national that it is always and everywhere the creature and dependent of the States, and never anywhere the creature or dependent of the Nation, and that the Nation can never, by legislative or other act, impart to it any support, under the Constitution of the United States ; with these convictions, I could not allow this session to reach its close, without making or seizing an op portunity to declare myself openly against the usurpation, injustice, and cruelty of the late enactment by Congress for the recovery of fugitive slaves. Full well I know, sir, the difficulties of this discussion, arising from prejudices of opinion and from adverse conclusions, strong and sincere as my own. Full well I know that I am in a small minority, with few here to whom I may look for sympathy or support. Full well I know that I must utter things unwelcome to many in this body, which I cannot do without pain. Full well I know that the institution of slavery in our country, which I now proceed to consider, is as sensi tive as it is powerful possessing a power to shake the whole land with a sensitiveness that shrinks and trembles at the touch. But, while these things may properly prompt me to caution and reserve, they can not change my duty, or my determination to perform it. For this I- willingly forget myself, and all personal consequences. The favor and good-will of my fellow-citizens, of my brethren of the Senate, sir, grateful to me as it justly is I am ready, if required, to sacrifice. All that I am or may be, I freely offer to this cause. And here allow me, for one moment, to refer to myself and my posi tion. Sir, I have never been a politician. The slave of principles, I call no party master. By sentiment, education, and conviction, a friend of Human Rights, in their utmost expansion, I have ever I [6 HE DISCLAIMS VIOLEXCE AND DISCOURTESY. most sincerely embraced the Democratic Idea ; not, indeed, as repre sented or professed by any party, but according to its real significance, as transfigured in the Declaration of Independence, and in the injunc tions of Christianity. Party does not constrain me ; nor is my independence lessened by any relations to the office which gives me a title to be heard on this floor. And here, sir, I may speak proudly. By no effort, by no desire of my own, I find myself a Senator of the United States. Never be fore have I held public office of any kind. With the ample opportu nities of private life I was content. No tombstone for me could bear a fairer inscription than this: "Here lies one who, without the honors or emoluments of public station, did something for his fellow-man." From such simple aspirations I was taken away by the free choice of my native Commonwealth, and placed in this responsible post of duty, without personal obligation of any kind, beyond what was implied in my life and published words. The earnest friends, by whose con fidence I was first designated, asked nothing from me, and, throughout the long conflict which ended in my election, rejoiced in the position which I most carefully guarded. To all my language was uniform, that I did not desire to be brought forward : that I would do nothing to pro mote the result ; that I had no pledges or promises to offer ; that the office should seek me, and not I the office ; and that it should find me in all respects an independent man, bound to no party and to no human be ing, but only, according to my best judgment, to act for the good of all. In this spirit I have come here, and in this spirit I shall speak to-day. He early disclaims violence and discourtesy in debate, into whose indulgence he was never to be provoked. Rejoicing in my independence, and claiming nothing from party ties, I throw myself upon the candor and magnanimity of the Senate. I now ask your attention ; but I trust not to abuse it. I may speak strongly ; for I shall speak openly and from the strength of my con victions. 1 may speak warmly ; for I shall speak from the heart. But in no event can I forget the amenities which belong to debate, and which especially become this body. Slavery I must condemn with my whole soul ; but here I need only borrow the language of slaveholders themselves ; nor would it accord with my habits or my sense of justice to exhibit them as the impersonation of the institution Jefferson calls it the "enormity" which they cherish. Of them I do not speak ; but without fear and without favor, as without impeachment of any person, NO COMPROMISE FINAL. 1 1/ I assail this wrong. Again, sir, I may err ; but it will be with the Fathers. I plant myself on the ancient ways of the Republic, with its grandest names, its surest landmarks, and all its original altar-fires about me. IV. And now, on the very threshold, I encounter the objection that there is a final settlement, in principle and substance, of the question of Slavery, and that all discussion of it is closed. Both the old political parties of the country, by formal resolutions, in their recent conven tions at Baltimore, have united in this declaration. On a subject which for years has agitated the public mind ; which yet palpitates in every heart and burns on every tongue ; which, in its immeasurable import ance, dwarfs all other subjects ; which, by its constant and gigantic presence, throws a shadow across these Halls ; which at this very time calls for appropriations to meet extraordinary expenses it has caused, they have imposed the rule of silence. According to them, sir, we may speak of everything except that alone, which is most present in all our minds. To this combined effort I might fitly reply, that, with flagrant incon sistency, it challenges the very discussion which it pretends to forbid. Such a declaration, on the eve of an election, is, of course, submitted to the consideration and ratification of the people. Debate, inquiry, discussion, are the necessary consequence. Silence becomes im possible. Slavery, which you profess to banish from the public atten tion, openly by your invitation enters every political meeting and every political convention. Nay, at this moment it stalks into this Senate, crying, like the daughters of the horseleech, " Give, give ! " But no unanimity of politicians can uphold the baseless assumption, that a law, or any conglomerate of laws, under the name of Compro mise, or howsoever called, is final. Nothing can be plainer than this; that, by no parliamentary device or knot, can any Legislature tie the hands of a succeeding Legislature, so as to prevent the full exercise of its constitutional powers. Each Legislature, under a just sense of its responsibility, must judge for itself; and, if it think proper, it may revise or amend, or absolutely undo the work of its predecessors. The laws of the Medes and Persians are proverbially said to have been unalter able ; but they stand forth in history as a single example of such irra- tLnal defiance of the true principles of all law. Il8 FREEDOM OF SPEECH ABOVE ALL. To make a law final, so as not to be reached by Congress, is, by mere legislation, to fasten a new provision on the Constitution. Nay, more ; it gives to the law a character which the very Constitution does not possess. The wise fathers did not treat the country as a Chinese foot, never to grow after infancy ; but, anticipating Progress, they declared expressly that their great Act is not final. According to the Consti tution itself, there is not one of its existing provisions not even that with regard to fugitives from labor which may not at all times be reached by amendment, and thus be drawn into debate. This is rational and just. Sir, nothing from man s hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final. Inconsistent and absurd, this effort is tyrannical also. The responsi bility for the recent Slave Act and for Slavery everywhere within the jurisdiction of Congress necessarily involves the right to discuss them. To separate these is impossible. Like the twenty-fifth rule of the House of Representatives against petitions on Slavery now repealed and dishonored the Compromise, as explained and urged, is a curtail ment of the actual powers of legislation, and a perpetual denial of the indisputable principle that the right to deliberate is co-extensive with the responsibility for an act. To sustain Slavery, it is now proposed to trample on free speech. In any country this would be grievous ; but here, where the Constitution expressly provides against abridging free dom of speech, it is a special outrage. In vain do we condemn the des potisms of Europe, while we borrow the rigors with which they repress Liberty, and guard their own uncertain power. For myself, in no fac tious spirit, but solemnly and in loyalty to the Constitution, as a Senator of the United States, representing a free Commonwealth, I protest against this wrong. On Slavery, as on every other subject, I claim the right to be heard. That right I cannot, I will not abandon. " Give me the liberty to know, to utter and to argue freely, above all liberties ; " these are the glowing words which flashed from the soul of John Milton, in his struggles with English tyranny. With equal fervor they should be echoed now by every American, not already a slave. But, sir, this effort is impotent as tyrannical. The convictions of the heart cannot be repressed. The utterances of conscience must be heard. They break forth with irrepressible might. As well attempt to check the tides of Ocean, the currents of the Mississippi, or the rushing waters of Niagara. The discussion of Slavery will proceed, wherever two or three are gathered together by the fireside, on the highway, at the public meeting, in the church. The movement against RELATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT TO SLAVERY. I IQ Slavery is from the Everlasting Arm. Even now it is gathering its forces, soon to be confessed everywhere. It may not yet be felt in high places of office and power ; but all who can put their ears humbly to the ground, will hear and comprehend its incessant and advancing tread. V. The relations of the Government of the United States I speak of the National Government to Slavery, though plain and obvious, are constantly misunderstood. A popular belief at this moment makes Slavery a national institution, and, of course, renders its support a national duty. The extravagance of this error can hardly be surpassed. An institution, which our fathers most carefully omitted to name in the Constitution, which, according to the debates in the Convention, they refused to cover with any " sanction," and which, at the original organi zation of the Government, was merely sectional, existing nowhere on the national territory, is now, above all other things, blazoned as na tional. Its supporters plume themselves as national. The old political parties, while upholding it, claim to be national. A National Whig is simply a Slavery Whig, and a National Democrat is simply a Slavery Democrat, in contradistinction to all who regard Slavery as a sectional institution, within the exclusive control of the States, and with which the nation has nothing to do. As Slavery assumes to be national, so, by an equally strange perver sion, Freedom is degraded to be sectional, and all who uphold it, under the national Constitution, share this same epithet. The honest efforts to secure its blessings, everywhere within the jurisdiction of Congress, are scouted as sectional ; and this cause, which the founders of our National Government had so much at heart, is called sectionalism. These terms, now belonging to the commonplaces of political speech, are adopted and misapplied by most persons without reflection. But herein is the power of Slavery. According to a curious tradition of the French language, Louis XIV., the grand monarch, by an accidental error of speech, among supple courtiers, changed the gender of a noun ; but Slavery has done more. It has changed word for word. It has taught men to say national instead of sectional, and sectional instead of national. Slavery national ! Sir, this is all a mistake and absurdity, fit to take a place in some new collection of Vulgar Errors, by some other Sir 120 SLAVERY AND THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. Thomas Browne, with the ancient but exploded stories, that the toad had a stone in its head, and that ostriches digest iron. According to the true spirit of the Constitution, and the sentiments of the Fathers, Slavery and not Freedom is sectional, while Freedom and not Slavery is national. On this unanswerable proposition I take my stand, and here commences my argument. The subject presents itself under two principal heads : FIRST, the true relations of the National Government to Slavery, wherein it will appear that there is no national fountain out of which Slavery can be derived, and no national power, under the Constitution, by which it can be supported. Enlightened by this general survey, we shall be prepared to consider, SECONDLY, the true nature of the provision for the rendition of fugitives from service, and herein especially the unconstitutional and offensive legislation of Congress in pursuance thereof. I. And now for the TRUE RELATIONS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERN MENT TO SLAVERY. These will be readily apparent, if we do not neglect well-established principles. If Slavery be national, if there be any power in the National Gov ernment to uphold this institution as in the recent Slave Act it must be by virtue of the Constitution. Nor can it be by mere inference, impli cation, or conjecture. According to the uniform admission of courts and jurists in Europe, again and, again promulgated in our country, Slavery can be derived only from clear and special recognition. " The state of Slavery," said Lord Mansfield, pronouncing judgment in the great case of Somerset*, " is of such a nature, that it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons moral or political, but only by positive law. It is so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support it but POSITIVE LAW." And a slaveholding tribunal, the Supreme Court of Mississippi, adopting the same principle, has said : "Slavery is condemned by reason, and the laws of nature. It exists and can exist only through municipal regulations." (Harry v. Decker, Walker R. 42.) And another slave-holding tribunal, the Supreme Court of Kentucky, has said : " We view this as a right existing by positive law of a municipal character, without foundation in the law of nature or the unwritten and common law." (Rankin v. Lydia, 2 Marshall, 470.) Of course every power to uphold Slavery must have an origin as distinct as that of Slavery itself. Every presumption must be as strong against SLAVERY NOT IN THE PREAMBLE. 121 such a power as against Slavery. A power so peculiar and offensive so hostile to reason so repugnant to the law of nature and the inborn Rights of Man ; which despoils its victims of the fruits of their labor ; which substitutes concubinage for marriage ; which abrogates the rela tion of parent and child ; which, by a denial of education, abases the intellect, prevents a true knowledge of God, and murders the very soul ; which, amidst a plausible physical comfort, degrades man, created in the Divine image, to the level of a beast ; such a power, so eminent, so transcendent, so tyrannical, so unjust, can find no place in any sys tem of Government, unless by virtue of positive sanction. It can spring from no doubtful phrases. It must be declared by unambiguous words, incapable of a double sense. VI. Slavery, I now repeat, is not mentioned in the Constitution. The name Slave does not pollute this Charter of our Liberties. No "posi tive" language gives to Congress any power to make a Slave or to hunt a Slave, To find even any seeming sanction for either, we must travel, with doubtful footsteps, beyond its express letter, into the region of interpretation. But here are rules which cannot be disobeyed. With electric might for Freedom, they send a pervasive influence through every provision, clause, and word of the Constitution. Each and all make Slavery impossible as a national institution. They efface from the Constitution every fountain out of which it can be derived. First and foremost, is the Preamble. This discloses the prevailing objects and principles of the Constitution. This is the vestibule through which all must pass, who would enter the sacred temple. Here are the inscriptions by which they are earliest impressed. Here they first catch the genius of the place. Here the proclamation of Liberty is soonest heard. "We the People of the United States," says the Preamble, " in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice^ insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Thus, according to undeniable words, the Con stitution was ordained, not to establish, secure, or sanction Slavery not to promote the special interests of slaveholders not to make Slavery national, in any way, form, or manner; but to " establish jus- 122 IT SPEAKS FOR FREEDOM. tice," " promote the general welfare," and " secure the blessings of Liberty." Here, surely, Liberty is national. Secondly. Next in importance to the Preamble are the explicit contemporaneous declarations in the Convention which framed the Constitution, and elsewhere, expressed in different forms of language, but all tending to the same conclusion. By the Preamble, the Con stitution speaks for Freedom. By these declarations, the Fathers speak as the Constitution speaks. Early in the Convention, Gouverneur Morris, of Pennsylvania, broke forth in the language of an Abolition ist : "He never would concur in upholding domestic slavery. It was a nefarious institution. It was the curse of Heaven on the State where it prevailed." Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut, said : " The morality or wisdom of Slavery are considerations belonging to the States themselves." According to him, Slavery was sectional. At a later day, a discussion ensued on the clause touching the African slave trade, which reveals the definitive purposes of the Con vention. From the report of Mr. Madison we learn what was said. Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, " thought we had nothing to do with the conduct of the States as to Slavery, but we ought to be careful not to give any sanction to it." According to these words, he regarded Slavery as sectional, and would not make it national. Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, " was opposed to any tax on slaves imported, as making the matter worse, because it implied they were property. He would not have Slavery national. After debate, the subject was committed to a Committee of eleven, who subsequently reported a substitute, authorizing " a tax on such migration or importation, at a rate not exceeding the average of duties laid on imports" This language, classifying persons with merchandise, seemed to imply a recognition that they were property. Mr. Sherman at once declared himself " against this part, as acknowledging men to be property, by taxing them as such under the character of slaves." Mr. Gorhani " thought Mr. Sherman should consider the duty not as implying that slaves are property, but as a discouragement to the importation of them." Mr. Madison, in mild juridical phrase, "thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in man." After discussion it was finally agreed to make the clause read : " But a tax or duty may be imposed on such inportation, not exceed ing ten dollars for each person." The difficulty seemed then to be removed, and the whole clause was adopted. This record demonstrates that the word "persons" was em- SLAVERY EXCLUDED FROM THE CONSTITUTION. 123 ployed in order to show that slaves, everywhere under the Constitution, were always to be regarded as persons, and not ^property, and thus to exclude from the Constitution all idea that there can be property in man. Remember well, that Mr. Sherman was opposed to the clause in its original form, " as acknowledging men to be property /" that Mr. Madison was also opposed to it, because he " thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in man ; " and that, after these objections, the clause was so amended as to exclude the idea. But Slavery cannot be national, unless this idea is distinctly and unequivocally admitted into the Constitution. But the evidence still accumulates. At a still later day in the pro ceedings of the Convention, as if to set the seal upon the solemn deter mination to have no sanction of Slavery in the Constitution, the word "servitude," which appeared in the clause on the apportionment of representation, was struck out, and the word " service " inserted. This was done on the motion of Mr. Randolph, of Virginia, and the reason assigned for this substitution, according to Mr. Madison, in his authentic report of the debate, was that " the former was thought to express the condition of slaves, and the latter the obligations of free persons" With such care was Slavery excluded from the Constitution. Nor is this all. In the Massachusetts Convention, to which the Con stitution, when completed, was submitted for ratification, a veteran of the Revolution, General Heath, openly declared that, according to his view, Slavery was sectional, and not national. His language wgs pointed. " I apprehend," he says, " that it is not in our power to do anything for or against those who are in Slavery in the Southern States. J^"o gentle man within these walls detests every idea of Slavery more than I do ; it is generally detested by people of this Commonwealth; and I ardently hope the time will soon come, when our brethren in the Southern States will view it as we do, and put a stop to it ; but to this we have no right to compel them. Two questions naturally arise : If we ratify the Constitution, shall we do anything by our acts to hold the blacks in slavery or shall we become partakers in other men s sins ? I think neither of them" Afterwards, in the first Congress under the Constitution, on a motion which was much debated, to introduce into the Impost Bill a duty on the importation of Slaves, the same Roger Sherman, who in the National Convention had opposed the idea of property in man, authoritatively exposed the true relations of the Constitution to Slavery. His language 124 THE RIGHTS OF HUMAN NATURE. was, that "The Constitution does not consider these persons as pro perty ; it speaks of them as persons." Thus distinctly and constantly, from the very lips of the framers of the Constitution, we learn the falsehood of the recent assumptions in favor of Slavery and in derogation of Freedom. Thirdly. According to a familiar rule of interpretation, all laws con cerning the same matter, in pari materia, are to be construed together. By the same reason, the grand political acts of the Nation are to be con strued together, giving and receiving light from each other. Earlier than the Constitution was the Declaration of Independence, embodying, in immortal words, those primal truths to which our country pledged itself with its baptismal vows as a Nation. " We hold these truths to be self- evident," says the Nation, " that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." But this does not stand alone. There is another national act of similar import. On the successful close of the Revolution, the Continental Congress, in an address to the people, repeated the same lofty truth. " Let it be re membered," said the Nation again, " that it has ever been the pride and the boast of America, that the rights for which she has contended were the rights of human nature. By the blessing of the Author of these rights, they have prevailed over all opposition, and FORM THE BASIS of thirteen independent States." Such were the acts of the Nation in its united capacity. Whatever may be the privileges of States in their in dividual capacities, within their several local jurisdictions, no power can be attributed to the Nation, in the absence of positive, unequivocal grant, inconsistent with these two national declarations. Here, sir, is the national heart, the national soul, the national will, the national voice, which must inspire our interpretation of the Constitution, and enter into and diffuse itself through all the national legislation. Thus again is Freedom national. Fourthly. Beyond these is a principle of the common law, clear and indisputable, a supreme rule of interpretation from which in this case there can be no appeal. In any question under the Constitution every word is to be construed in favor of liberty. This rule, which com mends itself to the natural reason, is sustained by time-honored maxims of our early jurisprudence. Blackstone aptly expresses it, when he says, that "The law is always ready to catch at anything in favor of FREEDOM IS NATIONAL. 1 25 liberty." The rule is repeated in various forms. Favores ampliandi sunt ; odia restringenda. Favors are to be amplified; hateful things to be restrained. Lex Anglitz est lex misericordi&. The law of England is a law of mercy. Anglite jura in omni casu libertati dant favorem. The laws of P^ngland in every case show favor to liberty. And this sentiment breaks forth in natural, though intense, force, in the maxim : Impins et crudelis judicandus est qui libertati non favet. He is to be adjudged impious and cruel who does not favor liberty. Reading the Constitution in the admonition of these rules, again I say Freedom is national. Fifthly. From a learned judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion of the court, we derive the same lesson. In con sidering the question, whether a State can prohibit the importation of slaves as merchandise, and whether Congress, in the exercise of its power to regulate commerce among the States, can interfere with the slave-trade between the States, a principle has been enunciated, which, while protecting the trade from any intervention of Congress, declares openly that the Constitution acts upon no man as property. Mr. Justice McLean says : " If slaves are considered in some of the States as merchandise, that cannot divest them of the leading and controlling quality of persons by which they are designated in the Constitution. The character of property is given them by the local law. This law is respected, and all rights under it are protected by the P ederal authori ties ; but the Constitution acts upon slaves as PERSONS a?id not as pro perty. * * * "The power over Slavery belongs to the States re spectively. It is local in its character, and in its effects." Here again Slavery is sectional, while Freedom is national. Sir, such, briefly, are the rules of interpretation which, as applied to the Constitution, fill it with the breath of Freedom, " Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt." To the history and prevailing sentiments of the times we may turn for further assurance. In the spirit of Freedom the Constitution was formed. In this spirit our Fathers always spoke and acted. In this spirit the National Government was first organized under Washington. And here I recall a scene, in itself a touchstone of the period, and an example for us, upon which we may look with pure national pride, while we learn anew the relations of the National Government to Slavery. The Revolution had been accomplished. The feeble Government 126 WASHINGTON INAUGURATED APRIL 30, 1789. of the Confederation had passed away. The Constitution, slowly ma tured in a National Convention, discussed before the people, defended by masterly pens, had been already adopted. The thirteen States stood forth a nation, wherein was unity without consolidation, and diversity without discord. The hopes of all were anxiously hanging upon the new order of things and the mighty procession of events. VII. With signal unanimity Washington was chosen President. Leaving his home at Mount Vernon, he repaired to New York, where the first Congress had already commenced its session, to assume his place as elected Chief of the Republic. On the thirtieth of April, 1789, the organization of the Government was completed by his inauguration. Entering the Senate Chamber, where the two Houses were assembled, he was informed that they awaited his readiness to receive the oath of office. Without delay, attended by the Senators and Representa tives, with friends and men of mark gathered about him, he moved to the balcony in front of the edifice. A countless multitude, thronging the open street, and eagerly watching this great espousal, " With reverence look on his majestic face, Proud to be less, but of his god-like race." The oath was administered by the Chancellor of New York. At this time, and in this presence, beneath the uncovered heavens, Washing ton first took this vow upon his lips : "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Over the President, on this high occasion, floated the national flag, with its stripes of red, and its stars on a field of blue. As his patriot eyes rested upon the glowing ensign, what currents must have rushed swiftly through his soul ! In the early days of the Revolution, in those darkest hours about Boston, after the battle of Bunker Hill, and before the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen stripes had been first un furled by him, as the emblem of Union among the Colonies for the sake of Freedom. By him, at that time, they had been named the Union Flag. Trial, struggle, and war were now ended, and the Union, which they first heralded, was unalterably established. To every beholder, these memories must have been full of pride and consolation. But look- NOT A SLAVE UNDER THE NATIONAL FLAG. \2J ing back upon the scene, there is one circumstance which, more than all its other associations, fills the soul ; more even than the suggestions of Union, which I prize so much. AT THIS MOMENT, WHEN WASHING- TON TOOK HIS FIRST OATH TO SUPPORT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, THE NATIONAL ENSIGN, NOWHERE WITHIN THE NATIONAL TERRITORY, COVERED A SINGLE SLAVE. Then, indeed, was Slavery sectional, and Freedom national. On the sea, an execrable piracy, the trade in slaves, was still, to the national scandal, tolerated under the national flag. In the States, as a sectional institution, beneath the shelter of local laws, Slavery unhappily found a home. But in the only territories at this time belonging to the nation, the broad region of the North-west, it had already, by the Ordinance of Freedom, been made impossible, even before the adop tion of the Constitution. The District of Columbia, with its fatal in- cumbrance, had not yet been acquired. The Government thus organized was Anti-Slavery in character. Washington was a slave-holder ; but it would be unjust to his memory not to say that he was an Abolitionist also. His opinions do not admit of question. Only a short time before the formation of the National Constitution, he had declared, by letter, " That it was among his first wishes to see some plan adopted, by which Slavery may be abolished by law ; " and again, in another letter, " That, in support of any legislative measure for the abolition of slavery, his suffrage should not be want ing ; " and still further, in conversation with a distinguished European Abolitionist, a travelling propagandist of Freedom, Brissot de Warville, recently welcomed to Mount Vernon, he had openly announced, that to promote this object in Virginia, " He desired the formation of a SOCIETY, and that he would second it." By this authentic testimony, he takes his place with the early patrons of Abolition Societies. VIII. By the side of Washington, as standing beneath the national flag he swore to support the Constitution, were illustrious men, whose lives and recorded words now rise in judgment. There was John Adams, the Vice-President great vindicator and final negotiator of our national independence whose soul, flaming with freedom, broke forth in the early declaration, that " Consenting to Slavery is a sacrilegious breach of trust," and whose immitigable hostility to this wrong has been made 128 JEFFERSON ALWAYS DENOUNCED SLAVERY. immortal in his descendants. There also was a companion in arms, and attached friend of incomparable genius, the yet youthful Hamilton, who, as a member of the Abolition Society of New York, had only recently united in a solemn petition for those who, " though free by f/ie laws of God, are held in Slavery by the laws of the State. 1 There, too, was a noble spirit, the ornament of his country, the exemplar of truth and virtue, who, like the sun, ever held an unerring course, John Jay. Filling the important post of Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Con federation, he found time to organize the Abolition Society of New York, and to act as its President, until, by the nomination of Washing ton, he became Chief Justice of the United States. In his sight, Slavery was an "iniquity," " a sin of crimson dye," against which minis ters of the gospel should testify, and which the Government should seek in every way to abolish. " Were I in the Legislature," he wrote, " I would present a bill for this purpose with great care, and I would never cease moving it till it became a law, or I ceased to be a member. Till America comes into this measure, her prayers to heaven will be im pious." But they were not alone. The convictions and earnest aspirations of the country were with them. At the North these were broad and general. At the South they found fervid utterance from slaveholders. By early and precocious efforts for " total emancipation," the author of the Declaration of Independence placed himself foremost among the Abolitionists of the land. In language now familiar to all, and which can never die, he perpetually denounced Slavery. He exposed its per nicious influences upon master as well as slave; declared that the- love of justice and the love of country pleaded equally for the slave, and that the "abolition of domestic slavery was the greatest object of desire." He believed that the "sacred side was gaining daily recruits," and confi dently looked to the young for the accomplishment of this good work. In fitful sympathy with Jefferson, was another honored son of Virginia, the Orator of Liberty, Patrick Henry, who, while confessing that he was a master of slaves, said : " I will not, I cannot justify it. However cul pable my conduct, I will so far pay my devoir to virtue, as to own the excellence and rectitude of her precepts, and lament my want of con formity to them." At this very period, in the Legislature of Maryland, on a bill for the relief of oppressed slaves, a young man, afterwards by his consummate learning and forensic powers, the acknowledged head of the American bar, William Pinckney, in a speech of earnest, truthful eloquence better far for his memory than his transcendent professional ALL THE CHURCHES OPPOSED TO SLAVERY. 129 fame branded Slavery as " iniquitous and most dishonorable ; " " found ed in a disgraceful traffic ; " " as shameful in its continuance as in its origin ; " and he openly declared, that, " By the eternal principles of natural justice, no master in the State has a right to hold his slave in bondage a single hour." IX. Thus at this time spoke the -NATION. The CHURCH also joined its voice. And here, amidst the diversities of religious faith, it is instruc tive to observe the general accord. The Quakers first bore their testi mony. At the adoption of the Constitution, the whole body, under the early teaching of George Fox, and by the crowning exertions of Benezet and Wolman, had become an organized band of Abolitionists, pene trated by the conviction that it was unlawful to hold a fellow-man in bondage. The Methodists, numerous, earnest and faithful, never ceased by their preachers to proclaim the same truth. Their rules in 1788 denounced, in formal language, " the buying or selling of bodies and souls of men, women, and children, with an intention to enslave them." The words of their great apostle, John Wesley, were constantly repeated. On the eve of the National Convention the burning tract was circulated, in which he exposes American slavery as the "vilest" of the world " such Slavery as is not found among the Turks at Algiers ; " and, after declaring " Liberty the birthright of every human creature, of which no human law can deprive him," he pleads, " If, therefore, you have any regard to justice (to say nothing of mercy or the revealed law of God), render unto all their due. Give liberty to whom liberty is due, that is, to every child of man, to every partaker of human nature." At the same time, the Presbyterians, a powerful religious body, inspired by the principles of John Calvin, in more moderate language, but by a public act, recorded their judgment, recommending " to all the people under their care to use the most prudent measures consistent with the interest and the state of civil society, to procure eventually the final abolition of Slavery in America" The Congregationalists of New England, also- of the faith of John Calvin, and with the hatred of Slavery belonging to the great non-conformist, Richard Baxter, were sternly united against this wrong. As early as 1776, Samuel Hopkins, their eminent leader and divine, published his tract, showing it to be the Duty and Interest of the American States to emancipate all their African slaves, and de claring that " Slavery is in every instance wrong, unrighteous and op- 9 I3O LITERATURE THE FOE- OF SLAVERY. pressive a very great and crying sin there being nothing of the kind equal to it on the face of the earth." And, in 1791, shortly after the adoption of the Constitution, the second Jonathan Edwards, a twice- honored name, in an elaborate discourse often published, called upon his country, "in the present blaze of light" on the injustice of slavery, to prepare the way for "its total abolition." This he gladly thought at hand. " If we judge of the future by the past," said the celebrated preacher, " within fifty years from this time, it will be as shameful for a man to hold a negro slave, as to be guilty of common robbery, or theft." Thus, at this time, the Church, in harmony with the Nation, by its leading denominations, Quakers, Methodists, Presbyterians and Con- gregationalists, thundered against Slavery. The COLLEGES were in unison with the Church. Harvard University spoke by the voice of Massachusetts, which had already abolished Slavery. Dartmouth Col lege, by one of its learned Professors, claimed for the slaves " equal privileges with the whites." Yale College, by its President, the emi- jient divine, Ezra Stiles, became the head of the Abolition Society of Connecticut. And the University of William and Mary, in Virginia, testified its sympathy with this cause at this very time, by conferring :upon Granville Sharpe, the acknowledged chief of British Abolitionists, ithe honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. X. The LITERATURE of the land, such as then existed, agreed with the "Nation, the Church, and the College. Franklin, in the last literary labor of his life ; Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia ; Barlow, in his measured verse ; Rush, in a work which inspired the praise of Clark- son ; the ingenious author of the Algerine Captive the earliest Amer ican novel, and though now but little known, one of the earliest Amer ican books republished in London were all moved by the contempla tion of Slavery. "If our fellow-citizens of the Southern States are -deaf to the pleadings of nature," the latter exclaims in his work, " I will conjure them, for the sake of consistency, to cease to deprive their fellow-creatures of freedom, which their writers, their orators, repre sentatives and senators, and even their Constitution of Government, have declared to be the inalienable birthright of man." A female writer and poet, earliest in our country among the graceful throng, .Sarah Wentworth Morton, at the very period of the National Conven- FRANKLIN S ABOLITION SOCIETY. 131 tion admired by the polite society in which she lived, poured forth her sympathies also. The generous labors of John Jay in behalf of the crushed African inspired her muse ; and, in another poem, commemo rating a slave, who fell while vindicating his freedom, she rendered a truthful homage to his inalienable rights, in words which I now quote as part of the testimony of the times : " Does not the voice of reason cry, * Claim the first right that Nature gave ; From the red scourge of bondage fly, Nor deign to live a burdened slave. " Such, sir, at the adoption of the Constitution and at the first organi zation of the National Government, was the outspoken, unequivocal heart of the country. Slavery was abhorred. Like the slave trade, it was regarded as transitory ; and, by many, it was supposed that they would both disappear together. As the oracles grew mute at the com ing of Christ, and a voice was heard, crying to mariners at sea, " Great Pan is dead," so at this time Slavery became dumb, and its death seemed to be near. Voices of Freedom filled the air. The patriot, the Chris tian, the scholar, the writer, the poet, vied in loyalty to this cause. All were Abolitionists. XL Glance .now at the earliest Congress under the Constitution. From various quarters came memorials to this body against Slavery. Among these was one from the Abolition Society of Virginia, wherein Slavery is pronounced "not only an odious degradation, but an outrageous violation of one of the most essential rights of human nature, and ut terly repugnant to the precepts of the Gospel." Still another, of a more important character, proceeded from the Abolition Society of Pennsylvania, and was signed by Benjamin Franklin, as President* This venerable man, whose active life had been devoted to the welfare of mankind at home and abroad who, both as philosopher and states man, had arrested the admiration of the world who had ravished the lightning from the skies and the sceptre from the tyrant who, as a member of the Continental Congress, had set his name to the Declara tion of Independence, and, as a member of the National Convention, had again set his name to the Constitution in whom more, perhaps, than in any other person, was embodied the true spirit of American 132 FRANKLINS PRAYER TO CONGRESS. institutions, at once practical and humane than whom no one could be more familiar with the purposes and aspirations of the founders this veteran, eighty-four years of age, within a few months of his death, now appeared by petition at the bar of that Congress, whose powers he had helped to define and establish. This was the last political act of his long life. Listen to the prayer of Franklin : "Your memorialists, particularly engaged in attending to the distresses arising from Slavery, believe it to be their indispensable duty to present this subject to your notice. They have observed with real satisfaction that many important and salutary powers are vested in you for promot ing the welfare and securing the blessings of liberty to the people of the United States ; and as they conceive that these blessings ought right fully to be administered, without distinction of color to all descriptions of people, so they indulge themselves in the pleasing expectation, that nothing which can be done for the relief of the unhappy objects of their care, will be either omitted or delayed." " Under these impressions, they earnestly entreat your serious attention to the subject of Slavery; that you would be pleased to countenance the restoration of liberty to those unhappy men, who alone, in this land of Freedom, are degraded into perpetual bondage, and who, amidst the general joy of surrounding freemen, are groaning in servile subjection; that you will promote mercy and justice towards this distressed race, and that you will step to the very verge of the power vested in you for DISCOURAGING every species of traffic in the persons of our fellow-men" Important words ! in themselves a key-note of the times. From his grave Franklin seems still to call upon Congress to step to the very verge of the powers vested in it to DISCOURAGE SLAVERY ; and, in making this prayer, he proclaims the true national policy of the Fathers. Not en couragement but discouragement of Slavery was their rule. Sir, enough has been said to show the sentiment which, like a vital air, surrounded the National Government as it stepped into being. In the face of this history, and in the absence of any positive sanction, it is absurd to suppose that Slavery, which under the Confederation was merely sectional, was now constituted a national institution. Our fathers did not say with the apostate angel, " Evil be thou my good ! " In a different spirit they cried out to Slavery, " Get thee behind me, Satan!" But there is yet another link in the argument. In the discussions which took place in the local conventions on the adoption of the Con stitution, a sensitive desire was manifested to surround all persons under the Constitution with additional safeguards. Fears were ex pressed, from the supposed indefiniteness of some of the powers con- PREROGATIVES OF THE CONSTITUTION. 133 ceded to the National Government, and also from the absence of a Bill of Rights. Massachusetts, on ratifying the Constitution, proposed a series of amendments, at the head of which was this, characterized by Samuel Adams, in the Convention, as "A summary of a Bill of Rights:" " That it be explicitly declared, that all powers not expressly dele gated by the aforesaid Constitution are reserved to the several States, to be by them exercised." Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, with minorities in Pennsylvania and Maryland, united in this proposition. In pursuance of these recommendations, the first Congress presented for adoption the following article, which, being ratified by a proper number of States, became part of the Constitution, as the loth amendment : " The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Stronger words could not be employed to limit the power under the Constitution, and to protect the people from all assumptions of the National Government, particularly in derogation of Freedom. Its guardian character commended it to the sagacious mind of Jefferson, who said : " I consider the foundation corner-stone of the Constitution of the United States to be laid upon the tenth article of the amend- ments." And Samuel Adams, ever watchful for Freedom, said : " It removes a doubt which many have entertained respecting the matter, gives assurance that, if any law made by the Federal Government shall be extended beyond the power granted by the Constitution, and incon sistent with the Constitution of this State, it will be an error, and ad judged by the courts of law to be void." Beyond all question, the National Government, ordained by the Constitution, is not general or universal ; but special and particular. It is a Government of limited powers. It has no power which is not delegated. Especially is this clear with regard to an institution like Slavery. The Constitution contains no power to make a King or to support kingly rule. With similar reason it may be said, that it con tains no power to make a slave, or to support a system of Slavery. The absence of all such power is hardly more clear in one case than in the other. But if there be no such power, all national legislation up holding Slavery must be unconstitutional and void. The stream cannot be higher than the fountain-head. Nay more, nothing can come out of 134 PERSONS ARE NOT PROPERTY. nothing ; the stream cannot exist, if there be no springs from which it is fed. At the risk of repetition, but for the sake of clearness, review now this argument, and gather it together. Considering that Slavery is of such an offensive character that it can find sanction only in " positive law," and that it has no such " positive " sanction in the Constitution ; that the Constitution, according to its Preamble, was ordained " to establish justice" and "secure the blessings of liberty;" that, in the Convention which framed it, and also elsewhere at the time, it was declared not to sanction Slavery ; that, according to the Declaration of Independence and the Address of the Continental Congress, the Nation was dedicated to "liberty" and the "rights of human nature;" that, according to the principles of the common law, the Constitution must be interpreted openly, actively, and perpetually, for Freedom ; that, according to the decision of the Supreme Court, it acts upon slaves, not as property, but as PERSONS ; that, at the first organization of the National Government under Washington, Slavery had no na tional favor, existed nowhere on the national territory, beneath the national flag, but was openly condemned by the Nation, the Church, the Colleges and Literature of the time ; and, finally, that according to an Amendment of the Constitution, the National Government can only exercise powers delegated to it, among which there is none to support Slavery ; considering these things, sir, it is impossible to avoid the single conclusion that Slavery is in no respect a national institution, and that the Constitution nowhere upholds property in man. XII. But there is one other special provision of the Constitution, which I have reserved to this stage, not so much from its superior importance, but because it may fitly stand by itself. This alone, if practically ap plied, would carry Freedom to all within its influence. It is an amend ment proposed by the first Congress, as follows : " No perso?i shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law" Under this aegis the liberty of every person within the national jurisdic tion is unequivocally placed. I say every person. Of this there can be no question. The word " person " in the Constitution embraces every human being within its sphere, whether Caucasian, Indian, or THE CONSTITUTION CANNOT SUPPORT SLAVERY. 135 African, from the President to the slave. Show me a person, no matter what his condition, or race, or color, within the national jurisdiction, and I confidently claim for him this protection. The natural meaning of the clause is clear, but a single fact of its history places it in the broad light of noon. As originally recommended by North Caro lina and Virginia, it was restrained to the freeman. Its language was, " No freeman ought to be deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the law of the land." In rejecting this limitation, the authors of the amendment revealed their purpose, that no person, under the National Government, of whatever character, shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law ; that is, without due presentment, indictment, or other judicial proceedings. Here by this Amendment is an express guarantee of Personal Liberty, and an express prohibition against its invasion anywhere, at least within the national jurisdiction. Sir, apply these principles, and Slavery will again be as when Wash ington took his first oath as President. The Union Flag of the Re public will become once more the flag of Freedom, and at all points within the national jurisdiction will refuse to cover a slave. Beneath its beneficent folds, wherever it is carried, on land or sea, Slavery will disappear, like darkness under the arrows of the ascending sun like the Spirit of Evil before the Angel of the Lord. In all national territories Slavery will be impossible. On the high seas, under the national flag, Slavery will be impossible. In the District of Columbia Slavery will instantly cease. Inspired by these principles, Congress can give no sanction to Slavery by the admission of new Slave States. Nowhere under the Constitution, can the Nation, by legislation or otherwise, support Slavery, hunt slaves, or hold property in man. Such, sir, are my sincere convictions. According to the Constitution, as I understand it, in the light of the Past and of its true principles, there is no other conclusion which is rational or tenable ; which does not defy the authoritative rules of interpretation ; which does not falsify indisputable facts of history ; which does not affront the public opin ion in which it had its birth ; and which does not dishonor the memory of the Fathers. And yet these convictions are now placed under formal ban by politicians of the hour. The generous sentiments which filled the early patriots, and which impressed upon the Government they founded, as upon the coin they circulated, the image and superscription of LIBERTY, have lost their power. The slave masters, few in number, amounting to not more than three hundred 136 SURRENDER OF FUGITIVE SLAVES. and fifty thousand, according to the recent census, have succeeded in- dictating the policy of the National Government, and have written SLAVERY on its front. And now an arrogant and unrelenting ostracism is applied, not only to all who express themselves against Slavery, but to every man who is unwilling to be the menial of Slavery. A novel test for office is introduced, which would have excluded all the Fathers of the Republic even Washington, Jefferson and Franklin ! Yes, sir. Startling it may be, but indisputable. Could these revered demigods of history once again descend upon earth and mingle in our affairs, not one of them could receive a nomination from the National Convention of either of the two old political parties ! Out of the convictions of their hearts and the utterances of their lips against Slavery they would be condemned. XIII. II. From this general review of the relations of the National Govern ment to Slavery, I pass to the consideration of the TRUE NATURE OF THE PROVISION FOR THE SURRENDER OF FUGITIVES FROM SERVICE, em bracing an examination of this provision in the Constitution, and especially of the recent act of Congress in pursuance thereof. And here, as I begin this discussion, let me bespeak anew your candor. Not in prejudice, but in the light of history and of reason, let us con sider the subject. The way will then be easy and the conclusion cer tain. Much error arises from the exaggerated importance now attached to this provision, and from the assumptions with regard to its origin and primitive character. It is often asserted that it was suggested by some special difficulty, which had become practically and extensively felt, anterior to the Constitution. But this is one of the myths or fables with which the supporters of Slavery have surrounded their false god. In the Articles of Confederation, while provision is made for the sur render of fugitive criminals, nothing is said of fugitive slaves or ser vants ; and there is no evidence in any quarter, until after the National Convention, of any hardship or solicitude on this account. No previous voice was heard to express desire for any provision on the subject. The story to the contrary is a modern fiction. I put aside as equally fabulous the common saying that this provision was one of the original compromises of the Constitution, and an essen- ual condition of Union. Though sanctioned by eminent judicial THE FIRST HATEFUL COMPROMISE. 137 opinions, it will be found that this statement has been hastily made, without any support in the records of the Convention, the only authen tic evidence of the compromises ; nor will it be easy to find any author ity for it in any contemporary document, speech, published letter or pamphlet of any kind. It is true that there were compromises at the formation of the Constitution, which were the subject of anxious debate ; but this was not of them. There was a compromise between the small and large States, by which equality was secured to all the States in the Senate. There was another compromise finally carried, under threats from the South, on the motion of a New England member, by which the Slave States were allowed Representatives according to the whole number of free persons, and " three-fifths of all other persons," thus securing political power on account of their slaves, in consideration that direct taxes should be ap portioned in the same way. Direct taxes have been imposed at only four brief intervals. The political power has been constant, and, at this moment, sends twenty-one members to the other House. There was a third compromise, which cannot be mentioned without shame. It was that hateful bargain by which Congress was restrained until 1808 from the prohibition of the foreign slave trade, thus securing, clown to that period, toleration for crime. This was pertinaciously pressed by the South, even to the extent of an absolute restraint on Congress. John Rutledge said : " If the Convention thinks North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia will ever agree to this plan [the Federal Constitution] unless their right to import slaves be untouched, the expectation is vain. The people of those States will never be such fools as to give up so important an interest." Charles Pinckney said : South Carolina can never receive the plan [of the Constitution] if it prohibits the slave trade." Charles Cotesworth Pinckney " thought himself bound to declare candidly, that he did not think South Carolina would stop her importation of slaves in any short time." The effrontery of the slave-masters was matched by the sordidness of the Eastern members, who yielded again. Luther Martin, the eminent member of the Convention, in his contemporary address to the Legislature of Maryland, has described the compromise. "I found," he says, "that the Eastern members, notwithstanding their aversion to slavery, were very willing to indulge the Southern States, at least with a temporary liberty to prosecute the slave trade, provided the Southern States would in their turn gratify them, by laying no restriction on navigation acts" The bargain was struck, and at this price the Southern States gained the 138 FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION. detestable indulgence. At a subsequent day, Congress branded the slave trade as piracy, and thus, by solemn legislative act, adjudged this compromise to be felonious and wicked. Such are the three chief original compromises of the Constitution and essential conditions of Union. The case of fugitives from service is not of these. During the Convention, it was not in any way asso ciated with these. Nor is there any evidence, from the records of this body, that the provision on this subject was regarded with any peculiar interest. As its absence from the articles of Confederation had not been the occasion of solicitude or desire, anterior to the National Con vention, so it did not enter into any of the original plans of the Con stitution. It was introduced tardily, at a late period of the Convention, and with very little and most casual discussion adopted. A few facts will show how utterly unfounded are the recent assumptions. The National Convention was convoked to meet at Philadelphia, on the second Monday in May, 1787. Several members appeared at this time ; but a majority of the States not being represented, those present adjourned from day to day until the 25th, when the Convention was organized by the choice of George Washington, as President. On the 28th, a few brief rules and orders were adopted. On the next day they commenced their great work. On the same day, Edmund Randolph, of slaveholding Virginia, laid before the Convention a series of sixteen resolutions, containing his plan for the establishment of a New National Government. Here was no allusion to fugitive slaves. On the same day, Charles Pinckney, of slaveholding South Carolina, laid before the Convention what is called " A draft of a Federal Gov ernment, to be agreed upon between the free and independent States of America," an elaborate paper, marked by considerable minuteness of detail. Here are provisions, borrowed from the Articles of Confedera tion, securing to citizens of each State equal privileges in the several States ; giving faith to the public records of the States ; and ordaining the surrender of fugitives from justice. But this draft, though from the flaming guardian of the slave interest, contained no allusion to fugitive slaves. In the course of the Convention other plans were brought forward ; on the 1 5th June a series of eleven propositions by Mr. Patterson, of New Jersey, " so as to render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government, and the preservation of the Union ; " on the 1 8th June, eleven propositions by Mr. Hamilton of New York, " con- NO PROPOSITION FOR PROPERTY IN SLAVES. 139 taining his ideas of a suitable plan of Government for the United States ; " and on the igth June, Mr. Randolph s resolutions, originally offered on the 29th May, " as altered, amended, and agreed to in Committee of the Whole House." On the 26th, twenty-three resolutions, already adopted on different days in the Convention, were referred to a " Com mittee of Detail," to be reduced to the form of a Constitution. On the 6th August this Committee reported the finished draft of a Consti tution. And yet in all these resolutions, plans and drafts, seven in number, proceeding from eminent members and from able Committees, no allusion was made to fugitive slaves. For three months the Con vention was in session, and not a word uttered on this subject. At last, on the 28th August, as the Convention was drawing to a close, on the consideration of the article providing for the privileges of citizens in different States, we meet the first reference to this matter, in words worthy of note : " Gen. [Charles Cotesworth] Pinckney was not satisfied with it. He SEEMED to wish some provision should be included in favor of property in slaves." But he made no proposition. Unwilling to shock the Convention, and uncertain in his own mind, he only seemed to wish such a provision. In this vague expression of a vague desire, this idea first appeared. In this modest, hesitating phrase is the germ of the audacious, unhesitating Slave Act. Here is the little vapor, which has since swollen, as in the Arabian tale, to the power and dimen sions of a, giant. The next article under discussion provided for the surrender of fugitives from justice. Mr. Butler and Mr. Charles Pinckney, both from South Carolina, now moved openly to require " fugitive slaves and servants to be delivered up like criminals." Here was no disguise. With Hamlet it was now said in spirit : "Seems, madam, najf, it is ; I know not seems." But the very boldness of the effort drew attention and opposition. Mr. Wilson, of Pennsylvania, at once objected : " This would oblige the Executive of the State to do it at the public expense." Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut, "saw no more propriety in the public seizing and sur rendering a slave or servant, than a horse." Under the pressure of these objections, the offensive proposition was quietly withdrawn never more to be renewed. The article for the surrender of criminals was then adopted. On the next day, 2pth August, profiting by the sug gestions already made, Mr. Butler moved a proposition substantially like that now found in the Constitution not for the surrender of "fugitive slaves," as originally proposed, but simply of "persons held 140 AT LAST THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. to service" which, without debate or opposition of any kind, was unan imously adopted. Here palpably was no labor of compromise no adjustment of con flicting interests ; nor even any expression of solicitude. The clause finally adopted was vague and faint as the original suggestion. In its natural import it is not applicable to slaves. If supposed by some to be so applicable, it is clear that it was supposed by others to be inap plicable to them. It is now insisted that the term " persons held to service" is an equivalent or synonym for " slaves." This interpretation is rebuked by an incident, to which reference has been already made, but which will bear repetition. On the 6th September a little more than one brief week after the clause had been adopted, and when, if it was deemed to be of any significance, it could not have been forgotten the very word "service" came under debate, and received a fixed meaning. It was unanimously adopted as a substitute for " servitude " in another part of the Constitution, for the reason that it "expressed the obligation of free persons" while the other expressed " the condition of Slaves." In the face of this authentic evidence of the sentiments of the Convention, reported by Mr. Madison, it is diffi cult to see how the term " persons held to service " can be deemed to express anything beyond "the obligations of free persons" Thus in the light of calm inquiry, does this exaggerated clause lose its im portance. XIV. At last, in 1850, we have another Act, passed by both Houses of Con gress, and approved by the President, familiarly known as the Fugitive Slave Bill. As I read this statute, I am filled with painful emotions. The masterly subtlety with which it is drawn, might challenge admira tion, if exerted for a benevolent purpose ; but in an age of sensibility and refinement, a machine of torture, however skilful and apt, cannot be regarded without horror. Sir, in the name of the Constitution which it violates ; of my country which it dishonors ; of Humanity which it degrades ; of Christianity which it offends, I arraign this en actment, and now hold it up to the judgment of the Senate and the world. Again, I shrink from no responsibility. I may seem to stand alone ; but all the patriots and martyrs of history, all the Fathers of the Republic, are with me. Sir, there is no attribute of God which does not unite against this Act. THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS OVERTHROWN. 141 But I am to regard it now chiefly as an infringement of the Constitu tion. And here its outrages, flagrant as manifold, assume the deepest dye and broadest character only when we consider that by its language it is not restrained to any special race or class, to the African or to the person with African blood ; but that any inhabitant of the United States, of whatever complexion or condition, may be its victim. With out discrimination of color even, and in violation of every presumption of freedom, the Act surrenders all, who may be claimed as " owing ser vice or labor " to the same tyrannical proceedings. If there be any, whose sympathies are not moved for the slave, who do not cherish the rights of the humble African, struggling for divine Freedom, as warmly as the rights of the white man, let him consider well that the rights of all are equally assailed. " Nephew," said Algernon Sidney in prison, on the night before his execution, " I value not my own life a chip ; but what concerns me is, that the law which takes away my life may hang every one of you, whenever it is thought convenient." Though thus comprehensive in its provisions and applicable to all, there is no safeguard of Human Freedom which the monster Act does not set at naught. It commits this great question than which none is more sacred in the law not to a solemn trial ; but to summary proceedings. It commits this question not to one of the high tribunals of the land but to the unaided judgment of a single petty magistrate. It commits this question to a magistrate appointed, not by the Pres ident with the consent of the Senate, but by the Court ; holding his office, not during good behavior, but merely during the will of the Court ; and receiving, not a regular salary, but fees according to each individual case. It authorizes judgment on ex parte evidence, by affidavits, without the sanction of cross-examination. It denies the writ of Habeas Corpus, ever known as the Palladium of the citizen. Contrary to the declared purposes of the framers of the Constitution, it sends the fugitive back " at the public expense." Adding meanness to the violation of the Constitution, it bribes the Commissioner by a double stipend to pronounce against Freedom. If he dooms a man to Slavery, the reward is ten dollars ; but, saving him to Freedom, his dole is five dollars. The Constitution expressly secures the " free exercise of religion ; " but this Act visits with unrelenting penalties the faithful men and 142 CONGRESSIONAL USURPATION. women, who may render to the fugitive that countenance, succor, and shelter which in their conscience " religion " seems to require. As it is for the public weal that there should be an end of suits, so by the consent of civilized nations, these must be instituted within fixed limitations of time ; but this Act, exalting Slavery above even this prac tical principle of universal justice, ordains proceedings against Freedom without any reference to the lapse of time. Glancing only at these points, and not stopping for argument, vindi cation, or illustration, I come at once upon the two chief radical objec tions to this Act, identical in principle with those brought by our fathers against the British Stamp Act ; first, that it is an usurpation by Con gress of powers not granted by the Constitution, and an infraction of rights secured to the States ; and, secondly, that it takes away Trial by Jury in a question of Personal Liberty and a suit at common law. Either of these objections, if sustained, strikes at the very root of the Act. That it is obnoxious to both, seems beyond doubt. XV. (i.) Now, first, of the power of Congress over this subject. The Constitution contains powers granted to Congress, compacts be tween the States, and prohibitions addressed to the Nation and to the States. A compact or prohibition may be accompanied by a power ; but not necessarily, for it is essentially distinct in its nature. And here the single question arises, Whether the Constitution, by grant, general or special, confers upon Congress any power to legislate on the sub ject of fugitives from service. The whole legislative power of Congress is derived from two sources ; first, from the general grant of power, attached to the long catalogue of powers " to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for the carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vest ed by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof;" and secondly, from special grants in other parts of the Constitution. As the provision in question does not appear in the catalogue of powers, and does not purport to vest any power in the Government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof, no power to legislate on this subject can be derived from the general grant. Nor can any such power be derived from any special grant in any other part of the Constitution ; for none such ex- MADISON MORRIS FRANKLIN SHERMAN. 143 ists. The conclusion must be, that no power is delegated to Congress over the surrender of fugitives from service. Thus the proceedings of the Convention show that the founders un derstood the necessity of powers in certain cases, and, on consideration, most jealously granted them. A closing example will strengthen the argument. Congress is expressly empowered " to establish an uniform rule of Naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of Bankrupt cies, throughout the United States" Without this provision, these two subjects would have been within the control of the States, and the Nation would have had no power to establish an uniform rule thereupon. Now, instead of the existing compact on fugitives from service, it would have been easy, had any such desire prevailed, to add this case to the clause on Naturalization and Bankruptcies, and to empower Con gress TO ESTABLISH AN UNIFORM RULE FOR THE SURRENDER OF FU GITIVES FROM SERVICE THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. Then, of course, whenever Congress undertook to exercise the power, all State control of the subject would have been superseded. The National Government would have been constituted, like Nimrod, the mighty Hunter, with power to gather the huntsmen, to halloo the pack, and to direct the chase of men, ranging at will, without regard to boundaries or jurisdictions, throughout all the States. But no person in the Con vention, not one of the reckless partisans of slavery, was so audacious as to make this proposition. Had it been distinctly made, it would have been distinctly denied. The fact that the provision on this subject was adopted unanimously, while showing the little importance attached to it in the shape it finally assumed, testifies also that it could not have been regarded as a source of National power over Slavery. It will be remembered, that, among the members of the Convention, were Gouverneur Morris, who had said that he " never would concur in upholding domestic slavery ; " Elbridge Gerry, who thought " we ought to be careful NOT to give any sanction to it;" Roger Sherman, who was OPPOSED to any clause "acknowledg ing men to be property ; " James Madison, who " thought it WRONG to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in man ; " and Benjamin Franklin, who likened American slaveholders to Algerine corsairs. In the face of these unequivocal statements, it is absurd to suppose that they consented unanimously to any provision by which the National Government, the work of their hands, dedicated to Freedom, could be made the most offensive instrument of Slavery. Thus much for the evidence from the history of the Convention. 144 TRIAL BY JURY DENIED. But the true principles of our Political System are in harmony with this conclusion of history ; and here let me say a word of State Rights. It was the purpose of our fathers to create a National Government, and to endow it with adequate powers. They had known the perils of imbecility, discord and confusion, during the uncertain days of the Con federation, and desired a Government which should be a true bond of Union and an efficient organ of the national interests at home and abroad. But while fashioning this agency, they fully recognized the Governments of the States. To the nation were delegated high powers, essential to the national interests, but specific in character and limited in number. To the States and to the people were reserved the powers, general in character and unlimited in number, not delegated to the Na tion or prohibited to the States. And here I end this branch of the question. The true principles of our Political System, the history of the National Convention, the natural interpretation of the Convention, all teach that this Act is a usurpation by Congress of powers that do not belong to it, and an infraction of rights secured to the States. It is a sword, whose handle is at the Na tional Capital, and whose point is everywhere in the States. A weapon so terrible to Personal Liberty the Nation has no power to grasp. XVI. (2.) And now of the denial of Trial by Jury. Admitting, for the moment, that Congress is entrusted with power over this subject, which truth disowns, still the Act is again radically unconstitutional from its denial of Trial by Jury in a question of Personal Liberty and a suit at common law. Since on the one side there is a claim of property, and on the other of liberty, both property and liberty are involved in the issue. To this claim on either side is attached Trial by Jury. To me, sir, regarding this matter in the light of the common law and in the blaze of free institutions, it has always seemed impossible to arrive at any other conclusion. If the language of the Constitution were open to doubt, which it is not, still all the presumptions of law, all the leanings for Freedom, all the suggestions of justice, plead angel- tongued for this right. Nobody doubts that Congress, if it legislates on this matter, may allow a Trial by Jury. But if it may, so overwhelming is the claim of justice, it MUST. Beyond this, however, the question is determined by the precise letter of the Constitution. ELBRIDGE GERRY S SUGGESTION ADOPTED. 145 Several expressions in the provision for the surrender of fugitives from service, show the essential character of the proceedings. In the first place, the person must be, not merely charged, as in the case of fugitives from justice, but actually held to service in the State from which he escaped. In the second place, he must be " delivered up on ^claim of the party to whom such labor is due" These two facts, that he was held to service, and that his service was due to his claimant, are directly placed in issue, and must be proved. Two necessary incidents of the delivery may also be observed. First, it must be made in the State where the fugitive is found ; and, secondly, it restores to the claimant his complete control over the person of the fugitive. From these circumstances it is evident that the proceedings cannot be re garded, in any just sense, as preliminary, or ancillary to some future formal trial, but as complete in themselves, final and conclusive. And these proceedings determine on the one side the question of property, and on the other the sacred question of Personal Liberty in its most transcendent form ; not merely Liberty for a day or a year, but for life, and the Liberty of generations that shall come after, so long as Slavery endures. To these questions, the Constitution, by two specific provisions, attaches the Trial by Jury. One of these is the familiar clause, already adduced : "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law ; " that is, without due proceedings at law, with Trial by Jury. Not stopping to dwell on this, I press at once to the other provision, which is still more express : "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of Trial by Jury shall be preserved." This clause, which was not in the original Constitution when first adopted, was suggested by the very spirit of Freedom. At the close of the National Convention, Elbridge Gerry refused to sign the Constitution, because, among other things, it established a " tribunal without juries, a Star Chamber as to civil cases." Many united in his opposition, and on the recommendation of the First Congress this additional safeguard, was adopted as an amendment. Now, regarding the question as one of property, or of Personal Liber ty, in either alternative the Trial by Jury is secured. For this position authority is ample. In the debate on the Fugitive Slave Bill of 1817- 18, a Senator from South Carolina, Mr. Smith, anxious for the asserted right of property, objected, on this very floor, to a reference of the question, under the writ of Habeas Corpus, to a judge without a jury. Speaking solely for property, these were his words : 10 146 JUDICIAL DECISIONS FOR FREEDOM. " This would give the Judge the sole power of deciding the right of property the master claims in his slaves, instead of trying that right by a jury, as prescribed by the Constitution. He would be judge of matters of law and matters of fact ; clothed with all the powers of a court. Such a principle is unknown in your system of jurisprudence. Your Con stitution has forbid it. It preserves the right of Trial by Jury in all cases where the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars." (De-^ bates in National Intelligencer, June 15, 1818.) But this provision has been repeatedly discussed by the Supreme Court, so that its meaning is not open to doubt. Three conditions are necessary, first, the proceedings must be " a suit ; " secondly, "at common law;" and thirdly, "where the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars." In every such case " the right of Trial by Jury shall be preserved." The decisions of the Supreme Court ex pressly touch each of these points. First. In the case of Cohe?is v. Virginia (6 Wheaton, 407), the Court say : "What is a suit? We understand it to be the prosecution of some claim, demand or request." Of course, then, the " claim" for .a fugitive must be " a suit." Secondly. In the case of Parsons v. Bedford (3 Peters, 456), while -considering this very clause, the Court say : By common law is meant not merely suits which the common law recognized among its old and settled proceeding, but suits in which legal rights were to be ascer tained and determined. In a just sense, the Amendment may well be construed to embrace all suits, which are not of Equity or Admiralty jurisdiction, whatever may be the peculiar form which they may asstime .to settle legal rights" Now, since the claim for a fugitive is not a suit in Equity or Admiralty, but a suit to settle what are called legal rights, it must, of course, be " a suit at common law." Thirdly. In the case of Lee v. Lee (8 Peters, 44), on a question whether " the value in controversy " was " one thousand dollars and upwards," it was objected that the appellants, who were petitioners for Freedom, were not of the value of one thousand dollars. But the Court said : " The matter in dispute is the Freedom of the petitioners. This is not susceptible of pecuniary valuation. No doubt is entertained of the jurisdiction of the Court." Of course, then, since liberty is above price, the claim to any fugitive always and necessarily presumes that " the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars." By these successive steps, sustained by decisions of the highest tri bunal, it appears, as in a diagram, that the right of Trial by Jury is .secured to the fugitive from service. UNDER THE COMMON LAW. 147 This conclusion needs no further authority ; but it may receive curious illustration from the ancient records of the common law, so familiar and dear to the framers of the Constitution. It is said by Mr. Burke, in his magnificent speech on Conciliation with America, that " nearly as many of Blackstone s Commentaries were sold in America as in England," carrying thither the knowledge of those vital principles of Freedom, which were the boast of the British Constitution. Imbued by these, the earliest Continental Congress, in 1774, declared, "That the respective Colonies are entitled to the common law of England, and especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicinage according to the course of that law." Thus, amidst the troubles which heralded the Revolution, the common law was claimed by our fathers as a birthright. Now, on principle and authority, a claim for the delivery of a fugitive slave is a suit at common law, and is embraced naturally and neces sarily in this class of judicial proceedings. This proposition can be placed beyond question. And here, especially, let me ask the attention of all learned in the law. On this point, as on every other in this argu ment, I challenge inquiry and answer. History painfully records, that during the early days of the common law, and down even to a late period, a system of slavery existed in England, known under the name of villanage. The slave was generally called a villain, though in the original Latin forms of judicial proceed ings, he was termed nativus, implying slavery by birth. The incidents of this condition have been minutely described, and also the mutual remedies of master and slave, all of which were regulated by the com mon law. Slaves sometimes then, as now, escaped from their masters. The claim for them after such escape was prosecuted by a " a suit at common law," to which, as to every suit at common law, the Trial by Jury was necessarily attached. Blackstone, in his Commentaries (Vol. II. p. 93), in words which must have been known to all the lawyers of the Convention, said of villains : " They could not leave their lord without his permission, but if they ran away, or were purloined from him, might be CLAIMED and recovered by ACTION, like beasts or other cattle." This very word "action" of itself implies "a suit at common law," with Trial by Jury. By these various proceedings, all ending in Trial by Jury, Personal Liberty was guarded, even in the early, unrefined, and barbarous days of the common law. Any person claimed as a fugitive slave might invoke this Trial as a sacred right. Whether the master proceeded by 148 UNCONSTITUTIONALLY OF THE SLAVE ACT. seizure, as he might, or by legal process, the Trial by Jury in a suit at common law, before one of the high courts of the realm, was equally secured. In the case of seizure, the fugitive, reserving the proceedings, might institute process against his master and appeal to a court and jury. In the case of process by the master, the watchful law secured to the fugitive the same protection. By no urgency of force, by no device of process, could any person claimed as a slave be defrauded of this Trial. Such was the common law. If its early boast, that there could be no slaves in England, fails to be true, this at least may be its price, that, according to its indisputable principles, the Liberty of every man was placed under the guard of Trial by Jury. XVII. Such, sir, is the argument, briefly uttered, against the constitution ality of the Slave Act. Much more I might say on this matter ; much more on the two chief grounds of objection which I have occupied. But I am admonished to hasten on. Opposing this Act as doubly unconstitutional from a want of power in Congress and from a denial of Trial by Jury. I find myself again encouraged .by the example of our Revolutionary Fathers, in a case which is one of the landmarks of history. The parallel is important and complete. In 1765, the British Parliament, by a notorious statute, attempted to draw money from the colonies through a stamp tax, while the determination of certain questions of forfeiture under the statute was delegated not to the courts of common law but to Courts of Admiralty without a jury. The Stamp Act, now execrated by all lovers of liberty, had this extent and no more. Its passage was the signal for a general flame of opposition and indignation throughout the Colonies. It was denounced as contrary to the British Constitution on two principal grounds : first, as a usurpation by Parliament of powers not belonging to it, and an infraction of rights secured to the Colonies ; and secondly, as a denial of Trial by Jury in certain cases of property. The public feeling was variously expressed. At Boston, on the arrival of the stamps, the shops were closed, the bells of the churches tolled, and the flags of the ships hung at half-mast. At Portsmouth, in New ^Hampshire, the bells were tolled, and notice given to the friends of Liberty to hold themselves in readiness to attend her funeral. At New York a letter was received from Franklin, then in London, writ- THE INFLEXIBLE SAMUEL ADAMS. 149 ten on the day after the passage of the Act, in which he said : "The sun of liberty is set." The obnoxious Act, headed " Folly of Eng land and Ruin of America," was contemptuously hawked through the streets. The merchants of New York, inspired then by Liberty, resolved to import no more goods from England until the repeal of the Act ; and their example was followed shortly afterwards by the mer chants of Philadelphia and Boston. Bodies of patriots were organized everywhere under the name of "Sons of Liberty." The orators also spoke. James Otis with fiery tongue appealed to Magna Charta. Of all the States, Virginia whose shield bears the image of liberty trampling upon chains first declared herself by solemn resolutions, which the timid thought " treasonable ; " but which soon found a response. New York followed. Massachusetts came next, speaking by the pen of the inflexible Samuel Adams. In an Address from the Legislature to the Governor, the true grounds of opposition to the Stamp Act, coincident with the two radical objections to the Slave Act, are clearly set forth : "You are pleased to say that the Stamp Act is an act of Parliament, and as such ought to be observed. This House, sir, has too great reverence for the Supreme Legislature of the nation to question its just authority. It by no means appertains to us to presume to adjust the boundaries of the power of Parliament ; but boundaries there undoubtedly are. We hope we may, without offence, put your Excellency in mind of that most grievous sentence of excommunication solemnly denounced by the Church in the name of the sacred Trinity, in the presence of King Henry the Third and the estates of the realm, against all those who should make statutes OR OBSERVE THEM, BEING MADE, contrary to tJie liberties of Magna Charta. The Charter of this province invests the General Assembly with the power of making laws for its internal gov ernment and taxation ; and this Charter has never been forfeited. The Parliament has a right to make all laws within the limits of their own constitution." * * * " The people complain that the Act vests a single judge of Admiralty with the power to try and determine their property in controversies arising from internal concerns, without a jury, contrary to the very expression of Magna Charta, that no freeman shall be amerced, but by the oath of good and lawful men of the vicinage." * * * " We deeply regret that the Parliament has seen fit to pass such an act as the Stamp Act ; we flatter ourselves that the hardships of it will shortly appear to them in such a light, as shall induce them in their wisdom to repeal it ; in the meantime, we must beg your Excellency will excuse us from doing anything to assist in the execution of it" Thus in those days spoke Massachusetts ! The parallel still proceeds. The unconstitutional Stamp Act was welcomed in the Colonies by the 150 BOSTON S OPPOSITION TO THE STAMP ACT. Tories of that day precisely as the unconstitutional Slave Act has been welcomed by large and imperious numbers among us. Hutchinson, at that time Lieutenant Governor and Judge in Massachusetts, wrote to Ministers in England : " The Stamp Act is received with as much decency as could be expected. It leaves no room for evasion, and will execute itself." Like the judges of our day, in charges to grand juries, he resolutely vindicated the Act, and admonished " the jurors and the people" to obey. Like Governors of our day, Bernard, in his speech to the Legislature of Massachusetts, demanded unreasoning submission. u I shall not," says this British Governor, " enter into any disquisition of the policy of this Act. I have only to say it is an Act of the Parlia ment of Great Britain ; and I trust that the supremacy of that Parlia ment over all the members of their wide and diffused empire never was and never will be denied within these walls." Like marshals of our day, the officers of the Customs made " application for a military force to assist them in the execution of their duty." The military were against the people. A British major of artillery at New York exclaimed, in tones not unlike those now sometimes heard : " I will cram the stamps down their throats with the end of my sword." The elaborate answer of Massachusetts a paper of historic grandeur drawn by Samuel Adams, was pronounced " the ravings of a parcel of wild enthusiasts." XVIII. Thus in those days spoke the partisans of the Stamp Act. But their weakness soon became manifest. In the face of an awakened com munity, where discussion has free scope, no men, though surrounded by office and wealth, can long sustain injustice. Earth, water, nature, they may subdue ; but Truth they cannot subdue. Subtle and mighty, against all efforts and devices, it fills every region of light with its ma jestic presence. The Stamp Act was discussed and understood. Its violation of constitutional rights was exposed. By resolutions of Legis latures and of town meetings, by speeches and writings, by public as semblies and processions, the country was rallied in peaceful phalanx against the execution of the Act. To this great object, within the bounds of law and the constitution, were bent all the patriot energies of the land. And here Boston took the lead. Her records at this time are full of proud memorials. In formal instructions to her representatives, adopted VIRGINIA RESPONDS TO BOSTON. 151 unanimously, "having been read several times," in Town Meeting at Faneuil Hall, the following rule of conduct was prescribed : "We, therefore, think it our indispensable duty, in Justice to our selves and Posterity, as it is our undoubted Privilege, in the most open and unreserved, but decent and respectful Terms, to declare our great est Dissatisfaction with this Law. And we think it incumbent upon you by no Means to join in any public Measures for countenancing and assisting in the execution of the same. But to use your best endeav ors in the general Assembly to have the inherent inalienable Rights of the People of this Province asserted, and vindicated, and left upon the public record, that Posterity may never have reason to charge the pre sent Times with the Guilt of tamely giving them away." Virginia responded to Boston. Many of her justices of the peace sur rendered their commissions "rather than aid in the enforcement of the law, or be instrumental in the overthrow of their country s liberties." As the opposition deepened, its natural tendency was to outbreak and violence. But this was carefully restrained. On one occasion in Boston it showed itself in the lawlessness of a mob. But the town, at a public meeting in Faneuil Hall, called without delay on the motion of the opponents of the Stamp Act, with James Otis as chairman, condemned the outrage. Eager in hostility to the execution of the Act, Boston cherished municipal order, and constantly discoun tenanced all tumult, violence, and illegal proceedings. Her equal de votion to these two objects drew the praises and congratulations of other towns. In reply, March 2 7th, 1766, to an Address from the inhabitants of Plymouth, her own consciousness of duty done is thus expressed : " If the inhabitants of Boston have taken the legal and warrantable measures to prevent that misfortune, of all others the most to be dreaded, the execution of the Stamp Act, and as a necessary means of preventing it, have made any spirited applications for opening the custom-houses and courts of justice ; if at the same time they have borne their testimony against outrageous tumults and illegal proceedings, and given any ex ample of the Love of Peace and good order, next to the consciousness of having done their duty is the satisfaction of meeting with the appro bation of any of their fellow-countrymen." Learn now from the Diary of John Adams the results of this system : " The year 1 765 has been the most remarkable year of my life. That enormous engine, fabricated by the British Parliament, for battering down all the rights and liberties of America I mean the Stamp Act has raised and spread through the whole continent a spirit that will be recorded to our honor with all future generations. In every Colony, from Georgia to New Hampshire inclusively, the stamp distributors and 152 THE STAMP ACT IS REPEALED. inspectors have been compelled by the unconquerable rage of the peo ple to renounce their offices. Such and so universal has been the resentment of the people, that every man who has dared to speak in favor of the stamps, or to soften the detestation in which they are held, how great soever his abilities and virtues had been esteemed before, or whatever his fortune, connections and influence had been, has been seen to sink into universal contempt and ignominy." The Stamp Act became a dead letter. At the meeting of Parliament numerous petitions were presented, cdling for its instant repeal. Franklin, at that time in England, while giving his famous testimony before the House of Commons, was asked whether he thought the peo ple of America would submit to this Act if modified. His brief em phatic response was : " No. never, unless compelled by force of arms." Chatham, yet weak with disease, but mighty in eloquence, exclaimed in ever-memorable words: "We are told America is obstinate America is almost in open rebellion. Sir, I rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of people, so dead to all the feelings of liberty as volun tarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest. The Americans have been wronged ; they have been driven to madness. I will beg leave to tell the house in a few words what is really my opinion. // is that the Stamp Act be repealed, absolutely, totally and immediately" It was repealed. Within less than a year from its original passage, denounced and discredited, it was driven from the Statute Book, In the charnel-house of history, with the unclean things of the Past, it now rots. Thither the Slave Act is destined to follow. XIX. Sir, I might here stop. It is enough in this place, and on this occa sion, to show the unconstitutionality of this enactment. Your duty commences at once. All legislation hostile to the fundamental law of i he land should be repealed without delay. But the argument is not yet exhausted. Even if this Act could claim any validity or apology under the Constitution, which it cannot, / / lacks that essential support in the Public Conscie?ice of the States, where it is to be enforced, which is the life of all law, and without which any law mtist become a dead letter. The Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Butler) was right, when, at the beginning of the session, he pointedly said that a law which could WASHINGTON OPPOSED TO FORCIBLE RENDITION. 153 be enforced only by the bayonet, was no law. Sir, it is idle to suppose that an Act of Congress becomes effective, merely by compliance with the forms of legislation. Something more is necessary. The Act must be in harmony with the prevailing public sentiment of the community upon which it bears. Of course, I do not suggest that the cordial support of every man or of every small locality is necessary ; but I do mean that the public feelings, the public convictions, the public conscience, must not be touched, wounded, lacerated, by every endeavor to enforce it. With all these, it must be so far in harmony, that, like other laws, by which prop erty, liberty and life are guarded, it may be administered by the ordinary process of courts, without jeoparding the public peace or shocking good men. If this be true as a general rule if the public support and sym pathy be essential to the life of all law this is especially the case in an enactment which concerns the important and sensitive rights of Personal Liberty. In conformity with this principle, the Legislature of Massa chusetts, by formal resolution, in 1850, with singular unanimity, declared : " We hold it to be the duty of Congress to pass such laws only in regard thereto as will be maintained by the sentiments of the Free States, where such laws are to be enforced." The duty of consulting these sentiments was recognized by Wash ington. While President of the United States, at the close of his Ad ministration, he sought to recover a slave who had fled to New Hamp shire. His autograph letter to Mr. Whipple, the Collector at Portsmouth, dated at Philadelphia, 28th November, 1796, which I now hold in my hand, and which has never before seen the light, after describing the fugitive, and particularly expressing the desire of " her mistress," Mrs. Washington, for her return, employs the following decisive language : " I do not mean, however, by this request, that such violent measures should be used AS WOULD EXCITE A MOB OR RIOT, WHICH MIGHT BE THE CASE IF SHE HAS ADHERENTS, OR EVEN UNEASY SENSATIONS IN THE MINDS OF WELL-DISPOSED CITIZENS. Rather than either of these should happen, I would forego her services altogether; and the example, also, which is of infinite more importance. " GEORGE WASHINGTON." Mr. Whipple, in his reply, dated at Portsmouth, December 22, 1796, an autograph copy of which I have, recognizes the rule of Washington ": " I will now, sir, agreeably to your desire, send her to Alexandria, if it be practicable without the consequences which you except that of exciting a riot or a mob, or creating imeasy sensations in the minds of well-disposed persons. The first cannot be calculated beforehand ; it will be governed by the popular opinion of the moment, or the circum- 154 WASHINGTON LEAVES HIS SLAVES FREE. stances that may arise in the transaction. The latter may be sought into and judged of by conversing with such persons without discover ing the occasion. So far as I have had opportunity, I perceive that different sentiments are entertained on this subject." The fugitive never was returned ; but lived in freedom to a good old age, down to a very recent period, a monument of the just forbearance of him whom we aptly call the Father of his Country. It is true that he sought her return. This we must regret, and find its apology. He was at the time a slaveholder. Though often with various degrees of force expressing himself against slavery, and promising his suffrage for its abolition, he did not see this wrong as he saw it at the close of life, in the illumination of another sphere. From this act of Washington, still swayed by the policy of the world, I appeal to Washington writing his will. From Washington on earth I appeal to Washington in Heaven. Seek not by his name to justify any such effort. His death is above his life. His last testament cancels his authority as a slaveholder. How ever he may have appeared before man, he came into the presence of God only as the liberator of his slaves. Grateful for this example, I am grateful also that, while a slaveholder, and seeking the return of a fugi tive, he has left in permanent record a rule of conduct which, if adopted by his country, will make Slave-Hunting impossible. The chances of a riot, or mob, or "even uneasy sensations among well-disposed persons," are to prevent any such pursuit. Sir, the existing Slave Act cannot be enforced without violating the precept of Washington. Not merely " uneasy sensations of well-dis posed persons," but rage, tumult, commotion, mob, riot, violence, death, gush from its fatal overflowing fountains. Not a case occurs without endangering the public peace. Workmen are brutally dragged from employments to which they are wedded by years of successful labor ; husbands are ravished from wives, and parents from children. Every where there is disturbance ; at Detroit, Buffalo, Harrisburg, Syracuse, Philadelphia, New York, Boston. At Buffalo the fugitive was cruelly knocked by a log of wood against a red-hot stove, and his mock trial commenced while the blood still oozed from his wounded head. At. Syracuse he was rescued by a sudden mob; so also at Boston. At Harrisburg the fugitive was shot ; at Christiana the Slave-Hunter was shot. At New York unprecedented excitement, always with un certain consequences, has attended every case. Again at Boston a fugitive, according to the received report, was first basely seized under pretext that he was a criminal ; arrested only after a deadly struggle ; WHO COULD SING FOR SLAVERY? 155 guarded by officers who acted in violation of the laws of the State ; tried in a Court-House surrounded by chains, contrary to the com mon law ; finally surrendered to Slavery by trampling on the criminal process of the State, under an escort in violation again of the laws of the State, while the pulpits trembled and the whole people, not merely " uneasy," but swelling with ill-suppressed indignation, for the sake of order and tranquillity, without violence witnessed the shameful catastrophe. With every attempt to administer the Slave Act, it constantly be comes more revolting, particularly in its influence on the agents it enlists. Pitch cannot be touched without defilement, and all who lend themselves to this work seem at once and unconsciously to lose the better part of man. The spirit of the law passes into them, as the devils entered the swine. Upstart commissioners, the mere mushrooms of courts, vie and revie with each other. Now by indecent speed, now by harshness of manner, now by a denial of evidence, now by crippling the defence, and now by open glaring wrong, they make the odious Act yet more odious. Clemency, grace, and justice die in its presence. All this is observed by the world. Not a case occurs which does not harrow the souls of good men, and bring tears of sympathy to the eyes, also those other noble tears which "patriots shed o er dying laws." Sir, I shall speak frankly. If there be an exception to this feeling, it will be found chiefly with a peculiar class. It is a sorry fact that the " mercantile interest," in its unpardonable selfishness, twice in English history, frowned upon the endeavors to suppress the atrocity of Algerine Slavery ; that it sought to baffle Wilberforce s great effort for the aboli tion of the African slave trade ; and that, by a sordid compromise, at the formation of our Constitution, it exempted the same detested Heaven- defying traffic from American judgment. And now representatives of this "interest," forgetful that commerce is the child of Freedom, join in hunting the Slave. But the great heart of the people recoils from this enactment. It palpitates for the fugitive, and rejoices in his escape. Sir, I am telling you facts. The literature of the age is all on his side. The songs, more potent than laws, are for him. The poets, with voices of melody, are for freedom. Who could sing for Slavery ? They who make the permanent opinion of the country, who mould our youth, whose words, dropped into the soul, are the germs of character, sup plicate for the Slave. And now, sir, behold a new and heavenly ally. A woman, inspired by Christian genius, enters the lists, like another Joan of Arc, and with marvellous power, sweeps the chords of the pop- 156 ARAGO REDEEMED FROM SLAVERY. ular heart. Now melting to tears, and now inspiring to rage, her work everywhere touches the conscience, and makes the Slave-Hunter more hateful. In a brief period, nearly 100,000 copies of Uncle Tom s Cabin have been already circulated. But this extraordinary and sudden suc cesssurpassing all other instances in the records of literature cannot be regarded merely as the triumph of genius. Higher far than this, it is the testimony of the people, by an unprecedented act, against the Fugitive Slave Bill. I have said, sir, that this sentiment is just. And is it not ? Every escape from slavery necessarily and instinctively awakens the regard of all who love Freedom. The endeavor, though unsuccessful, reveals courage, manhood, character. No story is read with more interest than that of our own Lafayette, when, aided by a gallant South Caro linian, in defiance of the despotic ordinances of Austria, kindred to our Slave Act, he strove to escape from the bondage of Olmutz. Liter ature pauses with exultation over the struggles of Cervantes, the great Spaniard, while a slave in Algiers, to regain the liberty for which he says, in his immortal work, " we ought to risk life itself, Slavery being the greatest evil that can fall to the lot of man." Science, in all her manifold triumphs, throbs with pride and delight, that Arago, the astron omer and philosopher devoted republican also was redeemed from barbarous Slavery to become one of her greatest sons. Religion re joices serenely, with joy unspeakable, in the final escape of Vincent de Paul. Exposed in the public squares of Tunis to the inspection of the traffickers in human flesh, this illustrious Frenchman was subjected to every vileness of treatment, compelled, like a horse, to open his mouth, to show his teeth, to trot, to run, to exhibit his strength in lifting bur dens, and then, like a horse, legally sold in market overt. Passing from master to master, after a protracted servitude, he achieved his freedom, and regaining France, commenced that resplendent career of charity by which he is placed among the great names of Christendom. Princes and orators have lavished panegyrics upon this fugitive slave ; and the Catholic Church, in homage to his extraordinary virtues, has introduced him into the company of saints. Less by genius or eminent services, than by sufferings, are the fugi tive slaves of our country now commended. For them every sentiment of humanity is aroused : " Who could refrain That had a heart to love, and in that heart Courage to make his love known ? " REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT. 1 57 Rude and ignorant they may be ; but in their very efforts for Freedom, they claim kindred with all that is noble in the Past. They are among the heroes of our age. Romance has no stories of more thrilling inter est than theirs. Classical antiquity has preserved no examples of ad venturous trial more worthy of renown. Among them are men whose names will be treasured in the annals of their race. By their eloquent voice they have already done much to make their wrongs known, and to secure the respect of the world. History will soon lend them her avenging pen. Proscribed by you during life, they will proscribe you through all time. Sir, already judgment is beginning. A righteous public sentiment palsies your enactment. xx. And now, sir, let us review the field over which we have passed. We have seen that any compromise, finally closing the discussion of Slavery under the Constitution, is tyrannical, absurd, and impotent ; that as Slavery can exist only by virtue of positive law, and as it has no such positive support in the Constitution, it cannot exist within the National jurisdiction ; that the Constitution nowhere recognizes prop erty in man, and that, according to its true interpretation, Freedom and not Slavery is national, while Slavery and not Freedom is sectional ; that, in this spirit, the National Government was first organized under Washington, himself an Abolitionist, surrounded by Abolitionists, while the whole country, by its Church, its Colleges, its Literature, and all its best voices, was united against Slavery, and the national flag at that time nowhere within the National Territory covered a single slave; still further, that the National Government is a Government of del egated powers, and as among these there is no power to support Slavery, this institution cannot be national, nor can Congress in any way legislate in its behalf; and, finally, that the establishment of this principle is the true way of peace and safety for the Republic. Con sidering next the provision for the surrender of fugitives from service, we have seen that it was not one of the original compromises of the Constitution ; that it was introduced tardily and with hesitation, and adopted with little discussion, and then and for a long period after was regarded with comparative indifference ; that the recent Slave Act, though many times unconstitutional, is especially so on two grounds first, as a usurpation.by Congress of powers not granted by the Consti- 158 SLAVE THAT LITANY OF WRONG AND WOE. tution, and an infraction of rights secured to the States ; and secondly, as a denial of Trial by Jury, in a question of Personal Liberty and a suit at common law ; that its glaring unconstitutionality finds a proto type in the British Stamp Act, which our fathers refused to obey as un constitutional on two parallel grounds first, because it was a usurpa tion by Parliament of powers not belonging to it under the British Constitution, and an infraction of rights belonging to the Colonies ; and secondly, because it was a denial of Trial by Jury in certain cases of property ; that as Liberty is far above property, so is the outrage perpetrated by the American Congress far above that perpetrated by the British Parliament ; and, finally, that the Slave Act has not that support in the public sentiment of the States where it is to be executed, which is the life of all law, and which prudence and the precept of Washington require. Briefly, the States are prohibited from any " law or regulation" by which any " person " escaped from " service or labor " may be discharged therefrom, and on establishment of the claim to such " service or labor," he is to be " delivered up." But the mode by which the claim is to be tried and determined is not specified. All this is obviously within the control of each State. It may be done by virtue of express legislation, in which event any Legislature, justly careful of Personal Liberty, would surround the fugitive with every shield of the law and Constitution. But here a fact, pregnant with Freedom, must be studiously observed. The name Slave that litany of wrong and woe does not appear in the clause. Here is no unambiguous phrase, incapable of a double sense ; no " positive " language, applicable only to slaves, and excluding all other classes ; no word of that absolute certainty in every particular, which forbids any interpretation except that of Slavery, and makes it impossi ble " to catch at anything in favor of Liberty." Nothing of this kind is here. But passing from this ; " cruelly and impiously " renouncing for the moment all leanings for Freedom ; refusing " to catch at any thing in favor of Liberty ; " abandoning the cherished idea of the Fathers, that " It was wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea of property in man ; " and, in the face of these commanding principles, assuming two things, first, that, in the evasive language of this clause, the Convention, whatever may have been the aim of individual mem bers, really intended fugitive slaves, which is sometimes questioned ; and, secondly, that, if they so intended, the language employed can be judicially regarded as justly applicable to fugitive slaves, which is often and earnestly denied ; then the whole proceeding* without any express THE FINAL CONCLUSION. 159 legislation, may be left to the ancient and authentic forms of the com mon law, familiar to the framers of the Constitution and ample for the occasion. If the fugitive be seized without process, he will be entitled at once to his writ de Homine Replegiando, while the master, resorting to process, may find his remedy in the writ de Nativo Habendo each writ requiring Trial by Jury. If, from ignorance or lack of employ ment, these processes have slumbered in our country, still they belong to the great arsenal of the common law, and continue, like other an cient writs, tanquam gladium in vagina, ready to be employed at the first necessity. They belong to the safeguards of the citizen. But in any event and in either alternative the proceedings would be by " suit at common law," with Trial by Jury ; and it would be the solemn duty of the court, according to all the forms and proper delays of the com mon law, to try the case on the evidence ; strictly to apply all the pro tecting rules of evidence, and especially to require stringent proof, by competent witnesses under cross-examination, that the person claimed was held to service ; that his service was due to the claimant ; that he had escaped iiQio. the State where such service was due ; and also proof of the laws of the State under which he was held. Still further, to the Courts of each State must belong the determination of the question, to what classes of persons, according to just rules of interpretation, the phrase "persons held to service or labor " is strictly applicable. Such is this much-debated provision. The Slave States, at the forma tion of the Constitution, did not propose, as in the cases of Naturaliza tion and bankruptcy, to empower the National Government to establish an uniform rule for the rendition of fugitives from service, throughout the United States ; they did not ask the National Government to charge itself in any way with this service; they did not venture to offend the country, and particularly the Northern States, by any such assertion of a hateful right. They were content, under the sanctions of compact, to leave it to the public sentiment of the States. There, I insist, it shall remain. XXI. Mr. President, I have occupied much time; but the great subject still stretches before us. One other point yet remains, which I should not leave untouched, and which justly belongs to the close. The Slave Act violates the Constitution and shocks the Public Conscience. I6O INJUSTICE CANNOT COMMAND OBEDIENCE. With modesty and yet with firmness let me add, sir, it offends against the Divine Law. No such enactment can be entitled to support. As the throne of God is above every earthly throne, so are his laws and statutes above all the laws and statutes of man. To question these, is to question God himself. But to assume that human laws are beyond question, is to claim for their fallible authors infallibility. To assume that they are always in conformity with the laws of God, is presumptu ously and impiously to exalt man to an equality with God. Clearly human laws are not always in such conformity ; nor can they ever be beyond question from each individual. Where the conflict is open, as if Congress should command the perpetration of murder, the office of conscience as final arbiter is undisputed. But in every conflict the same Queenly office is hers. By no earthly power can she be de throned. Each person, after anxious examination, without haste, with out passion, solemnly for himself must decide this great controversy. Any other rule attributes infallibility to human laws, places them beyond question, and degrades all men to an unthinking passive obedience. According to St. Augustine, an unjust law does not appear to be a law; lex esse non videtur qucz justa non fuerit ; and the great fathers of the Church, while adopting these words, declare openly that unjust laws are not binding. Sometimes they are called "abuses/ and not laws; sometimes "violences," and not laws. And here again the con science of each person is the final arbiter. But this lofty principle is not confined to the Church. A master of philosophy in early Europe, a name of intellectual renown, the eloquent Abelard, in Latin verses addressed to his son, has clearly expressed the universal injunction : " Jussa potestatis terrenoe discutienda Ccelestis tibi mox perficienda scias. Siquis divinis jubeat contraria jussis Te contra Dominum pactio nulla trahat." The mandates of an earthly power are to be discussed ; those of Hea ven must at once be performed ; nor can any agreement constrain us against God. Such is the rule of morals. Such, also, by the lips of judges and sages, has been the proud declaration of the English law, whence our own is derived. In this conviction patriots have fearlessly braved unjust commands, and martyrs have died. And now, sir, the rule is commended to us. The good citizen, as he thinks of the shivering fugitive, guilty of no crime, pursued, hunted DUTY OF DISOBEYING THE SLAVE LAW. l6l down like a beast, while praying for Christian help and deliverance, and as he reads the requirements of this Act, is filled with horror. Here is a despotic mandate, to aid and assist in the prompt and effi cient execution of this law." Again let me speak frankly. Not rashly would 1 set myself against any provision of law. This grave responsi bility I would not lightly assume. But here the path of duty is clear. By the Supreme Law, which commands me to do no injustice ; by the comprehensive Christian Law of Brotherhood ; by the Constitution, which I have sworn to support ; I AM BOUND TO DISOBEY THIS ACT. Never, in any capacity, can I render voluntary aid in its execution. Pains and penalties I will endure ; but this great wrong I will not do. "I cannot obey ; but I can suffer," was the exclamation of the author of Pilgrim s Progress, when imprisoned for disobedience to an earthly statute. Better suffer injustice than do it. Better be the victim than the instrument of wrong. Better be even the poor slave, returned to bondage, than the unhappy Commissioner. There is, sir, an incident of history, which suggests a parallel, and affords a lesson of fidelity. Under the triumphant exertions of that Apostolic Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier, large numbers of the Japanese, amounting to as many as two hundred thousand among them princes, generals, and the flower of the nobility were converted to Chris tianity. Afterwards, amidst the frenzy of civil war, religious persecu tion arose, and the penalty of death was denounced against all who re fused to trample upon the effigy of the Redeemer. This was the Pagan law of a Pagan land. But the delighted historian records that scarcely one from the multitude of converts was guilty of this apostasy. The law of man was set at naught. Imprisonment, torture, death, were preferred. Thus did this people refuse to trample on the painted image. Sir, multitudes among us will not be less steadfast in refusing to trample on the living image of their Redeemer. XXII. Finally, sir, for the sake of peace and tranquillity, cease to shock the Public Conscience ; for the sake of the Constitution, cease to exercise a power which is nowhere granted, and which violates inviolable rights expressly secured. Leave this question where it was left by our fathers, at the formation of our National Government, in the absolute control of the States, the appointed guardians of Personal Liberty. Repeal this enactment. Let its terrors no longer rage through the ii 162 SENATOR KALE S PRAISES. land. Mindful of the lowly whom it pursues ; mindful of the good men perplexed by its requirements ; in the name of charity, in the name of the Constitution, repeal this enactment, totally and without delay. Be inspired by the example of Washington. Be admonished by those words of Oriental piety " Beware of the groans of the wounded souls. .Oppress not to the utmost a single heart ; for a solitary sigh has power to overset a whole world." XXIII. Some other words were uttered on the floor of the Senate, after the delivery of this speech, which should be preserved, since the speakers have all passed away. Mr. HALE, the Senator from New Hampshire, said : " I feel that I should be doing injustice to my own feel ings, and injustice to my friend the Senator from Mas sachusetts, if I were to fail at this time to express the very great gratification with which I have listened to his speech. If he were actuated by as corrupt and self ish motives as can possibly be attributed to him, so far .as his own personal fame is concerned he has clone enough by his effort here to-day, to place himself side by side with the first orators of antiquity ; and as far ahead of any living American orator, as Freedom is ahead of Slavery. He has to-day formed, I believe, a new era in the history of the politics and the eloquence of the country ; and in future generations the young men of this nation will be stimulated to effort by the record of what .an American Senator has done, to which all the appeals drawn from ancient history would be entirely inadequate. He has to-day made a draft upon the gratitude of the friends of humanity and liberty that will not be paid through man % y generations ; but its memory will endure .as long as the English language is spoken, or the history SENATOR CHASE S EULOGIUM. 163 of this Republic shall form a part of the annals of the world." Mr. CHASE, the Senator from Ohio, used also the fol lowing noble language in adopting the argument of Mr. SUMNER against the Fugitive Slave Bill, and in a personal vindication of the orator himself: " In the argument which my friend from Massachusetts has addressed to us to-day, there was no assault upon the Constitution. It was a noble vindication of that great charter of gov ernment, from the perversions of the advocates of the Fugitive Slave Act. He only asserted that the Fugitive servant clause of the Constitution is a clause of compact between the States, and confers no legislative power upon Congress ; and he has arrayed history and reason in support of this proposition. I therefore avow my con viction, that logically and historically, the argument is impregnable entirely impregnable. Let me add, Mr. President, that, in my judgment, this speech will mark an era in American history. It will distinguish the day when the advocates of that theory of governmental policy Constitution construction which he has so nobly de fended, and so brilliantly illustrated, no longer content to stand on the defence in the contest with Slavery, boldly attacks the very citadel of its power, in that doctrine of finality which two of the political parties of the country, through their national organizations, are endeav oring to establish, as the impregnable defence of its usurpation." Mr. SEWARD happened to be absent a fact that was very widely commented on, but satisfactorily explained to the minds of many, by his feeling constrained to keep away, because of the prominent support he had rendered, and seemed disposed to continue to render, to Gen. 1 64 SEWARD, WILSON, AND THE PHILLIPS UNITE. SCOTT. But on reading the speech, he wrote to Mr. SUMNER: "Your speech is an admirable, a great, a very great one. That is my opinion, and everybody around me, of all sorts, confess it." * In addition to what he had already said in the Senate, Mr. CHASE also wrote : " I have read, as well as heard, your truly great speech. Hundreds of thousands will read it, and everywhere it will carry conviction to all willing to be convinced, and will infuse a feeling of in certitude and a fearful looking for judgment in the minds of those who resist the light, and toil in the harness of party platforms, irreconcilable with justice." Mr. HENRY WILSON, who was afterwards to be elect ed to the Senate, and from its floor to its Presidency, wrote : " I have read your glorious speech. How proud I am that God gave me the power to aid in plac ing you in the Senate ! You have exhausted the ques tion. Hereafter all that can be said will be to repeat your speech. It will afford to any one the most com plete view of the questions in dispute, of anything ever published." Hon. STEPHEN C. PHILLIPS, who had rendered import ant aid in organizing the free-soil party, in Massachu setts, wrote : " I regard it as a contribution of inestima ble value to our noble cause, worth all the labor, all the time, all the self-sacrifice, and all the misrepresentations it has cost you. It is statesmanlike in all its features, and does all that is necessary to place our simple and entire design in its true light before the country, and before the world, and in the records of history." Although Mr. WENDELL PHILLIPS differed with Mr. SUMNER on some points, he nevertheless wrote : " I have read your speech with envious admiration. It is EUROPEAN OPINIONS OF THE SPEECH. l6$ admirable, both as a masterly argument, and a noble tes timony that will endear you to thousands." There were some millions of copies of this speech cir culated through America and in Europe by the journals, and in multiplied editions in large pamphlet form, both at home and abroad, to the extent of several hundred thousand copies. In his preface to the English edition of " Uncle Tom s Cabin," LORD CARLISLE associated Mr. SUMNER S speech with that work, speaking of " the closeness of its logic, and the masculine vigor of its eloquence." In a letter to the London Times, LORD SHAFTESBURY exclaimed, " What noble eloquence ! " And the distinguished phrenologist, Mr. COMBE, in a letter to a celebrated American, which was soon after wards published, remarked : " I have read every word of this speech, with pleasure and with pain. The pain arose from the subject the pleasure from sympathy with, and admiration of, the speaker. I have long de sired to know the merits of that most cruel and iniqui tous enactment, and this speech has made them clear as day." The effect of this speech, great as it evidently was at the time, was far greater than could then possibly be conceived. Wherever it was read, it set people to thinking : its appeals to the judgment and reason of citizens could not be resisted : it insensibly colored the thoughts of every thinking man : it gave a new, fresh, and irreversible interpretation of the letter of the Con stitution ; while it breathed all through its flaming utterances the very soul of the liberty achieved by our fathers. After its delivery, the Free-Soil party was looked upon as the national party. The allegations of sectionalism lost their force : it was slavery that was l66 DOWNING, THE LANDSCAPE GARDENER. now branded as sectional, local, narrow, hostile to the Constitution, as well as inimical to liberty itself. It did, as Mr. Chase had said, constitute a new era in American history ; and future times will probably regard it as the grandest contribution that has been made to the spirit of American nationality and freedom, since the De claration of Independence. XXIV. But Mr. SUMNER S mind was not entirely absorbed in such grave themes. He had a lively sympathy with the progress of the Fine Arts, and with the welfare of men of genius. He cordially embraced every opportunity to encourage whatever exalts and embellishes refined life. Downing, the Landscape Gardener, had died soon after he took charge of the public grounds of the Capital, and on the presentation of a resolution to make some al lowance to his widow, Mr. Sumner said : Mr. President : The laborer is worthy of his hire ; and I believe at this moment there is no question of charity to the widow of the late Mr. Downing. The simple proposition is to make compensation for ser vices rendered to the United States by this eminent artist as superin tendent of the public grounds in Washington. And, since the plans he has left behind and the impulses he has given to improvements here by his incomparable genius will continue to benefit us, though he has been removed, it is thought reasonable to continue his salary to the close of the unexpired year from which it commenced. These plans alone have been valued at five thousand dollars, and we are to have the advantage of them. In pursuance of these, his successor will be able to proceed in arranging the public grounds, and in embellishing the national capital, without any further expenditure to procure others instead. Thus, as I said at the outset, it is not a question of charity, but of compensation ; and on this ground I submit that the estate of the departed artist de serves the small pittance which it is proposed to supply. For myself, ADDRESSZS THE FREE-SOIL CONVENTION. l6/ I should be much happier to vote for a larger appropriation, believing that, over and above the services actually rendered in the discharge of his duties, these plans are amply worth it, and that we shall all feel bet ter by such a recognition of our debt Few men in the public service have vindicated a title to regard above Mr. Downing. At the age of thirty-seven he has passed away, " dead ere his prime" like Lycidas, also, " stretched on a watery bier" leav ing behind a reputation above that of any other citizen in the beautiful department of art to which he Wets devoted. His labors and his example cannot be forgotten. I know of no man among us, in any sphere of life, so young as he was at his death, who has been able to perform ser vices of such true, simple and lasting beneficence. By his wide and ac tive superintendence of rural improvements, by his labors of the pen, and by the various exercise of his genius, he has contributed essentially to the sum of human happiness. And now, sir, by practical services here in Washington, rendered at the call of his country, he has earned, it seems to me, this small appropriation not as a charity to his desolate widow, but as a compensation for labor done. I hope the amendment will be agreed to. XXV. On his return to Boston,, after the memorable session of 1851-2, the warmest welcome was extended to him from every quarter. In addressing the State Convention of the Free-Soil Party of Massachusetts, held at Lowell, on the 1 6th of September, 1852, he delivered one of his most striking speeches, some portions of which we reproduce. It was on the eve of the national election. MR. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW-CITIZENS OF MASSACHUSETTS : I should be dull indeed were I insensible to this generous, overflowing, heart-speaking welcome. After an absence of many months, I have now come home, to breathe anew the invigorating Northern air, to tread again the free soil of our native Massachusetts, and to enjoy the sympathy of friends and fellow-citizens. But, while glad in your greet ings, thus bounteously lavished, I cannot accept them for myself. I do not deserve them. They belong to the cause which we all have at heart, and which binds us together. l68 OLD PARTIES PRO-SLAVERY. Against Freedom both the old parties are now banded. Opposed to each other in the contest for power, they concur in opposing every effort for the establishment of Freedom under the National Constitu tion. Divided as parties, they are one as supporters of slavery. On this question we can have no sympathy with either ; but must neces sarily be against both. They sustain slavery in the District of Colum bia ; we are against it. They sustain the coastwise slave trade under the National Flag ; we abhor it. They sustain the policy of silence on Slavery in the territories ; we urge the voice of positive prohibition. They sustain that paragon of legislative monsters unconstitutional, un- unchristian and infamous the Fugitive Slave Bill ; we insist on its re peal. They concede to the Slave Power new life and protection ; we cannot be content except with its total destruction. Such, fellow-citi zens, is the difference between us. And now, if here in Massachusetts, there be any persons, who, on grounds of policy or conscience, feel impelled to support slavery, let them go and sink in the embrace of the old parties. There they be long. But, on the other hand, all who are sincerely opposed to slavery who desire to act against it who seek to bear their testimony for Freedom, who long to carry into public affairs those principles of morality and Christian duty which are the rule of private life, let them come out from both the old parties, and join us. In our third party, with the declared friends of Freedom, they will find a place in harmony with their aspirations. But there is one apology, which is common to the supporters of both the old parties, and which is often in their mouths when pressed for their inconsistent persistence in adhering to these parties. It is dog matically asserted that there can be but two parties ; that a third party is impossible, particularly in our country, and that, therefore, all per sons, however opposed to Slavery, must be content in one of the old parties. This assumption, which is without any foundation in reason, has been so often put forth, that it has acquired a certain currency ; and many, who reason hastily, or who implicitly follow others, have adopted it as the all-sufficient excuse for their conduct. Confessing their own opposition to slavery, they yet yield to the domination of party, and become dumb. All this is wrong morally, and, therefore, must be wrong practically. Party, in its true estate, is the natural expression and agency of dif ferent forms of opinion on important public questions ; and itself as sumes different forms precisely according to the prevalence of different NEW PARTIES ALWAYS TRIUMPH. 169 opinions. Thus in the early Italian republics there were for a while the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellins, supporters of the Pope and the Emperor; also of the Whites and the Blacks, taking their names from the color of their respective badges, and in England, the two fac tions of the white and red roses, in which was involved the succession to the crown. But in all these cases the party came into being, died out, or changed with the prevailing sentiment If there be in a com munity only two chief antagonist opinions, then there will be but two parties, embodying these opinions. But as other opinions practically prevail and seek vent, so must parties change or multiply. This is so strongly the conclusion of reason and philosophy, that it could not be doubted, even if there were no examples of such change and multipli cation. But we need only turn to the recent history of France and England, the two countries where opinion has had the freest scope to find such examples. Thus, for instance, in France and I dwell on this point because I have observed myself, in conversation, that it is of practical importance under Louis Philippe, anterior to the late Republic, there was the party of Legitimists, supporters of the old branch of Bourbons; the party of Orleanists, supporters of the existing throne ; these two cor responding at the time in relative rank and power to our Whigs and Democrats. But besides these, there was a third party, the small band of republicans, represented in the legislature by a few persons only, but strong in principles and purposes, which in February, 1848, prevailed over both the others. On the establishment of the Republic the mul tiplicity of parties continued until, with the freedom of opinion and the freedom of the press, all were equally overthrown by Louis Napoleon, and their place supplied by the enforced unity of despotism. In England, the most important measure of recent reform, the aboli tion of the laws imposing a protective duty on corn, was carried only by a third party. Neither of the two old parties could be brought to adopt this measure and press it to a consummation. A powerful public opinion, thus thwarted in the regular channel, found an outlet in another party, which was neither Whig nor Tory, but which was formed from both these parties, and wherein Sir Robert Peel, the great Con servative leader, took his place, side by side, in honorable coalition, with Mr. Cobden, the great Liberal leader. In this way the Corn Laws were finally overthrown. The multiplicity of parties in England, en gendered by this contest, still continues. At the general election for the new Parliament which has just taken place, the strict lines of Ti:E RISING PARTY OF FREEDOM. ancient parties seemed to be effaced, and many were returned, not as Whigs and Tories, but as Protectionists and anti-Protectionists. Thus, by example in our own day we may confirm the principle of political philosophy, that parties must naturally adapt themselves in character and number to the prevailing public opinion. Now at the present time in our country, there exists a deep controll ing conscientious feeling against Slavery. You and I, sir, and all of us confess it. While recognizing the Constitution, we desire to do every thing in our power to relieve ourselves of responsibility for this terrible wrong. We would vindicate the Constitution and the National Government which it has established, from all participation in this out rage. Both the old political parties, forgetful of the sentiments of the Fathers and of the spirit of the Constitution, not only refuse to be in any degree the agents or representatives of our convictions, but ex pressly discourage and denounce them. Thus baffled in their efforts for utterance, these convictions naturally seek expression in a new agency, the party of Freedom. Such is the party, which, representing the great doctrines of Human Rights, as enunciated in our Declaration of Inde pendence, and inspired truly by the Democratic sentiment, is now assembled here under the name of the Free Democracy. The rising public opinion against Slavery cannot now flow in the old political channels. It is strangled, clogged, and dammed back. But if not through the old parties, then over the old parties, this irresistible current shall find its way. It cannot be permanently stopped. If the old parties will not become its organ, they must become its victim. The party of Freedom will certainly prevail. It may be by entering into, and possessing one of the old parties, filling it with our own strong life ; or it may be by drawing from both to itself the good and true who are unwilling to continue members of any political combination when it ceases to represent their convictions. But, in one way or the other, its ultimate triumph is sure. Of this let no man doubt. At this moment we are in a minority. At the last popular election in Massachusetts, there were twenty-eight thousand Free-Soilers, forty- three thousand Democrats, and sixty-four thousand Whigs. But this is no reason for discouragement. According to recent estimates, the pop ulation of the whole world amounts to about eight hundred millions. Of these only two hundred and sixty millions are Christians, while the re maining five hundred and forty millions are mainly Mahometans, Brah mins and Idolaters. Because the Christians are in this minority, that is no reason for renouncing Christianity and for surrendering to the false COURSES OF FREE-SOIL LECTURES. I /I religions ; nor do we doubt that Christianity will yet prevail over the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea. The friends of Freedom in Massachusetts are likewise in a minority ; but they will not, therefore, renounce Freedom, nor surrender to the political Mahometans and idol aters of Baltimore ; nor can they doubt that their cause, like Christi anity, will yet prevail. Our cause commends itself. But it is also commended by our candi dates. In all that makes the eminent civilian or the accomplished statesman fit for the responsibilities of government, they will proudly compare with any of their competitors, while they are dear to our hearts as able, well-tried, loyal supporters of those vital principles of Freedom which we seek to establish under the Constitution of the United States. In the Senate, Mr. Hale is admitted to be foremost in aptitude and readiness of debate, whether in the general legislation of the country, or in the constant and valiant championship of otir cause. His genial and sun-like nature irradiates the antagonism of political controversy, while his active and practical mind, richly stored with various experi ence, never fails to render good service. Of Mr. Julian, our candidate for the Vice-Presidency, let me say simply that, in ability and devotion to our principles, he is a worthy compeer of Mr. Hale. To vote for such men will itself be a pleasure. But it will be doubly so when we reflect that in this way we bear our testimony to a noble cause, with which the happiness, welfare and fame of our country are indissolubly connected. With such a cause and such candidates, let no man be disheartened. The tempest may blow, but ours is a life-boat which cannot be harmed by wind or wave. The genius of Liberty sits at the helm. I hear her voice of cheer saying, " Whoso sails with me comes to shore." XXVI. The members of the Free-Soil party, in New York and Boston particularly, had organized courses of lectures on the Slavery question for the first time, to be delivered in those cities ; and their example was followed through out the whole North. Mr. SUMNER delivered the closing Lecture of the New York Course at the Metropolitan Theatre on the 9th of May, 1855. The chair was oc- 1/2 SUMNER AT METROPOLITAN THEATRE. cupied by Hon. WILLIAM JAY, who introduced the speaker in the following words : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I have been requested, on the part of the Society, to perform the pleasing but unnecessary office of introducing to you the honored and well-known advocate of Justice, Humanity and Freedom, Charles Sumner. It is not for his learning and eloquence that I commend him to your respectful attention ; for learning, elo quence, and even theology itself, have been prostituted in the service of an institution well described by John Wesley as the sum of all villa- nies. I introduce him to you as a Northern Senator on whom nature has conferred the unusual gift of a backbone a man who, standing erect on the floor of Congress, amid creeping things from the North, with Christian fidelity denounces the stupendous wickedness of the Fugitive Law and Nebraska perfidy, and in the name of Liberty, Hu manity and Religion, demands the repeal of those most atrocious enactments. May the words he is about to utter be impressed on your consciences, and influence your conduct ! History abounds in vicissitudes. From weakness and humility, men ascend to power and place. From defeat and disparagement, enter prises are lifted to triumph and acceptance. The martyr of to-day is gratefully enshrined on the morrow. The stone that the builders re jected is made the head of the corner. Thus it always has been, and ever will be. Only twenty years ago, in 1835, the friends of the slave in our country were weak and humble, while their great Enterprise, just then showing itself, was trampled down and despised. The small companies, gathered together in the name of Freedom, were interrupted and often dispersed by riotous mobs. At Boston, a feeble association of women, called the Female Anti-Slavery Society, convened in a small room of an upper story in an obscure building, was insulted and then driven out of doors by a frantic crowd, politely termed at the time an assemblage of " gentlemen of property and standing," which, after various deeds of violence and vileness, next directed itself upon William Lloyd Gar rison, known as the determined editor of the Liberator, and the origi nator of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise in our day, then ruthlessly tearing him away, amidst savage threats and with a halter about his neck, drag ged him through the streets, until, at last, guilty only of loving liberty, if not wisely, too well, this unoffending citizen was thrust into the com mon jail for protection against an infuriated populace. Nor was Boston alone. Even villages, in remote rural solitude, belched forth in similar outrage ; while the large towns, like Providence, New Haven, Utica, CHANGE WROUGHT IN TWENTY YEARS. 1/3 Worcester, Alton, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, became so many fiery craters, overflowing with rage and madness. What lawless violence failed to accomplish was next urged through the forms of law. By solemn legislative acts, the Slave States called on the Free States " promptly and effectually to suppress all associations within their re spective limits purporting to be Abolition Societies ;" and Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York basely hearkened to the base proposition. The press, too, with untold power, exerted itself in this behalf, while the pulpit, the politician, and the merchant conspired to stifle discussion, until the voice of Freedom was hushed to a whisper, " alas ! almost afraid to know itself." Since then in the lapse of a few years only a change has taken place. Instead of those small companies, counted by tens, we have now this mighty assembly, counted by thousands ; instead of an insig nificant apartment, like that in Boston, the mere appendage of a print ing-office, where, as in the manger itself, Truth was cradled, we have now this Metropolitan Hall, ample in proportions and central in place ; instead of a profane and clamorous mob. beating at our gates, dispersing our assembly, and making one of our number the victim of its fury, we have now peace and harmony at unguarded doors, ruffled only by a generous competition to participate in this occasion ; while legislatures openly declare their sympathies ; villages, towns and cities vie in the new manifestation ; and the press itself, with increased power, heralds, applauds and extends the prevailing influence, which, overflowing from every fountain, and pouring through every channel, at last, by the awakened voice of pulpit, politician and merchant, swells into an irre pressible cry. Here is a great change, worthy of notice and memory, for it attests the first stage of victory. Slavery, in all its many-sided wrong, still con tinues ; but here in this metropolis, ay, sir, and throughout the whole North, freedom of discussion is at length secured. And this, I say, is the first stage of victory herald of the transcendant Future : " Hark ! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers ; Prepare the way ! a God, a God appears ! A God ! a God ! the vocal hills reply, The rocks proclaim th approaching Deity." Nor is there anything peculiar in the trials to which our cause has been exposed. Thus in all ages has Truth been encountered. At first per secuted, gagged, silenced, crucified, she has cried out from the prison, 174 SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE NORTH. from the torture, from the stake, from the cross, until at last her voice has been heard. And when that voice is really heard, whether in mar tyr cries, or in the earthquake tones of civil convulsion, or in the calm ness of ordinary speech, such as I now employ, or in that still small utterance inaudible to the common ear, then is the beginning of victory ! " Give me where to stand, and I will move the world," said Archimedes ; and Truth asks no more than did the master of geometry. XXVII. My subject will be THE NECESSITY, PRACTICABILITY, AND DIGNITY OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY ENTERPRISE, WITH GLIMPSES AT THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE NORTH. By this enterprise I do not mean the efforts of any restricted circle, sect, or party, but the cause of the slave, in all its forms and degrees, and under all its names, whether inspired by the pulpit, the press, the economist, or the politician, whether in the early, persistent, and comprehensive demands of Garrison, the gentler utterances of Channing, or the strictly constitutional endeavors of others now actually sharing the public councils of the country. To carry through this review, under its different heads, I shall not hesitate to meet the objections which have been urged against it, so far at least as I am aware of them. And now, as I speak to you seriously, I ven ture to ask your serious attention even to the end. Not easily can a public address reach that highest completeness which is found in min gling the useful and the agreeable ; but I desire to say, that, in this ar rangement and co-ordination of my remarks to-night, I seek to cultivate that highest courtesy of a speaker, which is found in clearness. I. I begin with the NECESSITY of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise. In the wrong of Slavery, as defined by existing law, this necessity is plainly apparent ; nor can any man within the sound of my voice, who listens to the authentic words of the law, hesitate in my conclusion. A wrong so grievous and unquestionable should not be allowed to continue. For the honor of human nature, and for the good of all concerned, // should at once cease to exist. On this simple statement, as a corner stone, I found the necessity of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise. I do not dwell, sir, on the many tales which come from the house of bondage ; on the bitter sorrows there undergone ; on the flesh, galled by the manacle or spirting blood beneath the lash ; on the human form mutilated by the knife, or seared by red-hot iron ; on the ferocious scent of blood-hounds in chase of human prey ; on the sale of fathers NECESSITY OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY ENTERPRISE. 175 and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, little children ever infants at the auction-block ; on the practical prostration of all rights, all ties, and even all hope ; on the deadly injury to morals, sub stituting concubinage for marriage, and changing the whole land of Slavery into a by-word of shame, only fitly pictured by the language of Dante when he called his own degraded country a House of Ill-Fame ; and last of all, on the pernicious influence upon the master as well as the slave, showing itself too often, even by his own confession, in rude ness of manners and character, and especially in that blindness which renders him insensible to the wrongs he upholds, while he, " so perfect is his misery, Not once perceives his foul disfigurement, But boasts himself more comely than before." On these things I do not dwell, although volumes are at hand of un questionable facts and of illustrative story, so just and happy as to vie with fact, out of which I might draw, until, like Macbeth, you had supped full of horrors. But all these I put aside ; not because I do not regard them of moment in exhibiting the true character of Slavery, but because I desire to present this argument on grounds above all controversy, impeachment, or suspicion, even from slave-masters themselves. Not on triumphant story, not even on indisputable facts, do I now accuse Slavery, but on its character, as revealed in its own simple definition of itself. Out of its own mouth do I condemn it. By the law of Slavery , man, created in the image of God, is divested of his human character, and declared to be a mere chattel. That this statement may not seem to be put forward without precise authority, I quote the law of two different States. The civil code of Louisiana thus defines a slave : " A slave is one who is in the power of a master to whom he belongs. The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry, and his labor. He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but what must belong to his master." Civil Code, Art. 35. The law of another polished slave State gives this definition : " Slaves shall be deemed, sold, taken, reputed and adjudged in law to be chattels personal, in the hands of their owners and possessors, and their executors, administrators and assigns, to all intents, con structions and purposes whatsoever." 2 Brev. Dig. 229. (South Carolina. ) And a careful writer, Judge Stroud, in a work of juridical as well as philanthropic merit, thus sums up the law : i;6 THE LAW OF SLAVERY. " The cardinal principle of Slavery that the slave is not to be ranked among sentient beings, but among things is an article of property a chattel personal obtains as undoubted law in all of these (the slave) States." Stroutfs Laws of Slavery, 22. Sir, this is enough. As out of its small egg crawls forth the slimy, scaly, reptile crocodile, so out of this simple definition crawls forth the whole slimy, scaly, reptile monstrosity, by which a man is changed into a chattel, a person is converted imo a thing, a soul is trans muted into merchandise. According to this very definition, the slave is held simply for the good of his master, to whose behests, his life, liberty and happiness are devoted, and by whom he may be bartered, leased, mortgaged, bequeathed, invoiced, shipped as cargo, stored as goods, sold on execution, knocked off at public auction, and even staked at the gaming-table on the hazard of a card or die. The slave may seem to have a wife ; but he has not ; for his wife belongs to his master. He may seem to have a child ; but he has not ; for his child belongs to his master. He may be filled with the desire of knowledge, opening to him the gates of hope on earth and in heaven ; but the master may impiously close this sacred pursuit. Thus is he robbed not merely of priyileges, but of himself; not merely of money and labor, but of wife and children ; not merely of time and opportunity, but of every assurance of happiness ; not merely of earthly hope, but of all those divine aspirations that spring from the Fountain of Light. He is not merely restrained in liberty, but totally deprived of it ; not merely curtailed in rights, but absolutely stripped of them ; not merely loaded with burdens, but changed into a beast of burden ; not merely bent in countenance to the earth, but sunk to the legal level of a quadruped ; not merely exposed to personal cruelty, but deprived of his character as a person- ; not merely compelled to involuntary labor, but degraded to be a rude thing ; not merely shut out from knowledge, but wrested from his place in the human family. And all this, sir, is according to the simple law of Slavery. Nor is even this all. The law, by cumulative provisions, positively forbids that a slave shall be taught to read. Hear this, fellow-citizens, and confess, that no barbarism of despotism, no extravagance of tyranny, no excess of impiety can be more blasphemous or deadly. " Train up a child in the way he should go," is the lesson of sacred wisdom ; but the law of Slavery boldly prohibits any such training, and dooms the child to hopeless ignorance and degradation. " Let there be light," was AN OUTRAGE ON MAN AND GOD. 177 the Divine utterance at the very dawn of creation, and this command ment, travelling with the ages and the hours, still speaks with the voice of God ; but the law of Slavery says, " Let there be darkness." But it is earnestly averred that slave-masters are humane, and that slaves are treated with kindness. These averments, however, I pro perly put aside, precisely as I have already put aside the multitudinous illustrations from the cruelty of Slavery. On the simple letter of the law I take my stand, and do not go beyond what is there nominated. The masses of men are not better than their laws, and, whatever may be the eminence of individual virtue, it is not reasonable to infer that the masses of slave-masters are better than the law of Slavery. And, since this law submits the slave to their irresponsible control, with power to bind and to scourge to shut the soul from knowledge to separate families to unclasp the infant from a mother s breast, and the wife from a husband s arms, it is natural to conclude that such enormities are sanctioned by them, while the brutal prohibition of instruction by sup plementary law gives crowning evidence of their complete complicity. And this conclusion must exist unquestioned just so long as the la\v exists unrepealed. Cease, then, to blazon the humanity of slave- masters. Tell me not of the lenity with which this cruel law is tempered to its unhappy subjects. Tell me not of the sympathy which overflows from the mansion of the master to the cabin of the slave. In vain you assert thes^ instances. In vain you show that there are individuals who do not exert the wickedness of the law. The law still endures. Slavery, which it defines and upholds, continues to outrage Public Opinion, and, within the limits of our Republic, upwards of three millions of human beings, guilty only of a skin not colored like your own, are left the victims of its unrighteous, irresponsible power. Power divorced from right is devilish ; power without the check of responsibility is tyrannical ; and I need not go back to the authority of Plato, when I assert that the most complete injustice is that which is erected into the form of law. But all these things concur in Slavery. It is, then, on the testimony of slave-masters, solemnly, legislatively, judicially attested in the very law itself, that I now arraign this institution as an outrage upon man and his Creator. And here is the necessity of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise. A wrong so transcendent, so loathsome, so direful, must be encountered wherever it can be reached, and the battle must be continued without truce or compromise, until the field is entirely won. Freedom and Slavery can hold no divided empire ; nor can there be any true repose until Freedom is everywhere established. 12 178 ALLEGED DISTINCTION OF RACE. To the necessity of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise, there are two and only two vital objections ; one founded on the alleged distinction of race, and the other on the alleged sanction of Christianity. All other objections are of an inferior character, or are directed logically at its practicability. Of these two leading objections, let me briefly speak. i. And, first, of the alleged distinction of race. This objection itself assumes two different forms, one founded on a prophetic malediction in the Old Testament, and the other on the professed observations of recent science. Its importance is apparent in the obvious fact, that, unless such distinction be clearly and unmistakably established, every argument by which our own freedom is vindicated. every applause awarded to the successful rebellion of our fathers, every indignant word ever hurled against the enslavement of our white fellow-citizens by Algerine corsairs, must plead trumpet-tongued against the deep dam nation of Slavery, whether white or black. It is said that the Africans are the posterity of Ham, the son of Noah, through Canaan, who was cursed by Noah, to be the servant of his brethren, and that this malediction has fallen upon all his descendants, including the unhappy Africans, who are accordingly devoted by God, through unending generations, to unending bondage. Such is the favorite argument often put forth at the South, and more than once directly addressed to myself. Here, for instance, is a passage from a letter recently received : "You need not persist," says thenvriter, "in confounding .Japheth s children with Ham s, and making both races one, and arguing on their rights as those of man broadly." And I have been seriously assured that until this objection is answered, it will be in vain to press my views upon Congress or the country. Listen now to the texts of the Old Testament which are so strangely employed : " And he (Noah) said, cursed be Canaan : a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem ; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his ser- vant." Genesis, chap. ix. 25-27. That is all ; and I need only read these words in order to expose the whole transpicuous humbug. But I am tempted to add, that, to justify this objection, it will be necessary to maintain at least five different propositions, as essential links in the chain of the African slave ; first, that, by this malediction, Canaan himself was actually changed into a chattel, whereas, he is simply made the servant of his brethren ; secondly, that not merely Canaan, but all his posterity, to the remotest genera- ONE GREAT HUMAN FAMILY. 179 tion, was so changed, whereas the language has no such extent ; thirdly, that the African actually belongs to the posterity of Canaan, an ethno graphical assumption absurdly difficult to establish ; fourthly, that each of the descendants of Shem and Japheth has a right to hold an African fellow-man as a chattel, a proposition which finds no semblance of support ; and, fifthly, that every slave-master is truly descended from Shem or Japheth, a pedigree which no anxiety or audacity can prove ! This plain analysis, which may fitly excite a smile, shows the five-fold absurdity of an attempt to found this revolting wrong on "Any successive title, long and dark, Drawn from the mouldy rolls of Noah s ark." The small bigotry which could find comfort in these texts, has been lately exalted by the voice of science, which has undertaken to suggest that the different races of men are not derived from a single pair, but from several distinct stocks, according to their several distinct character istics ; and it has been audaciously argued that the African is so far. in ferior, as to lose all title to that liberty which is the birthright of the lordly white. Now I have neither time nor disposition on this occasion to discuss the question of the unity of the races ; nor is it necessary to my present purpose. It may be that the different races of men pro ceeded from different stocks ; but there is but one great Human Family, in which Caucasian and African, Chinese and Indian, are all brothers, children of one Father, and heirs to one happiness, alike on earth and in heaven. " Star-eyed science " cannot shake this everlasting truth. It may vainly exhibit peculiarities in the African, by which he is dis tinguishable from the Caucasian. It may, in his physical form and in tellectual character, presume to find the stamp of permanent inferiority. But by no reach of learning, by no torture of fact, by no effrontery of dogma, can it show that he is not a man. And as a man he stands be fore you an unquestionable member of the Human Family, and entitled to all the rights of man. You can claim nothing for yourself, as man, which you must not accord to him. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, -which you proudly declare to be your own inalienable, God- given rights, and to the support of which your fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor, are his by the same immortal title that they are yours. 2. From the objection founded on the alleged distinction of race, I pass to that other founded on the alleged sanction of slavery by Chris tianity. And, striving to be brief, I shall not undertake to reconcile I SO A HUMAN BEING NOT PROPERTY. texts often quoted from the Old Testament, which, whatever may be their import, are all absorbed in the New ; nor shall I stop to consider the precise interpretation of the oft-quoted phrase, Servants, obey your masters ; nor seek to weigh any such imperfect injunction in the scales against those grand commandments, on which hang all the law and the prophets. Surely, in the example and teachings of the Saviour, who lifted up the down-trodden, who enjoined purity of life, and overflowed with tenderness even to little children, human ingenuity can find no apology for an institution which tramples on man, which denies woman, and sweeps little children beneath the hammer of the auc tioneer. If to any one these things seem to have the license of Chris tianity, it is only because they have first secured a license in his own soul. Men are prone to find in uncertain, disconnected texts, a con firmation of their own personal prejudices or prepossessions. And I who am no divine, but only a simple layman make bold to say, that whoever finds in the Gospel any sanction of Slavery, finds there merely a reflection of himself. On a matter so irresistibly clear, authority is superfluous ; but an eminent character, who as poet makes us forget his high place as philosopher, and as philosopher, makes us forget his high place as theologian, has exposed the essential antagonism between Christianity and Slavery, in a few pregnant words which you will be glad to hear, particularly as, I believe, they have not been before in troduced into this discussion. " By a principle essential to Christian ity," says Coleridge, "a person is eternally differenced from a thing ; so that the idea of a Human Being necessarily excludes the idea of property in that Being" With regret, though not with astonishment, I learn that a Boston di vine has. sought to throw the seamless garment of Christ over this shock ing wrong. But I am patient, and see clearly how vain will be hi.s effort, when I call to mind, that, within this very century, other divines sought to throw the same seamless garment over the more shocking slave-trade ; and that, among many publications, a little book was then put forth with the name of a reverend clergyman on the title-page, to prove that " the African trade for negro slaves is consistent with the principles of humanity and revealed religion;" and, thinking of these things, I am ready to say with Shakespeare, " In religion, What damned error, but some sober brow Will bless it and approve it with a text ? " PRACTICABILITY OF ANTI-SLAVERY ENTERPRISE. l8l XXVIII. II. I am now brought, in the second place, to consider the PRACTICA BILITY of the Enterprise. And here the way is easy. In showing its necessity, I have already demonstrated its practicability ; for the former includes the latter, as the greater includes the less. Whatever is neces sary, must be practicable. By a decree which has ever been a by-word of tyranny, the Israelites were compelled to make bricks without straw ; but it is not according to the ways of a benevolent Providence that man should be constrained to do what cannot be done. Besides, the Anti-Slavery Enterprise is right ; and the right is always practicable. I know well the little faith which the world has in the triumph of principles, and I readily imagine the despair with which our object is regarded ; but not on this account am I disheartened. That exuberant writer, Sir Thomas Browne, breaks into an ecstatic wish for some new difficulty in Christian belief, that his faith might have a new victory, and an eminent enthusiast went so far as to say that he believed be cause it was impossible credo qida impossibile. But no such exalted faith is now required. Here is no impossibility, nor is there any diffi culty which will not yield to a faithful, well-directed endeavor. If to any timid soul the Enterprise seems impossible because it is too beau tiful, then I say at once that it is too beautiful not to be possible. But descending from these summits, let me show plainly the object which it seeks to accomplish, and herein you shall see and confess its complete practicability. While discountenancing all prejudice of color and every establishment of caste, the Anti-Slavery Enterprise at least so far as 1 may speak for it does not undertake to change human nature, or to force any individual into relations of life for which he is not morally, intellectually and socially adapted ; nor does it necessarily assume that a race, degraded for long generations under the iron heel of bondage, can be lifted at once into all the political privileges of an American citizen. But, sir, it does confidently assume, against all question, contradiction, or assault whatever, that every man is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; and, with equal confidence, it asserts that every individual, who wears the human form, whether black or while, should at once be recognized as man. I know not when this is done, what other trials may be in wait for the unhappy African ; but this I do know, that the Anti-Slavery Enterprise will then have tri umphed, and the institution of Slavery, as defined by existing law, will no longer shock mankind. 1 82 THE QUESTION TO BE OPENLY CONFRONTED. In this work the first essential, practical requisite is, that the question shall be openly and frankly confronted. Do not put it aside. Do not blink it out of sight. Do not dodge it. Approach it. Study it. Pon der it. Deal with it. Let it rest in the illumination of speech, conver sation and the press. Let it fill the thoughts of the statesman and the prayers of the pulpit. When Slavery is thus regarded, its true character will be recognized as a hateful assemblage of unqnestio?iable wrongs undet the sanction of existing law, and good men will be moved at once to apply the remedy. Already even its zealots admit that its " abuses " should be removed. This is their word and not mine. Alas ! alas ! sir, it is these very "abuses" which constitute its component parts, without which it would not exist, even as the scourges in a bundle with the axe constituted the dread fasces of the Roman lictor. Take away these, and the whole embodied outrage will disappear. Surely that central assumption more deadly than the axe itself by which man is changed into a chattel, may be abandoned; and is not this practicable? The associate scourges by which that transcendant "abuse" is surrounded, may, one by one, be subtracted. The "abuse" which substitutes concubinage for marriage the " abuse " which annuls the parental relation the " abuse " which closes the portals of knowledge the "abuse" which tyrannically usurps all the labor of another now up held by "positive la.w, may by positive law be abolished. To say that this is not practicable, in the nineteenth century, would be a scandal upon mankind ; and just in proportion as these " abuses" cease to have the sanction of law, will the institution of Slavery cease to exist. The African, whatever may then be his condition, will no longer be the slave over whose wrongs and sorrows the world throbs at times fiercely indig nant, and at times painfully sad, while with outstretched arms, he sends forth the piteous cry, " Am I not a man and a brother ? " In pressing forward to this result, the inquiry is often presented, to what extent, if any, shall compensation be allowed to the slave-masters ? Clearly, if the point be determined by absolute justice, not the masters but the slaves will be entitled to compensation ; for it is the slaves, who, throughout weary generations, have been deprived of their toil, and all its fruits which went to enrich their masters. Besides, it seems hardly reasonable to pay for the relinquishment of those disgusting "abuses," which, in their aggregation, constitute the bundle of slavery. Pray, sir, by what tariff, price current, or principle of equation, shall their several values be estimated? What sum shall be counted out as the proper price for the abandonment of that pretension more indecent than RIGHT CANNOT BE FOUNDED ON WRONG. 183 fat jus prim cc noctis of the feudal age which leaves woman, whether in the arms of master or slave, always a concubine ? What bribe shall be proffered for the restoration of God-given paternal rights ? What money shall be paid for taking off the padlock by which souls are fast ened down in darkness ? How much for a quit-claim to labor now meanly exacted by the strong from the weak ? And what compensa tion shall be awarded for the egregious assumption, condemned by rea son and abhorred by piety, which changes a man into a thing ? I put these questions without undertaking to pass upon them. Shrinking in stinctively from any recognition of right founded on wrongs, I find myself shrinking also from any austere verdict, which shall deny the means necessary to the great consummation we seek. Our fathers, un der Washington, did not hesitate by Act of Congress, to appropriate largely for the ransom of white fellow-citizens enslaved by Algerine cor sairs ; and, following this example, I am disposed to consider the ques : tion of compensation as one of expediency, to be determined by the exigency of the hour and the constitutional powers of the Government ; though such is rny desire to see the foul fiend of slavery in flight, that I could not hesitate to build even a Bridge of Gold, if necessary, to promote his escape. The Practicability of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise has been constantly questioned, often so superficially, as to be answered at once. I shall not take time to consider the allegation, founded on considerations of economy, which audaciously assumes that Slave Labor is more advan tageous than Free Labor that Slavery is more profitable than Free dom ; for this is all exploded by the official tables of the census ; nor that other futile argument, that the slaves are not prepared for Free dom, and, therefore, should not be precipitated into this condition, for that is no better than the ancient Greek folly, where the anxious mother would not allow her son to go into the water until he had first learned to swim. But, as against the Necessity of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise, there were two chief objections, so, also, against its Practi cability there are two ; the first, founded on its alleged danger to the mas ter, and the second, on its alleged damage to the slave himself. i. The first objection, founded on the alleged danger to the master, most generally takes the extravagant form, that the slave, if released from his present condition, would cut his master s throat. Here is a blatant paradox, which can pass for reason only among those who have lost their reason. With an absurdity which finds no parallel except in the defences of Slavery, it assumes that the African, when treated justly, 1 84 EMANCIPATION NOT DANGEROUS. will show a vindictiveness which he does not exhibit when treated un justly ; that when elevated by the blessings of Freedom, he will develop an appetite for blood which he never manifested when crushed by the curse of bondage. At present, the slave sees his wife ravished from his arms sees his infant swept away to the auction block sees the heav enly gates of knowledge shut upon him sees his industry and all its fruits unjustly snatched by another sees himself and offspring doomed to a servitude from which there is no redemption ; and still his master sleeps secure. Will the master sleep less secure, when the slave no longer smarts under these revolting atrocities ? I will not trifle with your intelligence, or with the quick-passing hour, by arguing this ques tion. XXIX. By a single Act of Parliament, the slaves of the West Indies be came at once free ; and this great transition was accomplished abso lutely without personal danger of any kind to the master. And yet the chance of danger there was greater far than among us. In our broad country, the slaves are overshadowed by a more than six-fold white population. Only in two States South Carolina and Mississippi do the slaves outnumber the whites, and these but slightly, while in the en tire Slave States, the whites outnumber the slaves by many millions. Hut it was otherwise in the British West Indies, where the whites were overshadowed by a more than six-fold population. The slaves were 800,000, while the whites numbered only 131,000, distributed in differ ent proportions on the different islands. And this disproportion has since increased rather than diminished, always without danger to the whites. In Jamaica, the largest of these possessions, there are now upwards of 400,000 Africans, and only 37,000 whites; in Barbadoes, the next largest possession, there are 120,000 Africans, and only 15,000 whites; in St. Lucia, 19,500 Africans, and only 600 whites; in Toba go, 14,000 Africans, and only 600 whites ; in Montserrat, 6,000 Afri cans, and only 150 whites; and in the Grenadines, upwards of 6,000 Africans, and less than 50 whites. And yet in all these places, the authorities attest the good behavior of the Africans. Sir Lionel Smith, the Governor of Jamaica, in his speech to the Assembly, declared that their conduct " proves how well they deserved the boon of Freedom." Another Governor of another island dwells on the "peculiarly rare in stances of the commission of grave or sanguinary crimes among the INSTANT FREEDOM SAFE FOR THE SLAVE. 1 8$ emancipated portion of these islands;" and the Queen of England, in a speech from the throne, has announced that the complete and final emancipation of the Africans had "taken place without any disturb ance of public order and tranquillity." In this example I hail new con firmation of the rule that the highest safety is in doing right ; and thus do I dismiss the objection founded on the alleged danger to the master. 2. And I am now brought to the second objection, founded on the alleged damage to the slave. It is common among the partisans of Slavery, to assert that our Enterprise has actually retarded the very cause it seeks to promote ; and this paradoxical accusation, which might naturally show itself among the rank weeds of the South, is cherished here on our Northern soil, by those who anxiously look for any fig-leaf with which to cover their indifference or tergiversation. This peculiar form of complaint is an old device, which has been in stinctively employed on other occasions until it has ceased to be even plausible. Thus, throughout all times, has every good cause been encoun tered. The Saviour was nailed to the cross with a crown of thorns on his head, as a disturber of that peace on earth which he came to de clare. The disciples, while preaching the Gospel of forgiveness and good-will, were stoned as preachers of sedition and discord. The re formers, who sought to establish a higher piety and faith, were burnt at the stake as blasphemers and infidels. Patriots, in all ages, who have striven for their country s good, have been doomed to the scaffold or to exile, even as their country s enemies. And those brave Englishmen, who, at home, under the lead of Edmund Burke, even against their own country, espoused the cause of our fathers, shared the same illogical impeachment, which was touched to the quick by that orator-statesman, when, after exposing its essential vice, " in attributing the ill-effect of ill-judged conduct to the arguments used to dissuade us from it," he de nounced it as " very absurd, but very common in modern practice, and very wicked." Ay, sir, it is common in modern practice. In England, it has vainly renewed itself with special frequency against the Bible So cieties ; against the friends of education ; against the patrons of vacci nation ; against the partisans of peace, all of whom have been openly arraigned as provoking and increasing the very evils, whether of infi delity, idleness, disease, or war, which they benignly sought to check. And to bring an instance which is precisely applicable to our own, Wilberforce, when conducting the Anti-Slavery Enterprise of England, first against the slave-trade and then against Slavery itself, was told that those efforts, by which his name is now consecrated forevermore, tend- 1 86 GOOD OF THE ENTERPRISE ALREADY. ed to increase the hardships of the slave, even to the extent of riveting anew his chains. Such are the precedents for the imputation to which our Enterprise is exposed : and such, also, are the precedents by which I exhibit the fallacy of the imputation. Sir, I do not doubt that the Enterprise has produced heat and irrita tion, amounting often to inflammation, among slave-masters, which, to superficial minds, may seem inconsistent with success ; but which the careful observer will recognize at once as f he natural and not unhealthy effort of a diseased body to purge itself of existing impurities ; and just in proportion to the malignity of the concealed poison, will be the ex tent of inflammation. A distemper like Slavery cannot be ejected like a splinter. It is, perhaps, too much to expect that men thus tortured should reason calmly that patients thus suffering should comprehend the true nature of their case and kindly acknowledge the beneficent work ; but not on this account can it be suspended. In the face of this complaint, I assert that the Anti-Slavery Enterprise has already accomplished incalculable good. Even now it touches the national heart as it never before was touched, sweeping its strings with a might to draw forth emotions such as no political struggle has ever evoked. It moves the young, the middle-aged, and the old. It enters the family circle, and mingles with the flame of the household hearth. It reaches the souls of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, filling all with a new aspiration for justice on earth, "and awakening not merely a sentiment against Slavery, such as prevailed with our fathers, but a deep, undying conviction of its wrong, and a determination to leave no effort unattempted for its removal. With the sympathies of all Christendom as allies, it has already encompassed the slave-masters by a moral blockade, invisible to the eye, but more potent than navies, from which there can be no escape except in final capitulation. Thus it has created the irresistible influence which itself constitutes the beginning of suc cess. Already there are signs of change. In common speech, as well as in writing, among slave-masters the bondman is no longer called a slave, but a servant, thus, by a soft substitution, concealing and con demning the true relation. Even newspapers in the land of bondage blush with indignation at the hunt of men by blood-hounds, thus pro testing against an unquestionable incident of Slavery. Other signs are found in the added comfort of the slave ; in the enlarged attention to his wants ; in the experiments now beginning, by which the slave is enabled to share in the profits of his labor, and thus finally secure his freedom ; and, above all, in the consciousness among slave-masters INHERENT DIGNITY OF THE ENTERPRISE. iS/ themselves, that they dwell now as never before under the keen obser vation of an ever-wakeful Public Opinion, quickened by an ever- wakeful Public Press. Nor is this all. Only lately propositions have been in troduced into the Legislatures of different States, and countenanced by Governors, to mitigate the existing law of Slavery ; and, almost while speaking, I have received the drafts of two different memorials, one addressed to the Legislature of Virginia, and the other to that of North Carolina, asking for the slave three things, which it will be monstrous to refuse, but which, if conceded, will take from Slavery its existing character ; I mean, first, the protection of the marriage rela tion ; secondly, the protection of the parental relation ; and, thirdly, the privilege of knowledge. Grant these, and the girdled Upas tree soon must die. Sir, amidst these tokens of present success, and the auguries of the future, I am not disturbed by any complaints of seeming damage. " Though it consume our own dwelling, who does not ven erate fire, without which human life can hardly exist*" on earth," says the Hindoo proverb ; and the time is even now at hand when the Anti- Slavery Enterprise, which is the very fire of Freedom, with all its inci dental excesses or excitements, will be hailed with a similar regard. XXX. III. And now, in the ////replace, the Anti-Slavery Enterprise, which I have shown to be at once necessary and practicable, is commended by its inherent DIGNITY. Here the reasons are obvious and unanswer able. Its object is benevolent; nor is there, in the dreary annals of the Past, a single Enterprise which stands forth more clearly and indisput ably entitled to this character. With unsurpassed and touching mag nanimity, it seeks to benefit the lowly whom your eyes have not seen, and who are ignorant even of your labors, while it demands and receives a self-sacrifice calculated to ennoble an enterprise of even questionable merit. Its true rank is among works properly called philanthropic the title of highest honor on earth. " I take goodness in this sense," says Lord Bacon in his Essays, " the affecting of the weal of men, which is what the Grecians call Philanthropeia of all virtues and dignities of the mind the greatest, being the character of the Deity ; and without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing, no better than a kind of vermin." Lord Bacon was right, and, perhaps, unconsciously followed 1 88 FREEDOM THE DARLING OF HISTORY. a higher authority ; for, when Moses asked the Lord to show unto him His glory, the Lord said, " I will make all my goodness to pass before thee." Ah ! sir, Peace has trophies fairer and more perennial than any snatched from fields of blood, but among all these, the fairest and most perennial are the trophies of beneficence. Scholarship, literature, jurisprudence, art, may wear their well-deserved honors ; but an Enter prise of goodness deserves, and will yet receive, a higher palm than these. In other aspects its dignity is apj3arent. It concerns the cause of Human Freedom, which, from the earliest days, has been the darling of history. By all the memories of the Past ; by the stories of childhood and the studies of youth ; by every example of magnanimous virtue ; by every aspiration for the good and true ; by the fame of the martyrs swelling through all time ; by the renown of patriots whose lives are landmarks of progress ; by the praise lavished upon our fathers, you are summoned to this work. Unless Freedom be an illusion, and Benevolence an error, you cannot resist the appeal. But our cause is nobler even than that of our fathers, inasmuch as it is more exalted to struggle for the freedom of others than for our oiun. Its practical importance at this moment gives to it an additional eminence. Whether measured by the number of beings it seeks to benefit ; by the magnitude of the wrongs it hopes to relieve ; by the difficulties with which it is beset ; by the political relations which it affects ; or by the ability and character it has enlisted, the cause of the slave now assumes proportions of grandeur which dwarf all other interests in- our broad country. In its presence the machinations of politicians, the aspirations of office-seekers and the subterfuges of party, all sink below even their ordinary insignificance. For myself, sir, I can see little else at this time among us which can tempt out on to the exposed steeps of public life an honest man, who wishes, by something that he does, to leave the world better than he found it. I can see little else which can afford any of those satisfactions which an honest man should covet. Nor is there any cause which so surely promises final success ; " Oh! a fair cause stands firm and will abide ; Legions of angels fight upon its side! " It is written that in the last days there shall be scoffers, and even this P^nterprise, thus philanthropic, has not escaped their aspersions. And as the objections to its Necessity were twofold, and the objections to its Practicability twofold, so, also, are the aspersions twofold ; first HARD WORDS PERSONAL DISPARAGEMENT. 189 in the form of hard words, and secondly, by personal disparagement of those who are engaged in it. 1. The hard words are manifold as the passions and prejudices of men ; but they generally end in the imputation of " fanaticism." In such a cause, I am willing to be called "fanatic," or what you will ; I care not for aspersions, nor shall I shrink before hard words, either here or elsewhere. I have learned from that great Englishman, Oliver Crom well, that no man can be trusted " who is afraid of a paper pellet ; " and I am too familiar with history not to know, that every movement for reform, in Church or State, every endeavor for Human Liberty or Human Rights, has been thus assailed. I do not forget with what facility and frequency hard words have been employed how that grandest character of many generations, the precursor of our own Wash ington, without whose example our Republic might have failed the great William, Prince of Orange, the founder of the Dutch Republic, the United States of Holland I do not forget how he was publicly branded as " a perjurer and a pest of society; " and, not to dwell on general instances, how the enterprise for the abolition of the slave-trade was characterized on the floor of Parliament by one eminent speaker as " mischievous," and by another as " visionary and delusive ; " and how the exalted characters which it had enlisted were arraigned by still an other eminent speaker none other than that Tarleton, so conspicuous as the commander of the British horse in the southern campaigns of our Revolution, but more conspicuous in politics at home, " as a junto of sectaries, sophists, enthusiasts and fanatics ; " and also were again arraigned by no less person than a prince of the blood, the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV. of England, as " either fanatics or hypo crites," in one of which classes he openly placed William Wilberforce. But impartial history, with immortal pen, has redressed these impas sioned judgments ; and the same impartial history will yet rejudge the impassioned judgments of this hour. 2. Hard words have been followed by personal disparagement, and the sneer is often launched that our Enterprise lacks the authority of names eminent in Church and State. If this be so, the more is the pity on their account ; for our cause is needed to them more than they are needed to our cause. But alas ! it is only according to the example of history that it should be so. It is not the eminent in Church and State, the rich and powerful, the favorites of fortune and of place, who most promptly welcome Truth, when she heralds change in the existing order of things. It is others in poorer condition who throw open their hospit- AT LAST THERE IS A NORTH. able hearts to the unattended stranger. Nay, more ; it is not the dwellers amidst the glare of the world, but the humble and lowly, who most clearly discern new duties, as the watchers, placed in the depths of a well, may observe the stars which are obscured to those who live in the effulgence of noon. Placed below the egotism and prejudice of self-interest, or of a class below the cares and temptations of wealth or power in the obscurity of common life, they discern the new signal, and surrender themselves unreservedly to its guidance. The Saviour knew this. He did not call upon the Priest, or Levite, or Pharisee, to follow him ; but upon the humble fisherman by the sea of Galilee. XXXI. And now, sir, I present to you the Anti-Slavery Enterprise vindicated in Necessity, Practicability and Dignity, against all objections. If there be any objection which I have not answered, it is because I am not aware of its existence. It remains that I should give a practical con clusion to this whole matter, by showing, though in glimpses only, your SPECIAL DifxiES AS FREEMEN OF THE NORTH. And, thank God ! at last there is a North. Mr. President, it is not uncommon to hear persons among us at the North, confess the wrong of Slavery, and then, folding their hands in absolute listlessness, ejaculate, "What can we do about it?" Such men we encounter daily. You all know them. Among them are men in every department of human activity who perpetually buy, build and plan who shrink from no labor who are daunted by no peril of com mercial adventure, by no hardihood of industrial enterprise who, reaching in their undertakings across oceans and continents, would un dertake " to put a girdle about the earth in forty seconds ; " and yet, disheartened, they can join in no effort against Slavery. Others there are, especially among the youthful and enthusiastic, who vainly sigh be cause they were not born in the age of chivalry, or at least in the days of the revolution, not thinking that in this Enterprise there is an oppor tunity of lofty endeavor such as no Paladin of chivalry, or chief of the revolution enjoyed. Others there are, who freely bestow their means and time upon the distant inaccessible heathen of another hemisphere, in the islands of the sea ; and yet they can do nothing to mitigate our grander heathenism here at home. While confessing that it ought to disappear from the e arth, they forego, renounce and abandon all exer- THE GOD THOR, AND HIS CUP. 191 tion against it. Others there are still, (such is human inconsistency !) who plant the tree in whose full-grown shade they can never expect to sit who hopefully drop the acorn in the earth, trusting that the oak which it sends upwards to the skies will shelter their children beneath its shade ; but they will do nothing to plant or nurture the great tree of Liberty, that it may cover with its arms unborn generations of men. Others still there are, particularly in the large cities, who content themselves by occasional contributions to the redemption of a slave. To this object they give out of ample riches, and thus seek to silence the monitions of conscience. Now, I would not discountenance any form of activity by which Human Freedom, even in a single case, may be secured. But I desire to say, that such an act too often accom panied by a pharisaical pretension, in strange contrast with the petty performance cannot be considered an essential aid to the Anti-Slavery Enterprise. Not in this way can any impression be made on an evil so vast as Slavery as you will clearly see by an illustration which I shall give. The god Thor, of Scandinavian mythology whose strength surpassed that of Hercules was once challenged to drain a simple cup dry. He applied it to his lips, and with superhuman capacity drank, but the water did not recede even from the rim, and at last the god abandoned the effort. The failure of even his extraordinary strength was explained, when he learned that the simple cup had communicated, by an invisible connection, with the whole vast ocean behind, out of which it was perpetually supplied, and which remained absolutely unaffected by the effort. And just so will these occasions of chanty, though encountered by the largest private means, be constantly renewed, for they communicate with the whole Black Sea of Slavery behind, out of which they are perpetually supplied, and which remains absolutely unaffected by the effort. Sir, private means may cope with individual necessities, but they are powerless to redress the evils of a wicked institution. Charity is limited and local ; the evils of Slavery are infinite and everywhere. Besides, a wrong or ganized and upheld by law, can be removed only through a change of the law. Not, then, by an occasional contribution to ransom a slave can your duty be done in this great cause ; but only by earnest, con stant, valiant efforts against the institution against the law which makes slaves. I am not insensible to the difficulties of this work. Full well I know the power of Slavery. Full well I know all its various intrenchments in the Church, the politics and the prejudices of the country. Full well I know the sensitive interests of property, amounting to many hundred WHY SLAVERY CONCERNS THE NORTH. millions of dollars, which are said to be at stake. But these things can furnish no motive or apology for indifference, or for any folding of the hands. Surely the wrong is not less wrong because it is gigantic ; the evil is not less evil because it is immeasurable ; nor can the duty of perpetual warfare with wrong or evil be in this instance suspended. Nay, because Slavery is powerful because the Enterprise is difficult therefore is the duty of all more exigent. The well-tempered soul does not yield to difficulties, but presses onward forever with increased re solution. And here the question occurs, which is so often pressed in argument, or in taunt, What have we at the North to do with Slavery ? In answer, I might content myself by saying that as members of the human family, bound together by the cords of a common manhood, there is no human wrong to which we can justly be insensible, nor is there any human sorrow which we should not seek to relieve ; but I prefer to say, on this occasion, that, as citizens of the United States, anxious for the good name, the repose and the prosperity of the Republic that it may be a blessing and not a curse to mankind there is nothing among all its diversified interests, under the National Constitution, with which, at this moment, we have so much to do ; nor is there anything with regard to which our duties are so irresistibly clear. I do not dwell on the scandal of Slavery in the national capital- -of Slavery in the national territories of the coast-wise slave-trade on the high seas beneath the national flag, all of which are outside of State limits, and within the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress, where you and I, sir, and every free man of the North, are compelled to share the responsibility and help to bind the chain. To dislodge Slavery from these usurped footholds under the Constitution, and thus at once to relieve ourselves from a grievous responsibility, and to begin the great work of emancipation, were an object worthy of an exalted ambition. But before even this can be commenced, there is a great work, more than any other import ant and urgent, which must be consummated in the domain of national politics, and also here at home in the Free States. The N itional Gov ernment itself must be emancipated, so that it shall no longer wear the yoke of servitude ; and Slavery in all its pretensions must be dislodged from its usurped foothold, in the Free States themselves, thus relieving ourselves from a grievous responsibility at our own door, and emanci : pating the North. Emancipation, even within the national jurisdiction, can be achieved only through the emancipation of tlic Free States, ac companied by the complete emancipation of the National Government. MASTERDOM OF SLAVE OLIGARCHY. 1 93 Ay, sir, emancipation at the South can be reached only through the emancipation of the North. And this is my answer to the interroga tory : What have we at the North to do with Slavery ? XXXII. But the answer may be made yet more irresistible, while, with min gled sorrow and shame, I portray the tyrannical power which holds us in thraldom. Notwithstanding all its excess of numbers, wealth and intelligence, the North is now the vassal of an OLIGARCHY, whose single inspiration comes from Slavery. According to the official tables of our recent census, the slave-masters men, women, and children all told are only THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN THOU SAND ; and yet this small company now dominates over the Republic, determines its national policy, disposes of its offices, and sways all to its absolute will. With a watchfulness that never sleeps, and an activ ity that never tires with as many eyes as Argus, and as many arms as Briareus the SLAVE OLIGARCHY asserts its perpetual and insati ate masterdom ; now seizing a broad territory once covered by a time- honored ordinance of Freedom ; now threatening to wrest Cuba from Spain by violent war, or hardly less violent purchase ; now hankering for another slice of Mexico, merely to find new scope for Slavery ; now proposing once more to open the hideous, heaven-defying Slave-trade,, and thus to replenish its shambles with human flesh ; and now, by the- lips of an eminent Senator, asserting an audacious claim to the whole- group of the West Indies, whether held by Holland, Spain, France, or England, as "our Southern Islands," while it assails the independence of Hayti, and stretches its treacherous ambition even to the distant val ley of the Amazon. In maintaining its power, the Slave Oligarchy has applied a new test for office, very different from that of Jefferson : " Is he honest ; is he capable ? is he faithful to the Constitution ? " These things are all for gotten now in the controlling question, "Is he faithful to Slavery?" With arrogant ostracism it excludes from every national office all who cannot respond to this test. So complete and irrational has this tyranny become, that, at this moment, while I now speak, could Washington, Jefferson, or Franklin once more descend from their spheres above, to mingle in our affairs and bless us with their wisdom, not one of them, with his recorded, unretracted opinions on Slavery, could receive a 13 194 GIANT STRENGTH USED HEARTLESSLY. nomination for the Presidency from a National Convention of either of the late great political parties ; nor, stranger still, could either of these sainted patriots, whose names alone open a perpetual fountain of grati tude in all your hearts, be confirmed by the Senate of the United States for any political function whatever under the National Government not even for the office of Postmaster. What I now say, amidst your natural astonishment, I have more than once uttered from my seat in the Senate, and no man there has made answer, for no man, who has sat in its secret sessions and there learned the test which is practically applied, could make answer ; and I ask you to accept this statement as my testimony derived from the experience which has been my lot. Yes, fellow-citizens, had this test prevailed in the earlier days, Washington first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen could not have been created Generalissimo of the American forces ; Jefferson could not have taken his place on the Committee to draft the Declara tion of Independence ; and Franklin could not have gone forth to France, with the commission of the infant Republic, to secure the invaluable alliance of that ancient kingdom. And this giant strength is used with a giant heartlessness. By a cruel enactment, which has no source in the Constitution which defies jus tice which tramples on humanity and which rebels against God, the Free States are made the hunting-ground for slaves, and you, and I, and all good citizens, are -summoned to join in the loathsome and ab horred work. Your hearts and judgments, swift to feel and to condemn, will not require me to expose here the abomination of the Fugitive .Slave Bill or its utter unconstitutionally. Elsewhere I have done this, and never been answered. Nor will you expect that an enactment, so entirely devoid of all just sanction, should be called by the sacred name of law. History still repeats the language in which our fathers perse vered, when they denounced the last emanation of British tyranny which heralded the Revolution, as the Boston Port Bill, and I am content with this precedent. I have said that if any man finds in the Gospel any support of Slavery, it is because Slavery is already in himself; so do I now say, if any man finds in the Constitution of our country any sup port of the Fugitive Slave Bill, it is because that Bill is already in himself. One of our ancient Masters Aristotle, I think tells us that every man has a beast in his bosom ; but the Northern citizen, who has the Fugitive Slave Bill there, has worse than a beast a devil ! And yet in this Bill more even than in the ostracism at which you rebel does the .Slave Oligarchy stand confessed ; heartless, grasping, tyrannical ; care- THE GREAT DUTY OF THE NORTH. 195 less of humanity, right, or the Constitution ; wanting that foundation of justice which is the essential base of every civilized community ; stuck together only by confederacy in spoliation ; and constituting in itself a magnum latrocinium ; while it degrades the Free States to the condi tion of a slave plantation, under the lash of a vulgar, despised and re volting overseer. Surely, fellow-citizens, without hesitation or postponement you will insist that this Oligarchy shall be overthrown ; and here is the foremost among the special duties of the North, now required for the honor of the republic, for our own defence, and in obedience to God. Urging this comprehensive duty, I ought to have hours rather than minutes before me ; but, in a few words, you shall see its comprehensive im portance. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and the wickedness of the Fugitive Slave Bill will be expelled from the statute-book. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and Slavery will cease at once in the national capital. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and liberty will become the universal law of all the national territories. Prostrate the Slave Oli garchy and the Slave-trade will no longer skulk along our coasts, be neath the national flag. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and the na tional government will be at length divorced from Slavery. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and the national policy will be exchanged from Slavery to Freedom. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and the North will be no longer the vassal of the South. Prostrate the Slave Oligar chy and the North will be admitted to its just share in the trusts and honors of the Republic. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy and you will possess the master-key to unlock the whole house of bondage. Pros trate the Slave Oligarchy and the gates of emancipation will be open at the South. But, without waiting for this consummation, there is another special duty to be done here at home, on our own soil, which must be made free in reality, as in name. And here I shall speak frankly, though not without a proper sense of the responsibility of my words. I know that I cannot address you entirely as a private citizen ; but I shall say nothing here which I have not said elsewhere, and which I shall not be proud to vindicate everywhere. " A lie," it has been declared, " should be trampled out and extinguished forever," and surely you will do nothing less with a tyrannical and wicked enactment. The Fugitive Slave Bill, while it continues unrepealed, must be made a dead letter ; not by vio lence ; not by any unconstitutional activity or intervention ; not even by hasty conflict between jurisdictions ; but by an aroused Public 196 MR. HAYES NOBLE RESIGNATION. Opinion, which, in its irresistible might, shall blast with contempt, in dignation and abhorrence, all who consent to be its agents. Thus did our fathers blast all who became the agents of the Stamp Act ; and surely their motive was small compared with ours. The Slave-hunter who drags his victim from Africa is loathed as a monster ; but I defy- any acuteness of reason to indicate the moral difference between his act and that of the Slave-hunter who drags his victim from our Northern free soil. A few puny persons, calling themselves the Congress of the United States, with the titles of Representatives and Senators, cannot turn wrong into right cannot change a man into a thing cannot re verse the irreversible law of God cannot make him wicked who hunts a slave on the burning sands of Congo or Guinea, and make him virtu ous who hunts a slave in the colder streets of Boston or New York. Nor can any acuteness of reason distinguish between the bill of sale from the kidnapper, by which the unhappy African was originally transferred in Congo or Guinea, and the certificate of the Commissioner, by which, when once again in Freedom, he was reduced anew to bondage. The acts are kindred, and should share a kindred condemnation. One man s virtue becomes a standard of excellence for all ; and there is now in Boston, a simple citizen, whose example may be a lesson to Commissioners, Marshals, Magistrates ; while it fills all with the beauty of a generous act. I refer to Mr. Hayes, who resigned his place in the city police rather than take any part in the pack of the Slave-hunter. He is now the doorkeeper of the public edifice which has been honored this winter by the triumphant lectures on Slavery. Better be a door keeper in the house of the Lord than a dweller in the tents of the un godly. For myself, let me say, that I can imagine no office, no salary, no consideration, which I would not gladly forego rather than become in any way an agent for the enslavement of my brother-man. Where, for me, would be comfort or solace after such a work ! In dreams and waking hours, in solitude and in the street, in the study of the open book and in conversation with the world, wherever I turned, there my victim would stare me in the face ; while from the distant rice-fields and sugar plantations of the South, his cries beneath the vindictive lash, his moans at the thought of liberty once his, now, alas ! ravished away, would pursue me, repeating the tale of his fearful doom, and sounding forever sounding in my ears, " Thou art the man." Mr. President, may no such terrible voice fall on your soul or mine ! Yes, sir, here our duty is plain and paramount. While the Slave Oligarchy, through its unrepealed Slave Bill, undertakes to enslave our THIS ENTERPRISE MUST GO ON. 197 free soil, we can only turn for protection to a Public Opinion worthy of a humane, just and religious people, which shall keep perpetual guard over the liberties of all within our borders , nay more, which, like the flaming sword of the cherubim at the gates of Paradise, turning on every side, shall prevent any Slave-hunter from ever setting foot on our sacred soil. Elsewhere he may pursue his human prey ; he may em ploy his congenial blood-hounds, and exult in his successful game. But into these domains of Freedom he must not come. And this Public Opinion, with Freedom as its watchword, must proclaim not only the overthrow of the Slave Bill, but also the overthrow of the Slave Oli garchy behind, the two pressing duties of the North, essential to our own emancipation ; and believe me, sir, while they remain undone, no thing is done. XXXIII. Mr. President, far already have I trespassed upon your generous patience ; but there are other things which still press for utterance. Something would I say of the arguments by which our Enterprise is commended ; something also of the appeal it makes to men of every condition ; and something also of union, as a vital necessity among all who love Freedom. I know not if our work can be soon accomplished. I know not, sir, if you or I can live to see in our Republic the vows of the Fathers at length fulfilled, as the last fetter falls from the limbs of the last slave. But one thing I do know, beyond all doubt or question, that this Enter prise must go on that in its irresistible current, it will sweep schools, colleges, churches, the intelligence, the conscience, and the religious aspirations of the land, while all who stand in its way or speak evil of it, are laying up for their children, if not for themselves, days of sorrow and shame. Better to strive in this cause, even unsuccessfully, than never to strive at all. There is no weapon in the celestial armory of truth ; there is no sweet influence from the skies ; there is no generous word that ever dropped from human lips, which may not be employed. Ours, too, is the argument alike of the Conservative and the Reformer, for our course stands on the truest conservatism and the truest reform. It seeks the conservation of Freedom itself and of its kindred historic principles ; it seeks also the reform of Slavery and of the kindred tyranny by which it is upheld. Religion, morals, justice, economy, the Constitution, may 198 INSCRIPTIONS ON ACHILLES SHIELD. each and all be invoked ; and one person is touched by one argument, while another person is touched by another. You do not forget how Christopher Columbus won Isabella of Spain to his enterprise of dis covery. He first presented to her the temptation of extending her do minions ; but she hearkened not. He next promised to her the daz zling wealth of the Indies ; and still she hearkened not. But when at last was pictured to her pious imagination the poor heathen with souls to be saved, then the youthful Queen poured her royal jewels into the lap of the Genoese adventurer, and, at her expense, that small fleet was sent forth which gave to Spain and to mankind a New World. As in this enterprise there is a place for every argument, so also is there a place for every man. Even as on the broad shield of Achilles, sculptured by divine art, was wrought every form of human activity ; so in this cause, which ib the very shield of Freedom, whatever man can do by deed or speech, may find its place. One may act in one way, and another in another way; but all must act. Providence is felt through individuals ; the dropping of water wears away the rock ; and no man can be so humble or poor as to be excused from this work, while to all the happy in genius, fortune or fame, it makes a special ap peal. Here is room for the strength of Luther, and the sweetness of Melancthon ; for the wisdom of age, and the ardor of youth ; for the judgment of the statesman, and the eloquence of the orator ; for the grace of the scholar, and the aspiration of the poet ; for the learning of the professor, and the skill of the lawyer ; for the exhortation of the preacher, and the persuasion of the press ; for the various energy of the citizen, and the abounding sympathy of woman. And still one thing more is needed, without which Liberty-loving men, and even their arguments, will fail in power even as without chanty all graces of knowledge, speech and faith are said to profit noth ing. I mean that Unity of Spirit in itself a fountain of strength which, filling the people of the North, shall make them tread under foot past antipathies, decayed dissensions, and those irritating names which now exist only as the tattered ensigns of ancient strife. It is right to be taught by the enemy ; and with their example before us and their power brandished in our very faces, we cannot hesitate. With them Slavery is made the main-spring of political life, and the absorbing cen tre of political activity ; with them all differences are swallowed up by this one idea, as all other rods were swallowed up by the rod of Aaron ; with them all unite to keep the national government under the control of slave-masters ; and surely we should not do less for Freedom than THE PRESS ON THE LECTURE. 199 they do for Slavery. We too must be united. Among us at last mutual criticism, crimination, and feud must give place to mutual sympathy, trust and alliance. Face to face against the SLAVE OLIGARCHY must be rallied the UNITED MASSES of the North, in compact political as sociation planted on the everlasting base of justice knit together by the instincts of a common danger, and by the holy sympathies of hu manity enkindled by a love of Freedom, not only for themselves, but for others determined to enfranchise the national government from degrading thraldom and constituting the BACKBONE PARTY, powerful in numbers, wealth, and intelligence, but more powerful still in an inspiring cause. Let this be done, and victory will be ours. XXXIV. We make some extracts from the press, and individuals of distinction, which will indicate the impression left by that address. The Tribune said : Mr. Sumner s speech last night was the greatest rhetorical and logi cal success of the year, and was most enthusiastically praised by the largest audience yet gathered in New York to hear a lecture. The interest was such that he was constrained, much against his disposition, to repeat it in Brooklyn, as he was afterwards at Niblo s Theatre in New York. In intro ducing him to the Brooklyn audience, Mr. Beecher said : I am to introduce to you a statesman who follows a long train of rep resentatives and statesmen who were false to the North, false to liberty ; then they made a complaint that there was no North ! It was because the North lost faith in her recreant children. It lost faith in its trai tors, and not in Liberty. Now, if the haughty Southerners wish to en gage in any more conflict of this kind, I think they will have to find some other than the speaker to-night, with whom to break a lance. I do not wish merely to introduce to you the "Honorable Gentleman" sent from Massachusetts as a United States Senator ; my wish is to do better than that : I wish to introduce to you the man, CHARLES SUM- NER. After the repetition of the lecture at Niblo s, the Trib une spoke thus : 2OO COUNT GUROWSKI MR. SEWARD. That a lecture should be repeated in New York is a rare occurrence. That a lecture on Anti-Slavery should be repeated in New York, even before a few despised fanatics, is an unparalleled occurrence. But that an Anti-Slavery lecture should be expected, night after night, to suc cessive multitudes, each more enthusiastic than the last, marks an epoch and a revolution in popular feeling. It is an era in the history of lib erty. Niblo s was crowded last evening, long before the hour of com mencement. Hundreds stood through the three hours lecture. We give a full report of the words, but only of the words. The press of the country everywhere made unex pectedly strong and favorable notices of the lecture, and it was reprinted in hundreds of journals. In speak ing of its delivery in Metropolitan Hall, the National Era, at Washington, said : Mr. SUMNER closed, as he had continued, amid loud and protracted applause, especially at the point when he said that the Fugitive Slave Bill must be made a dead letter. The audience seemed wild with enthusiasm. Handkerchiefs waved from fair hands, and reporters almost forgot their stolid unconcern. Count GUROWSKI, writing from Brattleboro , Vt, in his enthusiastic style, said : I have just finished the reading of your admirable Oration. I am en extase. I was near to cry. You have thrown the gauntlet once more to the " Gentlemen from the South," bravely, decidedly, and pitilessly. Don t be astonished if they shall send you, covered with laurels as you are, to Coventry. This, undoubtedly, they will do. Being invited to deliver the same address at Auburn, and pressed so earnestly that he could not refuse, he was introduced to the audience by Mr. SEWARD, in these words : Fellow-citizens : A dozen years ago I was honored by being chosen to bring my neighbors residing here to the acquaintance of a statesman of Massachusetts, who was then directing the last energies of an illustrious life to the removal of the crime of human slavery from the REASONS AGAINST SECRECY IN THE SENATE. 201 soil of our beloved country a statesman whose course I had chosen for my own guidance JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, the " old man eloquent." He has ascended to heaven ; you and I yet remain in the field of toil and duty ; and now, by a rare felicity, I have your instructions to present to you another statesman of Massachusetts, he on whose shoulders the mantle of the departed one has fallen, and who, more than any other of the many great and virtuous citizens of his native Commonwealth, illustrates the spirit of the teacher, whom, like us, he venerated and loved so much, a companion and friend of my own public labors the young " man eloquent," CHARLES SUMNER. XXXV. * On the 6th of April, 1853, Mr. CHASE, of Ohio, in troduced a resolution against secrecy in the proceedings of the Senate, which Mr. SUMNER supported in a brief speech, in which he used the following language : In the Constitution there is no injunction of secrecy on any of the proceedings of the Senate ; nor is there any requirement of publicity. To the Senate is left absolutely the determination of its rules of proceed ings. In thus abstaining from all regulation of this matter the framers of the Constitution have obviously regarded it as in all respects within the discretion of the Senate, to be exercised from time to time as it thinks best. The Senate exercises three important functions : first ^ the legislative or parliamentary power, wherein it acts concurrently with the House of Representatives, as well as the President ; secondly, the power " to ad vise and consent "to treaties with foreign countries in concurrence with the President ; and, thirdly, the power " to advise and consent " to nominations by the President to offices under the Constitution. I say nothing of another, rarely called into exercise, the sole power to try impeachments. At the first organization of the Government the proceedings of the Senate, whether in legislation or on treaties or on nominations, were with closed doors. In this respect the legislative business and execu tive business were conducted alike. This continued down to the second session of the Third Congress, in 1794, when, in pursuance of a formal 202 SPEECH IN FANEUIL HALL. resolution, the galleries were allowed to be opened so long as the Sen ate were engaged in their legislative capacity, unless in such cases as might, in the opinion of the Senate, require secrecy ; and this rule has continued ever since. Here was an exercise of the discretion of the Senate, in obvious harmony with public sentiment and the spirit of our institutions. The change now proposed goes still further. It opens the doors on all occasions, whether legislative or executive, except when specially ordered otherwise. The Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Butler] says that the Senate is a confidential body, and should be ready to receive confidential communications from the President. But this will still be the case if we adopt the resolution now under consideration. The limitation proposed seems adequate to all exigencies, while the general rule will be publicity. The Executive sessions with closed doors, shroud ed from the public gaze and public criticism, constitute an exceptional part of our system, too much in harmony with the proceedings of other Governments less liberal in character. The genius of our institutions requires publicity. The ancient Roman, who bade his architect so to construct his house that his guests and all that he did could be seen by the world, is a fit model for the American people. XXXVI. Having been invited by the leaders of the Republican party in Boston to address them on the great issues of the times, Mr. SUMNER delivered in Faneuil Hall -No vember 2, 1855 one of his powerful speeches upon the usurpations of the Slave Oligarchy, which constitutes a fine introduction to the grandest, perhaps, of all his speeches, so soon to be delivered in the Senate, on THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS. He began by addressing these words to the vast multitude that packed the old hall : " Are you for Freedom, or are you for Slavery ? Under which King, Bezonian, speak or die ! Are you for Freedom, with its priceless blessings, or are you for Slavery, with its countless wrongs and woes ? Are you HE ADDRESSES ONLY REPUBLICANS. 2O3 for God, or are you for the Devil ? " After the wild shouts and screams of the assembly had subsided, he said : Fellow-citizens, I speak plainly; nor can words exhibiting the en ormity of Slavery be too plain, whether it be regarded simply in the legislative and judicial decisions by which it is upheld, or in the unques tionable facts by which its character is revealed. It has been my fortune latterly to see Slavery face to face in its own home, in the Slave States ; and I take this early opportunity to offer my testimony to the open bar barism which it sanctions. I have seen a human being knocked off at auction on the steps of a court-house, and as the sale went on, com pelled to open his mouth and show his teeth, like a horse ; I have been detained in a stage-coach, that our driver might, in the phrase of the country, "help lick a nigger;" and I have been constrained, at a public table, to witnesss the revolting spectacle of a poor slave, yet a child, almost felled to the floor by a blow on the head from a clinched fist. Such incidents were not calculated to shake my original convictions. The distant slave-holder, who, in generous solicitude for that truth which makes for freedom, feared that, like a certain Doctor of Divinity, I might, under the influence of personal kindness, be hastily swayed from these convictions, may be assured that I saw nothing to change them in one tittle, but to confirm them ; while I was entirely satisfied that here in Massachusetts, where all read, the true character of Slavery is better known than in the Slave States themselves, where ignorance and pre judice close the avenues of knowledge. And now, grateful for the attention with which you honor me, I ven ture to hope that you are assembled honestly to hear the truth ; not to gratify prejudice, to appease personal antipathies, or to indulge a mor bid appetite for excitement ; but with candor and your best discrimina tion, to weigh facts and arguments in order to determine the course of duty. I address myself particularly to the friends of Freedom the Republicans on whose invitation I appear to-night, but I make bold to ask you of other parties, who now listen, to divest yourselves for the time, of partisan constraint to forget for the moment that you are Whigs or Democrats, or how you are called, and to remember only that you are men, with hearts to feel, with heads to understand, and with consciences to guide. Then only will you be in a condition to receive the truth. " If men are not aware of the probable bias of party over 2O4 THE QUESTION NATIONAL AND LOCAL. them, then they are so much the more likely to be blindly governed by it." Such is the wise remark of Wilberforce ; and I fear that among us there are too many who are unconsciously governed by such bias. There are men, who, while professing candor, yet show that the bitter ness of party has entered into their whole character and lives, as the bitterness of the soil in Sardinia is said to appear even in its honey. At this election we do not choose a President of the United States, or member of Congress ; but a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, At torney-General, and other State officers. To a superficial observer, the occasion seems to be rather local than national ; it seems to belong to State affairs rather than Federal to Massachusetts rather than to the Unioa. And yet, such are our relations to the Union such is the sol idarity of these confederate States so are we all knit together as a Plural Unit, that the great question which now disturbs and over shadows the whole country, becomes at once national and local, ad dressing itself alike to the whole Republic and to each constituent part. Freedom in Kansas, and our own Freedom here at home, are both assailed. They must be defended. There are honorable responsibili ties belonging to Massachusetts, as an early and constant vindicator of Freedom, which she cannot renounce. " If the trumpet give an uncer tain sound,, who shall prepare himself for the battle?" The distant emigrant the whole country awaits the voice of our beloved Com monwealth in answer to the question, Are you for Freedom or are you for Slavery ? So transcendent, so exclusive, so all-absorbing at the present juncture is this question, that it is vain to speak of the position of candidates on other things. To be doubtful on this is to be wrong ; and to be wrong on this is to be wholly wrong. Passing strange it is that here in Massachusetts, in this nineteenth century, we should be constrained to put this question. Passing strange, that when it is put, there should be any hesitation to answer it, by voice and vote, in such way as to speak the loudest for Freedom. XXXVII. At the period of the Declaration of Independence, upwards of half a million colored persons were held as chattels in the United States. These unhappy people were originally stolen from Africa, or were the children of those who had been stolen, and, though distributed through out the whole country, were to be found chiefly in the Southern States. OLD ABOLITIONISM IN MASSACHUSETTS. 20$ The Slavery to which they were reduced was simply a continuation of the violence by which they had been originally robbed of their rights, and was of course as indefensible. The fathers of the Republic, lead ers of the war of Independence, were struck with the inconsistency of an appeal for their own liberties while holding in bondage fellow-men only " guilty of a skin not colored like their own." The same con viction animated the hearts of the people, whether at the North or South. Out of ample illustrations, I select one which specially reveals this conviction, and possesses a local interest in this community. It is a deed of manumission, made after our struggles had begun, and pre served in the Probate records of the County of Suffolk. Here it is : " Know all men by these presents, that I, JONATHAN JACKSON, of Newburyport, in the county of Essex, gentleman, in consideration of the impropriety I feel, and have long felt, in beholding any person in constant bondage more especially at a time when my country is so warmly con tending for the liberty every man ought to enjoy and having some time since promised my negro man, POMP, that I would give him his freedom, and in further consideration of five shillings, paid me by said POMP, I do hereby liberate, manumit, and set him free ; and I do hereby remise and release unto said POMP, all demands of whatever nature I have against said POMP. "In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this nineteenth June, 1776. "JONATHAN JACKSON. [Seal] " Witness, Mary Coburn, William Noyes." Such was the general spirit. Public opinion found free vent in every channel. By the literature of the time by the voice of the Church, and by the solemn judgment of the College, Slavery was condemned, while all the grandest names of our history were arrayed openly against it. Of these I might dwell on many ; but I am always pleased to men tion an illustrious triumvirate from whose concurring testimony there can be no appeal. There was Washington, who at one time declared that " it was among his first wishes to see some plan adopted by which Slavery might be abolished by law," and then at another, that to this end " his suffrage should not be wanting." There also was Jefferson, who by early and precocious efforts for "total emancipation," placed himself foremost among the Abolitionists of the land perpetually de nouncing Slavery exposing the pernicious influences upon the master, as well as the Slave declaring that the love of justice and the love of country pleaded equally for the Slave, and that " the abolition of do mestic Slavery was the greatest object of desire." There also was the 2O6 THE CONSTITUTION ORDAINED FOR FREEDOM. venerable patriot, Benjamin Franklin, who did not hesitate to liken the American master of black Slaves to the Algerine corsair with his white Slaves, and who, as President of the earliest Abolition Society the same of which Passmore Williamson is now the honored Secretary by solemn petition, called upon Congress " to step to the very verge of the power vested in it to discourage every species of traffic in the persons of our fellow-men." Thus completely, by this triumvirate of Freedom, was Slavery condemned, and the power of the Government invoked against it. By such men, and in such spirit, was the National Constitution framed. The emphatic words of the Declaration of Independence, which our country took upon its lips as baptismal vows, when it claimed a place among the nations of the earth, were not forgotten. The preamble to the Constitution renews them, when it declares the object of the people of the United States to be, among other things, " to establish justice, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and posterity." Thus, according to undeniable words, the Constitution was ordained, not to establish, secure or sanction slavery not to promote the special interest of slave-masters, bound togethei in oligarchical combination not to make Slavery national in any way, form or manner ; but to " establish justice," which condemns Slavery "to promote the general welfare," which repudiates every Oligarchy and " to secure the blessings of liberty," in whose presence human bondage must cease. Early in the Convention, Gouverneur Morris broke forth in the language of an Abolitionist : " He never would con cur in upholding domestic Slavery. It was a nefarious institution. It was the curse of Heaven." In another mood, and with mild juridical phrase, Mr. Madison, himself a slaveholder, " thought it wrong to ad mit in the Constitution the idea of property in man." The discredita ble words, Slave and Slavery, were not allowed to find a place in the instrument, while a clause was subsequently added by way of amend ment, and, therefore, according to the rules of interpretation, particu larly revealing the sentiments of the founders, which is calculated, like the Declaration of Independence, if practically applied, to carry Free dom everywhere within the sphere of its influence. It was specifically declared that " no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law" that is, without due presentment, indict ment or other formal judicial proceedings. Here is an express guard of personal Liberty, and a prohibition of Slavery everywhere within the national jurisdiction. HORACE MANN IN CONGRESS. 2O/ In this spirit was the National Constitution adopted. In this spirit the National Government was first organized under Washington. And here there is a fact of peculiar significance, well worthy of perpetual memory. At the time this great chief took his first oath to support the Constitution of the United States, the National Ensign nowhere within the National Territory covered a single slave. On the sea, an exe crable piracy, the trade in slaves, was still, to the national scandal, tole rated, beneath the national flag. In the States, as a sectional institu tion, beneath the shelter of local laws, Slavery, unhappily, found a home. But in the only territories at this time belonging to the Nation the broad region of the North-West it had already, by the Ordinance of Freedom, been made impossible, even before the adoption of the Con stitution. The District of Columbia, with its Fated Dowry, had not yet been acquired. XXXVIII. The actual number of slaveholders in the country was for a long time unknown, and, on this account, was naturally exaggerated. It was often represented to be very great. On one occasion, a distinguished Representative from Massachusetts, whose name will be ever cherished for his devotion to Human Rights, the Hon. Horace Mann, was rudely interrupted on the floor of Congress by a member from Alabama, who averred that the number of slaveholders was as many as three millions. At that time there was no official document by which this assumption could be corrected. But at last we have it. The late census, taken in 1850, shows that the whole number of this peculiar class embracing men, women and children, all told, who are so unfortunate as to hold slaves was only three hundred and forty-seven thousand ; and, of this number, the larger part are small slaveholders, leaving only ninety- two thousand persons as the owners of the great mass of slaves, and as the substantial representatives of this class. And yet this small company sometimes called the Slave Power, or Black Power, better called the Slave Oligarchy now dominates over the Republic, deter mines its national policy, disposes of its offices, and sways all to its absolute will. Yes, fellow-citizens, it is an Oligarchy odious beyond precedent ; heartless, grasping, tyrannical ; careless of humanity, right or the Constitution ; wanting that foundation of justice which is the essential base of every civilized community ; stuck together only by 208 WHAT THE SLAVE OLIGARCHY APPROPRIATES. confederacy in spoliation ; and constituting in itself a magnum latroci- nium ; while it degrades the Free States to the condition of a slave plan tation, under the lash of a vulgar, despised and revolting overseer. There is nothing in the National Government which the Slave Oligar chy does not appropriate. It entered into and possessed both the old political parties, Whig and Democrat as witness their servile resolu tions at Baltimore making them one in subserviency, though double in form ; and renewing in them the mystery of the Siamese twins, which, though separate in body and different in name, were constrained, by an unnatural ligament, to a community of exertion. It now holds the keys of every office, from that of President down to the humblest Postmaster, compelling all to do its bidding. It organizes the Cabinet. It directs the Army and Navy. It manages every department of public business. It presides over the census. It controls the Smithsonian Institution, founded by the generous charity of a foreigner, to promote the interests of knowledge. It subsidizes the national press, alike in the national capital and in the remotest village of the North. It sits in the chair of the President of the Senate, and also in the chair of the Speaker of the House. It arranges the Committees of both bodies, placing at their head only the servitors of Slavery, and excluding therefrom the friends of Freedom, though entitled to such places by their character and the States they represent ; and thus it controls the legislation of the country. In maintaining its power, the Slave Oligarchy has applied a test for office very different from that of Jefferson, "Is he honest? Is he capa ble ? Is he faithful to the Constitution ? " These things are all forgot ten now in the single question, "Is he faithful to Slavery?" With arrogant ostracism it excludes from every national office all who cannot, respond to this test. So complete and irrational has this tyranny be come, that at this moment, while I now speak, could Washington, or Jefferson, or Franklin, once more descend from their spheres above, to mingle in our affairs and bless us with their wisdom, not one of them, with his recorded, unretr acted opinions on Slavery could receive a nomi nation for the Presidency from either of the political parties calling themselves national ; nor, stranger still, could either of these sainted patriots, whose names alone open a perpetual fountain of gratitude in all your hearts, be confirmed by the Senate of the United States for any political function whatever, not even for the office of Postmaster. What I now say, amidst your natural astonishment, I have often said before in addressing the people, and more than once uttered from my seat in the Senate, and no man there has made answer, for no man who sat in INFERIORITY OF SLAVE STATES. 2OQ its secret sessions, and there learned the test which is practically ap plied, could make answer ; and I ask you to accept this statement as my testimony, derived from the experience of four years which has been my lot under the commission which I have received from our honored Commonwealth. Yes, fellow-citizens, had this test prevailed in the earlier days, Washington first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen could not have been created generalissimo of the American forces ; Jefferson could not have taken his place on the Com mittee to draft the Declaration of Independence ; and Franklin could not have gone forth to France, with the commission of the infant Re public, to secure the invaluable alliance of that ancient kingdom. All tyranny, like murder, is foul at the best ; but this is most foul, strange and unnatural, when it is considered that the States which are the home of the Slave Oligarchy are far inferior to the Free States in population, wealth, education, schools, churches, libraries, manufactures and resources of all kinds. By the last census, there was in the Free States a solid population of freemen, amounting to upwards of thirteen millions, while in the Slave States there was a like population of only six millions. In other respects, important to civilization, the disparity was as great. And yet, from the beginning, they have taken to them selves the lion s share among the honors and trusts of the Republic. But without exposing the game of political " sweepstakes " which the Slave Oligarchy has perpetually played interesting as it \vould be I prefer to hold up for one moment the assumptions, aggressions and usurpations by which, in defiance of the Constitution, it has made Slavery national, when it is, in reality, sectional. Early in this century, when the District of Columbia was fiually oc cupied as the National Capital, the Slave Oligarchy succeeded, in defiance of the spirit of the Constitution, and even of the express let ter of one of its amendments, in securing for Slavery, within the District, the countenance of the National Government. Until then Slavery had existed nowhere on the land within the reach and exclusive jurisdiction of this Government. The Slave Oligarchy next secured for Slavery another recognition under the National Government, in the broad territory of Louisiana, purchased from France. The Slave Oligarchy next placed Slavery again under the sanction of the National Government, in the territory of Florida, purchased from Spain. The Slave Oligarchy, waxinj powerful, wa; able,, after a severe strug- 2IO USURPATIONS OF SLAVERY. gle, to dictate terms to the National Government, in the Missouri Com promise, compelling it to receive that State into the Union with a slave-holding Constitution. The Slave Oligarchy instigated and carried on a most expensive war in Florida, mainly to recover fugitive slaves, thus degrading the army of the United States to be Slave-hunters. The Slave Oligarchy wrested from Mexico the Province of Texas, and, triumphing over all opposition, finaHy secured its admission into the Union, with a Constitution making Slavery perpetual. The Slave Oligarchy plunged the country in war with Mexico, in order to gain new lands for Slavery. The Slave Oligarchy, with the meanness as well as the insolence of tyranny, has compelled the National Government to abstain from acknowledging the neighbor republic of Hayti, where slaves have become freemen, and established an independent nation. The Slave Oligarchy has compelled the National Government to .-stoop ignobly before the British Queen, to secure compensation for .-slaves, who, in the exercise of the natural rights of man, had asserted .and .achieved their freedom on the Atlantic Ocean, and afterwards sought shelter in Bermuda. The Slave Oligarchy has compelled the National Government to :seek to negotiate treaties for the surrender of fugitive slaves, thus .making our Republic assert abroad, in foreign lands, property in , human flesh. The Slave Oligarchy has joined in declaring the foreign slave-trade piracy, but insists on the coastwise slave-trade, under the auspices of ;the National Government. The Slave Oligarchy for several years rejected the petitions to Con- ; gress adverse to Slavery, thus, in order to shield this wrong, practically .denying the right of petition. The Slave Oligarchy, in defiance of the privileges secured under the * Constitution of the. United States, imprisons the free colored citizens . of Massachusetts, and sometimes sells them into bondage. The Slave Oligarchy insulted and exiled from Charleston and New Orleans the honored representatives of Massachusetts, who were sent to those places with the commission of the Commonwealth, in order to throw the shield of the Constitution over her colored citizens. The Slave Oligarchy has, by the pen of Mr. Calhoun, as Secretary of State, in formal despatches, made the Republic stand before the .nations of the earth as the vindicator of Slavery. EVERY DEMAND OF SLAVERY CONCEDED. 2.1 1 The Slave Oligarchy has put forth the hideous effrontery that Slavery can go to all newly acquired territories, and enjoy the protection of the National Flag. The Slave Oligarchy has imposed upon the country an Act of Con gress, for the recovery of fugitive slaves, revolting in its mandates, and many times unconstitutional ; especially on two grounds, first, as a usurpation by Congress of powers not granted by the Constitution, and an infraction of rights secured to the States ; and secondly, as a denial of Trial by Jury, in a question of Personal Liberty, and a suit at common law. The Slave Oligarchy, in defiance of the declared desires of the Fathers to limit and discourage Slavery, has successively introduced into the Union, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, as slave-holding States, thus, at each stage fortifying its political power, and making the National Government give new sanction to Slavery. Such, fellow-citizens, are some of the assumptions, aggressions and usurpations of the Slave Oligarchy ! By such steps the National Government has been perverted from its original purposes, its character changed, and its powers all surrendered to Slavery. Surely, no patriot soul can listen to this recital without confessing that our first political duty is, at all hazards and without compromise, to oppose this Oligarchy, to dislodge it from the National Government, and to bring the administration back to that character which it enjoyed when first organized under Washington, himself an Abolitionist, and sur rounded by Abolitionists, while the whole country, by its Church, its Colleges, its Literature, and all its best voices, was united against Slavery, and the National Flag nowhere within the national territory covered a single slave. XXXIX. Fellow-citizens, I have said enough to stir you ; but this humiliating tale is not yet finished. An Oligarchy seeking to maintain an outrage like Slavery, and drawing its inspirations from this fountain of wicked ness, is naturally base, false and heedless of justice. It is vain to ex pect that men who have screwed themselves to become the propagan dists of this enormity, will be constrained by any compromise, compact, bargain or plighted faith. As the less is contained in the greater, so 212 THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE ABOLISHED. there is no vileness of dishonesty, no denial of human rights, that is not plainly involved in the support of an enormity which begins by changing man, created in the image of God, into a chattel, and sweeps little children away to the auction-block. A power which Heaven never gave, can be maintained only by means which Heaven can never sanction. And this conclusion of reason is confirmed by late experience ; and here I approach the special question under which the country now shakes from side to side. The protracted struggle of 1820, known as the Missouri Question, ended with the admission of Missouri as a slave- holding State, and the prohibition of Slavery in all the remaining terri tory West of the Mississippi and North of 36 30 . Here was a solemn act of legislation, called at the time a compromise, a covenant, a compact, first brought forward by the Slave Oligarchy vindicated by it in debate finally sanctioned by its votes, also upheld at the time by a slave-holding President, James Monroe, and his cabinet of whom a majority were slaveholders, including Mr. Calhoun himself and made the condition of the admission of Missouri without which that State could not have been received into the Union. Suddenly, during the last year without any notice in the public press or the prayer of a single petition after an acquiescence of thirty-three years, and the irreclaimable possession by the Slave Oligarchy of its special share in the provisions of this Compromise in violation of every obligation of honor, compact and good neighborhood and in contemptuous disre gard of the out-gushing sentiments of an aroused North, this time- honored Prohibition, in itself a Landmark of Freedom, was overturned, and the vast region, now known as Kansas and Nebraska, was opened to Slavery ; and this was done under the disgraceful lead of Northern politicians, and with the undisguised complicity of a Northern Presi dent, forgetful of Freedom, forgetful also of his reiterated pledges, that during his administration the repose of the country should receive no shock. And all this was perpetrated under pretences of popular rights. Freedom was betrayed by a kiss. In defiance of an uninterrupted prescription down to our day early sustained at the South as well as the North leaning at once on Jefferson and Washington sanctioned by all the authoritative names of our history, and beginning with the great Ordinance by which Slavery was prohibited in the North-West it was pretended that the people of the United States, who are the pro prietors of the national domain, and who, according to the Constitu tion, may " make all needful rules and regulations " for its government^ OUTRAGES IN KANSAS. 213 i nevertheless were not its sovereigns that they had no power to inter dict Slavery there ; but that this eminent dominion resided in the few settlers, called squatters, whom chance, or a desire to better their for tunes, first hurried into these places. To this precarious handful, sprinkled over immense spaces, it was left, without any constraint from Congress, to decide, whether into these vast, unsettled lands, as into the veins of an infant, should be poured the festering poison of Slavery, destined, as time advances, to show itself in cancers and leprous disease, or whether they should be filled with all the glowing life of Freedom. And this great power, transferred from Congress to these few settlers, was hailed by the new-fangled name of Squatter Sov ereignty. It was fit that the original outrage perpetrated under such pretences, should be followed by other outrages perpetrated in defiance of these pretences. In the race of emigration, the freedom-loving freemen of the North promised to obtain the ascendency, and in the exercise of the conceded sovereignty of the settlers, to prohibit Slavery. The Slave Oligarchy was aroused to other efforts. Of course it stuck at nothing. On the day of election when this vaunted popular sovereignty was first invoked, hirelings from Missouri, having no home in the territory, en tered it in bands of fifties and hundreds, and assuming an electoral franchise to which they had no claim, trampled under foot the Consti tution and laws. Violently, ruthlessly, the polls were possessed by these invaders. The same Northern President, who did not shrink from un blushing complicity in the original outrage, now assumed another com plicity. Though prompt to lavish the Treasury, the Army and the Navy of the Republic in hunting a single slave through the streets of Boston, he could see the Constitution and laws, which he was sworn to protect, and those popular rights which he had affected to promote, all struck down in Kansas, and then give new scope to these invaders by the removal of the faithful Governor, who had become obnoxious to the Slave Oligarchy because he would not become its tool, and the substitution of another, who vindicated the dishonest choice by making haste, on his first arrival there, to embrace the partisans of Slavery. The legislature, which was constituted by the overthrow of the electoral franchise, proceeded to overthrow every safeguard of Freedom. At one swoop it adopted all the legislation of Missouri, including its Slave Code ; by another act it. imposed unprecedented conditions upon the exercise of the electoral franchise, and by still another act it denounced foe punishment of death no less than five times against as many different 214 TO BUILD ANOTHER SLAVE STATE. forms of interference with the alleged property in human flesh, while all who only write or speak against Slavery are adjudged to be felons, Yes, fellow-citizens, should any person there presume to print or circu late the speech in which I now express my abhorrence of Slavery, and deny its constitutional existence anywhere within the national jurisdic tion, he would become liable under this act as a felon. And this over throw of all popular rights is done in the name of Popular Sovereignty. Surely its authors follow well the example of the earliest Squatter Sove reignnone other than Satan who, stealing into Eden, was there dis covered, by the celestial angels, just beginning his work; as Milton tells us, " him there they found Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve." Would you know the secret of this unprecedented endeavor, begin ning with the repeal of the Prohibition of Slavery down to the latest atrocity ? The answer is at hand. It is not merely to provide new markets for Slaves, or even to guard Slavery in Missouri, but to build another Slave State, and thus, by the presence of two additional slave- holding Senators, to give increased preponderance to the Slave Oligar chy in the National Government. As men are murdered for the sake of their money, so is this territory blasted in peace and prosperity, in order to wrest its political influence to the side of Slavery. XL. But a single usurpation is not enough to employ the rapacious ener gies of our Oligarchy. At this moment, while the country is pained by the heartless conspiracy against Freedom in Kansas, we are startled by another effort, which contemplates, not merely the political subjugation of the National Government, but the actual introduction of Slavery into the Free States. The vaunt has been made, that slaves will yet be counted in the secret shadow of the monument on Bunker Hill, and more than one step has been taken towards this effrontery. A person of Virginia has asserted his right to hold slaves in New York on the way to Texas ; and this claim is still pending before the highest judicial tribunal of the land. A similar claim has been asserted in Pennsyl vania, and thus far been sustained by the court. A blameless citizen, who in obedience to his generous impulses and in harmony with the received law merely gave notice to a person held as a slave in a Free PROSTRATION OF THE SLAVE OLIGARCHY. 215 State, that she was in reality free, has been thrust into jail, and now, after the lapse of months, still languishes there, the victim of this pre tension ; while, that no excess might be wanting in the madness of this tyranny the great writ of Habeas Corpus, proudly known as the writ of deliverance, has been made the instrument of his imprisonment. Outrage treads upon outrage, and great rights pass away to perish. Alas! the needful tool for such work is too easily found in places low and high in the alleys and cellars of Boston on the bench of the judge in the chair of the President. But it is the power behind which I arraign. The Slave Oligarchy does it ; the Slave Oligarchy does it all. To the prostration of this Oligarchy you are bound by a three-fold cord of duty ; first, as you would secure Freedom for yourselves ; secondly, as you would uphold Freedom in distant Kansas ; and thirdly, as you would preserve the Union in its early strength and integrity. The people of Kansas are, many of them, from Massachusetts bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh ; but as fellow-citizens under the Con stitution, they are bound to us by ties which we cannot disown. Nay, more ; by the subtle cord which connects this embryo settlement with the Republic, they are made a part of us. The outrage which touches them touches us. What galls them galls us. The fetter which binds the slave in Kansas binds every citizen in Massachusetts. Thus are we prompted to their rescue, not only to save them, but also to save ourselves. The tyranny which now treads them down, has already trampled on us, and only awaits an opportunity to do it again. In its complete overthrow is the only way of safety. Indeed, this must be done before anything else can be done. In vain you seek economy in the Government improvement of rivers and harbors or dignity and peace in our foreign relations, while this power holds the national purse and the national sword. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and the door will be wide open for all generous reforms. Oh ! the imagination loses itself in the vain endeavor to picture the good that will be then accom plished. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and Liberty will become the universal law of all the national territories ; Slavery will cease at once in the national capital ; the slave trade will no longer skulk along our coasts beneath the national flag ; and the wickedness of the Fugitive Slave Bill will be driven from the statute-book. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and the national Government will be at length divorced from Slavery, and the national policy will be changed from Slavery to Free dom. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and the North will no longer be the vassal of the South. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and the North 2l6 WEDDED TO FREEDOM. will be admitted to its just share in the trusts and honors of the Repub lic. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and you will possess the master-key with which to unlock the whole house of bondage. Prostrate the Slave Oligarchy, and the gates of emancipation will be open at the South. To this work, fellow-citizens, you are now summoned. By yoiu votes you are to declare, not merely your predilection for men, but your devotion to principles. Men are erring and mortal. Principles are steadfast and immortal. Forgetting all other things especially forgetting men you are to cast your votes so as best to promote Free dom. But in the choice of men we are driven to the organization of parties ; and here occurs the practical question on which hinges our immediate duty, by what political party can our desire be accomplished ? There are individuals in all the parties, even the Democratic, who hate Slavery, and say so ; but a political party cannot be judged by the private opin ions of some of its members. Something else, more solid and tangible, must appear. The party that we select to bear the burden and honor of our great controversy, must be adapted to the work. It must be a perfect machine. Wedded to Freedom, for better or for worse, and cleaving to it with a grasp never to be unloosed, it must be clear, open and unequivocal in its declarations, and must admit no other question to divert its energies. It must be all in Freedom, and, like Caesar s wife, it must be above suspicion. But besides this character which it must sustain in Massachusetts, it must be prepared to take its place in close phalanx with the united masses of the North, now organizing through all the Free States, junctazque umbone phalanges, for the protection of Freedom, and the overthrow of the Slave Oligarchy. Bearing these conditions in mind, there are three parties which we may dismiss, one by one, as they pass in review. Men do not gather grapes from thorns, nor figs from thistles ; nor do they expect patriotism from Benedict Arnold. A party which sustains the tyrannies and per fidies of the Slave Oligarchy, and is represented by the President, through whom has come so much of all our woe, need not occupy our time ; and such is the Democratic party. If there be within the sound of my voice a single person, who, professing sympathy with Freedom, still votes with this party, to him I would say : The name of Democrat is a tower of strength ; let it not be a bulwark of Slavery; for the sake of a name do not sacrifice a thing ; for the sake of party do not sur render Freedom. According to a familiar rule, handed down from distant antiquity, we THE RIP VAN WINKLE WHIGS. 2 1/ are to say nothing but good of the dead. How, then, shall I speak of the late powerful Whig party by whose giant contests the whole country was once upheaved but which has now ceased to exist, except as the shadow of a name ? Here, in Massachusetts, a few who do not yet know that it is dead, have met together and proffered their old allegiance. They are the Rip Van Winkles of our politics. This respectable char ter, falling asleep in the mountains, drowsed undisturbed throughout the whole war of the Revolution, and, then returning to his native village, ignorant of all that had passed, proposed to drink the health of King George. But our Whigs are less tolerant and urbane than this awakened Dutchman. In petulant and irrational assumptions they are like the unfortunate judge, who, being aroused from his slumbers on the bench by a sudden crash of thunder, exclaimed, " Mr. Crier, stop the noise in Court." The thunder would not be hushed ; nor will the voice of Free dom, now reverberating throughout the land. Some there are among these who openly espouse the part of Slavery, while others, by their indifference, place themselves in the same unhappy company. If their position at this moment were of sufficient importance to justify grave remark, they should be exhibited as kindred in spirit and isolation to the Tories of our Revolution, or, at least, as the Bourbons of Massachu setts always claiming everything, learning nothing, forgetting nothing, and at last condemned by an aroused people for their disloyalty to Freedom. Let no person who truly loves Freedom join this company, tempted by its name, its music, and its banners. There is still another party, which claims your votes, but permit me to say, at this crisis, with small pretence. I am at a loss to determine the name by which it may be properly called. It is sometimes known as the Know-Nothing party ; sometimes as the American party ; but it cannot be entitled to these designations if they be of any value for it does not claim to belong to the organization, which first assumed and still retains them. It is an isolated combination, peculiar to Massachu setts, which, while professing certain political sentiments, is bound together by the support of one of the candidates for Governor. At this moment this is its controlling idea. It is, therefore, a personal party, and I trust that I shall not be considered as departing from that courtesy which is with me a law, if I say that, in the absence of any appropriate name, expressive of principles, it may properly take its designation from the candidate it supports. Of course, such a party wants the first ess ential condition of the or ganization which we seek. It is a personal party, whose controlling ide?i 2l8 THE GREAT PHALANX NOW RALLYING. is a predilection for a man and not a principle. Whatever may be the private sentiments of some of its members, clearly it is not a party wedded to Freedom, for better and for worse, and cleaving to it with a grasp never to be unloosed. While professing opposition to Slavery it also arraigns Catholics and foreigners, and allows the question of their privileges to disturb its energies. It is not all in Freedom ; nor is it, like Ciesar s wife, above suspicion. Besides, even as a party of Free dom, it is powerless from its isolation ; *br it stands by itself, and is in no way associated with that great phalanx now rallying throughout the North. In this condition should it continue to exist, it will, in the coming Presidential contest, from natural affinity lapse back into the American party of the country which is ranged on the side of Slavery. Of course, as a separate party, it is necessarily short-lived. Cut off from the main body, it may still show a brief vitality, as the head of a turtle still bites for some days after it is severed from the neck : but it can have no permanent existence. Surely this is not the party of Freedom which we seek. But the incompetency of this party, as the organ of our cause, is enhanced by the uncongenial secrecy in which it had its origin and yet shrouds itself. For myself, let me say that, on the floor of the Senate I have striven, by vote and speech, in conjunction with my distinguished friend Mr. CHASE, for the limitation of the secret sessions of that body, under shelter of which so much of the business of the nation is trans acted, and I have there presented the example of that ancient Roman, who bade his architect so to construct his house that his guests and all that they did might be seen by the world, as a fit model for Ameri can institutions. What I have urged there I now urge here. But the special aims which this party proposes, seems to be in harmony with the darkness in which it begins. Even if justifiable, on any grounds of public policy, they should not be associated with our cause ; but I am unwilling to allude to them without expressing my frank dissent. XLI. It is proposed to attaint men for their religion and also for their birth. If this object can prevail, vain are the triumphs of Civil Freedom in its many hard-fought fields ; vain is that religious toleration which we all profess. The fires of Smithfield, the tortures of the Inquisition, the proscriptions of non-conformists, may all be revived. It was mainly NO CHECK ON EMIGRATION. 219 to escape these outrages, dictated by a dominant religious sect, that our country was early settled, in one place by Quakers, who set at naught all forms ; in another, by Puritans, who disowne d bishops ; in another, by Episcopalians, who take their name from bishops ; and in yet another by Catholics, who look to the Pope as their Spiritual Father. Slowly among the struggling sects was evolved the great idea of the Equality of all men before the law without regard to religious belief ; nor can any party now organize a proscription merely for religious belief, with out calling in question this unquestionable principle. But Catholics are mostly foreigners, and, on this account, are con demned. Let us see if there be any reason in this ; and here indulge me with one word on foreigners. With the ancient Greeks, a foreigner was a barbarian, and with the ancient Romans, he was an enemy. In early modern times, the au sterity of this judgment was relaxed ; but, under the influence of feudal ism, the different sovereignties, whether provinces or nations, were kept in a condition of isolation, from which they have been gradually passing until now, when provinces are merged into nations, and nations are giving signs that they too will yet commingle into one. In our country another example is already displayed. From all nations people com mingle here. As in ancient Corinth, by the accidental fusion of all metals accumulated in the sacred temples, a peculiar metal was pro duced, better than any individual metal, even silver or gold ; so, perhaps, in the arrangements of Providence, by the fusion of all races here, there may be a better race than any individual race, even Saxon or Celt. Originally settled from England, the Republic has been strengthened and enriched by generous contributions of population from Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden, France and Germany ; and the cry is still they come. At no time since the discovery of the New World has the army of emigrants pressed so strongly in this direction. Nearly half a million are annually landed on our shores. The manner in which they shall be received is one of the problems of our national policy. All will admit that any influence which they may bring, hostile to our institutions calculated to substitute priestcraft for religion and bigotry for Christianity must be deprecated and opposed. All will admit, too, that there must be some assurance of their purpose to become not merely consumers of the fruits of our soil, but useful, loyal and perma nent members of our community, upholders of the general welfare. W T ith this simple explanation, I am not disposed to place any check upon the welcome to foreigners. There are our broad lands, stretching 220 WHAT FOREIGNERS HAVE DONE FOR US. towards the setting sun ; let them come and take them. Ourselves the children of the Pilgrims of a former generation, let us not turn from the Pilgrims of the present. Let the home, founded by our emigrant fathers, continue open in its many mansions to the emigrants of to-day. The history of our country, in its humblest as well as most exalted spheres, testifies to the merits of foreigners. Their strong arms have helped furrow our broad territory with canals, and stretch in every direc tion the iron rail. They have filled our workshops, navigated our ships, and even tilled our fields. Go where you will, among the hardy sons of toil on land or sea, and there you will find industrious and faithful foreigners bending their muscles to the work. At the bar and in the high places of commerce, you will find them. Enter the retreats of learning, and there you will find them too, shedding upon our country the glory of science. Nor can any reflection be cast upon foreigners, claiming hospitality now, which will not glance at once upon the distin guished living and the illustrious dead upon the Irish Montgomery, who perished for us at the gates of Quebec upon Pulaski the Pole, who perished for us at Savannah upon De Kalb and Steuben, the gen erous Germans, who aided our weakness by their military experience upon Paul Jones, the Scotchman, who lent his unsurpassed courage to the infant thunders of our navy also upon those great European liberators, Kosciusko of Poland, and Lafayette of Erance, each of whom paid his earliest vows to Liberty in our cause. Nor should this list be confined to military characters, so long as we gratefully cherish the name of Alexander Hamilton, who was born in the West Indies, and the name of Albert Gallatin, who was born in Switzerland, and never, to the close of his octogenarian career, lost the French ac cent of his boyhood both of whom rendered civic services which may be commemorated among the victories of peace. Nor is the experience of our Republic peculiar. Where is the country or power which must not inscribe the names of foreigners on its historic scroll ? It was Christopher Columbus, of Genoa, who dis closed to Spain the New World ; it was Magellan, of Portugal, sailing in the service of Spain, who first pressed with adventurous keel through those distant Southern straits which now bear his name, and opened the way to the vast Pacific sea; and it was Cabot, the Venetian, who first conducted English enterprise to this North American continent. As in the triumphs of discovery, so, also, in other fields have foreigners ex celled, while serving States to which they were bound by no tie of birth. The Dutch Grotius author of the sublime work, " The Laws of Peace FRANKLIN THE APOSTLE OF FREEDOM. 221 and War" an exile from his own country became the Ambassador of Sweden, and, in our own day, the Italian Pozzo di Borgo, turning his back upon his own country, has reached the most exalted diplomatic trusts in the jealous service of Russia. In the list of monarchs on the throne of England, not one has been more truly English than the Dutch William. In Holland, no ruler has equalled in renown the German William, Prince of Orange. In Russia, the German Catharine II. takes a place among the most commanding sovereigns. And who of the Swedish monarchs was a better Swede than Bernadotte, the French man ; and what Frenchman was ever filled with aspirations for France more than the Italian Napoleon Bonaparte ? But I pass from these things, which have occupied me too long. A party which, beginning in secrecy, interferes with religious belief, and founds a discrimination on the accident of birth, is not the party for us. XLII. It was the sentiment of that great Apostle of Freedom, Benjamin Franklin, uttered during the trials of the Revolution, that, "Where Liberty is, there is my country." In similar strain, I would say, " Where Liberty is, there is my party." Such an organization is now happily constituted here in Massachusetts, and in all the Free States, under the name of the REPUBLICAN PARTY. In assuming our place as a distinct party, we simply give form and direction, in harmony with the usage and genius of popular govern ments, to a movement which stirs the whole country, and does not find an adequate and constant organ in either of the other existing parties. The early opposition to Slavery was simply a sentiment, out-gushing from the hearts of the sensitive and humane. In the lapse of time it became a determined principle, inspiring larger numbers, and showing itself first in an organized endeavor to resist the annexation of slave- holding Texas ; next, to prohibit Slavery in newly acquired territories : and now, alarmed by the overthrow of all rights in Kansas, and the domination of the Slave Oligarchy throughout the Republic, it breaks forth in a stronger effort, a wider union, and a deeper channel inspiring yet larger numbers and firmer resolves, while opposite quarters con tribute to its power even as the fountain, first out-gushing from the weeping sides of its pure mountain home, trickles in the rill, leaps in the 222 PRINCIPLES OF THE NEW PARTY. torrent, and flows in the river, till at last, swollen with accumulated waters, it presses onward, forever onward, in irresistible beneficent current, fertilizing and uniting the spaces which it traverses, washing the feet of cities, and wooing states to repose upon its banks. Our party has its origin in the exigencies of the hour. Vowing our selves against Slavery wherever it exists, whether enforced by the Rus sian knout, the Turkish bastinado, or the lash of the Carolina planter, we do not seek to interfere with it at Petersburg, Constantinople, or Charleston ; nor does any such grave duty rest upon us. Our political duties are properly limited by our political responsibilities ; and we are in no just sense responsible for the local law or usage by which human bondage in these places is upheld. But wherever we are responsible for the^ wrong, there our duty begins. The object to which, as a party, we are pledged, is all contained in the acceptance of the issue which the Slave Oligarchy tenders. To its repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and its imperious demand that Kansas shall be surrendered to Slavery, we reply, that Freedom shall be made the universal law of all the national domain, without compromise, and that hereafter no Slave State shall be admitted into the Union. To its tyrannical assumption of supremacy in the National Government, we reply that the Slave Oligarchy shall be overthrown. Such is the practical purpose of the Republican Party. It is to uphold and advance this cause, that we have come together, leaving the parties to which we have been respectively attached. Now, in the course of human events, it becomes our duty to dissolve the political bands which bound us to the old organizations, and to assume a separate existence. Our Declaration of Independence has been made. Let us, in the spirit of our Fathers, pledge ourselves to sustain it with our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. In thus asso- . dating and harmonizing from opposite quarters, in order to promote a common cause, we have learned to forget former differences, and to appreciate the motives of each other. We have learned how trivial are the matters on which we may disagree, compared with the Great Issue on which we all agree. Old prejudices have vanished. Even the ran cors of political antagonism have been changed and dissolved, as in a potent alembic, by the natural irresistible affinities of Freedom. In our union we have ceased to wear the badges of either of the old or ganizations. We have become a new party, distinct, independent, per manent, under a new name, with Liberty as our watchword, and our flag inscribed, " By this sign conquer." Again, it is objected that the Republican party is against the Union, ADAMS OTIS PATRICK HENRY. 22$ and we are reminded of the priceless blessings which come from this fountain. Here is another bugbear. With us the Union is not the ob ject of mere lip service, but it is cherished in simple sincerity, as the aged Lear was loved by his only faithful daughter, " according to her bond, no more nor less." Our party does nothing against the Union, but everything for it. It strives to guard those great principles which the Union was established to secure, and thus to keep it ever worthy of our love. It seeks to overthrow that baleful Oligarchy, under which the Union has been changed from a vessel of honor to a vessel of dis honor. In this patriot work it will persevere, regardless of menace from any quarter. Not that I love the Union less but Freedom more, do I now, in pleading this great cause, insist that Freedom, at all hazards, shall be preserved. God forbid, that for the sake of the Union, we should sacrifice the very things for which the Union was made. And yet again, it is objected that ours is a party of a single idea. This is a phrase, and nothing more. The party may not recognize cer tain measures of public policy, deemed by some of special importance ; but it does what is better, and what other parties fail to do. It ac knowledges that beneficent principle, which, like the great central light, vivifies all, and without which all is dark and sterile. The mov ing cause and the animating soul of our party, is the idea of Freedom. But this idea is manifold in character and influence. It is the idea of the Declaration of Independence. It is the great idea of the founders of the Republic. It is the idea which combined our Fathers on the heights of Bunker Hill ; which carried Washington through a seven years war ; which inspired Lafayette ; which touched with coals of fire the lips of Adams, Otis, and Patrick Henry. Ours is an idea, which is at least noble and elevating ; it is an idea which draws in its train vir tue, goodness, and all the charities of life, all that makes earth a home of improvement and happiness * Her track, where er the goddess roves, Glory pursues, and generous shame, The unconquerable mind and Freedom s holy flame." Thus do all objections disappear, even as the mists of morning be* fore the sun, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. The Repub lican party stands vindicated in every particular. It only remains that I should press the question with which I began " Are you for Free dom, or are you for Slavery ? " As it is right to be taught by the 224 CORNERS-TONE OF THE NEW PARTY. enemy, let us derive instruction from the Oligarchy we oppose. The three hundred and forty-seven thousand slave-masters are always united. Hence their strength. Like arrows in a quiver, they cannot be broken. The friends of Freedom have thus far been divided. They, too, must be united. In the crisis before us, it becomes you all to forget ancient feuds, and those names which have been the signal of strife. There is no occasion to remember anything but our duties. When the fire-bell rings at midnight, we do not ask if it be Whigs or Democrats, Protestants or Catholics, natives or foreigners, who join our efforts to extinguish the flames ; nor do we ask any such question in selecting our leader then. Men of all parties, Whigs and Democrats, or however named, let me call upon you to come forward and join in a common cause. Do not hesitate. When Freedom is in danger, all who are not for her are against her. The penalty of indifference, in such a cause, is akin to the penalty of opposition ; as is well pictured by the great Italian poet, when, among the saddest on the banks of Acheron rending the air with outcries of torment, shrieks of anger. and smiting of hands he finds the troop of dreary souls who had been ciphers only in the great conflicts of life : " Mingled with whom, of their disgrace the proof, Are the vile angels who did not rebel, Nor kept their faith to God, but stood aloof "." Come forth, then, from the old organizations ; let us range together. Come forth, all who have stood aloof from parties ; here is an oppor tunity for action. You who place principles above men ! come for ward. All who feel in any way the wrong of Slavery, take your stand ! Join us, ye lovers of Truth, of Justice, of Humanity ! And let me call especially upon the young. You are the natural guardians of liberty. In your firm resolves and generous souls she will find her surest protection. The young man who is not willing to serve in her cause to suffer, if need be, for her gives little promise of those qualities which secure an honorable age. FELLOW-CITIZENS : We found now a new party. Its corner-stone is Freedom. Its broad, all-sustaining arches are Truth, Justice, and Hu manity. Like the ancient Roman Capitol, at once a Temple and a Citadel, it shall be the fit shrine for the genius of American Institutions. REPEAL OF FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT ASKED. 225 XLIII. The battle between Slavery and Freedom had been waxing hotter with every debate during the spring of 1854. On the 22cl of June, Mr. Rockwell, of Massachu setts, presented the following memorial, numerously signed, chiefly by the citizens of Boston, and moved its reference to the Committee on the Judiciary : "To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled : The undersigned, men of Massachusetts, ask for the repeal of the Act of Congress of 1850, known as the FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL." Mr. Sumner spoke on the reference of the memorial two days later. We extract portions of his remarks : MR. PRESIDENT : I begin by answering the interrogatory propounded by the Senator from Tennessee [Mr. Jones]. He asks, "Can any one suppose that, if the Fugitive Slave Act be repealed, this Union can ex ist ?" To which I reply at once, that if the Union be in any way de pendent on an Act I cannot call it a law so revolting in every regard as that to which he refers, then it ought not to exist. To much else that has fallen from that Senator I do not desire to reply. He has dis cussed at length matters already handled again and again in the long drawn out debates of this session. Like the excited hero of Macedo nia, he has renewed past conflicts, " And thrice he routed all his foes, And thrice he slew the slain." Of what the Senator has said on the relations of Senators, North and South, of a particular party, it is not my province to speak. And yet I cannot turn from it without expressing, at least, a single aspiration, that men from the North, whether Whigs or Democrats, will neither be cajoled nor driven by any temptation, or lash, from the support of those princi ples of freedom which are inseparable from the true honor and welfare of the country. At last, I trust, there will be a back-bone in the North. This memorial proceeds mainly from persons connected with trade and commerce. Now, it is a fact too well known in the history, of England, and of our own country, that these persons, while often justly distinguished by their individual charities and munificence, have been lukewarm in their opposition to Slavery. Twice in English history the 226 SUMNER ENFORCES THE PETITION. " mercantile interest" frowned upon the endeavors to suppress the atro city of Algerine Slavery ; steadfastly in England it sought to baffle Wilberforce s great effort for the abolition of the African Slave-trade : and, at the formation of our own Constitution, it stipulated a sordid com promise, by which this same detested, Heaven-defying traffic, was saved for twenty years from American judgment. But now it is all changed at least in Boston. The representatives of the "mercantile interest" place themselves in the front of the now movement against Slavery, and, by their explicit memorial, call for the abatement of a grievance which they have bitterly felt in Boston. Mr. President, this memorial is interesting to me, first, as it asks a repeal of the Fugitive Slave Bill, and secondly, as it comes from Mas sachusetts. That repeal I shall be glad at any time, now and hereafter, as in times past, to sustain by vote and argument; and I trust never to fail in any just regard for the sentiments or interests of Massachusetts. With these few remarks, I would gladly close. But there has been an .arraignment here to-day, both of myself and of the Commonwealth which I represent. To all that has been said of myself or the Com- rnaonwealth so far as it is an impeachment of either so far as it sub jects either to any just censure, I plead openly, for myself and for Mas sachusetts, " not guilty." But pardon me, if I do not submit to be tried by the Senate, fresh from the injustice of the Nebraska Bill. In the language of the common law I put myself upon " God and the coun- .try," and claim The same trial for my honored Commonwealth. So far as the arraignment touches me personally, I hardly care to speak. In response for Massachusetts, there are other things. Something surely must be pardoned to her history. In Massachusetts stands Boston. In Boston stands Faneuil Hall, where, throughout the perils which preceded the Revolution, our patriot fathers assembled to vow themselves to Freedom. Here in those days, spoke James Otis, full of the thought that "the people s safety is the law of God." Here, also, spoke Joseph Warren, inspired by the sentiment that "death with all its tortures is preferable to Slavery." And here, also, thun dered John Adams, fervid with the conviction that "consenting to Slavery is a sacrilegious breach of trust." Not far from this venerable hall between this temple of freedom and the very court-house, to which the Senator [Mr. Jones] has referred is the street, where, in 1770, the first blood was spilt in conflict between British troops and American citizens, and among the victims was one of that African race, which you so much despise. Almost within sight is Bunker Hill ; BOSTON STAMP ACT TEA ACT. 227 further off, Lexington and Concord. Amidst these scenes, a Slave- Hunter from Virginia appears, and the disgusting rites begin by which a fellow-man is doomed to bondage. Sir, can you wonder that the people were moved ? " Who can he wise, amazed, temperate and furious, Loyal and neutral, in a moment. No man." It is true that the Slave Act was with difficulty executed, and that one of its servants perished in the effort. On these grounds the Senator from Tennessee charges Boston with fanaticism. I express no opinion on the conduct of individuals ; but I do say, that the fanaticism, which the Senator condemns, is not new in Boston. It is the same which opposed the execution of the Stamp Act, and finally secured its repeal, it is the same which opposed the Tea Tax. It is the fanaticism which finally triumphed on Bunker Hill. The Senator says that Boston is filled with traitors. That charge is not new. Boston, of old, was the home of Hancock and Adams. Her traitors now are those who are truly animated by the spirit of the American Revolution. In condemning them, in condemning Massachusetts, in condemning these remonstrants, you simply give a proper conclusion to the utterance on this floor, that the Declaration of Independence is " a self-evident lie." XLIV. Here I might leave the imputations on Massachusetts. But the case is stronger yet. I have referred to the Stamp Act. The parallel is of such aptness and importance, that, though on a former occasion I presented it to the Senate, I cannot forbear from pressing it again. As the precise character of this Act may not be familiar, allow me to remind the Senate, that it was an attempt to draw money from the Colonies through a stamp tax, while the determination of certain questions of forfeiture under the statute was delegated, not to the courts of common law, but to courts of admiralty, without trial by jury. This Act was denounced in the Colonies at once on its passage, as contrary to the British Constitution, on two principal grounds, identical in character with the two chief grounds on which the Slave Act is now declared to be unconstitutional ; first, as an assumption by Parliament of powers not belonging to it, and an infraction of rights secured to the Colonies ; and secondly, as a denial of trial by jury in 228 BOSTON LED THE COLUMN OF FREEDOM. certain cases of property. On these grounds the Stamp Act was held to be an outrage. The Colonies were aroused against it. Virginia first declared herself by solemn resolutions, which the timid thought " treasonable ; "yes, sir, " treasonable," even as that word is now applied to recent mani festations of opinion in Boston even to the memorial of her twenty- nine hundred merchants. But these " treasonable " resolutions soon found a response. New York followed. Massachusetts came next. In an address from the Legislature to the Governor, the true ground of opposition to the Stamp Act, coincident with the two radical objections to the Slave Act, are clearly set forth, with the following pregnant conclusion : " We deeply regret that the Parliament has seen fit to pass such an Act as the Stamp Act ; we flatter ourselves that the hardships of it will, shortly appear to them in such a light as shall induce them, in their wis dom, to repeal it ; in the meantime, we must beg your Excellency to ex cuse us from doing any tiling to assist in tlie execution of it" The Stamp Act was welcomed in the Colonies by the Tories of that day, precisely as the unconstitutional Slave Act has been welcomed by imperious numbers among us. Hutchinson, at that time Lieutenant Governor and Judge in Massachusetts, wrote to Ministers in England : " The Stamp Act is received with as much decency as could be ex pected. It leaves no room for evasion, and will execute itself." Like the Judges of our day, in charges to Grand Juries, he resolutely vindicated the Act, and admonished " the Jurors and the people" to obey. Like Governors in our day, Bernard, in his speech to the Leg islature of Massachusetts, demanded unreasoning submission. " I shall not," says this British Governor, "enter into any disquisition of the policy of the Act. I have only to say it is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain." Like Marshals of our day, the Officers of the Customs are recorded as having made "application for a military force to assist them in the execution of their duty." The elaborate answer of Massa chusetts the work of Samuel Adams, and one of the corner-stones of our history was pronounced " the ravings of a parcel of wild enthusi asts," even as recent proceedings in Boston, resulting in the memorial before you, have been characterized on this floor. Was I not right in adducing this parallel ? The country was aroused against the execution of this Act. And here Boston took the lead. The opposition spread and deepened, and one of its natural tendencies PITT DEMANDED REPEAL. 229 was to outbreak and violence. On one occasion in Boston, it showed itself in the lawlessness of a mob, of a most formidable character, even as is now charged. Liberty, in her struggles, is too often driven to force. But the town, at a public meeting in Faneuil Hall, called without delay, on the motion of the opponents of the Stamp Act, with James Otis as Chairman, condemned the outrage. Eager in hostility to the execution of the Act, Boston cherished municipal order, and constantly discountenanced all tu mult, violence and illegal proceedings. On these two grounds she then stood ; and her position was widely recognized. Thus was the Stamp Act annulled, even before its actual repeal, which was pressed with assiduity by petition and remonstrance, on the next meeting of Parliament. Among the potent influences was the entire concurrence of the merchants, and especially a remonstrance against the Stamp Act by the merchants of New York, like that now made against the Slave Act by the merchants of Boston. Some sought at first only for its modification. Even James Otis began with this mod erate aim. The King himself showed a disposition to yield to this ex tent. But Franklin, who was then in England, when asked whether the Colonies would submit to the Act, if mitigated in certain particulars,, replied : " No, never, unless compelled by force of arms." Then it was, that the great Commoner, William Pitt, said : " Sir, I have been charged with giving birth to sedition in America. They have spoken their sentiments with freedom against this unhappy Act, and that freedom has become their crime. Sorry I am to hear the liberty of speech in this House imputed as a crime. But the imputa tion shall not discourage me. It is a liberty I mean to exercise. No gentleman ought to be afraid to exercise it. It is a liberty by which the gentleman who calumniates it might and ought to have profited. The gentleman tells us America is obstinate ; America is almost in open rebellion. I rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of slaves, so dead to all the feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest. I would not debate a particular point of law with the gentleman ; but I draw my ideas of PYeedom from the vital powers of the British Constitution not from the crude and fallacious notions too much relied upon, as if we were but in the morning of liberty. I can acknowledge no veneration for any procedure, law, or ordinance, that is repugnant to reason and the first elements of our Constitution. The Americans have been wronged. They have been driven to madness. Upon the whole, I will beg leave to tell the House what is really my opinion. // is, that the Stamp Act be repealed, absolutely, totally and immediately, and that the reason for the repeal be assigned because it was founded on an erro neous principle" 230 REPLY TO ASSAILANTS. Thus spoke this great orator, at the time tutelary guardian of Amer ican liberty. He was not unheeded. Within less than a year from its original passage, the Stamp Act assailed as unconstitutional on the precise grounds which I now occupy in assailing the Slave Act was driven from the statute book. I call upon you, then, to receive the memorial, and hearken to its prayer. All other memorials asking for changes in existing legislation are treated with respect, promptly referred, and acted upon. This should not be an exception. The memorial simply asks the repeal of an obnoxious statute, which is entirely within the competency of Con gress. It proceeds from a large number of respectable citizens whose autograph signatures are attached. It is brief and respectful in form ; and, in its very brevity, shows that spirit of freedom which should awaken a generous response. In refusing to receive it or refer it, according to the usage of the Senate, or in treating it with any indignity, you offer an affront, not only to these numerous petitioners, but also to the great right of petition, which is never more sacred than when exercised in behalf of Freedom against an obnoxious statute. Permit me to add, that by this course you provoke the very spirit which you would repress. There is a certain plant which is said to grow when trodden upon. It remains to be seen if the Boston petitioners have not something of this quality. But this I know, sir, that the Slave Act, like vice, is of so hideous a mien, that " to be hated it needs only to be seen ; " and the occurrences of this day will make it visible and palpable to the people in new forms of injustice. XLV. An angry personal debate followed, in which Mr. Butler of South Carolina, and Mr. Mason of Virginia, directed against Mr. Sumner their most violent and insult ing attacks, as well as against the State he represented. His REPLY TO ASSAILANTS, as the speech was afterwards known, was a withering satire, which could be answered only by scurrilous abuse ; his facts were impregnable. I think, sir, that I am not the only person on this floor, who, in lately listening to these two self-confident champions of the peculiar fanaticism of the South, was reminded of the striking words by Jefferson, picturing ANSWERS MASON AND BUTLER. 231 the influence of Slavery, where he says, " The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading sub mission on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it ; for man is an imitative animal. The parent storms. The child looks on, catches the lineament of wrath, puts on the same airs in the circle of smaller slaves, gives loose to his worst passions, and, thus nursed, educated and daily exercised in tyranny, cannot but be stamped by it with odious peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy who can retain his manners and morals undepraved by such circumstances." Nobody who witnessed the Senator from South Carolina or the Senator from Virginia in this debate, will place either of them among the "prodigies" described by Jefferson. As they spoke, the Senate Chamber must have seemed to them, in the characteristic fantasy of the moment, a plantation well- stocked with slaves, over which the lash of the overseer had free swing. Sir, it gives me no pleasure to say these things. It is not according to my nature. Bear witness, that I do it only in just self-defence against the unprecedented assaults and provocations of this debate. And, in doing it, I desire to warn certain Senators, that if they expect, by any ardor of menace or by any tyrannical frown, to shake my fixed resolve, they expect a vain thing. There was, perhaps, little that fell from these two champions, as the fit was on, which deserves reply. Certainly not the hard words they used so readily and congenially. The veteran Senator from Virginia [Mr. Mason] complained that I had characterized one of his " con stituents " a person who went all the way from Virginia to Boston in pursuit of a slave as a Slave-hunter. Sir, I choose to call things by their right names. White I call white, and black I call black. And where a person degrades himself to the work of chasing a fellow-man, who, under the inspiration of Freedom and the guidance of the north star, has sought a freeman s home far away from the coffle and the chain that person, whomsoever he may be, I call a Slave-hunter. If the Senator from Virginia, who professes nicety of speech, will give me any term which more precisely describes such an individual, I will use it. Until then, I must continue to use the language which seems to me so apt. But this very sensibility of the veteran Senator at a just term, which truly depicts an odious character, shows a shame in which I exult. It was said by one of the philosophers of antiquity, that a blush is the sign of virtue, and permit me to add, that, in this violent sensibility, I recognize a blush mantling the cheek of the honorable Senator, which even his plantation manners cannot conceal. 232 JACKSON S WORDS IN 1832. And the venerable Senator from South Carolina, too, [Mr. Butler] he has betrayed his sensibility. Here let nie.say that this Senator knows well that I always listen with peculiar pleasure to his racy and exube rant speech, as it gurgles forth sometimes tinctured by generous ideas except when, forgetful of history, and in defiance of reason, he under takes to defend what is obviously indefensible. This Senator was dis turbed, when to his inquiry, personally, pointedly and vehemently addressed to me, whether I would join in returning a fellow-man to Slavery, I exclaimed, " Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" In fitful phrases, which seemed to come from the unconscious excitement so common with the Senator, he shot forth various cries about " dogs ; " and, among other things, asked if there was any "dog" in the Constitution ? The Senator did not seem to bear in mind, through the heady currents of that moment, that, by the false interpretation he has fastened upon the Constitution, he has helped to nurture there a whole kennel of Carolina bloodhounds, trained, with savage jaws and insatiable scent, for the hunt of flying bondmen. No, sir, I do not believe that there is any "kennel of bloodhounds," or even any "dog," in the Constitution of the United States. But, Mr. President, since the brief response which I made to the inquiry of the Senator, and which leaped unconsciously to my lips, has drawn upon me various attacks, all marked by grossness of language and manner ; since I have been charged with openly declaring my purpose to violate the Constitution, and to break the oath which I have taken at that desk, I shall be pardoned for showing simply how a few plain words will put all this down. XLVI. The Senators, who have been so swift in misrepresentation and in assault upon me as disloyal to the Constitution, deserve to be exposed, and it shall be done. Now, sir, I begin by adopting as my guide the authoritative words of Andrew Jackson, in 1832, in his memorable veto of the Bank of the United States. To his course, at that critical time, were opposed the authority of the Supreme Court and his oath to support the Constitution. Here is his triumphant reply : " If the opinion of the Supreme Court covers the whole ground of this act, it ought not to control the co-ordinate authorities of this Gov- DUTIES UNDER THE OATH. 233 ernment. The Congress, the Executive and the Court, must each for itself be guided by its own opinion of the Constitution. Each public officer, who takes an oath to support the Constitution, swears that he will support it as he understands it, and not as it is understood by others. It is as much the duty of the House of Representatives, of the Senate, and of the President, to decide upon the constitutionality of any bill or resolution, which may be presented to them for passage or approval, as it is of the Supreme Judges when it may be brought before them for judicial decision. The authority of the Supreme Court must not, there fore, be permitted to control the Congress or the Executive, when act ing in their legislative capacities, but to have only such influence as the force of their reasoning may deserve." Mark these words, and let them sink into your minds. " Each public officer, who takes an oath to support the Constitution, swears that he will support it as he understands it, and not as it is understood by oth ers." Yes, sir, AS HE UNDERSTANDS IT, and not as it is understood by others. Does any Senator here dissent from this rule ? Does the Sen ator from Virginia ? Does the Senator from South Carolina ? Sir, as a Senator, I have taken at your desk the oath to support the Constitution, as I understand it. And understanding it as I do, I am bound by that oath, Mr. President, to oppose all enactments by Con gress on the subject of fugitive slaves, as a flagrant violation of the Constitution ; especially must I oppose the last act as a tyrannical usur pation, kindred in character to the Stamp Act, which our fathers indig nantly refused to obey. Here my duties, under the oath which I have taken as a Senator, end. There is nothing beyond. On this explicit statement of my constitutional obligations, I stand, as upon a living rock, and, to the inquiry, in whatever form addressed to my personal responsibility, whether I would aid, directly or indirectly, in reducing or surrendering a fellow-man to bondage, I reply again, "Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" And, sir, looking round upon this Senate, I might ask fearlessly, how many there are even in this body if, indeed, there be a single Sena tor, who would stoop to any such service ? Until some one rises and openly confesses his willingness to become a Slave-hunter, I will not believe there can be one. [Here Mr. Simmer paused, but nobody rose.] And yet honorable and chivalrous Senators have rushed headlong to denounce me because I openly declared my repudiation of a service at which every manly bosom must revolt. " Sire, I have found in Bayonne brave soldiers and good citizens, but not one executioner" was the noble utterance of the Governor of that place to Charles IX. of France, in 234 FAR-FAMED RESOLUTIONS OF 1/98. response to the royal edict for the massacre of St. Bartholomew ; and such a spirit, I trust, will yet animate the people of this country, when pressed to the service of " dogs ! " To that other question, which has been proposed, whether Massachu setts, by State laws, will carry out the oifensive clause in the Constitution, according to the understanding of the venerable Senator from South Carolina, I reply that Massachusetts, at all times, has been ready to do her duty under the Constitution, as she understands it ; and, I doubt not, will ever continue of this mind. More than this I cannot say. In quitting this topic, I cannot forbear to remark that the assault on me for my disclaimer of all constitutional obligation, resting upon me as a Senator or citizen, to aid in making a man a slave, or in surrender ing him to Slavery, comes with an ill grace from the veteran Senator from Virginia, a State which, by its far-famed resolutions of 1798, as sumed to determine its constitutional obligations, even to the extent of openly declaring two different Acts of Congress null and void ; and it comes also with an ill grace from the venerable Senator from South Carolina, a State which, in latter days, has arrayed itself openly against the Federal authorities, and which threatens nullification as often as babies cry. Surely the Senator from South Carolina, with his silver.-white locks, would have hesitated to lead this assault upon me, had he not, for the moment, been entirely oblivious of the history of the State which he represents. Not many years have passed since an incident occurred at Charleston, in South Carolina not at Boston, in Massachusetts which ought to be remembered. The postmaster of that place, acting under a controlling Public Opinion there, informed the head of his Depart ment at Washington that he had determined to suppress all Anti- slavery publications, and requested instructions for the future. Thus, in violation of the laws of the land, the very mails were rifled, and South Carolina smiled approbation of the outrage. XLVII. But there is another incident in the history of South Carolina, which as a loyal son of Massachusetts, I cannot forget, and which rises now in judgment against the venerable Senator. Massachusetts had com missioned a distinguished gentleman, of blameless life and eminent pro fessional qualities, who served with honor in the other House [Hon. Samuel Hoar], to reside at Charleston for a brief period, in order to A TRIBUTE TO MASSACHUSETTS. 235 guard the rights of her free colored citizens, assailed on arrival there by an inhospitable statute, so gross in its provisions that an eminent char acter of South Carolina, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States [Hon. William Johnson] had characterized it as " trampling on the Constitution," and "a direct attack upon the sovereignty of the United States." Massachusetts had read in the Constitution a clause closely associated with that touching " fugitives from service," to the following effect : " The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States," and sup posed that this would yet be recognized by South Carolina. But she was mistaken. Her venerable representative, an unarmed old man, with hair as silver-white almost as that of the Senator before me, was beset in Charleston by a "respectable" mob, prevented from entering upon his duties, and driven from the State ; while the Legislature stepped in to sanction this shameless, lawless act, by placing on the statute book an order for his expulsion. And yet, sir, the excitable Senator from South Carolina is fired by the fancied delinquencies of Massachusetts towards Slave-hunters, and also by my own refusal to render them any aid or comfort ; he shoots questions in volleys, assumes to measure our duties by his understanding, and ejaculates a lecture at Massachusetts and myself. Sir, before that venerable Senator again ventures thus, let him return to his own State, seamed all over with the scars of nullification, and first lecture there. Ay, sir, let him look into his own heart, and lecture to himself. But enough for the present on the extent of my constitutional obli gations to become a Slave-hunter. There are, however, yet other things in the assault of the venerable Senator, which, for the sake of truth, in just defence of Massachusetts, and in honor of Freedom, shall not be left unanswered. Alluding to those days when Massachusetts was illus trated by Otis, Hancock, and "the brace of Adamses;" when Faneuil Hall sent forth echoes of liberty which resounded even to South Caro lina, and the very stones in the streets of Boston rose in mutiny against tyranny, the Senator with the silver-white locks, in the very ecstasy of Slavery, broke forth in the ejaculation that Massachusetts was then " slave- holding ;" and he presumed to hail these patriots as representatives of "hardy, slaveholding Massachusetts." Sir, I repel the imputation. It is true that Massachusetts was " hardy ; " but she was not, in any just sense, " slaveholding." And had she been so, she could not have been " hardy." The two characteristics are inconsistent as weakness and strength, as sickness and health I had almost said, as death and life. 236 NO SLAVE BORN IN MASSACHUSETTS. The Senator opens a page, which I would willingly present. Sir, Slavery never flourished in Massachusetts ; nor did it ever prevail there at any time, even in early Colonial days, to such a degree as to be a distinctive feature in her powerful civilization. Her few slaves were merely for a term of years, or for life. If, in point of fact, their issue was sometimes held in bondage, it was never by sanction of any statute or law of Colony or Commonwealth. Such has been the solemn judg ment of her Supreme Court.* In all her annals, no person was ever born a slave on the soil of Massachusetts. This, of itself, is a response to the imputation of the Senator. A benign and brilliant Act of her Legislature, as far back as 1646, shows her sensibility on this subject. A Boston ship had brought home two negroes, seized on the coast of Guinea. Thus spoke Massachusetts : " The General Court, conceiving themselves bound by the first op portunity to bear witness against the heinous and crying sin of man- stealing, also to prescribe such timely redress for what is past, and such a law for the future as may sufficiently deter all those belonging to us, to have to do in such vile and most odious conduct, justly abhorred of all good and just men, do order that the negro interpreter, with others un lawfully taken, be, by the first opportunity, at the charge of the country, for the present, sent to his native country of Guinea, and a letter with him of the indignation of the Court thereabout and justice thereof." The Colony that could issue this noble decree was inconsistent with itself, when it allowed its rocky face to be pressed by the footsteps of a single slave. But a righteous public opinion early and constantly set its face against Slavery. As early as 1701, a vote was entered upon the records of Boston to the following effect : " The Representatives are desired to promote the encouraging the bringing of white servants, and to put a period to negroes being slaves" Perhaps, in all history, this is the earliest testimony from any official body against Negro Slavery, and I thank God that it came from Boston, my native town. In 1705, a heavy duty was imposed upon every negro imported into the province ; in 1712, the importation of Indians as servants or slaves was strictly forbidden ; but the general subject of Slavery attracted little attention till the beginning of the controversy, which ended in the Revolution, when the rights of the blacks were blended by all true patriots with those of the whites. Sparing all unnecessary details, suffice it to say, that, as early as 1769, one of the courts of Massachusetts, anticipating, by several years, the renowned judgment in Somersett s case, established * Lanesboro v. West field, 16 Mass. 74. MASSACHUSETTS EXTERMINATES SLAVERY. 237 within its jurisdiction the principle of emancipation, and, under its touch of magic power, changed a slave into a freeman. Similar decisions followed in other places. In 1776, the whole number of blacks, both free and slave, sprinkled thinly over "hardy" Massachusetts, was five thousand two hundred and forty-nine, being to the whites as one is to sixty-five; while in " slaveholding " South Carolina the number of negro slaves, at that time, was not far from one hundred thousand, be ing nearly one slave for every freeman, thus rendering that Colony any thing but " hardy." At last, in 1780, even before the triumph of York- town had led the way to that peace which set its seal upon our National Independence, Massachusetts, animated by the struggles of the Revo lution, and rilled by the sentiments of Freedom, placed in front of her Bill of Rights the emphatic words, that " all men are born free and equal," and by this declaration exterminated every vestige of Slavery within her borders. All hail, then, to Massachusetts, the just and gen erous Commonwealth in whose behalf I have the honor to speak. Thus, sir, does the venerable Senator err when he presumes to vouch Massachusetts for Slavery, and to associate this odious institution with the names of her great patriots. But the venerable Senator errs yet more, if possible, when he at tributes to "slaveholding" communities a leading part in those con tributions of arms and treasure by which independence was secured. Here are his exact words, as I find them in the Globe, revised by himself: "Sir, when blood was shed upon the plains of Lexington and Con cord, in an issue made by Boston, to whom was an appeal made, and from whom was it answered ? The answer is found in the acts of slaveholding States animis opibusque parati. Yes, sir, the independ ence of America, to maintain republican liberty, was won by the arms and treasure, by the patriotism and good faith of slaveholding communities." Mark the language, sir, as emphasized by himself. Surely, the Sen ator with his silver-white locks, all fresh from the outrage of the Ne braska Bill, cannot stand here and proclaim "the good faith of slave- holding communities," except in irony. Yes, sir, in irony. And let me add, that when this Senator presumes to say that American Independ ence "was won by the arms and treasure of slaveholding communities," he speaks eith ;r in irony or in ignorance. The question which the venerable Senator from South Carolina here opens, by his vaunt, I have no desire to discuss ; but, since it is pre- 238 NO INJUSTICE TO SOUTH CAROLINA. sented, I confront it at once. This is not the first time, during my brief service here, that this Senator has sought on this floor to provoke a comparison between slaveholding communities and the free States. The Senator is strangely oblivious of the statistical contrasts. For myself, sir, I understand the sensibilities of Senators from slave- holding communities, and would not wound them by a superfluous word. Of Slavery I speak strongly, as I must ; but thus far, even at the expense of my argument, I have avoided the contrasts, founded on de tails of figures and facts, which are so obvious between the free States and "slaveholding communities;" especially have I shunned all allu sion to South Carolina. But the venerable Senator, to whose discretion that State has intrusted its interests here, will not allow me to be still. God forbid that I should do injustice to South Carolina. I know well the gallantry of many of her sons. I know the response which she made to the appeal of Boston for union against the Stamp Act the Fugitive Slave Act of that day by the pen of Christopher Gadsden. And I remember with sorrow that this patriot was obliged to confess, at the time, her " weakness in having such a number of slaves," though it is to his credit that he recognized Slavery as a " crime." I have no pleasure in dwelling on the humiliations of South Carolina ; I do not desire to expose her sores ; I would not lay bare her nakedness. But the Senator, in his vaunt for "slaveholding communities," has made a claim for Slavery which is so inconsistent with history, and so deroga tory to Freedom, that I cannot allow it to pass unanswered. XLVIII. This, sir, is not the first time, even during my little experience here, that the same claim has been made on this floor ; and this seems more astonishing, because the archives of the country furnish such ample and undoubted materials for its refutation. The question of the comparative contributions of men by different States and sections of the country in the war of the Revolution, was brought forward as early as 1790, in the first Congress under the Constitution, in the animated and protracted debate on the assumption of State debts by the Union On this oc casion Fisher Ames, a Representative from Massachusetts, memorable for his classic eloquence, moved a call upon the War Department for the number of men furnished by each State to the Revolutionary armies. This motion, though vehemently opposed, was carried by a small QUOTA OF REVOLUTIONARY TROOPS. 239 majority. Shortly afterwards, the answer to the call was received from the Department, at that time under the charge of General Knox. This answer, which is one of the documents of our history, places beyond cavil or criticism the exact contributions in arms of each State. Here it is copied from the first volume of the American Archives. Statement of tJie number of troops and militia furnished by the several States, for the siipport of the Revolutionary war, from 1775 to 1783, inclusive. NORTHERN STATES. New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island . Connecticut New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Total . SOUTHERN STATES. Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina . Georgia Number of continental troops. 12,496 67,937 5,908 32,03 9 I7,78l 25,608 10,727 2,387 26,672 7,263 Total 2,679 58,421 Number of militia. 2,093 15,155 4,284 7,792 3>3I2 7,357 6,055 376 5,464 4,163 2,716 12,719 Total militia & continental troops. 14,598 83,092 IO,I92 39,831 21,093 3 2 ,9 6 5 16,782 Conjectural estimate of militia. 172,496 46,048 218,553 2,763 19,376 30,835 9,969 2,679 71,130 3^950 1,000 4,000 21,880 12,000 28,000 9,930 76,810 It should be understood that, at this time, there was but little differ ence in numbers between the population of the Southern States and that of the Northern States. By the census of 1790, the Southern had a population of 1,956,354; the Northern had a population of 1,968,455. But, notwithstanding this comparative equality of population in the two sections, the North furnished vastly more men than the South. Of continental troops, the Southern States furnished 58,421 ; the Northern furnished 172,496 ; making about three men furnished to the continental army by the Northern States to one from the Southern. Of militia, whose services are authenticated by the War Office, the Southern States furnished 12,719; the Northern furnished 46,048; making nearly four men furnished to the militia by the Northern States to one from the Southern. 24O THE SOUTH ALWAYS BEHIND. Of militia, whose services were not authenticated by the War Office, but are set down in the return as conjectural only, we have 76,810 furnished by the Southern States and 30,950 furnished by the Northern ; making, under this head, more than two men furnished by the Southern to one from the Northern. The chief services of the Southern States for which the venerable Senator now claims so much it will be observed with a smile, were conjectural only ! Looking, however, at the sum total of continental troops, authenticated militia and conjectural militia, we have 147,940 furnished by the South ern States, while 249,503 were furnished by the Northern ; making 100,- ooo men furnished to the war by the Northern more than the Southern. But the disparity swells when we directly compare South Carolina and Massachusetts. Of continental troops, and authenticated militia, and conjectural militia, South Carolina furnished 33,508, while Massa chusetts furnished 92,592 ; making in the latter sum nearly three men for one furnished by South Carolina. Look, however, at the con tinental troops and the authenticated militia furnished by the two States, and here you will find only 5,508 furnished by South Carolina, while 83,092 were furnished by Massachusetts being sixteen times more tlian by South Carolina, and much more tJian by all the Southern States together. Here are facts and figures of which the Senator ought not to be ignorant. Did the occasion require, I might go further, and minutely portray the imbecility of the Southern States, and particularly of South Caro lina, in the war of the Revolution, as compared with the Northern States. This is a sad chapter of history, upon which I unwillingly dwell. Faithful annals record that, as early as 1778, the six South Carolina regiments, composing, with the Georgia regiment, the regular force of the Southern Department, did not, in the whole, muster above eight hundred men ; nor was it possible to fill up their ranks. During the succeeding year, the Governor of South Carolina, pressed by the British forces, offered to stipulate the neutrality of his State during the war, leaving it to be decided at the peace to whom it should belong a premonitory symptom of the secession proposed in our own day ! At last, after the fatal field of Camden, no organized American force was left in this region. The three Southern States animis opibusque fiarati, according to the vaunt of the Senator had not a single bat talion in the field ! During all this period the men of Massachusetts were serving their country, not at home, but away from their own bor ders ; for, from the time of the Declaration of Independence, Massa chusetts never saw the smoke of an enemy s camp. GENERAL GREENE S TESTIMONY. 241 At last, by the military genius and remarkable exertions of General Greene, a Northern man, who assumed the command of the Southern army, South Carolina was rescued from the British power. But the trials of this successful leader reveal, in a striking manner, the weak ness of the "slaveholding" State which he saved. Some of these are graphically presented in his letters. Writing to Governor Reed, of Pennsylvania, under date of 3d May, 1781, he says : "Those whose true interest it was to have informed Congress and the people to the northward of the real state of things, have joined in the deception, and magnified the strength and resources of this country infinitely above their ability. Many of those, who adhere to our party, are so fond of pleasure, that they cannot think of making the necessary sacrifices to support the Revolution. There are many good and virtuous people to the southward ; but they cannot animate the inhabitants in general, as you can to the northward" Gordon s History of American Revolution, vol. iv. p. 87. Writing to Colonel Davies, under date of 23d May, 1781, he ex poses the actual condition of the country : " The animosity between the Whigs and Tories of this State renders their situation truly deplorable. There is not a day passes but there are more or less who fall a sacrifice to this savage disposition. The Whigs seem determined to extirpate the Tories, and the Tories the Whigs. Some thousands have fallen in this way in this quarter, and the evil rages with more violence than ever. If a stop cannot be soon put to these massacres, the country will be depopulated in a few months more, as neither Whig nor Tory can live." To Lafayette, General Greene, under date of 2pth December, 1780,. describes the weakness of his troops : " It is now within a few days of the time you mentioned of being with me. Were you to arrive, you would find a few ragged, half- starved troops in the wilderness, destitute of everything necessary for either the comfort or convenience of soldiers." * * * "The country is almost laid waste, and the inhabitants plunder one another with little less than savage fury. We live from hand to mouth, and have nothing to subsist on but what we collect with armed parties. In this situation, I believe you will agree with me, there is nothing inviting this way, especially when I assure you our whole force fit for duty, that are pro perly clothed and properly equipped, does not amount to eight hundred men." Johnson } s Life of Greene, vol. i. p. 340. Writing to Mr. Varnum, a member of Congress, he says : "There is a great spirit of enterprise prevailing among the militia of these Southern States, especially with the volunteers. But their mode of going to war is so destructive, that it is the greatest folly in the 16 242 RAMSAY S HISTORY OF THE REVOLUTION. world to trust the liberties of a people to such a precarious defence." Johnson s Life of Greene, vol. i. p. 397. Nothing can be more authentic or complete than this testimony. Here, also, is what is said by David Ramsay, an estimable citizen of South Carolina, in his History of the Revolution in that State, published in 1785, only a short time after the scenes which he describes : " While the American soldiers lay encamped (in the low country near Charleston), their tattered rags were so completely worn out, that seven hundred of them were as naked as they were born, excepting a small strip of cloth about their waists, and they were nearly as desti tute of meat as of clothing." Vol. i. p. 258. The military weakness of this "slaveholding community" is too ap parent. Learn now its occasion : and then join with me in amazement that a Senator from South Carolina should attribute our independence to anything "slaveholding." The records of the country, and various voices, all disown his brag for Slavery. The State of South Carolina, iby authentic history, disowns it. Listen, if you please, to peculiar and decisive testimony, under date of 29th March, 1779, from the Secret Journal of the Continental Congress : " The Committee appointed to take into consideration the circum stances of the Southern States, and the ways and means for their safety .and defence, report, that the State of South Carolina (as represented by the Delegates of the said State, and by Mr. Huger, who has come, here at the request of the Governor of the said State, on purpose to explain the circumstances thereof) is UNABLE to make any effectual efforts with militia, by reason of the great proportion of citizens neccs- .sary to remain at home, to prevent insurrection among the negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them to the enemy. That the state of the country, and the great number of these people among them, expose the inhabitants to great danger, from the endeavors of the enemy to excite them to revolt or desert." Vol. i. p. 105. Here is South Carolina secretly disclosing her military weakness, anc its ignoble occasion ; thus repudiating, in advance, the vaunt of her Senator, who finds strength and gratulation in Slavery rather than in ^Freedom. It was during the war that she thus shrived herself, on ibended knees, in the confessional of the Continental Congress. But the same ignominious confession was made, some time after the war, in open debate, on the floor of Congress, by Mr. Burke, a Representative from South Carolina: "There is not a gentleman on the floor who is a stranger to the feeble situation of our State, when we entered into the war to oppose the British power. We were not only without money, without an army MILITARY WEAKNESS OF SOUTHERN STATES. 243 or military stores, but we were few in number, and likely to be entangled with our domestics, in case the enemy invaded us." Annals of Congress, 1789, 1791, vol. ii. p. 1484. Similar testimony to the weakness engendered by Slavery was also borne by Mr. Madison, in open debate in Congress : " Every addition they (Georgia and South Carolina) receive to their number of slaves, tends to weaken them, and render them less capable of self-defence Annals of Congress, vol. i. p. 340. The historian of South Carolina, Dr. Ramsay, a contemporary observer of the very scenes which he describes, also exposes this weakness : " The forces under the command of General Provost marched through the richest settlements of the State, where are the fewest white inhabitants in proportion to the number of slaves. The hapless Afri cans, allured with the hope of Freedom, forsook their owners, and re paired in great numbers to the royal army. They endeavored to recom mend themselves to their new masters by discovering where their owners had concealed their property, and were assisting in carrying it off." History of South Carolina, vol. i. p. 312. And the same candid historian, describing the invasion of the next year, says : " The slaves a second time flocked to the British army." Vol. i. p. 336. And at a still later day, Mr. Justice Johnson, of the Supreme Court of the United States, and a citizen of South Carolina, in his elaborate Life of General Greene, speaking of negro slaves, makes the same un happy admission. He says : "But the number dispersed through these (Southern) States was very great ; so great, as to render it impossible for the citizens to muster free men enough to withstand the pressure of the British arms" Vol. ii. p. 472. XLIX. Surely, sir, this is enough, and more. Thus, from authentic docu ments including the very muster-rolls of the Revolution we learn the small contributions of men and the military weakness of the Southern States, particularly of South Carolina, as compared with the Northern States ; and from the very lips of South Carolina, on four different oc casions, speaking by a Committee ; by one of her representatives in Congress ; by her historian ; and by an eminent citizen, we have the confession not only of weakness, but that this weakness was caused by Slavery. Arid yet, in the face of this cumulative and unimpeachable 244 THE RIGHTS OF HUMAN NATURE. testimony, we are called to listen, in the American Senate, to a high flying boast, from a venerable Senator, that American Independence was achieved by the arms and treasure of " slave-holding communities ;" an assumption, baseless as the fabric of a vision, in any way it may be interpreted ; whether as meaning baldly that independence was achieved by those Southern States, which were the peculiar home of Slavery, or that it was achieved by any strength or influence which came from that noxious source. Sir, I speak here for a Commonwealth of just renown, but I speak also for a cause which is more than any Commonwealth, even that which I represent ; and I cannot allow the Senator, with his silver-white locks, to discredit either. Not by Slavery, but in spite of it, was independence achieved. Not because, but notwithstanding, there were " slave-holding communities," did triumph descend upon our arms. It was the inspiration of Liberty Universal that conducted us through the Red Sea of the Revolution, as it had already given to the Declaration of Independence its mighty tone, resounding through the ages. "Let it be remembered," said the nation, speaking by the voice of the Continental Congress, at the close of the war, "that it has ever been the pride and boast of America, that the rights for which she has contended WERE THE RIGHTS OF HUMAN NATURE!" Yes, sir, in this behalf, and by this sign, we conquered. Such, sir, is my answer on this head to the Senator from South Caro lina. If the work which I undertook has been done thoroughly, he must not blame me. Whatever I undertake, I am apt to do thoroughly. But while thus repelling the insinuations against Massachusetts, and the assumptions for Slavery, I would not unnecessarily touch the sensibili ties of that Senator, or of the State which he represents. I cannot forget that, amidst all diversities of opinion, we are bound together by the ties of a common country that Massachusetts and South Carolina are sister States, and that the concord of sisters ought to prevail be tween them ; but I am constrained to declare, that throughout this de bate I have sought in vain any token of that just spirit which, within the sphere of its influence, is calculated to promote the concord of States or of individuals. Such, Mr. President, is my response to all that has been said in this debate so far as I deem it in any way worthy of attention. To the two associate chieftains in this personal assault, the veteran Senator from Virginia, and the Senator from South Carolina with the silver- white locks, I have replied completely. It is true that others have joined in the cry, which these associates first started ; but I shall not be tempted THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS. 245 further. Some there are who are best answered by silence ; best an swered by withholding the words which leap impulsively to the lips. And now, turning my back upon these things, let me, as I close, dwell on a single aspect of this discussion which will render it memo rable. On former occasions like this, the right of petition has been vehemently assailed, or practically denied. Only two years ago, me morials for the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Bill, presented by me, were laid on your table, Mr. President, without reference to any Com mittee. All is changed now. Senators have condemned the memo rial, and sounded the cry of "treason," "treason," in our ears; but thus far, throughout this excited debate, no person has so completely outraged the spirit of our institutions, or forgotten himself, as to per severe in objecting to the reception of the memorial, and its proper reference. It is true, the remonstrants and their representatives here have been treated with indignity ; but the great right of petition the sword and buckler, of the citizen though thus discredited, has not been denied. Here, sir, is a triumph for Freedom. L. THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS, the most powerful of all Mr. SUMNER S speeches, will always be associated with the infamous attempt to murder him in the Senate Chamber, two days after its delivery. In giving" an account of the assault, we shall follow the relation of it by Vice-President WILSON, as it will appear in the second volume of his " History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America," for an early copy of which we are indebted to the friendship of the author. In addition to the well-known accuracy of Mr. WILSON as a public writer, he had the further advantage in this case, of being on the spot when this most cowardly act in the history of modern civilization, was perpetrated. LI. The spring of 1856, he remarks, by way of preface, had opened glojinily. The Kansas-Nebraska legislation was bringing forth its 246 VICE-PRESIDENT WILSON S ACCOUNT. legitimate fruits. Emboldened by their success, the slavery propa gandists pressed on with vigor, resolved that no obstacles should pre vent the realization of their cherished purposes. In Kansas the friends of freedom found that the pretended proffer of popular sovereignty was a delusion, and they were at once precipitated into a hand-to-hand conflict. Treason was on many lips, and the cry of secession not only rung in the halls of Congress but resounded throughout the South. Distrusting, too, their ability to meet their opponents in the fair field of debate, the advocates of slavery resolved to resort to something more potent than words. If they could not rebut the speech they could in timidate and overpower the speaker, and the bludgeon be made to accomplish what fair argument could not effect. The border ruffian policy which was filling Kansas with alarm and bloodshed had its repre sentatives in Washington, walking its streets, hanging around its hotels and stalking through the Capitol. To the extreme arrogance of embit tered and aggressive words were added the menace and actual infliction of personal violence. Indeed, the course of these men assumed the form of a reckless and relentless audacity never before exhibited. Members of Congress went armed in the streets and sat with loaded revolvers in their desks. It was in this state of popular feeling and during the debate on Kansas affairs that Mr. Sumner delivered, on the i9th and 2oth of May, his speech on the " Crime against Kansas." It was marked by the usual characteristics of his more elaborate efforts, exhibiting great affluence of learning, faithful research and great rhetorical finish and force. It was, in the words of Whittier, " a grand and terrible philippic, worthy of the great occasion ; the severe and awful truth, which the sharp agony of the national crisis demanded." The speech bore the marks of a determined purpose to make it exhaustive and complete ; as impregnable in argument and cogent in rhetoric as it could be made by the materials at his command, and by the author s acknowledged ability to use them.- He summoned largely to his aid the power of language, and his " words " became " things." He divided his subject into "three different heads: THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS in its origin and extent ; THE APOLOGIES FOR THE CRIME ; and THE TRUE REMEDV." Concerning the crime itself, he ad duced the most incontrovertible proofs of its existence, and closed by comparing Kansas, to a "gallant ship, voyaging on a pleasant summer sea, assailed by a pirate crew." " Even now," he said, " the black flag ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECH. 247 of the land pirates of Missouri waves at the masthead ; in their laws you hear the pirate yell and see the flash of the pirate knife ; while, in credible to relate, the President, gathering the slave power at his back, testifies a pirate sympathy." He said the apologies were four in number: the apology " tyrannical," the apology "imbecile," the apo logy "absurd," and the apology "infamous." "This is all," he said. " Tyranny, imbecility, absurdity and infamy all unite to dance, like the weird sisters, about this crime." Concerning the remedies, he said they, too, were "fourfold" : the remedy of "tyranny," of "folly," of "injustice and civil war," of "justice and peace." "These are the four caskets," he said, " and you are to determine which shall be opened by Senatorial votes." Having discussed these points with great fulness and cogency, he thus closed : "The contest, which, beginning in Kansas, reaches us, will be transferred soon from Congress to that broader stage where every citizen is not only spectator, but actor ; and to their judgment I confidently turn. * * * In the name of the Con stitution outraged, of the laws trampled down, of humanity degraded, of peace destroyed, of freedom crushed to earth, and in the name of the Heavenly Father, whose service is perfect freedom, I -make this last appeal." Portraying the crime, he referred to the criminal, fitly spoke of the tyrant power who inspired it, and of the more prominent agents in its commission. Alluding to a fable of northern mythology, he said : "Even so the creature whose paws are fastened upon Kansas, whatever it may seem to be, constitutes in reality part of the slave power, which, with loathsome folds, is now coiled about the whole land." Of several of the agents of this power he had more than general reasons to speak severely. Among them were Mr. Butler and Mr. Douglas, who had singled him out for special attack. In this speech, therefore, he took occasion to repay them for their assaults, and pro posed to say " something in reference to what has fallen from Senators who have raised themselves to eminence on this floor in championship of human wrongs. I mean the Senator from South Carolina and the Senator from Illinois, who though unlike as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, yet, like this couple, sally forth in the same adventure." Of the former he spoke as " one applying opprobrious epithets to those who differ from- him on this floor, calling them sectional and fanatical, and their opposition to the usurpations in Kansas an uncalculating 248 ASSAULT ON SUMXER. fanaticism ! " Of the latter he said : "The Senator dreams that he can subdue the North. He disclaims the open threat ; but his conduct implies it. How little that Senator knows himself, or the strength of the cause he persecutes ! He is but a mortal man ; but against him is an immortal principle. With finite strength he wrestles with the infinite, and he must fail ; against him are stronger battalions than any marshalled by mortal arm, the inborn, ineradicable, and invincible sentiments of the human heart ; against him is Nature in all its subtle forces ; against him is God. Let him try to subdue these." LII. A speech so bold and unsparing in its utterances, so thorough and fundamental in its logic, in which things were called by their right names, and which applied the tests of Republican and Christian prin ciples so severely to the vexed question, while, at the same time, it administered to some of the haughty and dogmatic leaders that severe rebuke their insolence deserved, could not fail, in the excited state of the public mind, to produce a profound impression. Men whose course had been subjected to this terrible arraignment were excited to madness ; and summary vengeance was agreed upon as the only remedy that would meet the exigency of the hour. Preston S. Brooks, a Representative from South Carolina, either volunteered or was selected as the agent for its infliction. After the adjournment of the Senate on the 22d of May, Mr. Simmer remained at his desk engaged in writing. While so engaged, Brooks, whom he did not know, approached him and said : "I have read your speech twice over, carefully. It is a libel on South Carolina and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine." While these words were passing from his lips he commenced a series of blows with a bludgeon upon the Senator s head, by which the latter was stunned, disabled and smitten down, bleeding and insensible, on the floor of the chamber. From that floor he was taken by friends, borne to the ante-room, where his wounds were dressed, and then he was carried by Mr. Wilson, assisted by Captain Darling, door-keeper of the House, faint and bleeding, to his lodgings. This cowardly and audacious assault deeply moved the public mind ; MEETING AT SEWARB S HOUSE. 249 not only at Washington, but throughout the country, though the per sonal participants therein, the criminal and his victim, were very much lost sight of in the moral and political significance of the act. For the moment Sumner and Brooks were regarded mainly as representative men, exponents of the two civilizations which divided the country, while the scenes on the 22d of May on the floor of the Senate were looked upon as typical of what was being enacted on the wider theatre of the nation. Mr. Sumner, though confessedly the superior of his assailant in stature and physical strength, sitting and cramped beneath his writing desk, over which he was bending, with pen in hand, taken unawares and at disadvantage, and his assailant raining blows upon his unprotected head, fairly represented freedom and slavery as they stood at that time confronting each other. Freedom, though intrinsically stronger than its antagonist, was yet practically weaker. So hampered by the compromises of the Constitution, by the legislation of two generations, by proscription and prescription, and by the overpowering advantage which actual possession gave to slavery, it had been obliged to succumb to its imperious antagonist, besides suffering infinite damage thereby. This blow at free speech, and personal safety as well, like a flash of lightning in a dark and stormy night, revealed by its lurid glare the grim facts of the situation, and the people, for good reason, trem bled as they gazed apprehensively into the immediate and more remote future. LIII. In the evening of the day of the assault, the Republican Senators met at the house of Mr. Seward. In a lean minority only one-fifth of the Senate they knew that they were at the mercy of the majority, which was dominated by the incensed and inexorable leaders of the Slave Power. Always bitter and implacable, they were now still more determined and audacious. Always zealous, their zeal was more in flamed by the fresh fuel these proceedings would add. What new vic tims would be required, who they should be, and whom their appetite for vengeance, whetted by this taste of blood, would select, they knew not. Not unlikely some who gathered there, like the disciples of John the Baptist, after their master had fallen a victim to a tyrant s power, felt that, though the night was dark and the future was forbidding, it was no time to despair or to remit effort. Nor would they, without remonstrance, submit to such an invasion of their personal and politi- 250 A COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY. cal rights. It was accordingly agreed that Mr. Wilson should call the attention of the Senate to the subject the next day, and, unless some member of the dominant party should move a committee of investiga tion, Mr. Seward should make such motion. On the assembling of the Senate, amid deep excitement, crowds filling every available space in the Chamber and all its approaches, Mr. Wilson rose, and having narrated briefly the facts of the transac tion, said : "Sir, to assail a member of the Senate out of this Chamber * for words spoken in debate is a grave offence, not only against the rights of a Senator, but the constitutional privileges of this House ; but, sir, to come into this Chamber and assault a member in his seat, until he falls exhausted and senseless on this floor, is an offence requiring the prompt and decisive action of the Senate. Senators, I have called your attention to this transaction. I submit no motion. I leave it to older Senators, whose character, whose position in this body and before the country, eminently fit them for the task of devising measures to re dress the wrongs of a member of this body and to vindicate the honor and dignity of the Senate." As no Democratic Senator proposed any action, Mr. Seward offered a resolution for a committee of five members, to be appointed by the President, to inquire into the assault and to report the facts, together with their opinion thereon. On motion of Mr. Mason, the resolution was so amended as to provide that the committee should be ch6sen by the Senate ; and Pearce of Maryland, Cass of Michigan, Dodge of Wis consin, Allen of Rhode Island and Geyer of Missouri, were selected. The committee was chosen wholly from the Democratic party, and contained no one friendly to Mr. Simmer. The same day, Lewis D. Campbell introduced a resolution into the House of Representatives reciting the particulars of the assault, and proposing a select committee of five to report such action as might be proper for the vindication of the House. After a brief debate, the resolution was adopted, and Campbell of Ohio, Pennington of New Jersey, Spinner of New York, Cobb of Georgia and Greenwood of Arkansas were appointed. LIV. This assault upon Mr. Simmer was, however, chiefly noticeable for its related facts and subsequent developments. Standing alone, it was BEHAVIOR OF SENATORS. 25 I but one of many outrages which have disfigured and disgraced human history, as indefensible as they were full of pain and peril, one good man suffering at the hands of a bad man from the impulse of passion or the greed of gain. But, standing as it does in its relations to the irrepressible conflict between freedom and slavery, it was a revelation of a state of public feeling and sentiment, especially at the South, which both startled and surprised the nation and the world ; though it has since lost much of its special significance, looked at by the side of the more horrible demonstrations of rebellion and civil war. Thus con sidered, it shows Mr. Brooks as only a fit representative of the domi nating influences of the slaveholding States, where not only did their leading public men and presses indorse the deed as their own, and defend it by voice and vote, but the people generally seemed ready to vie with each other in their professed admiration of his course, so that the bludgeon became the weapon of honor, the bully the hero of the hour. The committee reported want of jurisdiction, because, it contended, "authority devolves solely upon the House, of which he is a member," and the Senate itself took no further action. The House committee entered at once upon the investigation, and proceeded to examine the witnesses of the transaction. Visiting Mr. Simmer at his room, they took his deposition from his sick-bed. He made substantially the same statement already given, mentioning the additional fact that on coming to consciousness he saw " Mr. Douglas and Mr. Toombs standing in the Senate," and Mr. Slidell in the anteroom, from which the latter "retreated at once." This statement becoming known, these Senators felt called upon to make explanations of their knowledge of the affair and of the course they adopted in relation to it. Mr. Slidell, referring to the fact that he was conversing with other Senators, among whom was Mr. Douglas, when a messenger rushed in with the intelligence that somebody was beating Mr. Sumner, contemptuously said : "We heard this remark without any particular emotion. For my part, I con fess I felt none. I am not disposed to participate in broils of any kind. I remained very quietly in my seat. The other gentleman did the same. We did not move." He stated that, a few minutes afterward, he went into the Senate Chamber, and was told that Mr. Sumner was lying in a state of insensibility. Returning to the anteroom, and attempting to pass out, he saw the wounded man as he was carried into the anteroom, " his face covered with blood, and evidently faint and 252 TOOMBS JUSTIFIES BROOKS. weak." " I am not," said Mr. Slidell, " particularly fond of scenes of any sort. I have no associations or relations of any kind with Mr. Simmer. I have not spoken to him for two years. I did not think it necessary to express any sympathy or make any advances toward him." Slidell closed his remarks by saying he was free from any participation, connection, or counsel in the matter. Douglas, too, deemed it his duty to make some explanation. He said that when the messenger passed through the room and said somebody was beating Mr. Sumner, " I rose immediately to my feet. My first impulse was to come into the Senate Chamber and help to put an end to the affray if I could. But it occurred to my mind in an instant that my relations to Mr. Sumner were such that if I came into the hall my motives would be misconstrued perhaps, and I sat down again." He stated that a few moments afterwards he went into the Senate Chamber and saw the crowd gathering about Mr. Sumner, who was prostrate on the floor. He closed his remarks by stating he did not know that he was in the Capitol ; that he did not know that any man thought of attacking him, and that he had not the slightest suspicion of what was to happen. Mr. Toombs said : "As for rendering Mr. Sumner any assistance, I did not do it. As to what was said, some gentleman present condemn ed it in Mr. Brooks. I stated to him, or to some of my own friends, probably, that I approved it. That is my opinion." It was also given in evidence that Mr. Keitt was present at the assault, not only con senting to the action of his colleague, but with violent demonstrations and profane expressions warning off all who would interfere to save the victim from his assailant. Of course, Northern men could not remain unmoved by such admitted complicity with and indorsement of an outrage like that. Mr. Wade said : " It is impossible for me to sit still and hear the principle announced which I have heard on this occasion. I am here in a pretty bare mino rity ; but when I hear, on the floor of the Senate, that an assassin-like, cowardly attack has been made on a man unarmed, having no power to defend himself, who was stricken down with the strong arm and almost murdered, and that such attacks are approved of by Senators, it becomes a question of some interest to us all, and especially to those who are in the minority. A brave man may be overpowered by numbers on this BROOKS CHALLENGES WILSON. 253 floor ; but, sir, overpowered or not, live or die, I will vindicate the right and liberty of debate and freedom of discussion upon this floor so long as I live." Mr. Wilson remarked that there was no conflict between the state ments of Mr. Sumner and those of Slidell, Douglas and Toombs. The assault itself he pronounced "brutal, murderous and cowardly." This provoked the exclamation " You are a liar ! " from Mr. Butler; although, at the request of Senators, he immediately withdrew the words. The charge of Mr. Wilson led to a challenge from Mr. Brooks, which was borne to him by General Lane of Oregon, afterward Democratic can didate for the Vice-Presidency. Mr. Wilson, against the urgent advice of Mr. Giddings, Mr. Colfax and other friends, immediately returned this reply : " I characterized, on the floor of the Senate, the assault upon my colleague as brutal, murderous and cowardly. I thought so then. I think so now. I have no qualification whatever to make in regard to those words. I have never entertained, in the Senate or elsewhere, the idea of personal responsibility in the sense of the duellist. I have always regarded duelling as the lingering relic of a barbarous civilization, which the law of the country has branded as crime. While, therefore, I re ligiously believe in the right of self-defence in its broadest sense, the law of my country and the matured convictions of my whole life alike forbid me to meet you for the purpose indicated in your letter." Having sent this reply by James Baffin ton, a member of the House from his State, Mr. Wilson telegraphed to his wife, then in Massachu setts : " Have declined to fight a duel, shall do my duty and leave the result with God. If assailed, shall defend my life, if possible, at any cost. Be calm." Writing a hurried note to his friends, William Claflin, afterward Governor of Massachusetts, and John -B. Alley, subsequently for several years a member of Congress, to befriend his son, then only- ten years of age, if he should be struck down by violence, Mr. Wilson armed himself for defence, resolved to go where duty called. At once a meeting was held at the National Hotel by a few Southern members, and the question of making an assault upon him considered ; and actual violence was prevented mainly by the efforts of Mr. Orr of South Carolina, as he informed Mr. Wilson in the winter of 1873, when on his way to Russia as Minister of the United States. 254 BROOKS EXPELLED KEITT RESIGNS. LV. The House committee made two reports ; the majority recommend ing the expulsion of Mr. Brooks, and expressing "disapprobation of the act of Henry A. Edmonson and Lawrence M. Keitt." The minority, pleading want of jurisdiction, gave sixty-six votes for the minority report. The House censured Keitt, but failed to condemn Edmonson. Keitt resigned. One hundred and twenty-one members voted to expel Brooks and ninety -five voted against expulsion. Having failed to expel a two -thirds vote being necessary a vote of censure was adopted by a large majority. After these votes were declared, Mr. Brooks addressed the House in a speech of mingled assumption, insolence and self-conceit. While dis claiming all intention to insult Congress, the Senate or the State of Mas sachusetts, he seemed to be utterly oblivious that. there had been any infringement of law or the rights of others ; it being simply, he said, " a personal affair, for which I am personally responsible." With infinite effrontery he affirmed : " I went to work very deliberately, as I am charged and this is admitted and speculated somewhat as to whether I should employ a horsewhip or a cowhide ; but knowing that the Sen ator was my superior in strength, it occurred to me that he might wrest it from my hand, and then (for I never attempt anything I do not per form) I might have been compelled to do that which I would have re gretted the balance of my natural life." What that contingency he so coolly admitted was, every reader can conjecture. With still greater as surance and self-assertion, he claimed, as a matter of credit for his for bearance, that he had not plunged the nation into civil war, as if he had held the destinies of the Republic in his hands. " In my heart of hearts," he said, " such a menacing line of conduct I believe would end in subverting this government and drenching this hall in blood. No act of mine, on my personal account, shall inaugurate revolution ; but when you, Mr. Speaker, return to your own home, and hear the people of the great North and they are a great people speak of me as a bad man, you will do me the justice to say that a blow struck by me at this time would be followed by a revolution ; and this I know." Concluding his speech, he announced the resignation of his seat, and walked out of the House. He returned to his constituents, was triumphantly re-elected, in about two weeks went back with his commission of re-election, and again took his seat. THE SOUTH ENDORSES BROOKS. 2$ 5 LVI. But the most significant and instructive incidents and utterances re main to be noted. Much of what has already been adduced might be safely referred to passion, wounded feeling and inflamed hatred. The language of Slidell, Douglas, Toombs and Brooks, was evidently spoken in hot blood, and the votes of Mr. Brooks s constituents were cast in obedience to feelings that had been roused to the highest pitch of em bittered and vengeful indignation. No adequate conception of the state of public sentiment and feeling then existing can be found without re ference to the cooler and more deliberate expressions of public men and presses outside of the narrow circle of the immediate actors in this tragedy of violence and blood. Unfortunately the evidence is far too conclusive to leave any doubt as to the anarchical sentiments that pre vailed too generally at the South, and far too largely, indeed, at the North. Referring to a meeting of Brooks s constituents, at which resolutions of approval were adopted, and a cane, with a brutal inscription, voted him, a paper published at the capital of the State remarked : " Meetings of approval and sanction will be held not only in Mr. Brooks s district, but throughout the State at large, and a general and hearty response of approval will re-echo the words well done ! from Washington to the Rio Grande." The students and officers of the University of Virginia also voted him a cane, on which the leading Democratic organ of the South remarked approvingly : " The chivalry of the South, it seems, has been thoroughly aroused." The Richmond Examiner said : : Far from blarning Mr. Brooks, we are disposed to regard him as a conserva tive gentleman, seeking to restore its lost dignity to the Senate, * * * whose example should be followed by every Southern gentleman whose feelings are outraged by unprincipled Abolitionists." The Richmond Enquirer, some weeks after the assault, said : " In the main, the press of the South applaud the conduct of Mr. Brooks, without condition or limitation. Our approbation, at least, is entire and unreserved. * * * It was a proper act, done at the proper time and in the proper place." Nor were leading statesmen less explicit in their approval. Mr. Mason, in reply to an invitation to attend a public dinner in honor of Mr. Brooks, after referring to his " social and political intercourse " with 256 BUCHANAN APPROVES THE ASSAULT. their "able and justly honored representative," adds : " I know of none whose public career I hold more worthy the full and cordial approba tion of his constituents than his." Jefferson Davis, on the same occa sion, wrote : " I have only to express to you my sympathy with the feeling which prompts the sons of Carolina to welcome the return of a brother who has been the subject of vilification, misrepresentation, and persecution, because he resented a libellous assault upon the represen tative of their mother." Nor were they alone Southern men who joined in this formal indorsement. Mr. Buchanan, the Democratic candidate for the Presidency, referring to Mr. Simmer s speech, characterized it as " the most vulgar tirade of abuse ever delivered in a representative body ; " and added that though " Mr. Brooks was inconsiderate, * * * Senator Butler was a very mild man." Mr. Savage of Tennessee, in a eulogy in the House, said : "To die nobly is life s chief concern. History records but one Thermopylae ; there ought to have been another, and that one for Preston S. Brooks. * * * So shall the scene in the Senate chamber carry the name of the deceased to all future generations, long to be remembered after all men are forgotten and until these proud walls crumble into ruins." So unmistakably did the leading minds of the South indorse the deed and make it their own. Nor, on the other hand, were the men of the North silent. The thrill of horror and alarm which ran through the free States found expression, as with fitting phrase and indignant emphasis men cha racterized and denounced the diabolical and cowardly assault. On the floor of Congress were those found who, at much personal hazard, denounced both the assault and the assailant. In the Hoifse, John Woodruff of Connecticut, a man proverbial for moderation of temper and deportment, said : " If honorable gentlemen cannot wholly rid themselves of an unwelcome presence, they can, at least, show their appreciation of an action wanting few of the elements of the most audacious crime and of a spirit equal to deeds that I will not name. With an endeavor always to cultivate courtesy, I shall not hesitate, here in my place or elsewhere, to freely characterize as they deserve any lofty assumption of arrogance or any mean achievement of cowardice." For these words he was waited upon and interrogated whether he would receive a challenge from Mr. Brooks. He, however, declined to receive it. BURLING AME DENOUNCES THE ASSAULT. 257 LVII. Mr. Burlingame, afterwards Plenipotentiary to China, and from China to the Western nations, spoke of the assault with boldness, eloquence and force. " I denounce it," he said, " in the name of the Con stitution it violates. I denounce it in the name of the sovereignty of Massachusetts, which was stricken down by the blow. I denounce it in the name of humanity. I denounce it in the name of civilization, which it outraged. I denounce it in the name of that fair play which bullies and prize-fighters respect. The Senator from Massachusetts sat in the silence of the Senate Chamber, engaged in the employments appertaining to his office, when a member from the House, who had taken an oath to sustain the Constitution, stole into the Senate, a place which had hitherto been held sacred against violence, and smote him, as Cain smote his brother." Keitt exclaimed : " That is false." Bur lingame replied : " I will not bandy epithets with the gentleman. I am responsible for my own language ; doubtless he is responsible for his." " I am," said Keitt. " I shall stand by mine," replied Bur lingame. Mr. Comins, the other Representative from Boston, said the murderous blow that smote down Mr. Sumner was " the representative of a power that, having failed to sustain itself in intellectual conflict, resolves itself into brute force, stalks into the Senate Chamber, and there, with bludgeon in hand, beats freedom over the head." " In your arrogance," he said, " you assume to be the sole and rightful judges of parliamentary decorum and parliamentary, law. We tell you plainly, we will no longer submit to these things." This language gave no little offence to Brooks and his friends, but they took no action con cerning it. Brooks felt compelled, however, to notice Burlingame s speech. Several days after its delivery, William W. Boyce of South Carolina, and Thomas S. Bocock of Virginia, acting for Brooks, met in con sultation with Speaker Banks and George Ashmun, who were friends of Burlingame, with a view of arranging the matter either amicably or otherwise. Burlingame was present, and during the consultation ex pressed his personal regard for Brooks, but condemned the act committed by him. This nice discrimination between the actor and 17 258 BROOKS CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. the act was seized upon by the friends of both parties, and it was at once agreed that the affair could be settled upon that declaration. Though the parties and their immediate friends were satisfied, others were not. The arrangement was soon the subject of public comment and unfavorable criticism. Mr. Burlingame having left Washington to enter the Presidential canvass in the West, Mr. Wilson telegraphed him to return immediately, and he did so. On his return, a copy of the Boston Courier of July 18, containing the terms of settlement, and an article severely criticising Mr. Burlingame s action, was placed in his hands by his colleague, Timothy Davis. He immediately declared to Mr. Davis that he would withdraw the whole of his part of the settlement, and he published a card in the National Intelligencer of July 22, in which he placed himself upon his speech, yielding nothing and retracting nothing. Of course, Brooks took action at once, and sent a challenge by Gen. Joseph Lane of Oregon. It was promptly accepted, and the arrange ments and details were referred to Lewis D. Campbell of Ohio. Bur- lingame absented himself from the House, remaining the most of the day in the room of one of his colleagues. Early in the evening he met and walked with Mr. Wilson in the grounds east of the Capitol. He then expected to meet Brooks outside of the District the next morning. He spoke of his wife, his children and friends at home ; and, on parting, said: "My friend, you know my position ; I want you to explain my conduct to my friends, a..d to defend my memory if anything happens to me." Late in the evening he met Mr. Davis and walked with him in the park near the City Hall. He then, at that hour, supposed he should meet Brooks early the next morning ; and he confided to his colleague some matters to be used in case he should fall. At parting he remarked : " I do not hate Brooks, but I shall kiu him." Mr. Campbell, who wrote the reply to the challenge, decided that the meeting should be held near the Clifton House in Canada, and sent Mr. Burlingame, late in the night, to take the cars, at the junction in Maryland, for that place. But Brooks declined to meet Burlingame at the place designated, on the alleged ground that, in the then excited state of public feeling at the North, it would not be safe for him to undertake the journey. VOICE OF FANEUIL HALL. 259 The friends of freedom generally regretted the course of Mr. Bur- lingame, though they were not unmindful of the salutary influence which such a response was calculated to exert upon men who had depended largely upon the unwillingness of Northern men to adopt their self- styled "code of honor." Indeed, he himself did not fully indorse the course he felt constrained to adopt. At a public reception, given him in Boston on the i2th of September, he said: " My errors, if errors they were, sprang from the dim light in which I stood and out of a sincere love for the old Bay State. To my mind, a conflict which under other circumstances would have been merely personal and disgraceful, from the standpoint from which I viewed it, rose to the dignity of a great transaction as a defence of freedom of speech. I should have been wiser, I am certain, if I had followed the noble example set by one now near me, who has ever been my leader, and whom I am proud so to acknowledge one who represents Massachusetts in her loftiest mood, on her highest plane of action one whose reason was never dimmed by passion. I pay my full homage to that position here. It is the right position unquestionably." LVIII. Public meetings, too, were held in the Northern States, at which resolutions were adopted and speeches were made by their ablest and most distinguished men. Faneuil Hall did not remain silent. At a large and deeply excited meeting, held without distinction of sect or party, Peleg W. Chandler, a leading politician, after alluding to the fact that he was Mr. Simmer s personal friend but "political opponent/ 1 said : " It is precisely because I have been and am now his personal friend, and it is precisely because I have been and now am his political opponent, that I am here to-night. * * * Yet personal feelings are of little or no consequence in this outrage. It is a blow not merely at Massachusetts, a blow not merely at the name and fame of our com mon country, it is a blow at constitutional liberty all the world over, it is a stab at the cause of universal freedom. Whatever may be done in this matter, however, one thing is certain, one thing is sure. The blood of this Northern man now stains the Senate floor, and let me tell you that not all the water of the Potomac can wash it out. Forever, for ever, and aye, that stain will plead in silence for liberty wherever man is enslaved, for humanity all over the world, for truth and for justice, now and forever." 26O FATE OF KEITT AND BROOKS. Edward Everett, too, whose name and influence had always been associated with what was termed the " conservative " side of the great question at issue, spoke strongly of " the act of lawless violence, of which," he said, " I know no parallel in the history of constitutional government ;" adding that " for the good name, the peace, the safety of the country, for the cause of free institutions throughout the world, it were worth all the gold of California to blot from our history the record of the past week." Cambridge, too, spoke from the lips of her dis tinguished jurists, professors, and literary men ; Brown University in the strong, terse words of its President ; and New York in the elo quent and forceful utterances of some of its most distinguished lawyers and clergymen. Indignation at the cowardly assault, sympathy for the sufferer, and alarm for the future mingled largely in the sentiments uttered in the burning words which thus found expression and response. Besides, it entered largely into the Presidental campaign that soon com menced, and became one of the battle-cries of freedom and of the new party that then appealed for the first time for the suffrages of the nation. LIX. Nor did the interest cease with the tragedy itself and these immediate demonstrations of approval or disapproval. The sequel was more tragic, and, to the thoughtful, far more impressive and replete with its lessons of wisdom and warning. Of the three prominent actors, the most audacious, arrogant, insulting, and, for the time being, seemingly most potential, Brooks and Butler, were in their graves in less than a year ; while Keitt died fighting in a war which destroyed the slave sys tem and swept it from the land. Brooks died suddenly, but not until he had confessed to his friend, James L. Orr, that he was tired of the new role he had chosen, and heart-sick of being the recognized repre sentative of bullies, the recipient of their ostentatious gifts and officious testimonials of admiration and regard. Nor were all its lessons exhausted at the South. At the North the subsequent developments were equally significant and sad. For, not withstanding the brutality of the outrage and its unequivocal indorse ment by the South, a fact fully recognized and properly condemned by those public demonstrations at the North, yet, when the hour of trial came, as it did in the presidential election in the autumn, the very man EUROPE WITH THE UNION. 26l who had volunteered an apology for the assault was made President, and that largely by Northern votes. Party was thus shown to be stronger than principle, patriotism stronger than philanthropy, regard for the Union stronger than regard for human rights, the fear of man stronger than the fear of God. LX. The opinion of Europe concerning Mr. SUMNER was all one way. There, his high character and public ser vices were fully understood. There was no Pro-Slavery party in Europe, outside of Spain ; nor throughout the whole civilized world, beyond the limits of the United States, did Mr. Brooks find an apologist. No act in the barbarous record of Slavery, nor all of them put together, had done so much to alienate mankind from it and its brazen champions. And when at last the Southern States seceded, and the Confederacy turned its eyes abroad for recognition and sympathy, it met with disdain and contempt from every nation and every class in the Old World, except the Cotton Kings and the Aristocracy of Great Britain. The ruling classes of England, to some extent, did sympathize with the Southern Rebellion, as they had from the hour of the Declaration of Independence greeted with friendly re cognition every harbinger of evil to the rising Republic of the West. These classes had built the Alabama and her sister corsairs they had equipped the fleet that sailed out of British ports to sweep American commerce from the ocean ; and these pirates had swarmed over all the seas on their fiendish mission. But beyond that narrow sphere, the Southern Rebellion received no aid or comfort. Its leaders were regarded as parricides and traitors ; whilst the down-trodden masses of men in every part of the world looked upon the threatened 262 THE APPROACHING CONFLICT. overthrow of the American Union as the greatest dis aster that could befall the human race. LXI. Not many years afterwards, what a change had come over the nation, and what a vindication was finally to be made ! " For time at last sets all things even And if we do but watch the hour, There never yet was human power Which could evade, if unforgiven, The patient search and vigil long Of him who treasures up a wrong." The same bells that had rung out their chimes so merrily to usher in the Rebellion, and reecho the curses of South Carolina upon the name of SUMNER, were all tolling his death-knell on the morning when the tele graph flashed the news that the great champion of Freedom was no more. But we will now forego any expression of exultation or gratitude on this account, and resume the thread of our narrative. It will lead us through scenes of suffering and blood. It will remind us of a hundred battle-fields where Liberty had once more to pass through the fires of conflict a conflict compared with which, all the struggles of the old Revo lution were but the pangs of the suffering child to the throes of the bleeding giant. LXIL In opening his great Speech THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS Mr. Sumner said, May igth and 2oth, 1856: THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS. 263 Mr. President, You are now called to redress a great wrong. Sel dom in the history of nations is such a question presented. Tariffs, army bills, navy bills, land bills, are important, and justly occupy your care ; but these all belong to the course of ordinary legislation. As means and instruments only, they are necessarily subordinate to the conservation of Government itself. Grant them or deny them, in greater or less degree, and you inflict no shock. The machinery of Government continues to move. The State does not cease to exist. Far otherwise is it with the eminent question now before you, involving, as it does, Liberty in a broad Territory, and also involving the peace of the whole country, with our good name in history for evermore. Take down your map, Sir, and you will find that the Territory of Kansas, more than any other region, occupies the middle spot of North America, equally distant from the Atlantic on the east, and the Pacific on the west, from the frozen waters of Hudson s Bay on the north, and the tepid Gulf Stream on the south, constituting the precise geographi cal centre of the whole vast Continent. To such advantages of situa tion, on the very highway between two oceans, are added a soil of un surpassed richness, and a fascinating, undulating beauty of surface, with a health-giving climate, calculated to nurture a powerful and generous people, worthy to be a central pivot of American institutions. A few short months have hardly passed since this spacious mediterranean country was open only to the savage, who ran wild in its woods and prairies ; and now it has drawn to its bosom a population of freemen larger than Athens crowded within her historic gates, when her sons, under Miltiades, won liberty for mankind on the field of Marathon, more than Sparta contained, when she ruled Greece, and sent forth her devoted children, quickened by a mother s benediction, to return with their shields or on them, more than Rome gathered on her seven hills, when, under her kings, she commenced that sovereign sway which afterwards embraced the whole earth, more than London held, when, on the fields of Crecy and Agincourt, the English banner was borne victorious over the chivalrous hosts of France. Against this Territory, thus fortunate in position and population, a Crime has been committed which is without example in the records of the Past. Not in plundered provinces or in the cruelties of selfish gov ernors will you find its parallel ; and yet there is an ancient instance which may show, at least, the path of justice. In the terrible impeach ment by which the Roman Orator has blasted through all time the name of Verres, charges were, that he had carried away productions of Art, 264 A TYRANNICAL USURPATION. and had violated the sacred shrines. But, amidst charges of robbery and sacrilege, the enormity which most aroused the indignant voice of his accuser, and which still stands forth with strongest distinctness, arousing the sympathetic indignation of all who read the story, was, that away in Sicily he had scourged a citizen of Rome, that the cry, " I am a Roman citizen," had been interposed in vain against the lash of the tyrant governor. It was in the presence of the Roman Senate that this arraignment proceeded, in a temple of the Forum, amidst crowds such as no orator had ever before drawn together, thronging the porticos and colonnades, even clinging to the house-tops and neighbor ing slopes, and under the anxious gaze of witnesses summoned from the scene of crime. But an audience grander far, of higher dignity, of more various people, and of wider intelligence, the countless multitude of succeeding generations, in every land where eloquence has been studied, or where the Roman name has been recognized, has listened to the accusation, and throbbed with condemnation of the criminal. Sir, speaking in an age of light, and in a land of constitutional liberty, where the safeguards of elections are justly placed among the highest triumphs of civilization, I fearlessly assert that the wrongs of much- abused Sicily, thus memorable in history, were small by the side of the wrongs of Kansas, where the very shrines of popular institutions, more sacred than any heathen altar, are desecrated, where the ballot-box, more precious than any work in ivory or marble from the cunning hand of Art, is plundered, and where the cry, " I am an American citizen," is interposed in vain against outrage of every kind, even upon life itself. Are you against robbery ? I hold it up to your scorn. Are you against sacrilege ? I present it for your execration. Are you for the protection of American citizens ? I show you how their dearest rights are cloven down, while a Tyrannical Usurpation seeks to install itself on their very necks ! LXIII. The wickedness which I now begin to expose is immeasurably aggra vated by the motive which prompted it. Not in any common lust for power did this uncommon tragedy have its origin. It is the rape of a virgin Territory, compelling it to the hateful embrace of Slavery ; and it may be clearly traced to a depraved desire for a new Slave State, hideous offspring of such a crime, in the hope of adding to the power FRATRICIDAL, PATRICIDAL WAR. 265 of Slavery in the National Government. Yes, Sir, when the whole world, alike Christian and Turk, is rising up to condemn this wrong, making it a hissing to the nations, here in our Republic, force ay, Sir, FORCE is openly employed in compelling Kansas to this pollution, and all for the sake of political power. There is the simple fact, which you will vainly attempt to deny, but which in itself presents an essential wickedness that makes other public crimes seem like public virtues. This enormity, vast beyond comparison, swells to dimensions of crime which the imagination toils in vain to grasp, when it is under stood that for this purpose are hazarded the horrors of intestine feud, not only in this distant Territory, but everywhere throughout the coun try. The muster has begun. The strife i s no longer local, but national. Even now, while I speak, portents lower in the horizon, threatening to darken the land, which already palpitates with the mutterings of civil war. The fury of the propagandists, and the calm determination of their opponents, are diffused from the distant Territory over wide-spread communities, and the whole country, in all its extent, marshalling hos tile divisions, and foreshadowing a conflict which, unless happily averted by the triumph of Freedom, will become war, fratricidal, parricidal war, with an accumulated wickedness beyond that of any war in human annals, justly provoking the avenging judgment of Providence and the avenging pen of History, and constituting a strife such as was pictured by the Roman historian, more than foreign, more than social, more than civil, being something compounded of all these, and in itself more than war, " sed potius commune quoddam ex omnibus, et plus quam bellum" Such is the Crime which you are to judge. The criminal also must be dragged into day, that you may see and measure the power by which all this wiong is sustained. From no common source could it proceed. In its perpetration was needed a spirit of vaulting ambition which would hesitate at nothing ; a hardihood of purpose insensible to the judgment of mankind; a madness for Slavery, in spite of Constitution, laws, and all the great examples of our history ; also a consciousness of power such as comes from the habit of power ; a combination of ener gies found only in a hundred arms directed by a hundred eyes ; a con trol of Public Opinion through venal pens and a prostituted press ; an ability to subsidize crowds in every vocation of life, the politician with his local importance, the lawyer with his subtle tongue, and even the authority of the judge on the bench, with a familiar use of men in places high and low, so that none, from the President to the lowest 266 THE WOE AND SHAME OF THE CRIME. border postmaster, should decline to be its tool : all these things, and more, were needed, and they were found in the Slave Power of our Re public. There, Sir, stands the criminal, all unmasked before you, heartless, grasping, and tyrannical, with an audacity beyond that of Verres, a subtlety beyond that of Machiavel, a meanness beyond that of Bacon, and an ability beyond that of Hastings. Justice to Kansas can be secured only by the prostration of this influence : for this is the Power behind greater than any President which succors and sustains the Crime. Nay, the proceedings I now arraign derive their fearful consequence only from this connection. LXIV. In opening this great matter, I am not insensible to the austere de mands of the occasion ; but the dependence of the Crime against Kan sas upon the Slave Power is so peculiar and important that I trust to be pardoned while I impress it by an illustration which to some may seem trivial. It is related in Northern Mythology, that the God of Force, visiting an enchanted region, was challenged by his royal enter tainer to what seemed a humble feat of strength, merely, Sir, to lift a cat from the ground. The god smiled at the challenge, and, calmly placing his hand under the belly of the animal, with superhuman strength strove, while the back of the feline monster arched far upwards, even beyond reach, and one paw actually forsook the earth, when at last the discomfited divinity desisted ; but he was little sur prised at his defeat, when he learned that this creature, which seemed to be a cat, and nothing more, was not merely a cat, but that it be longed to and was part of the great Terrestrial Serpent which in its in numerable folds encircled the whole globe. Even so the creature whose paws are now fastened upon Kansas, whatever it may seem to be, constitutes in reality part of the Slave Power, which, with loathsome folds, is now coiled about the whole land. Thus do I exhibit the ex tent of the present contest, where we encounter not merely local re sistance, but also the unconquered sustaining arm behind. But from the vastness of the Crime attempted, with all its woe and shame, I de rive well-founded assurance of commensurate effort by the aroused masses of the country, determined not only to vindicate Right against Wrong, but to redeem the Republic from the thraldom of that Oligar chy which prompts, directs, and concentrates the distant wrong. ITS ORIGIN AND EXTENT. 267 Such is the Crime and such the criminal which it is my duty to ex pose ; and, by the blessing of God, this duty shall be done completely to the end. But this will not be enough. The Apologies which, with strange hardihood, are offered for the Crime must be torn away, so that it shall stand forth without a single rag or fig-leaf to cover its vile- ness. And, finally, the True Remedy must be shown. The subject is complex in relations, as it is transcendent in importance ; and yet, if 1 am honored by your attention, I hope to present it clearly in all its parts, while I conduct you to the inevitable conclusion that Kansas must be admitted at once, with her present Constitution, as a State of this Union, and give a new star to the blue field of our National Flag. And here I derive satisfaction from the thought, that the cause is so strong in itself as to bear even the infirmities of its advocates ; nor can it require anything beyond that simplicity of treatment, and moderation of manner which I desire to cultivate. Its true character is such, that, like Hercules, it will conquer just so soon as it is recognized. My task will be divided under three different heads : first, THE CRIME AGAINST KANSAS, in its origin and extent ; secondly, THE APOL OGIES FOR THE CRIME ; and, thirdly, THE TRUE REMEDY. * LXV. I undertake, in the first place, to expose the CRIME AGAINST KANSAS, in origin and extent. Logically this is the beginning of the argument. I say Crime, and deliberately adopt this .strongest term, as better than any other denoting the consummate transgression. I would go further, if language could further go. It is the Crime of Crimes, surpassing far the old Crimen Majestatis, pursued with vengeance by the laws of Rome, and containing all other crimes, as the greater contains the less. I do not go too far. when I call it the Crime against Nature, from which the soul recoils, and which language refuses to describe. To lay bare this enormity I now proceed. The whole subject has become a twice-told tale, and its renewed recital will be a renewal of sorrow and shame ; but I shall not hesitate. The occasion requires it from the beginning. It is well remarked by a distinguished historian of our country, that, " at the Ithuriel touch of the Missouri discussion, the Slave Interest, hitherto hardly recognized as a distinct element in our system, started up portentous and dilated," with threats and assumptions which are 268 FORCED ON A RELUCTANT NORTH. the origin of our existing national politics. This was in 1820. The debate ended with the admission of Missouri as a Slaveholding State, and the prohibition of Slavery in all the remaining territory west of the Mississippi, and north of 36 30 , leaving the condition of other terri tory south of this line, or subsequently acquired, untouched by the arrangement. Here was a solemn act of legislation, called at the time compromise, covenant, compact, first brought forward in this body by a slaveholder, vindicated in debate by slaveholders, finally sanctioned by slaveholding votes, also upheld at the time by the essential appro bation of a slaveholding President, James Monroe, and his Cabinet, of whom a majority were slaveholders, including Mr. Caihoun himself; and this compromise was made the condition of the admission of Mis souri, without which that State could not have been received into the Union. The bargain was simple, and was applicable, of course, only to the territory named. Leaving all other territory to await the judg ment of another generation, the South said to the North, Conquer your prejudices so far as to admit Missouri as a Slave State, and, in consid eration of this much-coveted boon, Slavery shall be prohibited " for ever" (mark here the word "forever"} in all the remaining Louisiana Territory above 36 30 ; and the North yielded. In total disregard of history, the President, in his annual message, tells us that this compromise " was reluctantly acquiesced in by South ern States." Just the contrary is true. It was the work of slave holders, and by their concurring votes was crowded upon a reluctant North. It was hailed by slaveholders as a victory. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, in an oft quoted letter, written at eight o clock on the night of its passage, says: "It is considered here by the Slavehold ing States as a great triumph." At the North it was accepted as a de feat, and the friends of Freedom everywhere throughout the country bowed their heads with mortification. Little did they know the com pleteness of their disaster. Little did they dream that the prohibition of Slavery in the territory, which was stipulated as the price of their fatal capitulation, would also, at the very moment of its maturity, be wrested from them. LXVI. Time passed, and it became necessary to provide for this territory an organized government. Suddenly, without notice in the public press, or the prayer of a single petition, or one word of open recommendation HOW THE CRIME WAS ENGENDERED. 269 from the President, after an acquiescence of thirty-four years, and the irreclaimable possession by the South of its special share under this compromise, in breach of every obligation of honor, compact, and good neighborhood, and in contemptuous disregard of the outgushing senti ments of an aroused North, this time-honored Prohibition in itself a landmark of Freedom was overturned, and the vast region now known as Kansas and Nebraska was opened to Slavery. It is natural that a measure thus repugnant in character should be pressed by arguments mutually repugnant. It was urged on two principal reasons, so oppo site and inconsistent as to fight with each other : one being, that, by the repeal of the Prohibition, the Territory would be left open to the entry of slaveholders with their slaves, without hindrance ; and the other being, that the people would be left absolutely free to determine the question for themselves, and to prohibit the entry of slaveholders with their slaves, if they should think best. With some the apology was the alleged rights of slaveholders ; with others it was the alleged rights of the people. With some it was openly the extension of Slavery ; and with others it was openly the establishment of Freedom, under the guise of Popular Sovereignty. The measure, thus upheld in defiance of reason, was carried through Congress in defiance of all securities of legislation. These things I mention that you may see in what foulness the present Crime was engendered. It was carried, first, by whipping in, through Executive influence and patronage, men who acted against their own declared judgment and the known will of their constituents ; secondly, by thrusting out of place, both in the Senate and House of Representatives, important busi ness, long pending, and usurping its room ; thirdly, by trampling under foot the rules of the House of Representatives, always before the safe guard of the minority ; and, fourthly, by driving it to a close during the very session in which it originated, so that it might not be arrested by the indignant voice of the People. Such are some of the means by which this snap judgment was obtained. If the clear will of the people had not been disregarded, it could not have passed. If the Govern ment had not nefariously interposed, it could not have passed. If it had been left to its natural place in the order of business, it could not have passed. If the rules of the House and the rights of the minority had not been violated, it could not have passed. If it had been allowed to go over to another Congress, when the People might be heard, it would have been ended ; and then the Crime we now deplore would have been without its first seminal life. 2/O THE NEBRASKA ACT A SWINDLE. LXVII. Mr. President, I mean to keep absolutely within the limits of parlia mentary propriety. I make no personal imputations, but only with frankness, such as belongs to the occasion and my own character, de scribe a great historical act, now enrolled in the Capitol. Sir, the Ne braska Bill was in every respect a swindle. It was a swindle of the North by the South. On the part of those who had already completely enjoyed their share of the Missouri Compromise, it was a swindle of those whose share was yet absolutely untouched ; and the plea of un- constitutionality set up like the plea of usury after the borrowed money has been enjoyed did not make it less a swindle. Urged as a bill of peace, it was a swindle of the whole country. Urged as opening the doors to slave- masters with their slaves, it was a swindle of Popular Sovereignty in its asserted doctrine. Urged as sanctioning Popular Sovereignty, it was a swindle of slave-masters in their asserted rights. It \vas a swindle of a broad territory, thus cheated of protection against Slavery. It was a swindle of a great cause, early espoused by Wash ington, Franklin, and Jefferson, surrounded by the best fathers of the Republic. Sir, it was a swindle of God-given, inalienable rights. Turn it over, look at it on all sides, and it is everywhere a swindle ; and if the word I now employ has* not the authority of classical usage, it has, on this occasion, the indubitable authority of fitness. No other word will adequately express the mingled meanness and wickedness of the cheat. Its character is still further apparent in the general structure of the bill. Amidst overflowing professions of regard for the sovereignty of the people in the Territory, they are despoiled of every essential privi lege of sovereignty. They are not allowed to choose Governor, Sec- retarv, Chief-Justice, Associate Justices, Attorney, or Marshal. all of whom are sent from Washington ; nor are they allowed to regulate the salaries of any of these functionaries, or the daily allowance of the legis lative body, or even the pay of the clerks and doorkeepers : but they are left free to adopt Slavery. And this is nicknamed Popular Sov ereignty ! Time does not allow, nor does the occasion require, that I should stop to dwell on this transparent device to cover a transcendent wrong. Suffice it to say, that Slavery is in itself an arrogant denial of human rights, and by no human reason can the power to establish such a wrong be placed among the attributes of any just sovereignty. In ITS OFFENSIVE PROVISIONS. refusing it such a place, I do not deny popular rights, but uphold them, I do not restrain popular rights, but extend them. And, Sir, to this conclusion you must yet come, unless deaf, not only to the admonitions of political justice, but also to the genius of our Constitution, under which, when properly interpreted, no valid claim for Slavery can be set up anywhere in the National territory. The Senator from Michigan [Mr. CASS] may say, in response to the Senator from Mississippi [Mr. BROWN], that Slavery cannot go into the Territory, under the Constitu tion, without legislative introduction ; and permit me to add, in re sponse to both, that Slavery cannot go there at all. Nothing can come out of nothing ; and there is absolutely nothing in the Constitution out of which Slavery can be derived, while there are provisions, which, when properly interpreted, make its existence anywhere within the exclusive National jurisdiction impossible. LXVIII. The offensive provision in the bill is in its form a legislative anomaly, utterly wanting the natural directness and simplicity of an honest trans action. It does not undertake openly to repeal the old Prohibition of Slavery, but seems to mince the matter, as if conscious of the swindle. It says that this Prohibition, " being inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by Congress with Slavery in the States and Territories, as recognized by the legislation of 1850, commonly called the Com promise Measures, is hereby declared inoperative and void." Thus, with insidious ostentation, is it pretended that an act violating the greatest compromise of our legislative history, and loosening the founda tions of all compromise, is derived out of a compromise. Then follows in the bill the further declaration, entirely without precedent, which has been aptly called "a stump speech in its belly," namely, " it being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate Slavery into any Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." Here are smooth words, such as belong to a cunning tongue enlisted in a bad cause. But whatever may have been their various hidden mean ings, this at least is evident, that, by their effect, the Congressional prohibition of Slavery, which had always been regarded as a seven-fold shield, covering the whole Louisiana Territory north of 36 30 , is now removed, while a principle is declared which renders the supplementary 272 IT CLEARED THE WAY FOR SLAVERY. prohibition of Slavery in Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington " inop erative and void," and thus opens to Slavery all these vast regions, now the rude cradles of mighty States. Here you see the magnitude of the mischief contemplated. But my purpose is with the Crime against Kansas, and I shall not stop to expose the conspiracy beyond. Mr. President, men are wisely presumed to intend the natural con sequences of their conduct, and to seek what their acts seem to pro mote. Now the Nebraska Bill, on its very face, openly clears the way for Slaver)-, and it is not wrong to presume that its originators intended the natural consequences of such an act, and sought in this way to ex tend Slavery. Of course they did. And this is the first stage in the Crime against Kansas. LXIX. This was speedily followed by other developments. It was soon whispered that Kansas must be a Slave State. In conformity with this barefaced scheme was the Government of this unhappy Territory organ ized in all its departments ; and thus did the President, by whose com plicity the Prohibition of Slavery was overthrown, lend himself to a new complicity, giving to the conspirators a lease of connivance, amount ing even to copartnership. The Governor, Secretary, Chief-Justice, Associate Justices, Attorney, and Marshal, with a whole caucus of other stipendiaries, nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, are all commended as friendly to Slavery. No man with the sentiments of Washington or Jefferson or Franklin finds favor ; nor is it too much to say, that, had these great patriots once more come among us, not one of them, with his recorded, unretracted opinions on Slavery, could be nominated by the President or confirmed by the Senate for any post in that Territory. With such auspices the conspiracy proceeded. Even in advance of the Nebraska Bill, secret societies were organized in Missouri, ostensibly to protect her institutions, and afterwards, under the name of " Self-Defensive Associations" and "Blue Lodges," these were multiplied throughout the western counties of that State, before any counter movement of the North. It was confidently anticipated, that, by the activity of these societies, and the interest of slaveholders everywhere, with the advantage derived from the neighborhood of Mis souri and the influence of the Territorial Government, Slavery might be introduced into Kansas, quietly, but surely, without arousing conflict, A PICTURE OF DIREFUL TRUTH. 2/3 that the crocodile egg might be stealthily dropped in the sunburnt soil, there to be hatched, unobserved until it sent forth its reptile monster. But the conspiracy was unexpectedly balked. The debate, which convulsed Congress, stirred the whole country. From all sides atten tion was directed upon Kansas, which at once became the favorite goal of emigration. The bill loudly declares that its object is " to leave the people perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way " ; and its supporters everywhere challenge the de termination of the question between Freedom and Slavery by a com petition of emigration. Thus, while opening the Territory to Slavery, the bill also opens it to emigrants from every quarter, who may by votes redress the wrong. The populous North, stung by sense of out rage, and inspired by a noble cause, are pouring into the debatable land, and promise soon to establish a supremacy of numbers there, in volving, of course, a just supremacy of Freedom. Then was conceived the consummation of the Crime against Kansas. What could not be accomplished peaceably was to be accomplished forcibly. The reptile monster, that could not be quietly and securely hatched there, is to be pushed full-grown into the Territory. All efforts are now applied to the dismal work of forcing Slavery upon Free Soil. In flagrant derogation of the very Popular Sovereignty whose name helped to impose this bill upon the country, the atrocious object is dis tinctly avowed. And the avowal is followed by the act. Slavery is forcibly introduced into Kansas, and placed under formal safeguard of pretended law. How this is done belongs to the argument. In depicting this consummation, the simplest outline, without one word of color, will be best. Whether regarded in mass or detail, in origin or result, it is all blackness, illumined by nothing from itself, but only by the- heroism of the undaunted men and women whom it en vironed. A plain statement of facts is a picture of direst truth, which faithful History will preserve in its darkest gallery. In the foreground all will recognize a familiar character, in himself connecting link be tween President and border ruffian, less conspicuous for ability than for the exalted place he has occupied, who once sat in the seat where you now sit, Sir, where once sat John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, also, where once sat Aaron Burr. I need not add the name of David R. Atchison. You do not forget, that, at the session of Congress immediately succeeding the Nebraska Bill, he came tardily to his duty here, and then, after a short time, disappeared. The secret was long since disclosed. Like Catiline, he stalked into this Chamber, reeking 18 274 HOW THE TERRITORY WAS OVERRUN. with conspiracy, immo etiam in Senatum venit, and then, like Cati line, he skulked away, abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit, to join and pro voke the conspirators, who at a distance awaited their congenial chief. Under the influence of his malign presence the Crime ripened to its fatal fruits, while the similitude with Catiline is again renewed in the sympathy, not even concealed, which he finds in the very Senate itself, where, beyond even the Roman example, a Senator has not hesitated to appear as his own compurgator. LXX. And now, as I proceed to show the way in which this Territory was overrun and finally subjugated to Slavery, I desire to remove, in ad vance, all question with regard to the authority on which I rely. The evidence is secondary, but it is the best which, in the nature of the xcase, can be had ; and it is not less clear, direct, and peremptory than any by which we are assured of the campaigns in the Crimea or the fall of Sebastopol. In its manifold mass, I confidently assert that it is such a body of evidence as the human mind is not able to resist. It is found in the concurring reports of the public press, in the letters of correspondents, in the testimony of travellers, and in the unaffected story to which I have listened from leading citizens, who, during this winter, have " come flocking " here from that distant Territory. It breaks forth in the irrepressible outcry, reaching us from Kansas, whose truthful tones leave no ground of mistake. It addresses us in formal complaint, instinct with the indignation of a people determined to be ifree, and unimpeachable as the declarations of a murdered man on his : dying-bed against his murderer. And let me add, that all this testimony finds echo in the very statute-book of the conspirators, and also in lan guage dropped from the President of the United States. I begin with an admission from the President himself, in whose sight the people of Kansas have little favor. After arraigning the innocent emigrants from the North, he is constrained to declare that their con duct is " far from justifying the illegal and reprehensible counter move ments which ensued." By the reluctant admission of the Chief Magis trate, then, there was a counter movement at or.ce " illegal and repre hensible" I thank thee, President, for teaching me these words ; and I now put them in the front of this exposition, as in themselves a con fession. Sir, this " illegal and reprehensible counter movement " is GRAND INVASION OF THE TERRITORY. 2/5 none other than the dreadful Crime under an apologetic alias by which, through successive invasions, Slavery is forcibly planted in this Territory. Next to this Presidential admission must be placed details of in vasions, which I now present as not only " illegal and reprehensible," but also unquestionable evidence of the resulting Crime. The violence, for some time threatened, broke forth on the 2pth of November, 1854, at the first election of a Delegate to Congress, when companies from Missouri, amounting to upwards of one thousand, crossed into Kansas, and with force and arms proceeded to vote for General Whitfield, the candidate of Slavery. An eye-witness, General Porneroy, of superior intelligence and perfect integrity, thus describes this scene : "The first ballot-box that was opened upon our virgin soil was closed to us by overpowering numbers and impending force. So bold and reckless were our invaders, that they cared not to conceal their attack. They came upon us, not in the guise of voters, to steal away our fran chise, but boldly and openly, to snatch it with a strong hand. They came directly from their own homes, and in compact and organized bands, with arms in hand and provisions for the expedition, marched to our polls, and when their work was done, returned whence they came." Here was an outrage at which the coolest blood of patriotism boils. Though, for various reasons unnecessary to develop, the busy settlers allowed the election to pass uncontested, still the means employed were none the less " illegal and reprehensible." * LXXI. This infliction was a significant prelude to the grand invasion of the 3oth of March, 1855, at the election of the first Territorial Legislature under the organic law, when an armed multitude from Missouri entered the Territory in larger numbers than General Taylor commanded at Buena Vista, or than General Jackson had within his lines at New Orleans, much larger than our fathers rallied on Bunker Hill. On they came as "an army with banners," organized in companies, with officers, munitions, tents, and provisions, as though marching upon a foreign foe, and breathing loud-mouthed threats that they would carry their purpose, if need were, by the bowie-knife and revolver. Among them, according to his own confession, was David R. Atchison, belted 2/6 THE BURSTING OF THE STORM. with the vulgar arms of his vulgar comrades. Arrived at their several destinations on the night before the election, the invaders pitched their tents, placed their sentries, and waited for the coming day. The same trustworthy eye-witness whom I have already quoted says of one local ity :- " Baggage-wagons were there, with arms and ammunition enough for a protracted fight, and among them two brass field-pieces, ready charged. They came with drums beating and flags flying, and their leaders were of the most prominent and conspicuous men of their State." Of another locality he says : " The invaders came together in one armed and organized body, with trains of fifty wagons, besides horsemen, and the night before election pitched their camp in the vicinity of the polls ; and having appointed their own judges in place of those who, from intimidation or otherwise, failed to attend, they voted without any proof of residence." With this force they were able, on the succeeding day, in some places, to intimidate the judges of elections, in others to substitute judges of their own appointment, in others to wrest the ballot-boxes from their rightful possessors, and everywhere to exercise a complete control of the election, and thus, by preternatural audacity of usurpa tion, impose a Legislature upon the free people of Kansas. Thus was conquered the Sebastopol of that Territory ! It was not enough to secure the Legislature. The election of a member of Congress recurred on the ist of October, 1855, and the same foreigners, who had learned their strength, again manifested it. Another invasion, in controlling numbers, came from Missouri, and once more forcibly exercised the electoral franchise in Kansas. LXXII. At last, in the latter days of November, 1855, a storm, long gather ing, burst upon the heads of the devoted people. The ballot-boxes had been violated, and a Legislature installed, which proceeded to carry out the conspiracy of the invaders; but the good people of the Territory, born to Freedom, and educated as American citizens, showed no signs of submission. Slavery, though recognized by pretended law, was in many places practically an outlaw. To the lawless borderers this was hard to bear ; and, like the heathen of old, they raged, particularly against the town of Lawrence, already known, by the firmness of its THE GOVERNOR S SERVILITY TO SLAVERY. 277 principles and the character of its citizens, as citadel of the good cause. On this account they threatened, in their peculiar language, to "wipe it out." Soon the hostile power was gathered for this purpose. The wickedness of this invasion was enhanced by the way in which it began. A citizen of Kansas, by the name of Dow, was murdered by a partisan of Slavery, in the name of " law and order." Such an outrage naturally aroused indignation and provoked threats. The professors of " law and order " allowed the murderer to escape, and, still further to illus trate the irony of the name they assumed, seized the friend of the mur dered man, whose few neighbors soon rallied for his rescue. This transaction, though totally disregarded in its chief front of wickedness, became the excuse for unprecedented excitement. The weak Gov ernor, with no faculty higher than servility to Slavery, whom the President, in official delinquency, had appointed to a trust worthy only of a well-balanced character, was frightened from his propriety. By proclamation he invoked the Territory. By telegraph he invoked the President. The Territory would not respond to his senseless appeal. The President was false. But the proclamation was circulated through out the border counties of Missouri ; and Platte, Clay, Carroll, Saline, Howard, and Jackson, each of them, contributed a volunteer company, recruited from the roadsides, and armed with weapons which chance afforded, known as "the shot-gun militia," with a Missouri officer as commissary-general, dispensing rations, and another Missouri officer as general-in-chief, with two wagon-loads of rifles, belonging to Missouri, drawn by six mules, from its arsenal at Jefferson City, with seven pieces of cannon, belonging to the United States, from its arsenal at Liberty ; and this formidable force, amounting to at least 1,800 men, terrible with threats, oaths, and whiskey, crossed the borders, and en camped in larger part on the Wakarusa, over against the doomed town of Lawrence, now threatened with destruction. With these invaders was the Governor, who by this act levied war upon the people he was sent to protect. In camp with him was the original Catiline of the conspiracy, while by his side were the docile Chief- Justice and the docile Judges. But this is not the first instance in which an unjust governor has found tools where he ought to have found justice. In the great impeachment of Warren Hastings, the British orator by whom it was conducted exclaims, in words strictly applicable to the misdeed I here denounce : " Had he not the Chief-Justice, the tamed and domes ticated Chief- Justice, who waited on him like a familiar spirit ? " Thus was this invasion countenanced by those who should have stood in the 278 FIVE INVASIONS OF KANSAS. breach against it. For more than a week it continued, while deadly conflict was imminent, I do not dwell on the heroism by which it was encountered, or the mean retreat to which it was compelled ; for that is not necessary in exhibiting the Crime which you are to judge. But I cannot forbear to add other features, furnished in a letter written at the time by a clergyman, who saw and was part of what he describes. " Our citizens have been shot at, and in two instances murdered, our houses invaded, hay-ricks burnt, corn and other provisions plundered, cattle driven off, all communication cut off between us and the States, wagons on the way to us with provisions stopped and plundered, and the drivers taken prisoners, and we in hourly expectation of an attack. Nearly every man has been in arms in the village. Fortifications have been thrown up, by incessant labor night and day. The sound of the drum and the tramp of armed men resounded through our streets, fam ilies fleeing with their household goods for safety. Day before yester day the report of cannon was heard at our house, from the direction of Lecompton. Last Thursday one of our neighbors, one of the most peaceable and excellent of men, from Ohio, on his way home, was set upon by a gang of twelve men on horseback, and shot down. Over eight hundred men are gathered under arms at Lawrence. As yet no act of violence has been perpetrated by those on our side. No blood of retaliation stains our hands. We stand, and are ready to act, purely in the defence of our homes and lives." LXXIII. The catalogue is not yet complete. On the i5th of December, when the people assembled to vote on the Constitution submitted for adop tion, only a few days after the Treaty of Peace between the Governor orf the one side and the town of Lawrence on the other, another and fifth irruption was made. But I leave all this untold. Enough of these details has been given. Five several times and more have these invaders entered Kansas in armed array, and thus five several times and more have they trampled upon the organic law of the Territory. These extraordinary expeditions are simply the extraordinary witnesses to successive, uninterrupted vio lence. They stand out conspicuous, but not alone. The spirit of evil, in which they had their origin, is wakeful and incessant. From the be ginning it hung upon the skirts of this interesting Territory, harrowing its peace, disturbing its prosperity, and keeping its inhabitants under the painful alarms of war. All security of person, property, and labor was overthrown ; and when I urge this incontrovertible fact, I set forth CIVILIZATION AVERTS HER FACE. 2/9 a wrong which is small only by the side of the giant wrong for the con summation of which all this is done. Sir, what is man, what is govern ment, without security, in the absence of which nor man nor government can proceed in development or enjoy the fruits of existence ? Without security civilization is cramped and- dwarfed. Without security there is no true Freedom. Nor shall I say too much, when I declare that security, guarded of course by its parent Freedom, is the true end and aim of government. Of this indispensable boon the people of Kansas are despoiled, absolutely, totally. All this is aggravated by the nature of their pursuits, rendering them peculiarly sensitive to interruption, and at the same time attesting their innocence. They are for the most part engaged in the cultivation of the soil, which from time immemorial has been the sweet employment of undisturbed industry. Contented in the returns of bounteous Nature and the shade of his own trees, the hus bandman is not aggressive ; accustomed to produce, and not to destroy, he is essentially peaceful, unless his home is invaded, when his arm de rives vigor from the soil he treads, and his soul inspiration from the heavens beneath whose canopy he daily toils. Such are the people of Kansas, whose security has been overthrown. Scenes from which Civ ilization averts her countenance are part of their daily life. Border incursions, which in barbarous ages or barbarous lands fretted and har ried an exposed people, are here renewed, with this peculiarity, that our border robbers do not simply levy blackmail and drive off a few cattle, like those who acted under the inspiration of the Douglas of other days, they do not seize a few persons, and sweep them away into captivity, like the African slave-traders, whom we brand as pirates, but they commit a succession of deeds in which border sorrows and African wrongs are revived together on American soil, while, for the time being, all protection is annulled, and the whole Territory is en slaved. LXXIV. Private griefs mingle their poignancy with public wrongs. I do not dwell on the anxieties of families exposed to sudden assault, and lying down to rest with the alarms of war ringing in their ears, not knowing that another day may be spared to them. Throughout this bitter win ter, with the thermometer at thirty degrees below zero, the citizens of Lawrence were constrained to sleep under arms, with sentinels pacing constant watch against surprise. Our souls are wrung by individual in- 280 BOWIE-KNIVES AND REVOLVERS. stances. In vain do we condemn the cruelties of another age, the re finements of torture to which men were doomed, the rack and thumb screw of the Inquisition, the last agonies of the regicide Ravaillac, " Luke s iron crown, and Damien s bed of steel ; " for kindred outrages disgrace these borders. Murder stalks, Assassina tion skulks in the tall grass of the prairie, and the vindictiveness of man assumes unwonted forms. A preacher of the Gospel has been ridden on a rail, then thrown into the Missouri, fastened to a log, and left to drift down its muddy, tortuous current. And lately we have the tidings of that enormity without precedent, a deed without a name, where a candidate for the Legislature was most brutally gashed with knives and hatchets, and then, after weltering in blood on the snow-clad earth, trundled along, with gaping wounds, to fall dead before the face of his wife. It is common to drop a tear of sympathy over the sorrows of our early fathers, exposed to the stealthy assault of the savage foe, and an eminent American artist has pictured this scene in a marble group, on the front of the National Capitol, where the uplifted toma hawk is arrested by the strong arm and generous countenance of the pioneer, whose wife and children find shelter at his feet ; but now the tear must be dropped over the sorrows of fellow-citizens building a new State in Kansas, and exposed to the perpetual assault of murderous robbers from Missouri. Hirelings, picked from the drunken spew and vomit of an uneasy civilization, having the form of men, " Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ; As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clept All by the name of dogs," leashed together by secret signs and lodges, renew the incredible atroci ties of the Assassins and the Thugs, showing the blind submission of the Assassins to the Old Man of the Mountain in robbing Christians on the road to Jerusalem, and the heartlessness of the Thugs, who, avow ing that murder is their religion, waylay travellers on the great road from Agra to Delhi, with the more deadly bowie-knife for the dagger of the Assassin, and the more deadly revolver for the noose of the Thug. LXXV. In these invasions, with the entire subversion of all security in this Territory, the plunder of the ballot-box, and the pollution of the HOW THE CRIME WAS DONE. 28l electoral franchise, I show simply the process of unprecedented Crime. If that be the best government where injury to a single citizen is re sented as injury to the whole State, what must be the character of a government which leaves a whole community of citizens thus exposed ? In the outrage upon the ballot-box, even without the illicit fruits which I shall soon exhibit, there is a peculiar crime, of the deepest dye, though subordinate to the final Crime, which should be promptly avenged. In other lands, where royalty is upheld, it is a special offence to rob the crown-jewels, which are emblems of that sovereignty before which the loyal subject bows, and it is treason to be found in adultery with the queen, for in this way may a false heir be imposed upon the State ; but in our Republic the ballot-box is the single priceless jewel of that sovereignty which we respect, and the electoral franchise, where are born the rulers of a free people, is the royal bed we are to guard against pollution. In this plain presentment, whether as regards se curity or as regards elections, there is enough, without proceeding further, to justify the intervention of Congress, promptly and com pletely, to throw over this oppressed people the impenetrable shield of the Constitution and laws. But the half is not yet told. As every point in a wide-spread horizon radiates from a common centre, so everything said or done in this vast circle of Crime radiates from the One Idea, that Kansas, at all hazards, must be made a Slave State. In all the manifold wickednesses that occur, and in every suc cessive invasion, this One Idea is ever present, as Satanic tempter, motive power, causing cause. Talk of " one idea ! " Here it is with a vengeance ! To accomplish this result, three things are attempted : first, by out rage of all kinds, to drive the friends of Freedom out of the Territory ; secondly, to deter others from coming ; and, thirdly, to obtain complete control of the Government. The process of driving out, and also of deterring has failed. On the contrary, the friends of Freedom there have become more fixed in resolve to stay and fight the battle which they never sought, but from which they disdain to retreat, while the friends of Freedom elsewhere are more aroused to the duty of timely succor by men and munitions of just self-defence. While defeated in the first two processes, the conspirators succeeded in the last. By the violence already portrayed at the election of the 3oth of March, when the polls were occupied by armed hordes from Missouri, they imposed a Legislature upon the Territory, and thus, under the iron mask of law, established a Usurpation not less complete 282 FOREIGNERS IMPOSE A CONSTITUTION. than any in history. That this was done I proceed to prove. Here is the evidence : LXXVI. 1. Only in this way can this extraordinary expedition be adequately explained. In the words of Moliere, once employed by John Quincy Adams in the other House, " Que diable alia lent- Us faire dans cette galere?" What did they go into the Territory for? If their purposes were peaceful, as has been suggested, why cannons, arms, flags, num bers, and all this violence ? As simple citizens, proceeding to the honest exercise of the electoral franchise, they might go with nothing more than a pilgrim s staff. Philosophy always seeks a sufficient cause, and only in the One Idea already presented can a cause be found in any degree commensurate with the Crime ; and this becomes so only when we consider the mad fanaticism of Slavery. 2. Public notoriety steps forward to confirm the suggestion of reason. In every place where Truth can freely travel it is asserted and under stood that the Legislature was imposed upon Kansas by foreigners from Missouri ; and this universal voice is now received as undeniable verity. 3. It is also attested by harangues of the conspirators. Here is what Stringfellow said before the invasion : " To those who have qualms of conscience as to violating laws, State or National, the time has come when such impositions must be disregarded, as your rights and property are in danger; and I advise, you, one and all, to enter every election district in Kansas, in defiance of Reedcr and his vile myrmidons, and vote at the point of the bowie-knife a?id revolver. Neither give nor take quarter, as our cause demands it. It is enough that the slaveholding interest wills it, from which there is no appeal. What right has Governor Reeder to rule Missourians in Kansas ? His proclamation and prescribed oath must be repudiated. It is your interest to do so. Mind that Slavery is established where it is not prohibited." Here is what Atchison said after the invasion : " Well, what next ? Why, an election for members of the Legislature to organize the Territory must be held. What did I advise you to do then ? Why, meet them on their own ground, and beat them at their own game again ; and cold and inclement as the weather was, I went over with a company of men. My object in going was not to vote. I had no right to vote, unless 1 had disfranchised myself in Missouri. I was not within two miles of a voting-place. My object in going was SQUATTER SOVEREIGNTY. 283 not to vote, but to settle a difficulty between two of our candidates : and the Abolitionists of the North said, and published it abroad, that Atchison was there with bowie-knife and revolver, and, by God, / was true ! I never did go into that Territory, I never intend to go into that Territory, without being prepared for all such kind of cattle. Well, \ve beat them, and Governor Reeder gave certificates to a majority of all the members of both Houses, and then, after they were organized, as everybody will admit, they were the only competent per sons to say who were and who were not members of the same." 4. It is confirmed by contemporaneous admission of The Squatter Sovereign, a paper published at Atchison, and at once the organ of the President and of these Borderers, which, under date of ist April, thus recounts the victory : "INDEPENDENCE, [MISSOURI,] March 31, 1855. " Several hundred emigrants from Kansas have just entered our city. They were preceded by the Westport and Independence brass bands. They came in at the west side of the public square, and proceeded en tirely around it, the bands cheering us with fine music, and the emi grants with good news. Immediately following the bands were about two hundred horsemen in regular order ; following these were one hun dred and fifty wagons, carriages, etc. They gave repeated cheers for Kansas and Missouri. They report that not an Anti-slavery man will be in the Legislature of Kansas. We have made a clean sweep" 5. It is also confirmed by contemporaneous testimony of another paper, always faithful to Slavery, the " New York Herald," in the letter of a correspondent from Brunswick, Missouri, under date of 2oth April, 1855=- " From five to seven thousand men started from Missouri to attend the election, some to remove, but the most to return to their families, with an intention, if they liked the Territory, to make it their permanent abode at the earliest moment practicable. But they intended to vote. The Missourians were, many of them, Douglas men. There were one hundred and fifty voters from this county, one hundred and seventy-five from Howard, and one hundred from Cooper. Indeed, every county furnished its quota ; and when they set out, it looked like an army. .... They were armed And, as there were no houses in the Territory, they carried tents. Their mission was a peaceable one, to vote, and to drive down stakes for their future homes. After the elec tion some fifteen hundred of the voters sent a committee to Mr. Reeder to ascertain if it was his purpose to ratify the election. He answered that it was, and said the majority at an election must carry the day. But it is not to be denied that the fifteen hundred, apprehending that the Governor might attempt to play the tyrant, since his conduct has already been insidious and unjust, wore on their hats bunches of hemp. 284 IRREFRAGABLE TESTIMONY. They were resolved, if a tyrant attempted to trample upon the rights of the sovereign people, to hang him." 6. It is again confirmed by testimony of a lady for five years resident in Western Missouri, who thus writes in a letter published in the "New Haven Register : " " MIAMI, SALINE COUNTY, November 26, 1855. " You ask me to tell you something about the Kansas and Missouri troubles. Of course you know in what they have originated. There is no denying that the Missourians have determined to control tJie elections, if possible ; and I do not know that their measures would be justifiable, except upon the principle of self-preservation ; and that, you know, is the first law of Nature," 7. And it is confirmed still further by the Circular of the Emigration Society of Lafayette County, in Missouri, dated as late as 25th March, 1856, where the efforts of Missourians are openly confessed. "The western counties of Missouri have for the. last two years been heavily taxed, both in money and time, in fighting the battles of the South. Lafayette County alone has expended more than one hundred thousand dollars in money, and as much or more in time. Up to this time the border counties of Missouri hare upheld and maintained the rights and interests of the South in this struggle, unassisted, and not un successfully. But the Abolitionists, staking their a,ll upon the Kansas issue, and hesitating at no means, fair or foul, are moving heaven and earth to render that beautiful Territory a Free Stated 8. Here, also, is amplest testimony to the Usurpation, by the " In telligencer," a leading paper of St. Louis, Missouri, made in the ensu ing summer. "Atchison and Stringfellow, with their Missouri followers, over whelmed the settlers in Kansas, browbeat and bullied them, and took the Government from their hands. Missouri votes elected the present body of men, who insult public intelligence and popular rights by styl ing themselves the Legislature of Kansas. This body of men are helping themselves to fat speculations by locating the seat of Govern ment and getting town lots for their votes. They are passing laws disfranchising all the citizens of Kansas who do not believe Negro Slavery to be a Christian institution and a national blessing. They are proposing to punish with imprisonment the utterance of views inconsist ent with their own. And they are trying to perpetuate their preposter ous and infernal tyranny by appointing for a term of years creatures of their own, as commissioners in every county, to lay and collect taxes, and see that the laws they are passing are faithfully executed. Has this age anything to compare with these acts in audacity ?" 9. In harmony with all these is the authoritative declaration of Gov- SLAVERY ERECTED IN KANSAS. 285 ernor Reeder, in a speech to his neighbors at Easton, Pennsylvania, at the end of April, 1855, and immediately afterwards published in the Washington " Union." Here it is. " It was, indeed, too true that Kansas had been invaded, conquered, subjugated, by an armed force from beyond her borders, led on by a fanatical spirit, trampling under foot the principles of the Kansas Bill and the right of suffrage." 10. In similar harmony is the complaint of the people of Kansas, in public meeting at Big Springs, on the 5th of September, 1855, em bodied in these words : " Resolved, That the body of men who for the last two months have been passing laws for the people of our Territory, moved, counselled, and dictated to by the demagogues of Missouri, are to us a foreign body, representing only the lawless invaders who elected them, and not the people of the Territory, that we repudiate their action, as the monstrous consummation of an act of violence, usurpation, and fraud, unparalleled in the history of the Union, and worthy only of men un fitted for the duties and regardless of the responsibilities of Repub licans." 11. Finally, the invasion which ended in the Usurpation is clearly established from official Minutes laid on our table by the President. But the effect of this testimony has been so amply exposed by the Sen ator from Vermont [Mr. COLLAMER], in his able and indefatigable argument, that I content myself with simply referring to it. * LXXVII. Thus was the Crime consummated. Slavery stands erect, clanking its chains on the Territory of Kansas, surrounded by a code of death, and trampling upon all cherished liberties, whether of speech, the press, the bar, the trial by jury, or the electoral franchise. And, Sir, all this is done, not merely to introduce a wrong which in itself is a denial of all rights, and in dread of which mothers have taken the lives of their offspring, not merely, as is sometimes said, to protect Slavery in Mis souri, since it is futile for this State to complain of Freedom on the side of Kansas, when Freedom exists without complaint on the side of Iowa, and also on the side of Illinois, but it is done for the sake of political power, in order to bring two new slaveholding Senators upon this floor, and thus to fortify in the National Government the desperate chances of a waning Oligarchy. As the gallant ship, voyaging on pleasant summer seas, is assailed by a pirate crew, and plundered of its 286 APOLOGIES FOR THE CRIME. doubloons and dollars, so is this beautiful Territory now assailed in peace and prosperity, and robbed of its political power for the sake of Slavery. Even now the black flag of the land pirates from Missouri waves at the mast-head ; in their laws you hear the pirate yell and see the flash of the pirate knife ; while, incredible to relate, the President, gathering the Slave Power at his back, testifies a pirate sympathy. Sir, all this was done in the name of Popular Sovereignty. And this is the close of the tragedy. Popular Sovereignty, which, when truly understood, is a fountain of just power, has ended in Popular Slavery, not in the subjection of the unhappy African race merely, but of this proud Caucasian blood which you boast. The profession with which you began, of All by the People, is lost in the wretched reality of Nothing for the People. Popular Sovereignty, in whose deceitful name plighted faith was broken and an ancient Landmark of. Breedom over turned, now lifts itself before us like Sin in the terrible picture of Milton, which " seemed woman to the waist, and fair, But ended foul in many a scaly fold Voluminous and vast, a serpent armed With mortal sting : about her middle round A cry of hell-hounds never ceasing barked With wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung A hideous peal ; yet, when they list, would creep, If aught disturbed their noise, into her womb, And kennel there, yet there still barked and howled i Within, unseen." The image is complete at all points ; and with this exposure I take my leave of the Crime against Kansas. LXXVIII. Emerging from all the blackness of this Crime, where we seem to have been lost, as in a savage wood, and turning our backs upon it, as upon desolation and death, from which, while others have suffered, we have escaped, I come now to THE APOLOGIES which the Crime has found. Sir, well may you start at the suggestion, that such a series of wrongs, so clearly proved by various testimony, so openly confessed by the wrong-doers, and so widely recognized throughout the country, should find apologists. But partisan spirit, now, as in other days, hesi tates at nothing. Great crimes of history have never been without THE APOLOGY TYRANNICAL. 28/ apologies. The massacre of St. Bartholomew, which you now instinct ively condemn, was at the time applauded in high quarters, and even commemorated by a Papal medal, which may still be procured at Rome, as the Crime against Kansas, which is hardly less conspicuous in dreadful eminence, has been shielded on this floor by extenuating words, and even by a Presidential message, which, like the Papal medal, can never be forgotten in considering the perversity of men. Sir, the crime cannot be denied. The President himself has admit ted " illegal and reprehensible " conduct. To such conclusion he was compelled by irresistible evidence. But what he mildly describes I openly denounce. Senators may affect to put it aside by a sneer, or to reason it away by figures, or to explain it by theory, such as desperate invention has produced on this floor, that the Assassins and Thugs of Missouri are in reality citizens of Kansas ; but all these efforts, so far as made, are only tokens of weakness, while to the original Crime they add another offence of false testimony against innocent and suffering men. But the Apologies for the Crime are worse than the efforts at denial. In essential heartlessness they identify their authors with the great iniquity. They are four in number, and fourfold in character. The first is the Apology tyrannical ; the second, \\iQApology imbecile; the third, the Apology absurd ; and the fourth, the Apology infamous. This is all. Tyranny, imbecility, absurdity, and infamy all unite to dance, like the weird sisters, about this Crime. LXXIX. The Apology tyrannical is founded on the mistaken act of Governor Reeder, in authenticating the Usurping Legislature, by which it is as serted, that, whatever may have been the actual force or fraud in its election, the people of Kansas are effectually concluded, and the whole proceeding is placed under formal sanction of law. According to this assumption, complaint is now in vain, and it only remains that Con gress should sit and hearken to it, without correcting the wrong, as the ancient tyrant listened and granted no redress to the human moans that issued from the heated brazen bull which .subtile cruelty had devised. This I call the Apology of technicality inspired by tyranny. The facts on this head are few and plain. Governor Reeder, after allowing only five days for objections to the returns, a space of time 288 APOLOGY IMBECILE. unreasonably brief in that extensive Territory, declared a majority of the members of the Council and of the House of Representatives "duly elected," withheld certificates from certain others, because of satisfactory proof that they were not duly elected, and appointed a day for new elections to supply these vacancies. Afterwards, by formal message, he recognized the Legislature as a legal body, and when he vetoed their act of adjournment to the neighborhood of Missouri, he did it simply on the ground of illegality in such adjournment under the organic law. Now to every assumption founded on these facts there are two satisfactory replies : first, that no certificate of the Gov ernor can do more than authenticate a subsisting legal act, without of itself infusing legality where the essence of legality is not already; and, secondly, that violence or fraud, wherever disclosed, vitiates completely every proceeding. In denying these principles, you place the certificate above the thing certified, and give a perpetual lease to violence and fraud, merely because at an ephemeral moment they are unquestioned. This will not do. Sir, I am no apologist for Governor Reeder. There is sad reason to believe that he went to Kansas originally as tool of the President ; but his simple nature, nurtured in the atmosphere of Pennsylvania, revolted at the service required, and he turned from his patron to duty. Grievous ly did he err in yielding to the Legislature any act of authentication : but in some measure he has answered for this error by determined effort since to expose the utter illegality of that body, which he now repudiates en tirely. It was said of certain Roman Emperors, who did infinite mis chief in their beginnings and infinite good towards their end, that they should never have been born or never died ; and I would apply the same to the official life of this Kansas Governor. At all events, I dis miss the Apology founded on his acts, as the utterance of Tyranny by the voice of Law, transcending the declaration of the pedantic judge, in the British Parliament, on the eve of our Revolution, that our fa thers, notwithstanding their complaints, were in reality represented in Parliament, inasmuch as their lands, under the original charters, were held " in common socage, as of the manor of East Greenwich in Kent," which, being duly represented, carried with it all the Colonies. Thus in another age has Tyranny assumed the voice of Law. Next comes the Apology imbecile, which is founded on the alleged want of power in the President to arrest this Crime. It is openly as serted, that, under existing laws, the Chief Magistrate has no authority to interfere in Kansas for this purpose. Such is the broad statement, APOLOGY ABSURD. 289 which, even if correct, furnishes no Apology for any proposed ratifica- lion of the Crime, but which is in reality untrue; and this I call the Apology of imbecility. LXXX. Next comes the Apology absurd, which is, indeed, in the nature of pretext. It is alleged that a small printed pamphlet, containing the "Constitution and Ritual of the Grand Encampment and Regiments of the Kansas Legion," was taken from the person of one George F. Warren, who attempted to avoid detection by chewing it. The oaths and grandiose titles of the pretended Legion are all set forth, and this poor mummery of a secret society, which existed only on paper, is gravely introduced on this floor, in order to extenuate the Crime against Kansas. It has bee,n paraded in more than one speech, and even stuffed into the report of the Committee. A part of the obligations assumed by the members of this Legion shows why it is thus pursued, while also attesting its innocence. It is as follows : "I will never knowingly propose a person for membership in this order who is not in favor of making Kansas a Free State, and whom I feel satisfied will exert his entire influence to bring about this result. 1 will support, maintain, and abide by any honorable movement made by the organization to secure this great end, which will not conflict with the laws of the country and the Constitution of the United States" Kansas is to be made a Free State by an honorable movement which will not conflict with the laws and the Constitution. That is the object of the organization, declared in the very words of the initiatory obliga tion. Where is the wrong in this ? What is there here to cast re proach, or even suspicion, upon the people of Kansas ? Grant that the Legion was constituted, can you extract from it any Apology for the original Crime, or for its present ratification ? Secret societies, with extravagant oaths, are justly offensive ; but who can find in this mistaken machinery any excuse for the denial of all rights to the people of Kansas ? All this I say on the supposition that the society is a reality, which it is not. Existing in the fantastic brains of a few persons only, it never had any practical life. It was n^ever organized. The whole tale, with the mode of obtaining the copy of the Constitu tion, is at once cock -and bull story and mare s nest, trivial as the former, absurd as the latter, and to be dismissed, with the Apology 19 290 REMEDIES PROPOSED. founded upon it, to the derision which triviality and absurdity justly re ceive. It only remains, under this head, that I should speak of the Apology infamous, founded on false testimony against the Emigrant Aid Com pany, and assumptions of duty more false than the testimony. Defying truth and mocking decency, this Apology excels all others in futility and audacity, while, from its utter hollowness, it proves the utter impotence of the conspirators to defend their Crime. Falsehood, always infamous, in this case arouses unwonted scorn. An association of sincere be nevolence, faithful to the Constitution and laws, whose only fortifications are hotels, school-houses, and churches, whose only weapons are saw-mills, tools, and books, whose mission is peace and good-will, is grossly assailed on this floor, and an errand of blameless virtue made the pretext for an unpardonable Crime. Nay, more, the innocent are sacrificed, and the guilty set at liberty. They who seek to do the mission of the Sav iour are scourged and crucified, while the murderer, Barabbas, with the sympathy of the chief priests, goes at large. * * LXXXI. From this ample survey, where one obstruction after another had been removed, I now pass, in the third place, to the consideration of the remedies proposed, ending with THE TRUE REMEDY. The Remedy should be coextensive with the original Wrong ; and since, by the passage of the Nebraska Bill, not only Kansas, but also Nebraska, Minnesota, Washington, and even Oregon, are opened to Slavery, the original Prohibition should be restored to its full activity throughout these various Territories. By such happy restoration, made in good faith, the whole country would be replaced in the condition i . enjoyed before the introduction of that dishonest measure. Here is the Alpha and the Omega of our aim in this immediate controversy. But no such extensive measure is now in question. The Crime against Kansas is special, and all else is absorbed in the special remedies for it. Of these I shall now speak. As the Apologies were fourfold, so are the proposed Remedies four fold ; and they range themselves in natural order, under designations which so truly disclose their character as even to supersede argument. First, we have the Remedy of Tyranny ; next, the Remedy of Folly ; next, the Remedy of Injustice and Civil War ; and, fourthly, the Remedy REMEDY OF TYRANNY OF FOLLY. 2QI of Justice and Peace. There are the four caskets ; and you are to de termine which shall be opened by Senatorial votes. There is the Remedy of Tyranny, which, like its complement, the Apology of Tyranny, though espoused on this floor, especially by the Senator from Illinois, proceeds from the President, and is embodied in a special message. It proposes enforced obedience to the existing laws of Kansas, "whether Federal or local" when, in fact, Kansas has no " local " laws, except those imposed by the Usurpation from Mis souri, and it calls for additional appropriations to complete this work of tyranny. I shall not follow the President in his elaborate endeavor to prejudge the contested election now pending in the House of Representatives ; for this whole matter belongs to the privileges of that body, and neither the President nor the Senate has a right to intermeddle therewith. I do not touch it. But now, while dismissing it, I should not pardon my self if I failed to add, that any person who founds his claim to a seat in Congress on the pretended votes of hirelings from another State, with no home on the soil of Kansas, plays the part of Anacharsis Clootz, who, at the bar of the French Convention, undertook to repre sent nations that knew him not, or, if they knew him, scorned him, with this difference, that in our American case the excessive farce of the transaction cannot cover its tragedy. But all this I put aside, to deal only with what is legitimately before the Senate. * * * LXXXII. Next comes Remedy of Folly, which, indeed, is also a Remedy of Tyranny ; but its Folly is so surpassing as to eclipse even its Tyranny. It does not proceed from the President. With this proposition he is not in any way chargeable. It comes from the Senator from South Carolina, who, at the close of a long speech, offered it as his single con tribution to the adjustment of this question, and who thus far stands alone in its support. It might, therefore, fitly bear his name ; but that which I now give to it is a more suggestive synonym. This proposition, nakedly expressed, is, that the people of Kansas should be deprived of their arms. That I may not do the least injus tice to the Senator, I quote his precise words. "The President of the United States is under the highest and most solemn obligations to interpose ; and if I were to indicate the mannei in 292 REMEDY OF CIVIL WAR. which he should interpose in Kansas, I would point out the old Common Law process. I would serve a warrant on Sharp s rifles ; and if Sharp s rifles did not answer the summons, and come into court on a day cer tain, or if they resisted the Sheriff, I would summon tine posse comitatus, and I would have Colonel Sumner s regiment to be part of that posse comitatus" Really, Sir, has it come to this ? The rifle has ever been the com panion of the pioneer, and, under God, his tutelary protector against the red man and the beast of the forest. Never was this efficient weapon more needed in just self-defence than now in Kansas; and at least one article in our National Constitution must be blotted out be fore the complete right to it can be in any way impeached. And yet such is the madness of the hour, that, in defiance of the solemn guar anty in the Amendments to the Constitution, that " the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed," the people of Kansas are arraigned for keeping and bearing arms, and the Senator from South Carolina has the face to say openly on this floor that they should be disarmed, of course that the fanatics of Slavery, his allies and constituents, may meet no impediment. Sir, the Senator is vener- erable with years ; he is reputed also to have worn at home, in the State he represents, judicial honors ; and he is placed here at the head of an important Committee occupied particularly with questions of law ; but neither his years, nor his position, past or present, can give respectability to the demand he makes, or save him from indignant condemnation, when, to compass the wretched purposes of a wretched cause, he thus proposes to trample on one of the plainest provisions of Constitutional Liberty. LXXXIII. Next comes the Remedy of Injustice and Civil War, organized by Acts of Congress. This proposition, which is also an offshoot of the original Remedy of Tyranny, proceeds from the Senator of Illinois [Mr. DOUGLAS], with the sanction of the Committee on Territories, and is embodied in the bill now pressed to a vote. By this bill it is proposed as follows : " That, whenever it shall appear, by a census to be taken under the direction of the Governor, by the authority of the Legislature, that there shall be 93,420 inhabitants (that being the number required by the present ratio of representation for a member of Congress) within. USURPATION MUST BE OVERTHROWN. 293 the limits hereafter described as the Territory of Kansas, the Legisla ture of said Territory shall be, and is hereby, authorized to provide by law for the election of delegates by the people of said Territory, to assemble in Convention and form a Constitution and State Government, prepara tory to their admission into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever, by the name of the State of Kansas." Now, Sir, consider these words carefully, and you will see, that, however plausible and velvet-pawed they may seem, yet in reality they are most unjust and cruel. While affecting to initiate honest proceed ings for the formation of a State, they furnish to this Territory no re dress for the Crime under which it suffers ; nay, they recognize the very Usurpation in which the Crime ends, and proceed to endow it with new prerogatives. It is by authority of the Legislature that the census is to be taken, which is the first step in the work. It is also by author ity of the Legislature that a Convention is to be called for the formation of a Constitution, which is the second step. But the Legislature is not obliged to take either of these steps. To its absolute willfulness is it left to act or not to act in the premises. And since, in the ordinary course of business, there can be no action of the Legislature till Jan- nary of the next year, all these steps, which are preliminary in character, are postponed till after that distant day, thus keeping this great ques tion open, to distract and irritate the country. Clearly this is not what is required. The country desires peace at once, and is determined to have it. But this objection is slight by the side of the glaring tyranny, that, in recognizing the Legislature, and conferring upon it these new powers, the bill recognizes the existing Usurpation, not only as the authentic government of the Territory for the time being, but also as possessing a creative power to reproduce itself in the new State. Pass this bill, and you enlist Congress in the conspiracy, not only to keep the people of Kansas in their present subjugation throughout their Ter ritorial existence, but also to protract this subjugation into their exist ence as a State, while you legalize and perpetuate the very force by which Slavery is already planted there. * * * Thus, on every ground of precedent, whether as regards population or forms of proceeding, also, on the vital principle of American Insti tutions, and, lastly, on the supreme law of self-defence, do I now invoke the power of Congress to admit Kansas at once and without hesitation into the Union. " New States may be admitted by the Con gress into this Union" : such are the words of the Constitution. If you 294 REACHING THE GOAL. hesitate for want of precedent, then do I appeal to the great principle of American Institutions. If, forgetting the origin of the Republic, you turn away from this principle, then, in the name of human nature, trampled down and oppressed, but aroused to just self-defence, do I" plead for the exercise of this power. Do not hearken, I pray you, to the propositions of Tyranny and Folly ; do not be ensnared by that other proposition of the Senator from Illinois [Mr. Douglas], where is the horrid root of Injustice and Civil War; but apply gladly, and at once, the True Remedy, where are Justice and Peace. LXXXIV. Mr. President, an immense space has been traversed, and I stand now at the goal. The argument in its various parts is here closed. The Crime against Kansas has been displayed in its origin and extent, beginning with the overthrow of the Prohibition of Slavery, next crop ping out in conspiracy on the borders of Missouri, then hardening into continuity of outrage through organized invasion and miscellaneous as saults where all security was destroyed, and ending at last in the per fect subjugation of a generous people to an unprecedented Usurpation. Turning aghast from the Crime, which, like murder, confesses itself " with most miraculous organ," we have looked with mingled shame and indignation upon the four Apologies, whether of Tyranny, Imbecil ity, Absurdity, or Infamy, in which it is wrapped, marking especially false testimony, congenial with the original Crime, against the Emigrant Aid Company. Then were noted, in succession, the four Remedies, whether of Tyranny, Folly, Injustice, and Civil War, or of Justice and Peace, which last bids Kansas, in conformity with past precedents and under exigencies of the hour, for redemption from Usurpation, to take her place as a State of the Union ; and this is the True Remedy. If in this argument I have not unworthily vindicated Truth, then have I spoken according to my desires, if imperfectly, then only according to my powers. But there are other things, not belonging to the argu ment, which still press for utterance. Sir, the people of Kansas, bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh, with the education of freemen and the rights of American citizens, now stand at your door. Will you send them away, or bid them enter ? Will you push them back to renew their struggle with a deadly foe, or will you preserve them in security and peace? Will you cast them THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT GUILTY. 295 again into the den of Tyranny, or will you help their despairing efforts to escape ? These questions I put with no common solicitude, for I feel that on their just determination depend all the most precious in terests of the Republic ; and I perceive too clearly the prejudices in the way, and the accumulating bitterness against this distant people, now claiming a simple birthright, while I am bowed with mortification, as I recognize the President of the United States, who should have been a staff to the weak and a shield to the innocent, at the head of this strange oppression. LXXXV. At every stage the similitude between the wrongs of Kansas and those other wrongs against which our fathers rose becomes more appa rent. Read the Declaration of Independence, and there is hardly an accusation against the British Monarch which may not now be hurled with increased force against the American President. The parallel has fearful particularity. Our fathers complained, that the King had " sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their sub stance," that he had "combined with others to subject us to a juris diction foreign to our Constitution, giving his assent to their acts of pre tended legislation" that he had "abdicated government here, by de claring us out of his protection, and waging war against us" that he had "excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless savages" that " our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury." And this arraignment was aptly followed by the damning words, that "a Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may de fine a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people." And surely the President who does all these things cannot be less unfit than a Prince. At every stage the responsibility is brought directly to him. His offence is of commission and omission. He has done that which he ought not to have done, and has left undone that which he ought to have done. By his activity, the Prohibition of Slavery was overturned. By his fail ure to act, the honest emigrants in Kansas are left a prey to wrong of all kinds. His activity and inactivity are alike fatal. And now he stands forth the most conspicuous enemy of that unhappy Territory. As the tyranny of the British King is all renewed in the President, so are renewed on this floor the old indignities which embittered and fo- 296 INTERVAL OF ILLNESS AND REPOSE. mented the troubles of our fathers. The early petition of the American Congress to Parliament, long before any suggestion of Independence, was opposed like the petitions of Kansas because that body " was assembled without any requisition on the part of the Supreme Power." Another petition from New York, presented by Edmund Burke, was flatly rejected, as claiming rights derogatory to Parliament. And still another petition from Massachusetts Bay was dismissed as "vexatious and scandalous," while the patriot philosopher who bore it was exposed to peculiar contumely. Throughout the debates our fathers were made the butt of sorry jest and supercilious assumption. And now these scenes, with these precise objections, are renewed in the American Senate. * * * SECTION SIXTH. The Interval of Illness and Repose. I. WHEN the assault was made on Mr. SUMNER, he was not only in perfect health, but in the enjoyment of a degree of physical strength and corresponding intellect ual vigor, that few men ever possess. It was the testi mony of the surgeons and by-stanclers who saw his body entirely undres sed for an examination, to trace the extent of his injury, that they had never seen a human form more perfectly developed, for beauty, symmetry, and power. It was the belief of the many eminent surgeons and distinguished men on both sides of the Atlantic, who, during the next three or four years, treated his case professionally, that the only hope for his ultimate recovery lay in the exceptional and almost unparalleled vigor and vitality of his physical system. THE SEA-SIDE AND THE MOUNTAINS. 2Q/ After the assault, from which he supposed he would recover in a few days, it soon became evident that the pressure upon the brain, connected with weakness in the spinal column, would render any early recovery an im possibility. He became the guest of FRANCIS P. BLAIR, at Silver Spring" within an easy carriage ride of Washington. In the fore part of July, he found himself well enough to go on to Philadelphia, where he received the kindest attention from the family of Mr. JAMES T. FURNESS. At their invitation, he went with them to Cape May. Afterwards, under advice of Dr. R. N. JACKSON, he was removed to Cresson, among the highlands of Pennsylvania. But no signs of immediate restoration appeared, and in the beginning of October he once more reached his home in Boston. This return he had postponed, at the earnest persuasion of his medical ad viser, who foresaw that his entry to Boston would be attended with the greatest excitement, for the feeling which inflamed the people of Massachusetts, of indigna tion on the one side, and of the tenderest affection on the other, could not be repressed. II. The welcome which Massachusetts extended to her Senator on his return, was an imposing demonstration of honor and love. Boston was decorated as she had never been for the gayest festival. Thousands had flocked from every district of the State, and every city in New Eng land ; and the occasion was marked by every token of respect, and made touching by every proof of sympathy and affection. With great difficulty, and in a feeble voice, he thus returned his thanks from the platform which had 298 WELCOME OF MASSACHUSETTS. been erected in front of the Capitol, and up whose steps he was assisted by the most venerable men of Boston : It is a pleasure to be once more among the scenes of home ; to look upon familiar objects, the State House, the Common, and well-known Streets. It is more pleasant still to behold the countenances of friends. And all this pleasure, sir, is enhanced by the welcome which you now give me, in behalf of the Commonwealth which for five years I have served, honestly, earnestly, and constantly, in an important field of duty, to which I was introduced by an unsought suffrage. Sir, I thank you for this welcome ; I thank, also, the distinguished gentlemen who have honored this occasion by their presence. I thank, too, these swelling multitudes who contribute to me the strength and succor of their presence ; and my soul overflows especially to the young men of Boston, out of whose hearts, as from an exuberant fountain, this broad-spreading hospitality took its rise. My earnest desire, often expressed, has been, that I might be allowed to return home quietly, without show or demonstration of any kind. And this longing was enforced by my physical condition, which, though vastly improved at this time, and advancing surely towards complete health, is still exposed to the peril of relapse, or at least to the arrest of those kindly processes of Nature essential to the restoration of a shat tered system. But the spontaneous kindness of this reception makes me forget my weakness, makes me forget my desire for repose. I thank you, sir, for the suggestion of seclusion, and the security which that suggestion promises to afford. Something more, sir, I would say, but I am admonished that voice and strength will not permit. With your permission, therefore, I will hand the reporters what I should be glad to say, that it may be printed. [The remainder of the speech is printed from Mr. Simmer s manu script.] III. More than five months have passed since I was disabled from the performance of my public duties. During this weary period 1 have been constrained to repeat daily the lesson of renunciation, confined at first to my bed, and then only slowly regaining the power even to walk. But, beyond the constant, irrepressible grief which must well up in the breast of every patriot, as he discerns the present condition of HIS RECEPTION SPEECH. 299 his country, my chief sorrow has been caused by the necessity, to which I was doomed, of renouncing all part in the contest for human rights, which, beginning in Congress, has since enveloped the whole land. The Grecian Chief, grievously ill of a wound from the stealthy bite of a snake, and left behind while his companions sailed to the siege of Troy, did not repine more at his enforced seclusion. From day to day, and week to week, I vainly sought that health which we value most when lost, and which perpetually eluded my pursuit. For health I strove, for health I prayed. With uncertain steps I sought it at the sea shore, and I sought it on the mountain-top. " Two voices are there : one is of the sea, One of the mountains ; each a mighty voice : In both from age to age thou didst rejoice, They were thy chosen music, Liberty ! I listened to the admonitions of medical skill, and I courted all the bracing influences of Nature, while time passed without the accustomed healing on its wings. I had confidently hoped to be restored so as to take my seat in the Senate, and to be heard there again, long before the session closed. But Congress adjourned, leaving me still an invalid. My next hope was, that I might be permitted to appear before the people during the present canvass, and with heart and voice plead the great cause now in issue. Even now, though happily lifted from long prostration, and beginning to assume many of the conditions of health, I am constrained to confess that I am an invalid, cheered, however, by the assurance that I shall soon be permitted, with unim paired vigor, to resume all the responsibilities of my position. Too much have I said about myself; but you will pardon it to the occasion, which, being personal in character, invites these personal con fessions. With more pleasure I turn to other things. I should feel that I failed in one of those duties which the heart prompts and the judgment confirms, if I allowed this first opportunity to pass without sincerest acknowledgment to my able, generous, and faithful colleague, Mr. Wilson. Together we labored in mutual trust, honorably leaning upon each other. By my disability he was left sole representative of Massachusetts on the floor of the Senate, throughout months of heated contest, involving her good name and most cherished sentiments. All who watched the currents of debate, even as imper fectly as I did in my retirement, know with what readiness, courage and power he acted, showing himself, by extraordinary energies, equal 3OO HIS PORTRAIT OF HIS MOTHER-STATE. to the extraordinary occasion. But it is my especial happiness to re cognize his unfailing sympathies for myself, and his manly assumption of all the responsibilities of the hour. IV. I am not here to indulge in eulogy, nor to open any merit-roll of service ; but the same feeling which prompts these acknowledgments to my col league, embraces also the Commonwealth from whom we have received our trust. To Massachusetts, mother of us all, great in resources, great in children, I now pledge anew my devotion. Never before did she inspire equal pride and affection ; for never before was she so com pletely possessed by those sentiments which, when manifest in Com monwealth or citizen, invest the character with its highest charm, so that what is sown a natural body is raised a spiritual body. My filial love does not claim too much, when it exhibits her as approaching the pattern of a Christian Commonwealth, which, according to the great English Republican, John Milton, <; ought to be but as one huge Chris tian personage, one mighty growth and stature of an honest man, as big and compact in virtue as in body." Not through any worldly triumphs, not through the vaults of State street, the spindles of Lowell, or even the learned endowments of Cambridge, is Massachusetts thus, but because, seeking to extend everywhere within the sphere of her in fluence the benign civilization which she cultivates at home, she stands forth the faithful, unseduced supporter of Human Nature. Wealth has its splendor, and the intellect has its glory ; but there is a grandeur in such service which above all that, these can supply. For this she has already the regard of good men, and will have the immortal life of his tory. For this she has also the reproach and contumely always through out the ages poured upon those who have striven for justice on earth. Not now for the first time in human struggle, has Truth, when most dis honored, seemed most radiant, gathering glory even out of obloquy. When Sir Harry Vane, courageous champion of the English Common wealth, was dragged on a hurdle up the Tower Hill to suffer death by the axe, one of the multitude cried out to him, " That is the most glo rious seat you ever sat on ! " And again, when Russell was exposed in the streets, on his way to a similar scaffold, the people, according to the simple narrative of his biographer, imagined they saw Liberty and Virtue sitting by his side. Massachusetts is not without encouragement in her own history. She has seen her ports closed by arbitrary power, SOME OF HER FALSE CHILDREN. 301 she has seen her name made a byword of reproach, she has seen her cherished leaders, Hancock and Adams, excepted from all pardon by the Crown ; but then, when most dishonored, did Massachusetts deserve most, for then she was doing most for the cause of all. And now, when Massachusetts is engaged in a greater cause than that of our fathers, how serenely can she turn from the scoff and jeer of heartless men ! Her only disgrace will be in disloyalty to truth which is to make her free. Worse to bear oh, far worse ! than the evil speaking of others, is the conduct of some of her own children. It is hard to see the scholar ship which has been drawn from her cisterns, and the riches accumu lated under her hospitable shelter, now employed to weaken and dis credit that cause which is above riches or scholarship. It is hard, while fellow-citizens in Kansas plead for deliverance from a cruel Usurpation, and while the whole country, including her own soil, is trodden down by a domineering and brutal Despotism, to behold sons of Massachusetts in sympathy, open or disguised, with the vulgar enemy, quickening everywhere the lash of the taskmaster, and helping forward the Satanic carnival, when Slavery shall be fastened not only upon prostrate Kansas, but upon all the Territories of the Republic, when Cuba shall be torn from a friendly power by dishonest force, and when the slave-trade itself, with all its crime, its woe, and its shame, shall be opened anew under the American flag. Alas, that any child of Massachusetts, in wickedness of heart, or in weakness of principle, or under the delusion of partisan prejudice, should join in these things ! With such, I have no word of controversy at this hour. But, leaving them now, in my weakness, I trust not to seem too severe, if I covet for the occasion something of the divine power " To bend the silver bow with tender skill, While, void of pain, the silent arrows kill." V. Gladly from these do I turn to another character, yet happily spared to Massachusetts, whose heart beats strong with the best blood of the Revolution, and with the best sentiments by which that blood was enriched. The only child of one of the authors of American Liberty, for many years the able and courageous Representative of Boston on the floor of Congress, where his speeches were the masterpieces of the time, distinguished throughout a long career by the grateful trust of his 302 TRIBUTE TO JOSIAH QUINCY. fellow-citizens, happy in all the possessions of a well-spent life, and surrounded by " honor, love, obedience, troops of friends," with an old age which is second youth, JOSIAH QUINCV, still erect under the burden of eighty-four winters, puts himself at the head of our great battle, and never before, in the ardor of youth, or the maturity of manhood, did he show himself so grandly conspicuous, and add so much to the heroic wealth of our history. His undaunted soul, lifted already to glimpses of another life, may shame the feebler spirits of a later generation. There is one other personage, at a distant period, who, with precisely the same burden of winters, asserted the same supremacy of powers. It is the celebrated Dandolo, Doge of Venice, at the age of eighty-four, of whom the historian Gibbon has said, in words strictly applicable to our own Quincy : " He shone, in the last period of human life, as one of the most illustrious characters of the times : under the weight of years he retained a sound understanding and a manly courage, the spirit of an hero, and the wisdom of a patriot." This old man carried the Venetian Republic over to the Crusaders, and exposed his person freely to all the perils of Avar, so that the historian describes him, in words again applicable to our day, saying : " In the midst of the conflict, the Doge, a venerable and con spicuous form, stood aloft, on the prow of his galley," while " the great standard of St. Mark was displayed before him." Before the form of our venerable head is displayed the standard of a greater Republic than Venice, thrilling with its sight greater multitudes than ever gazed on the sta.ndard of St. Mark, while a sublimer cause is ours than the cause of the Crusaders ; for our task is not to ransom an empty sepulchre, but to rescue the Saviour himself, in the bodies of his innumerable children, not to dislodge the Infidel from a distant foreign soil, but to displace him from the very Jerusalem of our liberties. May it please your Excellency, I forbear to proceed further. With thanks for this welcome, accept also my new vows of duty. In all simplicity, let me say that I seek nothing but the triumph of Truth. To this I offer my best efforts, careless of office or honor. Show me that I am wrong, and I stop at once ; but in the complete conviction of right I shall persevere against all temptations, against all odds, against all perils, against all threats knowing well, that, whatever may be my fate, the Right will surely prevail. Territorial place is deter mined by celestial observation. Only by watching the stars can the manner safely pursue his course ; and it is only by obeying those lofty REELECTION TO THE SENATE. 303 principles, which are above men and human passion, that we can make our way safely through the duties of life. In such obedience I hope to live, while, as a servant of Massachusetts, I avoid no labor,- shrink from no exposure, and complain of no hardship. VI. Once more in his native city, surrounded with every comfort, and watched over with the greatest vigilance by Dr. MARSHALL S. PERRY, his attending physician, with the consultation of the venerable Dr. JAMES JACK SON, and all the suggestions the most learned medical men of Boston could give, he remained several months, as quietly as possible, in his own house, most of the time lying on the sofa or bed. Meantime, in this state of prostration, with no imme diate prospect of recovery, he had been reflected for the second term to the Senate of the United States by un animity almost without a parallel. The vote of the Senate was given to him without a dissenting voice ; and in the Assembly, constituted of several hundred members, there were only a few scattering votes. At last he felt so much restored that, against the per suasion of many friends, he started for Washington, reaching the Capital just before the close of the session, but in time to determine by his vote the fate of the Tariff of 1857. After being sworn in for his second term, on the 4th of March, he yielded to the persuasion of his friends, who were unanimous in the opinion that nothing but rest and recreation could restore him ; and on the 7th of March he sailed for Havre. VII. He was no stranger in Europe. Throughout the British Islands, and on the Continent, all the great men 304 HIS SOJOURN IN EUROPE. in science, in literature, in jurisprudence, with the friends of humanity, were prepared to give him the most gen erous greeting. Mr. GEORGE COMBE, the distinguished physiologist, who interested himself most earnestly in his case, after consultation with SIR JAMES CLARK, Physician to the Queen, advised him strongly against any early re turn to public life. But so deep was his anxiety about certain measures before Congress, he could not be de terred from returning; and in December, 1857, he was once more in his seat. But he soon found that applica tion to public affairs brought on a recurrence of his un favorable symptoms, and a series of relapses induced him at last to make one more, and, if necessary, a protracted effort for recovery. Consequently, on the 226. of May, the following year, 1858, he once more embarked for Europe. At Paris he placed himself under the care of Dr. BROWN-SEQUARD, the illustrious physiologist and spe cialist, who made a more thorough and analytical diag nosis of his case than had ever been made ; and he un reservedly expressed the opinion that " the blows on the head had taken effect by contre-coups in the spine, pro ducing disturbance in the spinal cord." " What then shall be the remedy ? " inquired Mr. Sumner. " Fire," answered Dr. BROWN-SEQUARD. " When can you ap ply it ? " " To-morrow, if you please." " Why not this afternoon ? " That afternoon it was done by the moxa, which was followed by seven other applications, always without chloroform, since Mr. SUMNER remarked that he wished to comprehend the whole process ; and as for the pain, he cared nothing for it. This treatment had taken place in the month of June, and the result justified the sagacity and learning of Mr. DR. BROWN-SEQUARD. 305 SUMNER S very great medical adviser. Probably within the whole range of modern chemistry, its subtle elements of power have in no instance been so exhaustively in voked for the restoration of life ; for, although a perfect cure seemed to be an impossibility, yet beyond all doubt it is owing to the matchless learning, and more than friendly assiduity, of Dr. BROWN-SEQUARD, that Mr. Sum- ner s valuable life was protracted with almost unabated vigor during the long period of sixteen years. To show the elasticity of Mr. Sumner s mind, and the strange power of recuperation his physical system possessed, he spent most of the time during the painful treatment he was subjected to, in the careful study of engravings ; and thus with the assistance of the finest artists in Paris, he matured his connoisseurship in that exquisitely beautiful department of Art. VIII. After journeying leisurely through Switzerland, Ger many, and the northern part of Italy, taking Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Venice, and Trieste en route, he reached Paris, where he made preparations for his immediate return to America. But in a medical conference held by Dr. BROWN-SEQUARD, Dr. GEORGE HAYWARD, and the il lustrious French practitioner, Dr. TROUSSEAU, he was informed that death would be the inevitable result of so rash an undertaking. Escaping, therefore, from all the excitements of Paris, which meant the excitements of Europe, he fled to Montpelier, in the south of France, where he led a life of absolute retirement. Every day he was cupped on the spine, and three-quarters of his time was spent on his bed or sofa, sleeping whenever 20 306 RETURN TO THE SENATE. he could, but finding his chief recreation in reading ; although he would frequently attend the public lectures at the College, on History and Literature. IX. No portion of the earth approaches nearer to the ideal of the invalid s paradise, than the south of France. Bordering on the Mediterranean, " That tideless sea, Which ceaseless rolls eternally ; " whose waters vary in temperature only one or two degrees in the year, and whose climate combines all the soft and genial influences so completely embraced in the term mezzo giorno, and far away from the fire-life Americans lead, he was now on the road to substantial recovery. After one more rapid dash through Italy, he reported himself in Paris to Dr. BROWN-SEQUARD, who now pronounced him well. For a month he took the sea- baths at Havre, and at the opening of Congress in December, he was once more in his Senatorial seat. SECTION SEVENTH. Return to the Senate. I. CHARLES SUMNER now put on again the armor in which he had fallen paralyzed at his post of duty, and once more advanced to the front of the battle. That AGAIN IN THE FRONT OF BATTLE. 30/ cause had been gaining ground faster, perhaps, because of his absence, so eloquent was that always VACANT CHAIR than if he had not been taken from the scene. Other champions just as true, if not so mighty, had sprung to the van of conflict. Now the acknowledged leader was once more in the field, and his clarion voice rang out loud and clear along the whole line of battle. Those who gazed on his noble form once more, could not but be reminded of the fate of BROOKS, the assassin, nor fail to mark the absence of Butler, the occasion of the crime. Time had spared neither of them. They had gone to their graves, leaving names to rot their infamous way to oblivion. II. His speech on THE BARBARISM OF SLAVERY from which we shall soon quote largely, roused the same infernal spirit which Mr. SUMNER had so forcibly depicted, and a party of ruffians made several attempts four days after wards, to enter his lodgings, with the purpose, as subse quently avowed, of taking his life. Senator Wilson, who had gone to the street door on the ringing of the bell, pre vented their entrance by telling them Mr. SUMNER had not yet returned, and instantly took effectual means for his pro tection. A party of brave Kansas men, without Mr. SUM- NER S knowledge, acted as a body-guard, keeping within covering distance of him wherever he went ; for he still walked about unarmed, and with no special precaution against violence. It was his desire not to give publicity to the intentions of the assassins ; but they became known, and from various parts of the country, men either started for Washington, or volunteered their services, at 308 SPEECH ON THE BARBARISM OF SLAVERY. whatever hazard, to protect the person of the Senator. Mr. BURLINGAME, Mr. JOHN SHERMAN, or Mr. WILSON, slept in the room opening into his chamber. The Mayor of Washington, who had learned the purposes of the assassins, invited Mr. SUMNER to make affidavits of the facts, or lodge a complaint. The latter he declined to do, on the ground that, from the past, neither he nor his friends could rely upon Washington magistrates. But the Mayor finally brought the ringleader, who was a Vir ginian, and a well-known office-holder under the admin istration, to Mr. SUMNER S room to apologize. The correspondents of the Chicago Press and Tribune, wrote, June 5th : The speech of Charles Sumner yesterday, was probably the most masterly and exhaustive argument against human bondage, that has ever been made in this, or any other country, since man first com menced to oppress his fellow-man. He took the floor at ten minutes past twelve, and spoke until a little after four. The tone of the speech was not vindictive, and yet there was a terrible severity running through it, that literally awed the Southern Senators. As an effort, it will live in history long after the ephemeral contest of this age shall have passed away. Indeed, while listening to it, I could not but feel, and the same feeling was 1 know experienced by others that the eloquent and brave orator was speaking rather to future generations, and to the impartial audience of the civilized world, than to the men of to-day, with a view of effecting any result upon the elements by which he was immediately surrounded. The correspondent "of the New York Evening Post: Mr. Sumner s speech was a tremendous attack upon Slavery, and yet was utterly devoid of personalities. He attacked the Institution, and not individuals ; but his language was very severe. There was no let-up in the severity from beginning to end. The correspondent of the Boston Traveller said : So far as personal violence was to be apprehended, we think he was RESPONSES TO HIS GREAT SPEECH. 309 as unconcerned as a man could be. Anxiety on that account might have been felt by his friends, but not by him. He seemed to be all- forgetful of himself, and to have his mind dwelling on the cause to which he was devoted, the race for which he was to plead, and on the responsibility under which he stood to his country, and to generations to come. There was something sublime in the orator, and the ma jesty with which he spoke." His speech and his conduct were fully endorsed by the Legislature of Massachusetts. CARL SCHURZ, writing from Milwaukee, said : Allow me to congratulate you on the success of your great speech. It did me good to hear again the true ring of the moral Anti-Slavery sentiment. If we want to demolish the Slave Power, we must educate the hearts of the people, no less than their heads. JOSHUA R. GIDDINGS, so long the champion of Free dom, in Congress, wrote : My heart swells with gratitude to God that you are again permitted to stand in the Senate, and maintain the honor of the nation, and of mankind. GERRIT SMITH said : God be praised for the proof it affords that you are yourself again aye, more than yourself! I say more, for, though " The Crime against Kansas " was the speech of your life, this is the speech of your life. This eclipses that. The slaveholders will all read this speech, and will all be profited by its clear, certain, and convincing proofs. The candid among them will not dislike you for it ; not a few of them will, at least in their hearts, thank and honor you for it. Would that they all might see that there is no wrong or malice whatever in your heart. I am scattering through my county this great speech of your life. WENDELL PHILLIPS : " It is heart-stirring and cheering to hear your voice once more along the lines. Those were four nobly used hours. Twas a blast of the old, 3IO THE GATHERING STORM. well-known bugle, and fell on welcoming ears and thankful hearts." And so, by the hundred, came pouring in piles of letters from the most eminent statesmen and lovers of Freedom in every part of the land, revealing the fact, that a wider and a deeper sentiment ot indignation had been awakened against the aggressions of the Slave Power, than had been provoked even by the atrocities of border ruffianism in the West. III. But many of the leading journals of the Republican party affected to lament the delivery of the speech, apprehensive it would injure their prospects in the Presidential campaign that was not far off. But they had occasion ere long to talk in a different strain. It was fast becoming evident that the day of compromise and soft words had gone by forever that what Mr. SEWARD had denominated the " Irrepressible Conflict," was at hand that the gathering storm was soon r o burst that the loud threats of Secessionists meant something that the feeling of the Slavery leaders in Congress was rapidly getting beyond all limits of con trol that they were determined to place Slavery once more on a solid basis of political power, or break up the Union. They had everywhere grown desperate ; their insatiate malice could no longer be appeased except with Sumner s blood ; and all the while they were known, not only to have the sympathy of pro- Slavery men at the North, in both the old parties, but the reiterated assurances and guarantees of their leaders that they could rely upon the North in any attempt, no THE BARBARISM OF SLAVERY PORTRAYED. 31! matter how desperate, they might make, to crush out Abolitionism. In fact, many of the Democratic papers at the North seemed anxious to rival their brethren in the South everywhere the strife was to out-Herod Herod and this continued so until the explosion at last took place, when the Secessionists found of a truth, that they had aid, comfort, abettors, and fellow-con spirators all through the North, especially in the chief cities, which, in the beginning of the Rebellion, swarmed with angry and unscrupulous men, ready to do the bidding of Slavery and Secession. But a great change had been coming over the public mind in the Free States a mighty revolution was going on Slavery was becoming so hateful and odious, that at last the manhood of the North was roused, never to sleep again until some effectual check was given to the aggressions of Slavery and the insolence of its cham pions. IV. On the 4th of June, 1860, Senator Sumner, in rising to deliver his speech on The Barbarism of Slavery, said : Mr. President, undertaking now, after a silence of more than four years, to address the Senate on this important subject, I should sup press the emotions natural to such an occasion, if I did not declare on the threshold my gratitude to that Supreme Being through whose benign care I am enabled, after much suffering and many changes, once again to resume my duties here, and to speak for the cause so near my heart. To the honored Commonwealth whose representative I am, and also to my immediate associates in this body, with whom I enjoy the fellow ship which is found in thinking alike concerning the Republic, I owe thanks which I seize the moment to express for indulgence extended to me throughout the protracted seclusion enjoined by medical skill ; and I trust that it will not be thought unbecoming in me to put on 312 NO PERSONAL GRIEFS TO UTTER. record here, as an apology for leaving my seat so long vacant, without making way, by resignation, for a successor, that I acted under the illu sion of an invalid, whose hopes for restoration to natural health con tinued against oft-recurring disappointment. When last I entered into this debate, it became my duty to expose the Crime against Kansas, and to insist upon the immediate admission of that Territory as a State of this Union, with a Constitution forbidding Slavery. Time has passed, but the question remains. Resuming the discussion precisely where I left it, I am happy to avow that rule of moderation which, it is said, may venture to fix the boundaries of wis dom itself. I have no personal griefs to utter : only a vulgar egotism could intrude such into this Chamber. I have no personal wrongs to avenge : only a brutish nature could attempt to wield that vengeance which belongs to the Lord. The years that have intervened and the tombs that have opened since I spoke have their voices, too, which I cannot fail to hear. Besides, what am I, what is any man among the living or among the dead, compared with the question before us? It is this alone which I shall discuss, and I begin the argument with that easy victory which is found in charity. V. The Crime against Kansas stands forth in painful light. Search his tory, and you cannot find its parallel. The slave-trade is bad ; but even this enormity is petty, compared with that elaborate contrivance by which, in a Christian age and within the limits of a Republic, all forms of constitutional liberty were perverted, all the rights of human nature violated, and the whole country held trembling on the edge of civil war, while all this large exuberance of wickedness, detestable in itself, becomes tenfold more detestable, when its origin is traced to the mad ness for Slavery. The fatal partition between Freedom and Slavery, known as the Missouri Compromise, the subsequent overthrow of this partition, and the seizure of all by Slavery, the violation of plighted faith, the conspiracy to force Slavery at all hazards into Kansas, the successive invasions by which all security there was destroyed, and the electoral franchise itself was trodden down, the sacrilegious seizure of the very polls, and, through pretended forms of law, the imposition of a foreign legislature upon this Territory, the acts of this legislature, fortifying the Usurpation, and, among other things, establishing test- oaths, calculated to disfranchise actual settlers friendly to Freedom, SLAVERY MUST BE DISCUSSED. 313 and securing the privileges of the citizen to actual strangers friendly to Slavery, the whole crowned by a statute, "the be-all and the end-all" of the whole Usurpation, through which Slavery was not only recog nized on this beautiful soil, but made to bristle with a Code of Death such as the world has rarely seen, all these I fully exposed on a for mer occasion. And yet the most important part of the argument was at that time left untouched : I mean that found in the Character of Slavery. This natural sequel, with the permission of the Senate, I now propose to supply. Motive is to Crime as soul to body ; and it is only when we compre hend the motive that we can truly comprehend the Crime. Here the motive is found in Slavery and the rage for its extension. Therefore, by logical necessity, must Slavery be discussed, not indirectly, timidly, and sparingly, but directly, openly, and thoroughly. It must be ex hibited as it is, alike in its influence and its animating character, so that not only outside, but inside, may be seen. VI. This is no time for soft words or excuses. All such are out of place. They may turn away wrath; but what is the wrath of man? This is no time to abandon any advantage in the argument. Senators sometimes announce that they resist Slavery on political grounds only, and remind us that they say nothing of the moral question. This is wrong. Slavery must be resisted not only on political grounds, but on all other grounds, whether social, economical, or moral. Ours is no holiday contest ; nor is it any strife of rival factions, of White and Red Roses, of theatric Neri and Bianchi ; but it is a solemn battle between Right and Wrong, between Good and Evil. Such a battle cannot be fought with rosewa- ter. There is austere work to be done, and Freedom cannot consent to fling away any of her weapons. if I were disposed to shrink from this discussion, the boundless as sumptions made by Senators on the other side would not allow me. The whole character of Slavery, as a pretended form of Civilization, is put directly in issue, with a pertinacity and a hardihood which banish all reserve on this side. In these assumptions Senators from South Caro lina naturally take the lead. Following Mr. Calhoun, who pronounced Slavery " the most solid and durable foundation on which to rear free and stable political institutions," and Mr. McDufne, who did not shrink 3H ARROGANT ASSUMPTIONS OF SLAVERY. from calling it " the corner-stone of our republican edifice," the Senator from South Carolina [Mr. Hammond] insists that its " frame of society is the best in the world ;" and his Colleague [Mr. Chesnut] takes up the strain. One Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Jefferson Davis] adds, that Slavery " is but a form of civil government for those who by their nature are not fit to govern themselves ; " and his cplleague [Mr. Brown] openly vaunts that it " is a great moral, social, and political blessing, a blessing to the slave, and a blessing to the master." One Senator from Virginia [Mr. Hunter], in a studied vindication of what he is pleased to call " the social system of the South," exalts Slavery as " the normal condition of human society," " beneficial to the non-slave-owner as it is to the slave-owner," " best for the happiness of both races,"- and, in enthusiastic advocacy, declares, " that the very keystone of the mighty arch, which, by its concentrated strength, and by the mutual support of its parts, is able to sustain our social superstructure, consists in the black-marble block of African Slavery : knock that out, and the mighty fabric, with all that it upholds, topples and tumbles to its fall." These are his very words, uttered in debate here. And his colleague [Mr. Mason], who never hesitates where Slavery is in question, pro claims that it is " ennobling to both races, the white and the black, "- a word which, so far as the slave is concerned, he changes, on a subse quent day, to "elevating," assuming stiU that it is " ennobling" to the whites, which is simply a new version of the old assumption, by Mr. McDuffie, of South Carolina, that " the institution of Domestic Slavery supersedes the necessity of an order of nobility." VII. Thus, by various voices, is Slavery defiantly proclaimed a form of Civilization, not seeing that its existence is plainly inconsistent with the first principles of anything that can be called Civilization, except by that figure of speech in classical literature where a thing takes its name from something which it has not, as the dreadful Fates were called merciful because they were without mercy. Pardon the allusion, if I add, that, listening to these sounding words for Slavery, I am reminded of the kindred extravagance related by that remarkable traveller in China, the late Abbe Hue, where a gloomy hole in which he was lodged, infested by mosquitoes and exhaling noisome vapors, with light and air entering by a single narrow aperture only, was styled by Chinese pride SATAN ALWAYS SATAN. 315 "The Hotel of the Beatitudes." According to a Hindoo proverb, the snail sees nothing but its own shell, and thinks it the grandest palace in the universe. This is another illustration of the delusion which we are called to witness. It is natural that Senators thus insensible to the true character of Slavery should evince an equal insensibility to the true character of the Constitution. This is shown in the claim now made, and pressed with unprecedented energy, degrading the work of our fathers, that by virtue of the Constitution the pretended property in man is placed beyond the reach of Congressional prohibition even within Congressional juris diction, so that the slave-master may at all times enter the broad out lying territories of the Union with the victims of his oppression, and there continue to hold them by lash and chain. Such are two assumptions, the first of fact, and the second of Consti tutional Law, now vaunted without apology or hesitation. I meet them both. To the first I oppose the essential Barbarism of Slavery, in all its influences, whether high or low, as Satan is Satan still, whether towering in the sky or squatting in the toad. To the second I oppose the unanswerable, irresistible truth, that the Constitution of the United States nowhere recognizes property in man. These two assumptions naturally go together. They are " twins " suckled by the same wolf. They are the "couple" in the present slave-hunt. And the latter can not be answered without exposing the former. It is only when Slavery is exhibited in its truly hateful character that we fully appreciate the absurdity of the assumption, which, in defiance of express letter in the Constitution, and without a single sentence, phrase, or word upholding human bondage, yet foists into this blameless text the barbarous idea that man can hold property in man. On former occasions I have discussed Slavery only incidentally ; as, in unfolding the principle that Slavery is Sectional and Freedom Na tional ; in exposing the unconstitutionally of the Fugitive Slave Bill ; in vindicating the Prohibition of Slavery in the Missouri Territory ; in exhibiting the imbecility, throughout the Revolution, of the Slave States, and especially of South Carolina ; and, lastly, in unmasking the Crime against Kansas. On all these occasions, where I spoke at length, I said too little of the character of Slavery, partly because other topics were presented, and partly from a prevailing disinclination to press the argu ment against those whom I knew to have all the sensitiveness of a sick man. But, God be praised, this time has passed, and the debate is now lifted from details to principles. Grander debate has not occurred 316 SLAVERY S FIRST ASSUMPTION. in our history, rarely in any history ; nor can it close or subside, ex cept with the triumph of Freedom. VIII. FIRST ASSUMPTION. Of course I begin with the assumption of fact, which must be treated at length. It was the often- quoted remark of John Wesley, who knew well how to use words, as also how to touch hearts, that Slavery is " the sum of all villainies." The phrase is pungent ; but it were rash in any of us to criticise the testimony of that illustrious founder of Methodism, whose ample experience of Slavery in Georgia and the Carolinas seems to have been all condensed in this sententious judgment. Language is feeble to express all the enormity of an institution which is now exalted as in itself a form of civilization, " ennobling" at least to the master, if not to the slave. Look at it as you will, and it is always the scab, the canker, the " barebones," and the shame of the country, wrong, not merely in the abstract, as is often admitted by its apologists, but wrong in the concrete also, and possessing no single element of right. Look at it in the light of principle, and it is nothing less than a huge insur rection against the eternal law of God, involving in its pretensions the denial of all human rights, and also the denial of that Divine Law in which God himself is manifest, thus being practically the grossest lie and the grossest atheism. Founded in violence, sustained only by vio lence, such a wrong must by sure law of compensation blast master as well as slave, blast the lands on which they live, blast the community of which they are part, blast the government which does not forbid the outrage ; and the longer it exists and the more completely it prevails, must its vengeful influences penetrate the whole social system. Bar barous in origin, barbarous in law, barbarous in all its pretensions, bar barous in the instruments it employs, barbarous in consequences, barbarous in spirit, barbarous wherever it shows itself, Slavery must breed Barbarians, while it develops everywhere, alike in the individual and the society to which he belongs, the essential elements of Ba?uar- ism. In this character it is conspicuous before the world. Undertaking now to expose the BARBARISM OF SLAVERY, the whole broad field is open before me. There is nothing in its character, its manifold wrong, its wretched results, and especially in its influence on TWO CIVILIZATIONS IMPOSSIBLE. 3*7 the class claiming to be ennobled" by it, that will not fall naturally under consideration. IX. I know well the difficulty of this discussion, involved in the humili ating truth with which I begin. Senators, on former occasions, reveal ing their sensitiveness, have even protested against comparison between what were called " two civilizations," meaning the two social systems produced respectively by Freedom and Slavery. The sensibility and the protest are not unnatural, though mistaken. "Two civilizations ! " Sir, in this nineteenth century of Christian light there can be but one Civilization, and this is where Freedom prevails. Between Slavery and Civilization there is essential incompatibility. If you are for the one, you cannot be for the other ; and just in proportion to the embrace of Slavery is the divorce from Civilization. As cold is but the absence of heat, and darkness but the absence of light, so is Slavery but the absence of justice and humanity, without which Civilization is impossible. That slave-masters should be disturbed, when this is exposed, might be ex pected. But the assumptions so boastfully made, while they may not prevent the sensibility, yet surely exclude all ground of protest, when these assumptions are exposed. Nor is this the only difficulty. Slavery is a bloody Touch-Me-Not, and everywhere in sight now blooms the bloody flower. It is on the wayside as we approach the National Capitol ; it is on the marble steps which we mount ; it flaunts on this floor. I stand now in the house of its friends. About me, while I speak, are its most jealous guardians, who have shown in the past how much they are ready to do or not to do, where Slavery is in question. Menaces to deter me have not been spared. But I should ill deserve the high post of duty here, with which I am honored by a generous and enlightened people, if I could hesitate. Idolatry has been exposed in the presence of idolaters, and hypocrisy chastised in the presence of Scribes and Pharisees. Such examples may impart encouragement to a Senator undertaking in this presence to expose Slavery ; nor can any language, directly responsive to Senatorial assumptions made for this Barbarism, be open to question. Slavery can be painted only in sternest colors; nor can I forget that Nature s sternest painter has been called the best. THE BARBARISM OF SLAVERY appears, frst, in the character of Slavery, and, secondly, in the character of Slave-Masters. 3l8 HE LETS SLAVERY PAINT ITSELF. Under the first head we shall properly consider (i) the Law of Slavery with its Origin, and (2) the practical results of Slavery, as shown in com parison between the Free States and the Slave States. Under the second head we shall naturally consider (i) Slave-Masters as shown in the Law of Slavery ; (2) Slave-Masters in their relations with slaves, here glancing at their three brutal instruments ; (3) Slave- Masters in their relations with each other, with society, and with Gov ernment ; and (4) Slave-Masters in their unconsciousness. The way will then be prepared for the consideration of the assump tion of Constitutional Law. X. In presenting the CHARACTER OF SLAVERY, there is little for me, ex cept to make Slavery paint itself. When this is done, the picture will need no explanatory words. (i.) I begin with the Law of Slavery and its Origin ; and here this Barbarism sketches itself in its own chosen definition. It is simply this : Man, created in the image of God, is divested of the human char acter, and declared to be a " chattel," that is, a beast, a thing, or article of property. That this statement may not seem made without precise authority, I quote the statutes of three different States, begin ning with South Carolina, whose voice for Slavery has always unerring distinctiveness. According to the definition supplied by this State, slaves "shall be deemed, held, taken, reputed, and adjudged in law to be chattels personal in the hands of .their owners and possessors, and their executors, administrators, and assigns, to all intents, constructions, and purposes whatsoever." And here is the definition supplied by the Civil Code of Louisiana : "A slave is one who is in the power of a master to whom he belongs. The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry, and his labor. He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything, but what must belong to his master." In similar spirit the law of Maryland thus indirectly defines a slave as an article: " In case the personal property of a ward shall consist of specific articles, such as slaves, working beasts, animals of any kind, .... the court, if it shall deem it advantageous for the ward, may at any time pass an order for the sale thereof." Not to occupy time unnecessarily, I present a summary of the pre- THE SLAVE FOR THE MASTER S USE. 319 tended law defining Slavery in all the Slave States, as made by a careful writer, Judge Stroud, in a work of juridical as well as philanthropic merit : "The cardinal principle of Slavery that the slave is not to be ranked among setitient beings, but among things, is an article of property, a chattel personal obtains as undoubted law in all of these [Slave] States." Out of this definition, as from a solitary germ, which in its pettiness might be crushed by the hand, towers our Upas Tree and all its gigan tic poison. Study it, and you will comprehend the whole monstrous growth. Sir, look at its plain import, and see the relation which it establishes. The slave is held simply for the use of his master, to whose behests his life, liberty, and happiness are devoted, and by whom he may be bartered, leased, mortgaged, bequeathed, invoiced, shipped as cargo, stored as goods, sold on execution, knocked off at public auction, and even staked at tne gaming-table on the hazard of a card or a die, all accord ing to law. Nor is there anything, within the limit of life, inflicted on a beast, which may not be inflicted on the slave. He may be marked like a hog, branded like a mule, yoked like an ox, hobbled like a horse, driven like an ass, sheared like a sheep, maimed like a cur, and con stantly beaten like a brute, all according to law. And should life itself be taken, what is the remedy ? The Law of Slavery, imitating that rule of evidence which in barbarous days and barbarous countries prevented the Christian from testifying against the Mahometan, openly pronounces the incompetency of the whole African race, whether bond or free, to testify against a white man in any case, and thus, after sur rendering the slave to all possible outrage, crowns its tyranny by exclud ing the very testimony through which the bloody cruelty of the Slave- Master might be exposed. Thus in its Law does Slavery paint itself; but it is only when we look at details, and detect its essential elements, five in number, all inspired by a single motive, that its character becomes completely manifest. XL Foremost, of course, in these elements, is the impossible pretension, where Barbarism is lost in impiety, by which man claims property in man. Against such blasphemy the argument is brief. According to the Law of Nature, written by the same hand that placed the planets in their 32O THE ABROGATION OF MARRIAGE. orbits, and, like them, constituting part of the eternal system of the Universe, every human being has complete title to himself direct from the Almighty. Naked he is born ; but this birthright is inseparable from the human form. A man may be poor in this world s goods ; but he owns himself. No war or robbery, ancient or recent, no capture no middle passage, no change of clime, no purchase money, no transmission from hand to hand, no matter ho*.v many times, and no matter at what price, can defeat this indefeasible, God-given franchise. And a divine mandate, strong as that which guards Life, guards Liberty also. Even at the very morning of Creation, when God said, " Let there be light," earlier than the malediction against murder. he set the everlasting difference between man and chattel, giving to man "do minion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." " That right we hold By his donation ; hut man over men He made not lord : such title to himself Reserving, human left from human free." Slavery tyrannically assumes power which Heaven denied, while, un der its barbarous necromancy, borrowed from the Source of Evil, a man is changed into a chattel, a person is withered into a thing, a soul is shrunk intb merchandise. Say, Sir, in lofty madness, that you own the sun, the stars, the moon ; but do not say that you own a man, endowed with soul to live immortal, when sun and moon and stars have passed away. XII. Secondly. Slavery paints itself again in its complete abrogation of marriage, recognized as a sacrament by the Church, and as a contract by the civil power, wherever civilization prevails. Under the Law of Slavery no such sacrament is respected, and no such contract can exist. The ties formed between slavey are all subject to the selfish interests or more selfish lust of the master, whose license knows no check. Natu ral affections which have come together are rudely torn asunder : nor is this all. Stripped of every defence, the chastity of a whole race is exposed to violence, while the result is recorded in tell-tale faces of children, glowing with a master s blood, but doomed for their mother s skin to Slavery through descending generations. The Senator from ABROGATION OF THE PARENTAL RELATION. 321 Mississippi [Mr. Brown], galled by the comparison between Slavery and Polygamy, winces. . I hail this sensibility as the sign of virtue. Let him reflect, and he will confess that there are many disgusting elements in Slavery, not present in Polygamy, while the single disgusting element of Polygamy is more than present in Slavery. By license of Polygamy, one man may have many wives, all bound to him by marriage-tie, and in other respects protected by law. By license of Slavery, a whole race is delivered over to prostitution and concubinage, without the protec tion of any law. Surely, Sir, is not Slavery barbarous ? Thirdly. Slavery paints itself again in its complete abrogation of the parental relation, provided by God in his benevolence for the nurture and education of the human family, and constituting an essential part of Civilization itself. And yet by the Law of Slavery happily begin ning to be modified in some places this relation is set at nought, and in its place is substituted the arbitrary control of the master, at whose mere command little children, such as the Saviour called unto him, though clasped by a mother s arms, are swept under the hammer of the auctioneer. I do not dwell on this exhibition. Sir, is not Slavery bar barous ? fourthly. Slavery paints itself again in closing the gates of knowledge, which are also the shining gates of Civilization. Under its plain, un equivocal law, the bondman, at the unrestrained will of his master, is shut out from all instruction ; while in many places incredible to re late the law itself, by cumulative provisions, positively forbids that he shall be taught to read ! Of course the slave cannot be allowed to read : for his soul would then expand in larger air, while he saw the glory of the North Star, and also the helping truth, that God, who made iron, never made a slave ; for he would then become familiar with the Scriptures, with the Decalogue still speaking in the thunders of Sinai, with that ancient text, " He that stealeth a man and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death " with that other text, " Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal," with that great story of Redemption, when the Lord raised the slave-born Moses to deliver his chosen people from the house of bondage, and with that sublimer story, where the Saviour died a cruel death, that all men, without distinction of race, might be saved, leaving to mankind a commandment which, even without his example, makes Slavery impossible. Thus, in order to fasten your manacles upon the slave, you fasten other manacles upon his soul. The ancients main tained Slavery by chains and death : you maintain it by that infinite 21 322 APPROPRIATION OF THE SLAVE S TOIL. despotism and monopoly through which human nature itself is degraded. Sir, is not Slavery barbarous ? Fifthly. Slavery paints itself again in the appropriation of all the toil of its victims, excluding them from that property in their own earn ings which the Law of Nature allows and Civilization secures. The painful injustice of this pretension is lost in its meanness. It is robbery and petty larceny under garb of law. And even the meanness is lost in the absurdity of its associate pretension, that the African, thus des poiled of all earnings, is saved from poverty, and that for his own good he must work for his master, and not for himself. Alas, by such fallacy is a whole race pauperized ! And yet this transaction is not without illustrative example. A sombre poet, whose verse has found wide favor, pictures a creature who " with one hand put A penny in the urn of poverty, And with the other took a shilling out." And a celebrated traveller through Russia, more than a generation ago, describes a kindred spirit, who, while devoutly crossing himself at church with his right hand, with the left deliberately picked the pocket of a fel- llow-sinner by his side. Not admiring these instances, I cannot cease to deplore a system which has much of both, while, under affectation of charity, it sordidly takes from the slave all the fruits of his bitter sweat, and thus takes from him the main spring to exertion. Tell me, .Sir, is not Slavery barbarous? XIII. Such is Slavery in its five special elements of Barbarism, as recog nized by law : first, assuming that man can hold property in man ; sec ondly, abrogating the relation of husband and wife ; thirdly, abrogating the parental tie ; fourthly, closing the gates of knowledge ; and, fifthly, .appropriating the unpaid labor of another. Take away these elements, rsometimes called "abuses," and Slavery will cease to exist; for it is these very "abuses" which constitute Slavery. Take away any one of them, and the abolition of Slavery begins. And when I present Slavery for judgment, I mean no slight evil, with regard to which there may be reasonable difference of opinion, but I mean this fivefold embodiment of " abuse," this ghastly quincunx of Barbarism, each particular of which, if considered separately, must be denounced at once with all the ardor JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU DR. CHANNING. 323 of an honest soul, while the whole fivefold combination must awake a fivefold denunciation. The historic pirates, once the plague of the Gulf whose waters they plundered, have been praised for the equity with which they adjusted the ratable shares of spoil, and also for generous benefactions to the poor, and even to churches, so that Sir Walter Scott could say, " Do thou revere The statutes of the Buccaneer." In our Law of Slavery what is there to revere ? what is there at which the soul does not rise in abhorrence ? But this fivefold combination becomes yet more hateful when its sin gle motive is considered ; and here Slavery paints itself finally. The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Jefferson Davis] says that it is " but a form of civil government for those who by their nature are not fit to govern themselves." The Senator is mistaken. It is an outrage, where five different pretensions all concur in one single object, looking only to the profit of the master, and constituting its ever-present motive power, which is simply to compel the labor of fellow-men without wages. If I pronounce this object not only barbarous, but brutal, I follow the judgment of Luther s Bible, in the book " Jesus Sirach," known in our translation as Ecclesiasticus, where it is said : "He that giveth not his wages to the laborer, he is a bloodhound" Slavery is often exposed as degrading Humanity. On this fruitful theme nobody ever expressed himself with the force and beautiful eloquence of our own Channing. His generous soul glowed with indig nation at the thought of man, supremest creature of earth, and first of God s works, despoiled of manhood and changed to a thing. But earlier than Channing was Jean Jacques Rousseau, who, with similar eloquence and the same glowing indignation, vindicated Humanity. How grandly he insists that nobody can consent to be a slave, or can be born a slave ! Believing Liberty the most noble of human attributes, this wonderful writer will not stop to consider if descent to the condition of beasts be not to degrade human nature, if renunciation of the most precious of all God s gifts be not to offend the Author of our being ; but he demands only by what right those who degrade themselves to this depth can subject their posterity to the same ignominy, renouncing for them goods which do not depend upon any ancestors, and without which life itself is to all worthy of it a burden ; and he justly concludes, that, as to establish Slavery, it is necessary to violate Nature, so, to 324 DEGRADATION OF A WHOLE RACE. perpetuate this claim, it is necessary to change Nature. His final judgment, being the practical conclusion of this outburst, holds up ju risconsults, gravely pronouncing that the child of a slave born a slave, as deciding, in other terms, that a man is not born a man, thus exposing the peculiar absurdity of that pretension by which Slavery is transmit ted from the mother to her offspring, as expressed in the Latin scrap on which the Senator from Virginia [Mr. MASON] relies : Partus seguititr ventrem. If the offense of Slavery were less extended, if it were confined to some narrow region, if it had less of grandeur in its proportions, of its victims were counted by tens and hundreds instead of millions, the five-headed enormity would find little indulgence ; all would rise against it, while Religion and Civilization would lavish choicest efforts in the general warfare. But what is wrong when done to one man cannot be right when done to many. If it is wrong thus to degrade a single soul, if it is wrong thus to degrade you, Mr. President, it cannot be right to degrade a whole race ! And yet this is denied by the barbarous logic of Slavery, which, taking advantage of its own wrong, claims immunity because its usurpation has assumed a front of audacity that cannot be safely attacked. Unhappily there is Barbarism elsewhere in the world ; but American Slavery, as defined by existing law, stands forth as the greatest organized Bar barism on which the sun now looks. It is without a single peer. Its author, after making it, broke the die. XIV. If curiosity carries us to the origin of this law, and here I approach a topic often considered in this Chamber, we shall again confess its Barbarism. It is not derived from the Common Law, that fountain of Liberty ; for this law, while unhappily recognizing a system of servitude known as villeinage, secured to the bondman privileges unknown to the American slave, guarded his person against mayhem, protected his wife against rape, gave to his marriage equal validity with the marriage of his master, and surrounded his offspring with generous presumptions of Freedom, unlike that rule of yours by which the servitude of the mother is necessarily stamped upon the child. It is not derived from the Roman Law, that fountain of Tyranny, for two reasons : first, be cause this law, in its better days, when its early rigors were spent, like ORIGIN OF SLAVERY IN AFRICA. 325 the Common Law itself, secured to the bondman privileges unknown to the American slave, in certain cases of cruelty rescued him from his master, prevented separation of parents and children, also of broth ers and sisters, and even protected him in the marriage relation ; and, secondly, because the Thirteen Colonies were not derived from any of those countries which recognized the Roman Law, while this law, even before the discovery of this continent, had lost all living efficacy. It is not derived from the Mohammedan Law ; for, under the mild injunc tions of the Koran, a benignant servitude, unlike yours, has prevailed, where the lash is not allowed to lacerate the back of a female, where no knife or branding-iron is employed upon any human being, to mark him as the property of his fellow-man, where the master is expressly enjoined to listen to the desires of his slave for emancipa tion, and where the blood of the master, mingling with that of his bondwoman, takes from her the transferable character of chattel, and confers complete freedom upon their offspring. It is not derived from the Spanish Law ; for this law contains hnmane elements unknown to your system, borrowed, perhaps, from Mohammedan Moors who so long occupied Spain ; and, besides, our Thirteen Colonies had no um bilical connection with Spain. Nor is it derived from English statutes or American statutes ; for we have the positive and repeated averment of the Senator from Virginia [Mr. MASON], and also of other Senators, that in not a single State of the Union can any such statutes establishing Slavery be found. From none of these does it come. No, Sir, not from any land of Civilization is this Barbarism derived. It comes from Africa, ancient nurse of monsters, from Guinea, Daho mey, and Congo. There is its origin and fountain. This benighted region, we are told by Chief-Justice Marshall in a memorable judgment, still asserts a right, discarded by Christendom, to enslave captives taken in war ; and this African Barbarism is the beginning of American Slavery. The Supreme Court of Georgia, a Slave State, has not shrunk from this conclusion. " Licensed to hold slave property," says the Court, " the Georgia planter held the slave as a chattel, either directly from the slave trader or from those who held under him, and he from the slave-captor in Africa. The property of the planter in the slave became thus the pro perty of the original captor." it is natural that a right thus derived in defiance of Christendom, and openly founded on the most vulgar Paganism, should be exercised without mitigating influence from Chris tianity, that the master s authority over the person of his slave, over his conjugal relations, over his parental relations, over the employment 326 HOME OF THE SLAVE CODE. of his lime, over all his acquisitions, should be recognized, while no generous presumption inclines to Freedom, and the womb of the bond woman can deliver only a slave. xv. From its home in Africa, where it is sustained by immemorial usage, this Barbarism, thus derived and thus developed, traversed the ocean to American soil. It entered on board that fatal slave-ship, "Built in the eclipse, and rigged with curses dark," which in 1620 landed its cruel cargo at Jamestown, in Virginia ; and it has boldly taken its place in every succeeding slave-ship, from that early day till now, helping to pack the human freight, regardless of human agony, surviving the torments of the middle passage, survi ving its countless victims plunged beneath the waves ; and it has left the slave-ship only to travel inseparable from the slave in his various doom, sanctioning by its barbarous code every outrage, whether of may hem or robbery, lash or lust, and fastening itself upon his offspring to the remotest generation. Thus are barbarous prerogatives of barbar ous half-naked African chiefs perpetuated in American Slave-Masters, while the Senator from Virginia [Mr. MASON], perhaps unconscious of their origin, perhaps desirous to secure for them the appearance of a less barbarous pedigree, tricks them out with a phrase of the Roman Law, discarded by the Common Law, which simply renders into ancient Latin an existing rule of African Barbarism, recognized as an existing rule of American Slavery. Such is the plain juridical origin of the American slave code, now vaunted as a badge of Civilization. Bnt all law, whatever its juridical origin, whether Christian or Mohammedan, Roman or African, may be traced to other and ampler influences in Nature, sometimes of Right and sometimes of Wrong. Surely the law which stamped the slave- trade as piracy punishable with death had a different inspiration from that other law which secured immunity for the slave-trade throughout an immense territory, and invested its supporters with political power. As there is a nobler law above, so there is a meaner law below, and each is felt in human affairs. Thus far we have seen Slavery only in pretended law, and in the origin of that law. Here I might stop, without proceeding in the argu- PRACTICAL RESULT OF SLAVERY. 327 nient ; for on the letter of the law alone must Slavery be condemned. But the tree is known by its fruits, which I shall now exhibit : and this brings me the second stage of the argument. XVI. (2.) In considering the practical result of Slavery, the materials are so obvious and diversified that my chief care will be to abridge and reject : and here I put the Slave States and Free States face to face, showing at each point the blasting influence of Slavery. Before proceeding vvith these details, I would for one moment expose that degradation of free labor, which is one of the general results. Where there are slaves, whose office is work, it is held disreputable for a white man to soil his skin or harden his hands with honest toil. The Slave- Master of course declines work, and his pernicious example infects all others. With impious resolve, they would reverse the Almighty decree appojnting labor as the duty of man, and declaring that in the sweat of his face shall he eat his bread. The Slave-Master says, " No ! this is true of the slave, of the black man, but not of the white man : he shall not eat his bread in the sweat of his face." Thus is the brand of degra dation stamped upon that daily toil which contributes so much to a true Civilization. It is a constant boast in the Slave States, that white men there will not perform work performed in the Free States. Mr. Cal- houn and Mr. Waddy Thompson made this boast. Let it be borne in mind, then, that, where Slavery prevails, there is not only despair for the black man, but inequality and ignominy for the white laborer. By necessary consequence, the latter, whether emigrating from our Free States or fleeing from oppression and wretchedness in his European home, avoids a region disabled by such a social law. Hence a twofold injustice : practically he is excluded from the land, while the land itself becomes a prey to that paralysis which is caused by a violation of the laws of God. And now for the testimony. The States where this Barbarism exists excel the Free States in all natural advantages. Their territory is more extensive, stretching over 851,448 square miles, while the Free States, including California, em brace only 612,597 square miles. Here is a difference of more than 238,000 square miles in favor of the Slave States, showing that Freedom starts in this great rivalry with a field more than a quarter less than that of Slavery. In happiness of climate, adapted to productions of special 328 THE HARPY DEFILES THE BANQUET. value, in exhaustless motive power distributed throughout its space, in natural highways, by more than fifty navigable rivers, never closed by the rigors of winter, and in a stretch of coast, along Ocean and Gulf, indented by hospitable harbors, the whole presenting incompar able advantages for that true Civilization, where agriculture, manufac tures, and commerce, both domestic and foreign, blend, in all these respects the Slave States excel the Free States, whose climate is often churlish, whose motive power is less various, whose navigable rivers are fewer and often sealed by ice, and whose coast, while less in extent and with fewer harbors, is often perilous from storm and cold. XVII. But Slavery plays the part of a Harpy, and denies the choicest banquet. See what it does with this territory, thus spacious and fair. An important indication of prosperity is in the growth of population. In this respect the two regions started equal. In 1790, at the first census under the Constitution, the population of the present Slave States was 1,961,372, of the present Free States 1,968,455, showing a difference of only 7,083 in favor of the Free States. This difference, at first merely nominal, has been constantly increasing since, showing itself more strongly in each decennial census, until, in 1850, the pop ulation of the Slave States swollen by the annexation of three foreign Territories, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, was only 9,612,969, while that of the Free States, without such large annexations, reached 13,434,922, showing a difference of 3,821,953 in favor of Freedom. But this difference becomes still more remarkable, if we confine our inquiries to the white population, which at this period was only 6,184,477 m tne Slave States, while it was 13,238,670 in the Free States, showing a difference of 7,054,193 in favor of Freedom, and showing also that the white population of the Free States had not only doubled, but, while occupying a smaller territory, commenced to triple, that of the Slave States. The comparative sparseness of the two pop ulations furnishes another illustration. In the Slave States the average number of inhabitants to a square mile was 11.29, while in the Free States, it was 21.93 or almost two to one in favor of Freedom. These results are general ; but if we take any particular Slave State, and compare it with a Free State, we shall find the same marked evidence for Freedom. Take Virginia, with a territory of 61,352 square SLAVE AND FREE STATES CONTRASTED. 329 miles, and New York, with a territory of 47,000, or over 14,000 square miles less than her sister State. New York has one seaport, Virginia some three or four ; New York has one noble river, Virginia has several ; New York for 400 miles runs along the frozen line of Canada, Virginia basks in a climate of constant felicity. But Freedom is better than climate, river, or seaport. In 1790 the population of Virginia was 748,308, and in 1850 it was 1,421,661. In 1790 the population of New York was 340,120, and in 1850 it was 3,097,394. That of Virginia had not doubled in sixty years, while that of New York had multiplied more than ninefold. A similar comparison may be made between Ken tucky, with 37,680 squares miles, admitted into the Union as long ago as 1792, and Ohio, with 39,964 square miles, admitted into the Union in 1802. In 1850, the Slave State had a population of only 982,405, while Ohio had a population of 1,980,329, showing a difference of nearly a million in favor of Freedom. XVIII. As in population, so also in the value of property, real and personal, do the Free States excel the Slave States. According to the census of 1850, the value of property in the Free States was $4,102,162,098, while in the Slave States it was $2,936,090,737; or, if we deduct the asserted property in human flesh, only $1,655,945,137, showing an enormous difference of billions in favor of Freedom. In the Free States the valuation per acre was $10.46, in the Slave States only $3.04. This disproportion was still greater in 1855, when, according to the Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, the valuation of the Free States was $5,770,197,679, or $14.71 per acre; and of the Slave States, $3,- 977,354,046, or, if we deduct the asserted property in human flesh, $2,- 505,186,446, or $4.59 per acre. Thus in five years from 1850 the valu ation of property in the Free States received an increase of more than the whole accumulated valuation of the Slave States in 1850. Looking at details, we find the same disproportions. Arkansas and Michigan, nearly equal in territory, were organized as States by simul taneous Acts of Congress ; and yet in 1855 tne whole valuation of Ar kansas, including its asserted property in human flesh, was only $64,- 240,726, while that of Michigan, without a single slave, was $116,593,- 580. The whole accumulated valuation of all the Slave States, deduct ing the asserted property in human flesh, in 1850, was only $1,655,945,- 330 AGRICULTURE MINING MECHANICS. 137 ; but the valuation of New York alone, in 1855, reached the nearly equal sum of $1,401,285,279. The valuation of Virginia, South Caro lina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas, altogether, in 1850, deducting human flesh, was $559,224,920, or simply $1.96 per acre, being less than that of Massachusetts alone, which was $573,342,286, or $114.85 per acre. XIX. The Slave States boast of agriculture ; but here again, notwithstand ing superior natural advantages, they must yield to the Free States at every point, in the number of farms and plantations, in the number of acres improved, in the cash value of farms, in the average value per acre, and in the value of farming implements and machinery. Here is a short table. Free States. Slave States. Number of farms 873,608 569,201 Acres of improved land 57,720,494 54,970,327 Cash value of farms $2,147,218,478 $1,117,649,649 Average value per acre $19.17 $6.18 Value of farming implements $85,840,141 $65,345,625 Such is the mighty contrast. But it does not stop here. Careful tables place the agricultural products of the Free States, for the year ending June, 1850, at $888,634,334, while those of the Slave States were $631,277,417 ; the product per acre in the Free States at $7.94, and the product per acre in the Slave States at $3.49 ; the average product of each agriculturist in the Free States at $342, and in the Slave States at $171. Thus the Free States, with a smaller population engaged in agriculture than the Slave States, and with smaller territory, show an annual sum total of agricultural products surpassing those of the Slave States by two hundred and twenty-seven millions of dollars, while twice as much is produced by each agriculturist, and more than twice as much is pro duced on an acre. The monopoly of cotton, rice, and cane-sugar, with a climate granting two and sometimes three crops in the year, is thus impotent in competition with Freedom. xx. In manufactures, mining, and the mechanic arts the failure of the Slave States is greater still. It appears at all points, in the capital DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN COMMERCE. 331 employed, in the value of the raw material, in the annual wages, and in the annual product. A short table will show the contrast. Free States. Slave States. Capital $430,240,051 $95,029,877 Value of raw material 465,844,092 86, 190,639 Annual wages I9543 6 453 332475 6 Annual product 842,586,058 165,423,027 This might be illustrated by details with regard to different manufac tures, as shoes, cotton, woollens, pig iron, wrought iron, and iron cast ings, all showing the contrast. It might also be illustrated by com parison between different States, showing for instance, that the manufactures of Massachusetts during the last year, exceeded those of all the Slave States combined. In commerce the failure of the Slave States is on a yet larger scale. Under this head the census does not supply proper statistics, and we are left to approximations from other sources ; but these are enough for our purpose. It appears, that, of products which enter into commerce, the Free States had an amount valued at $1,377,199,968, the Slave States an amount valued only at $410,754,992 ; that, of persons engaged in trade, the Free States had 136,856, and the Slave States 52,662; and that, of tonnage employed, the Free State had 2,791,096 tons, and the Slaves States only 726,284. This was in 1850. But in 1855 the disproportion was still greater, the Free States having 4,320,768 tons, and the Slave States 855,510 tons, being a difference of five to one, and the tonnage of Massachusetts alone being 979,210 tons, an amount larger than that of all the Slave States together. The tonnage built during this year by the Free States was 528,844 tons, by the Slave States 52,938 tons. Maine alone built 215,905 tons, or more than four times the whole built in the Slave States. The foreign commerce of the Free States, in 1855, as indicated by exports and imports, was $404,365,503 ; of the Slave States, $132,062,- 196. The exports of the Free States were $167,520,693; of the Slave States, including the vaunted cotton crop, $107,475,668. The imports of the Free States were $236,844,810 ; of the Slave States, $24,586,- 528. The foreign commerce of New York alone was more than twice as large as that of all the Slave States ; her imports were larger, and her exports were larger also. Add to this evidence of figures the testimony of a Virginian, Mr. Loudon, in a letter written just before the sitting of a Southern Commercial Convention. Thus he complains and testi fies : 332 RAILROADS POST-OFFICES CHARITY. "There are not half a dozen vessels engaged in our own trade that are owned in Virginia ; and I have been unable to find a vessel at Liv erpool loading for Virginia within three years, during the height of our busy season." XXI. Railroads and canals are the avenues of commerce ; and here again the Free States excel. Of railroads in operation in 1854, there were 13,105 miles in the Free States, and 4,212 in the Slave States. Of canals there were 3,682 miles in the Free States, and 1,116 in the Slave States. The Post-Office, which is the agent not only of commerce, but of civ ilization, joins in the uniform testimony. According to the tables for 1859, tne postage collected in the Free States was $5,581,749, and the expense of carrying the mails $6,945,545, leaving a deficit of $1,363,- 796. In the Slave States the amount collected was only $1,936,167, and the expense of carrying the mails $5,947,076, leaving the enormous deficit of $4,010,909, the difference between the two deficits being $2,647,113. The Slave States did not pay one-third of the expense in transporting their own mails ; and not a single Slave State paid for transporting its own mails, not even the small State of Delaware. Mas sachusetts, besides paying for hers, had a surplus larger by one-half than the whole amount collected in South Carolina. According to the census of 1850, the value of churches in the Free States was $66,177,586; in the Slave States $20,683,265. The voluntary charity contributed in 1855, for certain leading pur poses of Christian benevolence, was, in the Free States, $955,511 ; for the same purpose in the Slave States, $193,885. For the Bible cause the Free States contributed $321,365; the Slave States, $67,226. For the Missionary cause the former contributed $502,174; and the latter, $101,934. For the Tract Society the former contributed $131,972 ; and the latter, $24,725. The amount contributed for Missions by Massachusetts was greater than that contributed by all the Slave States, and more than eight times that contributed by South Carolina. Nor have the Free States been backward in charity for the benefit of the Slave States. The records of Massachusetts show that as long ago as 1781, at the beginning of the Government, there was a contribution throughout the Commonwealth, under the particular direction of that eminent patriot, Samuel Adams, for the relief of inhabitants of South EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS. 333 Carolina and Georgia. In 1855 we were saddened by the prevalence of yellow fever in Portsmouth, Virginia ; and now, from a report of the Relief Commitee of that place, we learn that the amount of charity con tributed by the Slave States exclusive of Virginia, the afflicted State, was $12,182 ; and including Virginia, it was $33,398 ; while $42,547 was contributed by the Free States. XXII. In all this array we see the fatal influence of Slavery. But its Bar barism is yet more conspicuous, when we consider its Educational Es tablishments, and the unhappy results naturally ensuing from their im perfect character. Of colleges, in 1856, the Free States had 61, and the Slave States 59 ; but the comparative efficacy of the institutions assuming this name may be measured by certain facts. The number of graduates in the PYee States was 47,752, in the Slave States 19,648; the number of ministers educated in Slave colleges was 747, in Free colleges 10,702 ; and the number of volumes in the libraries of Slave colleges 308,011, in the libraries of Free colleges 668,497. If materials were at hand for com parison between these colleges, in buildings, cabinets, and scientific apparatus, or in standard of scholarship, the difference would be still more apparent. Of professional schools, teaching law, medicine, and theology, the Free States had 65, with 269 professors, 4,417 students, and 175,951 volumes in their libraries ; while the Slave States had only 32 profes sional schools, with 122 professors, 1,816 students, and 30,796 volumes in their libraries. The whole number educated at these institutions in the Free States was 23,513, in the Slave States, 3,812. Of these, the largest number in the Slave States study medicine, next theology, and lastly law. According to the census, there are only 808 students in the Slave theological schools, and 747 studying for the ministry in Slave colleges ; and this is the education of the Slave clergy. In the law schools of the Slave States the number ofstudents is only 240, this being the sum-total of public students in the land of Slavery devoted to that profession which is the favorite stepping-stone to political life, where Slave-Masters claim such a disproportion of office and honor. Of academies and private schools, in 1850, the Free States, not withstanding multitudinous public schools, had 3,197, with 7,175 teachers, 154,893 pupils, and an annual income of $2.457,372 ; the 334 IN SYSTEMS OF COMMON SCHOOLS. Slave States had 2,797 academies and private schools, with 4,913 teachers, 104,976 pupils, and an annual income of $2,079,724. In the absence of public schools, to a large extent, where Slavery exists, the dependence must be upon private schools ; and yet even here the Slave States fall below the Free States, whether we con sider the number of schools, the number of pupils, the number of teachers, or the amount paid for their support. XXIIL In public schools, open to all, poor and rich alike, the preeminence of the Free States is complete. Here the figures show a difference as wide as that between Freedom and Slavery. Their number in the Free States is 62,433, w ^ tn 72,621 teachers, and with 2,769.901 pupils, supported at an annual expense of $6,780,337. Their number in the Slave States is 18,507, with 19,307 teachers, and with 581,861 pupils, supported at an annual expense of $2,719,534. This difference may be illustrated by details. Virginia, an old State, and more than a third larger than Ohio, has 67,353 pupils in her public schools, while the latter State has 484, 153. Arkansas, equal in age and size with Michigan, has only 8,493 pupils at her public schools, while the latter State has 110,455. South Carolina, nearly four times as large as Massachusetts, has 17,838 pupils at public schools, while the latter State has 176,475. South Carolina spends for this purpose, annually, $200,600 ; Massachusetts, $1,006,- 795. Baltimore, with a population of 169,054, on the Northern verge of Slavery, has school buildings valued at $105,729; Boston, with a population of 136,881, has school buildings valued at $729,502. Balti more has only 37 public schools, with 138 teachers, and 8, on pupils, supported at an annual expense of $32,423 ; Boston has 203 public schools, with 353 teachers, and 20,369 pupils, supported at an annual expense of $237,100. Even these figures do not disclose the whole difference ; for there exist in the Free States teachers institutes, nor mal schools, lyceums, and public courses of lectures, unknown in the region of Slavery. These advantages are enjoyed by the children of colored persons ; and here is a comparison which shows the degrada tion of the Slave States. It is their habit particularly to deride free colored persons. See, now, with what cause. The number of colored persons in the Free States is 196,016, of whom 22,043, or more than one-ninth, attend school, which is a larger proportion than is supplied PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 335 by the whites of the Slave States. In Massachusetts there are 9,064 colored persons, of whom 1,439, or "early one-sixth, attend school, which is a much larger proportion than is supplied by the whites of South Carolina. Among educational establishments are public libraries ; and here, again, the Free States have their customary eminence, whether we con sider libraries strictly called public, or libraries of the common school, Sunday-school, college, and church. The disclosures are startling. The number of libraries in the Free States is 14,893, and the sum-total of volumes is 3,883,617; the number of libraries in the Slave States is 713, and the sum-total of volumes is 654,194 : showing an excess for Freedom of more than fourteen thousand libraries, and more than three millions of volumes. In the Free States the common-school libraries are 11,881, and contain 1,589,683 volumes; in the Slave States they are 186, and contain 57,721 volumes. In the Free States the Sunday-school libraries are 1,713, and contain 474,241 volumes ; in the Slave States they are 275, and contain 68,080 volumes. In the Free States the college libraries are 132, and contain 660,573 volumes ; in the Slave States they are 79, and contain 249,248 volumes. In the Free States the church libraries are 109, and contain 52,723 volumes ; in the Slave States they are 21, and contain 5,627 volumes. In the Free States the libraries strictly called public, and not included under heads already enumerated, are 1,058, and contain 1,106,397 volumes ; those of the Slave States are 152, and contain 273,518 volumes. Turn these figures over, look at them in any light, and the conclusion is irresistible for Freedom. The college libraries alone of the Free States are greater than all the libraries of Slavery ; so, also, are the libraries of Massachusetts alone greater than all the libraries of Slavery; and the common-school libraries alone of New York are more than twice as large as all the libraries of Slavery. Michigan has 107,943 volumes in her libraries ; Arkansas has 420 ; and yet the Acts for the admission of these two States into the Union were passed on the same day. , XXIV. Among educational establishments, one of the most efficient is the press ; and here again all things testify for Freedom. The Free States excel in the number of newspapers and periodicals published, whether daily, semi-weekly, weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly, and 336 THE PRESS PRINTERS PUBLISHERS. whatever their character, whether literary, neutral, political, religious, or scientific. The whole aggregate circulation in the Free States is 334,146,281, in the Slave States 81,038,693 ; in Free Michigan 3,247,- 736, in Slave Arkansas 377,000 ; in Free Ohio 30,473,407, in Slave Kentucky 6,582,838; in Slave South Carolina 7,145,930, in Free Mas sachusetts 64,820,564, a larger number than in the twelve Slave States, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Geor gia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, combined. This enormous disproportion in the aggregate is also pre served in the details. In the Slave States political newspapers find more favor than all others together ; but even of these they publish only 47,243,209 copies, while the Free States publish 163,583,668. Numerous as are political newspapers in the Free States, they form considerably less than one-half the aggregate circulation of the Press, while in the Slave States they constitute nearly three-fifths. Of neutral newspapers the Slave States publish 8,812,620, the Free States 79,156,- 733. Of religious newspapers the Slave States publish 4,364,832, the Free States 29,280,652. Of literary journals the Slave States publish 20,245,360, the Free States 57,478,768. And of scientific journals the Slave States publish 372,672, the Free States 4,521,260. Of these last the number of copi- published in Massachusetts alone is 2,033,260, more than five times the number in the whole land of Slavery. Thus, in contributions to science, literature, religion, and even politics, as attested by the activity of the periodical press, do the Slave States miserably fail, while darkness gathers over them, increasing with time. According to the census of 1810, the disproportion in this respect be tween the two regions was only as two to one ; it is now more than four to one, and is still darkening. The same disproportion appears with regard to persons connected with the Press. In the Free States the number of printers was 11,812, of whom 1,229 were m Massachusetts ; in the Slaves States there were 2,625, f whom South Carolina had only 141. In the Free States the number of publishers was 331 ; in the Slave States, 24. Of these, Massachusetts had 51, or more than twice as many as all the Slave States ; while South Carolina had but one. In the Free States the authors were 73 ; in the Slave States, 6, Massachusetts having 17, and South Carolina none. These suggestive illustrations are all derived from the last official census. If we go to other sources, the contrast is still the same. Of the authors mentioned in Duyckinck s " Cyclo pedia of American Literature," 434 are of the Free States, and only 90 AUTHORS PATENTS EMIGRATION. 337 ot the Slave States. Of the poets mentioned in Griswold s " Poets and Poetry of America," 122 are of the Free States, and only 16 of the Slave States. Of the poets whose place of birth appears in Read s " Female Poets of America," 71 are of the Free States, and only n of the Slave States. If we try authors by weight or quality, it is the same as when we try them by numbers. Out of the Free States come all whose works have a place in the permanent literature of the country, Irving, Prescott, Sparks, Bancroft, Emerson, Motley, Hildreth, Haw thorne ; also. Bryant, Longfellow, Dana, Halleck, Whittier, Lowell, and I might add indefinitely to the list. But what name from the Slave States can find entrance there ? A similar disproportion appears in the number of Patents, during the last three years, 1857, 1858, and 1859, attesting the inventive industry of the contrasted regions. In the Free States there were 9,557; in the Slave States, 1,306 : making a difference of 8,251 in favor of Freedom. The number in Free Massachusetts was 1,351 ; in Slave South Carolina, 39. The number in Free Connecticut, small in territory and population, was 628 ; in Slave Virginia, large in territory and population, 184. From these things we might infer the ignorance prevalent in the Slave States ; but this shows itself in specific results of a deplorable character, authenticated by the official census. In the Slave States there were 493,026 native white adults, persons over twenty years of age, unable to read and write ; while in the Free States, with double the native white population, there were but 248,725 persons of this class in this unhappy predicament : in the Slave States the proportion be ing i in 5 of the adult native whites ; in the Free States i in 22. The number in Free Massachusetts, in an adult native white population of 47?375> was 1,055, or I m 446 ; the number in Slave South Carolina, in a like population of only 120,136, was 15,580, or i in 8. The num ber in Free Connecticut was i in 256, in Slave Virginia i in 5 ; in Free New Hampshire i in 192, and in Slave North Carolina i in 3. XXV. Before leaving this picture, where the dismal colors all come from official sources, there are two other aspects in which Slavery may be regarded. i. The first is its influence on emigration. The official compendium of the census (page 115) tells us that inhabitants of Slave States who are natives of Free States are more numerous than inhabi- 22 338 LIFE-GIVING POWER OF FREEDOM. tants of Free States who are natives of Slave States. This is an egregious error. Just the contrary is true. The census of 1850 found 606,139 in the Free States who were born in the Slave States, while only 206,624 born in the Free States were in the Slave States. And since the white population of the Free States is double that of the Slave States, it appears that the proportion of whites moving from Slavery is six times greater than that of whites moving into Sl-avery. This simple fact discloses something of the aversion to Slavery which is aroused even in the Slave States. 2. The second is furnished by the character of the region on the border-line between Freedom and Slavery. In general, the value of land in Slave States adjoining Freedom is advanced, while the value of corresponding lands in Free States is diminished. The effects of Free dom and Slavery are reciprocal. Slavery is a bad neighbor ; Freedom is a good neighbor. In Virginia, lands naturally poor are, by nearness to Freedom, worth $12.98 an acre, while richer lands in other parts of the State are worth only $8.42. In Illinois, lands bordering on Slavery are worth only $4.54 an acre, while other lands in Illinois are worth $8.05. As in the value of lands, so in all other influences is Slavery felt for evil, and Freedom felt for good ; and thus is it clearly shown to be for the interest of the Slave States to be surrounded by a circle of Free States. At every point is the character of Slavery more and more manifest, rising and dilating into an overshadowing Barbarism, darkening the whole land. Through its influence, population, values of all kinds, manufactures, commerce, railroads, canals, chanties, the post-office, colleges, professional schools, academies, public schools, newspapers, periodicals, books, authorship, inventions, are all stunted, and, under .a Government which professes to be founded on the intelligence of the people, one in five of native white adults in the region of Slavery is officially reported as unable to read and write. Never was the saying of Montesquieu more triumphantly verified, that countries are not cul tivated by reason of their fertility, but by reason of their liberty. To this truth the Slave States testify perpetually by every possible voice. Liberty is the powerful agent which drives the plough, the spindle, and the keel, opens avenues of all kinds, inspires charity, awakens love of knowledge, and supplies the means of gratifying it. Liberty is the first of schoolmasters : nay, more ; it is the Baconian philosophy of Civilization, through which the powers and activities of man are en larged beyond measure or imagination. THE BARBARY OF THE UNION. 339 XXVI. Unerring and passionless figures thus far are our witnesses. But their testimony will be enhanced by a final glance at the geographical character of the Slave States ; and here there is a singular and instruc tive parallel. Jefferson described Virginia as "fast sinking" to be "the Barbary of the Union," meaning, of course, the Barbary of his day, which had not yet turned against Slavery. And Franklin also wrote, that he did "not wish to see a new Barbary rising in America, and our long extended coast occupied by piratical States." In this each spoke with prophetic voice. Though on different sides of the Atlantic and on different con tinents, our Slave States and the original Barbary States occupy nearly the same parallels of latitude, occupy nearly the same extent of longi tude, embrace nearly the same number of square miles, enjoy kindred advantages of climate, being equally removed from the cold of the North and the burning heat of the tropics, and also have similar bound aries of land and water, affording kindred advantages of ocean and sea, with this difference, that the boundaries of the two regions are precisely reversed, so that where is land in one is water in the other, while in both there is the same extent of ocean and the same extent of sea. Nor is this all. Algiers, for a long time the most obnoxious place in the Barbary States of Africa, once branded by an indignant chronicler as " the wall of the Barbarian world," is situated near the parallel of 36 30 north latitude, being the line of the Missouri Compromise, which once marked the wall of Slavery in our country west of the Mis sissippi, while Morocco, the chief present seat of Slavery in the African Barbary, is near the parallel of Charleston. There are no two spaces on the surface of the globe, equal in extent (and careful examination will verify what I am about to state), which present so many distinctive features of resemblance, whether we consider the common regions of latitude in which they lie, the common nature of their boundaries, their common productions, their common climate, or the common Barbarism which sought shelter in both. I do not stop to inquire why Slavery- banished at last from Europe, banished also from that part of this hemi sphere which corresponds in latitude to Europe should have intrenched itself, in both hemispheres, in similar regions of latitude, so that Virginia, Carolina, Mississippi, and Missouri are the American complement to Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis. But there is one important point 340 MR. CHESTNUT, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. in the parallel which remains to be fulfilled. The barbarous Emperor of Morocco, in the words of a treaty, so long ago as the last century, declared his desire that " the odious name of Slavery might be effaced from the memory of men ; " while Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, whose tena city for the Barbarism was equalled only by that of South Carolina, have renounced it one after another, and delivered it over to the indignation of mankind. Following this example, the parallel will be complete, and our Barbary will become the complement in Freedom to the Afri can Barbary, as it has already been its complement in Slavery, and is unquestionably its complement in geographical character. Thus, sir, speaking for Freedom in Kansas, I have spoken for Free dom everywhere, and for Civilization ; and as the less is contained in the greater, so are all arts, all sciences, all economies, all refinements, all charities, all delights of life, embodied in this cause. You may reject it, but it will be only for to-day. The sacred animosity of Free dom and Slavery can end only with the triumph of Freedom. The same question will be carried soon before that high tribunal, supreme over Senate and Court, where the judges are counted by millions, and the judgment rendered will be the solemn charge of an awakened people, instructing a new President, in the name of Freedom, to see that Civilization receives no detriment. * * * XXVII. I omit altogether that part of the speech which treats of the character of Slave-masters, and the black array of violence and crime as evidence of low civilization through out the South ; and the treatment of Northern citizens, when in the power of Southern men, wherever they ex pressed any views not agreeing with the Institution. When Mr. SUMNER resumed his seat, Mr. Chestnut, of South Carolina, uttered these words : " Mr. President, after the extraordinary, though characteristic, speech just uttered in the Senate, it is proper that I assign the reason for the position we are now inclined to assume. After ranging over Europe, crawling through the back doors to whine at the feet of British aris tocracy, craving pity, and reaping a rich harvest of contempt, the slanderer of States and men reappears in the Senate. We had hoped to HIS UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE. 341 be relieved from the outpourings of such vulgar malice. We had hoped that one who had felt, though ignominiously he failed to meet, the con sequences of a former insolence would have become wiser, if not better, by experience. In this I am disappointed, and I regret it. Mr. Pre sident, in the heroic ages of the world men were deified for the pos session and the exercise of some virtues, wisdom, truth, justice, magnanimity, courage. In Egypt, also, we know they deified beasts and reptiles ; but even that bestial people worshipped their idols on account of some supposed virtue. It has been left for this day, for this country, for the Abolitionists of Massachusetts, to deify the incarnation of malice, mendacity, and cowardice. Sir, we do not intend to be guilty of aid ing in the apotheosis of pusillanimity and meanness. We do not intend to contribute, by any conduct on our part, to increase the devotees at the shrine of this new idol. We know what is expected and what is desired. We are not inclined again to send forth the recipient of PUNISHMENT howling through the world, yelping fresh cries of slander and malice. These are the reasons, which I feel it due to myself and others to give to the Senate and the country, why we have quietly listened to what has been said, and why we can take no other notice of the matter." He spoke with uncontrollable rage, and was listened to with eagerness and approval by the Slave-masters of the Senate, both from the North and the South. There was no call to order by the Chair, which was at the time occupied by Mr. BIGLER, of Pennsylvania. The storm seemed ready to burst once more in violence. But this time brutality and murder were to seek more cowardly and skulking assassins. We have seen how they were foiled by the vigilance of Mr. SUMNER S friends. XXVIII. Shortly after the delivery of his last speech, Mr. SUMNER presented a petition of citizens of Massachusetts of African descent, praying the Senate to suspend the labors of the Select Committee which had been ap pointed to investigate the late invasion and seizure of property at Harper s Ferry, and that all persons now in custody under the proceedings of such committee, be dis- 342 MADNESS PRECEDES DESTRUCTION. charged. This was referred to the Select Committee, June 5th. On the i5th of the month, Mr. MASON re ported from that Committee, a resolution, " that the paper purporting to be a petition from citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of African descent, presented to the Senate by CHARLES SUMNER, a Senator of Massachusetts, be returned by the Secretary to the Senator who presented it." Supposing that this resolu tion would be called up, Mr. SUMNER prepared some notes of a speech he intended to deliver on the subject, in which the following paragraph occurred : "There is a saying of antiquity, which has the confirming voice of all intervening time, that Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad. And now, sir, while humbled for my country that such a proposi tion should be introduced into the Senate, I accept it as an omen of that madness which precedes the fall of its authors." But the resolution never was called up, and no other resolution of such tyrannical hardihood and shameless insult, was ever renewed in that Senate house, for the great struggle was at hand, in which ABRAHAM LINCOLN was to be triumphantly elected President of the United States. XXIX. On his way from Washington, after the adjournment of Congress, at the invitation of the Young Men s Re publican Union, New York City, the Senator delivered a powerful campaign speech on " THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: ITS ORIGIN, NECESSITY AND PERMANENCE," to a mass meeting at Cooper Institute, July n, 1860. It was evident that the movement had now become formidable enough to command respect from all parties. CAMPAIGN SPEECH AT COOPER INSTITUTE. 343 Of the thousands who packed that hall an auditory which seemed more like a gathering for a grand concert, or festival, than a political mass meeting few have for gotten the imposing character of the assemblage, or the strange mingling of earnest determination and unre strained enthusiasm, manifested on the occasion. The scene is thus described by the Evening Post : Mr. SUMNER was as happy in manner, as he was forcible in the matter of his speech. His commanding person, his distinct utterance, and his graceful elocution, combined with the eloquence of his words in keep ing the immense auditory to their seats for two hours, without a move ment, and almost without a breath, save when the applause broke forth. It is the first time Mr. Sumner has spoken in public since he was laid low in the Senate House, and New York by this grand demonstration has shown its eagerness to welcome him to the field of so many former triumphs. Mr. SEWARD wrote to the speaker : " Your speech, in every part, is noble and great. Even you never spoke so well." We have no room for this Oration for it is worthy of the name : it is enough, however*, to say that, without any sacrifice of the lofty tone and scholarly finish of his Senatorial speeches, it most strikingly popularized the chief arguments that had made the burden of his former efforts that it was printed entire in the Tribune, Times, Herald and World, and that enormous editions were cir culated by the Young Men s Republican Union, while the Republican press everywhere reproduced it, till it fell like leaves in Vallambrosa/ upon every farm, roof- tree, counting-house, and workshop, in the great Free North. A Republican wigwam was to be dedicated in New York on the 6th of the following August, at which an 344 LINCOLN S ADMINISTRATION RATIFIED. effort was made to get Mr. SUMXER to speak ; but they had to be content with a hearty reply, in which he said : As citizens of a great Metropolis, you have duties of peculiar dif ficulty. It is in these centres that the Pro-Slavery sentiment of the North shows itself with a violence often kindred to that of the planta tion, so as to almost justify the language of Jefferson, who called great cities " sores" on the body politic. Even this expression does not seem too strong, when we recognize the infection of Slavery, breaking out sometimes in violence and mobs, and as constantly manifest in the press, public speeches, and in a corrupt public sentiment. It belongs to the Republican party, by gentle and healing influences, guided by a firm hand, to inaugurate the work of cure, that health may be substituted for disease. XXX. On the 29th of the same month, the Republicans of Massachusetts assembled in Mass Convention at Wor cester, to ratify the nomination of Mr. LINCOLN for President, and JOHN A. ANDREW, for the first time, as Governor of Massachusetts. Mr. SUMNER delivered the principal speech, on *> The Presidential Candidates, and the Issues of the Canvass." He went into a clear and analytical exposition of the entire merits of the ques tion, the comparative claims for support of LINCOLN and HAMLIN, representing the now formidable Republican party ; of BRECKENRIDGE and LANE, the candidates of the now clearly announced champions of the Democra tic Pro-Slavery Party ; of DOUGLAS and JOHNSON, the candidates of the seceding body of Democrats, known as the DOUGLAS, or Squatter Sovereignty Party ; and of BELL and EVERETT, candidates of the few old remaining Whigs, who, like venerable barnacles, were still clinging to a sinking ship. Nothing but imperative necessity ex- THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 345 eludes that speech from this volume. This memorable campaign, brought out from these four quarters more ability in debate, and excited a deeper interest among all classes, North and South, than any other within re cent times ; nor has any campaign perhaps ever mar shalled, in public meetings and at the ballot-box, such excited and contending hosts. SECTION EIGHTH. The War of the Rebellion. I. THE first shot into Fort Sumter was the signal-gun of the greatest and the strangest war ever waged on earth. That shot was thrown to the feet of Liberty in defiance. It was intended to inaugurate a life-or-death struggle between Slavery and Freedom. It did its work ; and the cannon which threw it will live longer in history than the torch of the wretch who burned the Ephesian Temple. Again, and on a higher stage, the struggle was to come, to test the vital forces of Civilization and Barbarism, of Progress and Retrogression, of Order and Anarchy, of Life or Death, for men and communities, for society and governments. Above all was it a final grapple between the Past whose dead had buried its own dead, and the Future which was to give life to all. Something like this had been witnessed during the 346 DEAD NATIONS NEVER RETURN. many thousand years of deadly strife the human race had been going through, in approaching Liberty as the road to God, the shrine where all nations are yet to worship. The records of human defeats, sufferings, and triumphs, show little more than the heroism of the true and the good, in resisting the false and the bad. II. It seems to be the will of Heaven that nations must work out their own salvation as nations. The final Court of Appeals, to which even the uneducated con science points its indexing finger, will judge the indi vidual, not the community. When nations pass away, they never return. We survey their wrecks stranded on the shore of time, merely to read some commentaries on their history, their rise and development, their decline and fall. But civilization, which means progression towards the just, the great, the safe and sublime, was the law God insti tuted for Society. Great thoughts never die. They go among the eter nal archives of human hope and security, to which the treasures of successive a^es are committed. o In the literature and arts of the ancients, we have most of the finest thoughts of the finest minds, the chief records of the noblest deeds of the noblest men. And thus the torch of light is safely transmitted from age to age. All its effulgence was shed over us from the hour our country was born. We had inherited all the earth could give us, with the fairest and broadest field for its VISION OF LIBERTY IN THE NEW WORLD. 347 use and development. The Creator had looked on us benignantly, as our fathers sailed for a new home be yond the sea to find a resting-place for earth s children. Thus high did Heaven seem to fix its purpose on North America, thus sublimely did our founders com prehend the fact. III. Our history had been more wonderful than the dreams of Oriental fancy. All the images of wealth, prosperity, and power that had ever thrilled the brain-pulses of the most ideal disciple of Plato, vanished into thin air before the form of Young American Liberty, rising from this fresh continent, proclaiming to the race freedom, order, and happiness for all. No such treasure had before been committed to men. When He spread this festival, He asked all nations to come. Hardly a day went by, but some winged messenger came from the Old World, freighted with hearts that were weary, seeking a new roof-tree, with muscles that were over-strained by the unpaid toil of Europe ; but all ready to carry out the dreams of personal, manly, ennobling social life. The best minds and the warmest hearts on the other side of the water understood America. They knew our history, and they burned with enthusiasm to mix their fortunes up with our earlier settlers. They did ; and even this tide of national disaster hardly arrested their coming. They were arriving still ; and they found fertile soil and free institutions for their free possession, till at last all Europe and Asia will together rejoice in the triumph of the thoughts and de sires of the brave and humane men who constructed our system of civic life. 348 OUR PROGRESS TILL i860. IV. And thus we went on till 1860, pressing- our free course to wealth without limit, to prosperity beyond our own comprehension, and to happiness so complete that we forgot the source of it all, when we made the dread ful discovery for the first time, that our career was arrested for a while, if not forever. We were not going too fast ; we were only on the wrong road. We were rushing madly from the sphere where our Maker had placed us, and He laid His great hand on His own work, when suddenly thirty millions of people, under one government, stood paralyzed on the brink of ruin. We had allowed Slavery to become the law of the land. We had dethroned the Liberty we had boasted of, and enthroned the Dagon of Human Servitude in its place. We had prostituted to the basest purpose the great gift bestowed on us so lavishly ; and in the merci less greed for gain, when we already had a thousand times more than we could use, we ran riot into every form of luxury and licentiousness which could tempt the appetite, exalt the pride, or inflame the ambition of our people. Religion, with all its sublime traditions, and all its holy allurements to the better life we could lead, had lost much of its magic power over the great masses over the young and the old, except the few who were mercifully removed from the great whirlpool of the heated life we were livingf ; for the rest all clutched like O birds of prey for the nearest carrion; and we "jumped the life to come. " ARRESTED AT OUR BELSHAZZAR FEAST. 349 V. In the midst of our National Belshazzar-Feast, of pride, voluptuousness, and enchantment, the shot at Fort Sumter fell like a bolt of lightning*. It struck the hearts of the revellers, and we began to take our eyes from the dust and turn them up to heaven. By one wave of that wand which never waves twice to do its work, the handwriting was written on all the walls, and the Palace of our greatness was sinking to ashes. The Republic was at stake. We had played, and we had lost ! We had attempted an impossibility. We had tried to make Liberty and Slavery live together on the same soil. While the free North was prospering, we had allowed the enslaved to be immolated. While we could flourish under the fragrant branches of Liberty s tree, we were manuring the roots of the Upas, whose branches were spreading over our Northern communities, our homes, our hearts. Its subtle and deadly poison had already struck through the veins and arteries, and approached the springs of life. For a moment we were like a traveler arrested in the speed of his journey, with a fevered pulse and difficult breathing. The discovery did not come all at once ; nor did the nation feel it deeply enough for a long time, to be ready to recover. To Europe it looked like the be ginning of our national end an irrevocable leap to ruin. Was it death ? or was it fever with delirium ? It was both ! The only question, after two years of struggle, which 350 SUMNER S MIGHTY INFLUENCE. blotted out all the puny strifes of other empires, was whether there was a resurrection and a redeemed life for the great Republic of the world. VI. If Mr. SUMNER had more to do than any other man in influencing public opinion on the subject of Slavery ; and, as was alleged by his enemies at the time, more to do with bringing on the Rebellion a false and scandalous charge it is certain that he was no less active in shaping the policy of the Senate after the war had got fairly under way. It might be a more accurate statement to say that he had more to do in shaping the opinion of the nation, than that of the Senate, or ad ministration ; for, not being a politician, in the common acceptation of that term, he never sought to stand well with the politicians of his time, nor with men in power. He was the great Outsider the great Commoner, the Prophet, the Apostle, the Teacher, the Guide, of the American People. Sooner or later, his views on all the great measures that occupied the public mind, became public opinion. Wild, ultra, extravagant as he was often called, the sober judgment of the country to which he always appealed, was sure in the end to come to his position. VII. On the first of October, 1861, he addressed the Republican State Convention, which again met at Wor cester, on the topic of the hour, in a most effective speech, which, under various titles, was widely circulated. In one pamphlet it was called " Emancipation the Cure ANOTHER SPEECH AT WORCESTER. 35 1 of the Rebellion ; " another, " Union and Peace : how they shall be restored ; " and again, " Emancipation our best Weapon." In opening the business of the Con vention, its chairman, Mr. Dawes, said : " Since last assembled here for a kindred purpose, the mighty march of events has borne the popular effort on to a higher plane, than ever before opened to the gaze of man. Massachusetts cannot if she would, and thank God, she would not if she could, perform an indifferent part in this life-struggle of the Republic." As Mr. SUMNER rose to speak, the warmth of his reception indicated feelings of gratitude for his public services, that must have been grateful to him after all that had occurred. But he well knew that the Repub lican party even in Massachusetts, was by no .means unanimous in regard to the policy which the administra tion should pursue on the subject of slavery. It is well remembered by those who were sufficiently informed at the time, that .the Anti-Slavery tendencies of Mr. LINCOLN and his Cabinet were far from being of a radical type. The President had from the beginning, emphatically announced that he entertained no hostility against Slavery, nor did he propose to interfere with it where it existed by due process of law. It is safe to say that no member of his Cabinet differed with him materially in these respects : nor did any considerable portion of those who participated in the early events of the war, mix up the merits or demerits of Slavery with the subject. But believing, as Mr. SUMNER did, that Slavery was short-lived, and that in the collision which the South itself had brought on, Emancipation must be the final result, he spoke and acted on this conviction. He was as well persuaded what the result of the appeal 352 HE INVOKES EMANCIPATION. to battle would be, when it was first made, as he ever became afterwards. Abhorring bloodshed, and willing to avoid it up to the last possible moment, he saw no alternative but victory, after the dernier ressort of Slavery had been invoked. As a war-measure, he was, from the start, in favor of a Proclamation of Emancipation ; the earliest, probably, to entertain this opinion ; certainly the first to openly express it. The result vindicated his prescience. He had foreseen, also, that the danger of a recognition of the Southern Confederacy by the great Powers of Europe, could be averted in no other way ; for no European Cabinet would hazard inter vention or recognition of the South, if they clearly saw that the struggle had become a simple issue between Freedom and Slavery. He was therefore urgent in pressing these views, at all times, and in all quarters. VIII. And now after glancing briefly at his public course in reference to the atrocities of the Fugitive Slave Law at his argument proving Freedom to be national, and Slavery sectional his efforts to prevent the extension of slavery over new Territories the vindication of Freedom in Kansas the tyrannical usurpations of the Slave Oligarchy ; and more particularly the way in which he had dragged the barbarism of slavery into the light of public gaze, he said to the Worcester Conven tion : " These are topics no longer of practical interest ; they are not of to-day. Let us," he said, " rejoice that so much has been gained, and from the extent of the present triumph, take hope and courage for the future. Providence will be with the good cause in times to come, HE EXULTS IN VIEW OF THE PAST. 353 as in times past. Others may despair ; I do not. Others may see gloom ; I cannot. Others may hesitate ; I will not. Already is the nation saved." He could not withhold the expression of his thanks to Almighty God that Emancipation had already begun to count its victories. " The Slave Oligarchy," he con tinued, in one of his cumulative bursts of volcanic argument, " which, according to the vaunt of a slave- holding Senator, has ruled the Republic for more than fifty years ;- which has stamped its degrading character upon the national forehead which has entered into, and possessed, not only the politics, but the literature, and even the religion of the land which has embroiled us at home, and given us a bad name abroad which has wielded at will, President, Cabinet, and even judicial tribunals which has superseded public opinion by substituting its own immoral behests which has ap propriated to itself the offices and honors of the Re public which has established Slavery as the single test and shibboleth of favor, -which, after opening all our Territories to this wrong, was already promising to re new the Slave-trade and its unutterable woes, nay, more, which in the instinct of that "tyranny through which it ruled, was beating down all safe-guards of human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, security of person, and delivering the whole country to a sway whose vulgarity was second only to its madness this domineering Slave Oligarchy is dislodged from the National Government, never more to return. Thus far at least has Emancipation prevailed. The greatest slave of all is free. Pillars greater than those of Her cules might fitly mark this progress." 2 3 354 EMANCIPATION WOULD END THE WAR. IX. Impatient at the feebleness of the short-sighted policy with which we were carrying on the war during the first year acting simply on the defensive " Defence, did I say ? With mortification I utter the word. Rebel conspirators have set upon us, and now besiege the National Government. They besiege it at Washington, where are the President and his Cabinet, with the National archives. They besiege it at Fortress Monroe, on the Atlantic; at St. Louis on the Mississippi; and now they besiege it in Kentucky. Everywhere we are on the defensive. Strongholds are wrested from us ; soldiers gathered under the folds of the national flaof O> O are compelled to surrender ; citizens, whose only offence is loyalty, are driven from their homes ; bridges are burned ; railways are disabled ; steamers and ships are seized ; the largest navy yard of the country is appro priated ; commerce is hunted on the sea ; and property, wherever it can be reached, ruthlessly robbed or de stroyed ! Do you ask in whose name all this is done ? The answer is easy. Not in the name of God and the Continental Congress, as Ethan Allen summoned Ticonderoga, but in the name of Slavery. It is often said that war will make an end of Slavery. This is probable. But it is surer still that the overthrow of .Slavery will make an end of the war. Therefore do I believe, beyond all question, that reason, justice, and policy, each and all unite in declaring that the war must be brought to bear directly on the grand conspirator and omnipresent enemy. Not to do so, is to take upon ourselves all the weakness of Slavery, while we leave THE AUTHOR S INTERCOURSE WITH MR. SUMNER. 355 to the rebels its boasted resources of military strength. It is not necessary even to carry the war into Africa. It will be enough if we carry Africa into the war. The moment this is done, Rebellion will begin its bad luck, and the Union become secure forever." Mr. SUMNER had been addressing as intelligent an auditory one as well instructed in public affairs, as almost any that could be assembled ; and he carried the Convention with him. He was far in advance of the public opinion of the time ; and it was only because public opinion was behind events, that years more of humiliating disaster were to attend our armies, and prolong the life of the Rebellion. X. Being at the time, and continuing until the close of the war, a close observer, in Washington, of men and events, and with every facility that I desired for infor mation on any and all subjects connected with the stupendous crisis the nation was passing through, I shall hereafter, in this recital, draw with considerable freedom upon my own personal sources of knowledge. There was scarcely a public man on either side, in this great struggle, that I had not, during former years, been acquainted with. It was especially during the first two years of the war, that I had constant and confiden tial intercourse with Mr. SUMNER himself; and as this record is confined mainly to the part he acted in the great drama, I shall make some statements of my own knowledge concerning facts which could not at the time be communicated to the public. During the whole period of the war, I kept a daily record of facts concern- 356 SUMNER URGES LINCOLN IN VAIN. ing men and events ; and from that record I shall transfer much relating to the views and course of Mr. SUMNER, as well as those of President LINCOLN, the progress of whose opinions I traced with indescribable interest up to the moment the Proclamation of Emancipation was issued, when his policy was fully settled. From the stand he then took, he never afterwards deviated the breadth of a hair ; although he was frequently obliged either to act against the well-known views of several members of his Cabinet, or, as sometimes occurred, Avithout their knowledge, and solely on his own respon sibility, since he knew that the country would hold him answerable for the policy of the administration. Nor was he the man ever to shirk a public or a private duty. XI. Everybody will remember the dismay with which the news of the first battle of Bull Run spread through the country. Two or three days after this event, Mr. SUM NER called upon the President, with a view of urging for the first time, the policy of Emancipation. I saw the Senator shortly after, and he gave me an account of that interview which lasted till midnight. He said the President did not agree with him ; that he still adhered to the policy of forbearance, believing that the country was not prepared to go so far as Mr. Sumner would advise. Least of all did the President favor either of the two bills he had introduced before the battle of Bull Run, one of which that of July i6th was " For the confiscation of property of persons in rebellion against the Constitution and laws of the United States ; " and the other, two days later, " For the punishment of PRO-SLAVERY POLICY OF THE CABINET. 357 conspiracy, and kindred offenses against the United States, and for the confiscation of the property of the offenders." No mention had been made of Slavery in these bills, but they indicated a policy altogether too vigorous to command at that time the approval of Mr. LINCOLN. The difference and a very great one it was between the two men s views, was, that Mr. SUMNER believed the hour had come for resorting to the full exercise of the War Pozver, desiring to have the President boldly lead the way in the enunciation. But Mr. LINCOLN could not see it in that light ; and on the I7th of July, the day that intervened between Mr. SUMNER S two bills, the following General Order from Headquarters, was issued by Mr. CAMERON, Secretary of War : Fugitive slaves will under no pretext whatever be permitted to reside, or in any way be harbored in the quarters and camps of the troops serving in this Department ; neither will such slaves be allowed to accompany troops on the march. Commanders of troops will be held responsible for a strict observance of the Order." In fact, during the first year of the war, Mr. LINCOLN S administration acted in superfluous good faith with the Rebels. Only a week after the Secretary s Order, the Attorney-General instructed the Marshals of Missouri to execute the Fugitive Slave Act throughout their dis tricts. But some interruptions were to take place in carrying it out in Virginia ; for on the 3oth of July, Gen. BUTLER, in a letter to the Secretary of War, expressed the opinion that " since an able-bodied Negro, fit to work in the trenches, is property liable to be used in aid of the Rebellion, he consequently becomes a contraband of War / " and without any hesitation he defined his policy, as a General in the service, by saying : 358 GEN. BUTLER S CONTRABANDS. In a state of Rebellion, I would confiscate that which was used to oppose my aims, and take all that property which constituted the wealth of that State, and furnished the means by which the war is pros ecuted, besides being the cause of the war. And if, in so doing, it should be objected that human beings were brought to the free enjoy ment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, such objections might not require much consideration. XII. But Mr. CAMERON thought differently ; and on the 8th of August, in orders to Gen. BUTLER, he said : " It is the desire of the President that all existing rights, in all o o the States, be fully respected and maintained. Nor will you, except in cases where the public good may seem to require it, prevent the voluntary return of any fugitive, to the service from which he may have escaped." The General remarked after reading this despatch, " This is too ridiculous to be laughed at." To sweep away the last doubt on the subject, a week later, Mr. SMITH, Secretary of the Interior, at a dinner in Providence, R. I., said : The minds of the people of the South have been deceived by the artful representations of Democrats, who have assured them that the people of the North were determined to bring the power of this govern ment to bear upon them for the purpose of crushing out this institution of Slavery ; but the government of the United States has no more right to interfere with the institution of Slavery in South Carolina, than it has to intefere with the peculiar institution of Rhode Island whose benefits I have enjoyed : Referring, we suppose, to a good dinner ; nor, from the well-known habits of Mr. SMITH, can we attribute the utterance of such a sentiment to the befuddling in fluence of the proverbially fine wine the gentlemen of Rhode Island drink. REASONS WHY LINCOLN HUNG BACK. 359 XIII. But another, and still more decisive endorsement of the administration policy, was seen in the treatment of General Fremont, who, on the 3Oth of August, had issued the following tellinqr Proclamation from the West o o ern Department : The property, real and personal, of all persons in the State of Mis souri wlw shall take up arms against the United States, or who shall be proven to have taken an active part with their enemies in the field, is declared to be confiscated to the public use, AND THEIR SLAVES, IF ANY THEY HAVE, ARE HEREBY DECLARED FREEMEN. A shout of gladness went through the country when FREMONT S act became known. But Mr. LINCOLN still hung back, doubtless for reasons which, to his usually sound judgment, were overrulino-. He said at the Jo o time to many of us who held Mr. SUMMER S views, that "It would do no good to go ahead any faster than the country would follow." About this time he said to me, "You know the old Latin motto, festiiia lente. How do the Italians those bastard Romans say the same thinor now ? " o " They have improved on it, Mr. President; they say, andate adaggio, perchcJio primooa Go slow, because I am in a hurry. " That s it, exactly. I think SUMNER, and the rest of you, would upset our apple-cart altogether, if you had your way. We ll fetch em ; just give us a little time. We didn t go into the war to put down Slavery, but to put the flag back ; and to act differently at this moment, would, I have no doubt, not only weaken our cause, but smack of bad faith ; for I never should have had 360 SUMXER FIRMLY FOR EMANCIPATION. votes enough to send me here, if the people had sup posed I should try to use my power to upset Slavery. Why, the first thing you d see, would be a mutiny in the army. No! We must wait until every other means has been exhausted. This thunderbolt will keep! I replied by telling a story, as I didn t consider that the President of the United States could claim any spe cial monopoly in that line " That reminds me, Mr. LINCOLN, of a neighbor of ours in Connecticut, to whom, one fall, we gave some apples, with directions how to preserve them. They were to be laid clown in a barrel of dry sand, headed up, and not opened till the 4th of July, the next year. On that morning he paid us a visit, and announced that he had opened his apples. Well, did they keep ? Yes, said he, * they kept : but they were all rotten ! Mr. LINCOLN, who was kind enough to laugh at other people s jokes as heartily as he expected everybody to laugh at his own, took it in good part, and replied : " The powder in this bombshell will keep dry : and when the fuse is lit, I intend to have them touch it off themselves." While Mr. SUMNER was disposed to render all the aid he could to Mr. LINCOLN, he everywhere advocated a widely different policy, the one which he first announced at Worcester, repeated and reiterated in speeches in the Senate, in his daily conversation, and in his broad correspondence with enlightened men all over Christen dom. In England, France, and Germany, his views were widely made known, under the advocacy of the foremost of the Liberals, and their organs in England ; by such men as Count GASPARIN, and EDOUARD LABOULAYE, of Paris ; by JOSHUA R. GIDDINGS, our Consul-General SUMNER AGAIN AT COOPER INSTITUTE. 361 at Montreal ; by CARL SCIIURZ, then Minister to Spain ; by WILLIAM S. THAYER, Consul- General to Egypt ; while at home, even such men as ORESTES A. BROWNSON, the most vigorous thinker and writer of the Catholic Church and, in fact, from all orders and classes of men, the Speech at Worcester had been warmly ap plauded, and the course he was afterwards taking, most earnestly sanctioned. XIV. But while this thing was slowly righting itself in the councils of the administration, Mr. SUMNER S voice was once more heard in Cooper Institute, where, on the 2/th of November still in the year 1861 he pronounced another famous oration, on "The Rebellion: its Origin and Mainspring," in which he once more surveyed the whole field. The key-note of this speech will be found in the following passage, which is one of the clearest of his many lucid interpretations of the wonderful events then transpiring : The duty which I announce, if not urgent now, as a MILITARY NECESSITY, in just self-defence, will present itself constantly, as our armies advance in the Slave States, or land on their coasts. If it does not stare us in the face at this moment, it is because, unhappily, we are still everywhere acting on the defensive. As we begin to be success ful, it must rise before us for practical decision ; and we cannot avoid it. There will be slaves in our camps, or within our extended lines, whose condition we must determine. There will be slaves also claimed by Rebels whose continued chattelhood we should scorn to recognize. The decision of these two cases settles the whole great question. Nor can the Rebels complain. They challenge our army to enter upon their territory in the free exercise of all the powers of war according to which, as you well know, all private interests are subordinated to 362 ONE STEP TOWARDS EMANCIPATION. the public safety, which, for the time, becomes the supreme law, above all other laws, above even the Constitution itself. If everywhere under the flag of the Union, in its triumphant march, Freedom is substituted for Slavery, this outrageous Rebellion will not be the first instance in history where God has turned the wickedness of man into a blessing ; nor will the example of Samson stand alone, when he gathered honey from the carcass of the dead and rotten lion. Events, too, under Providence, are our masters. For the Rebels there can be no success. For them, every road leads to disaster. For them, defeat is bad, but victory worse ; for then will the North be in spired to sublimer energy. The proposal of Emancipation which shook ancient Athens followed close upon the disaster at Chseronea ; and the statesman who moved it vindicated himself by saying that it proceeded not from him, but from Chseronea. The triumph of Hannibal at Cannre drove the Roman Republic to the enlistment and enfranchise ment of eight thousand slaves. Such is history, which we are now re peating. The recent Act of Congress, giving freedom to slaves em ployed against tis, familiarly known as the Confiscation Act, passed the Senate on the morning after the disaster at Manassas. XV. This bill, which passed the Senate on the 22d of July, and was voted for by every Republican, declared : That whenever any person, claiming to be entitled to the services or labor of any other person, under the laws of any State, shall employ such person in aiding or promoting any insurrection, or in resisting the laws of the United States, or shall permit him to be so employed, shall forfeit all right to such services or labor, and the person whose labor or services is thus claimed, shall be discharged thenceforth therefrom, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. n substance, the same bill passed the House of Repre sentatives, and the President signed it on the 6th of the following month. This Cooper Institute speech was sent out on the wings of every wind as fast as copies could be thrown WESTERN TERRACE OF TLIE CAPITOL. DEATH OF COL. BAKER AT BALL S BLUFF. 363 out by the Titan arms of steam, and had not a little to do in preparing the country for the higher and more effective policy soon to be adopted. We are restricted from indulging in any description of war scenes, for this book is a record of the deeds of a non-combatant; one who nevertheless swayed a mightier power than any General in the army, or any minister in the Cabinet. But in introducing what Mr. SUMNER said in the Senate, when funeral honors were being paid to Col. BAKER, we will cast a glance at the feeling in Wash ington, on the night which followed the battle of Ball s Bluff XVI. It was a gloomy night in Washington. One of the unexpected and heart-chilling disasters which befell our arms in the early history of the war, had that day hap pened at Ball s Bluff (October 21, 1861). Our forces had been routed and slaughtered, and the gallant . Colonel Baker, who had left the Senate chamber to lead his splendid California Regiment to the war, had fallen, dying instantly, pierced at the same second by nine bul lets. This was a national loss. His place in the army, in the Senate, in the hearts of the people of California and Oregon, in the admiration of his companions-in-anns in Mexico, and in the realms of eloquence, would remain vacant. No man living was invested with all these rare and great attributes in so eminent a degree. The ap parently well-founded suspicion that he had fallen a victim to the foulest treason, subsequently mingled the intensest indignation with inconsolable grief for his cruel and untimely death. It was late in the evening when the news reached 364 WASHINGTON DURING THE WAR. Willard s; but a large crowd was still there, among whom, as always, were many well-known public men. In those days secession was more popular in Washing ton than it was ever to be again. Not only was some slimy spy lurking within earshot of every man worth tracking, but there were scores of strong sympathizers with the Rebellion, who caught with avidity the first rumor of disaster to the national arms.* * In "My War Note-Book, " MS., I find the following Jan. 62 about parties and feeling in Washington Cloaked Foes Croakers, and all other Secessionists. No war ever began with greater unanimity. The mighty heart of the people leaped at a single bound, from its full but tranquil pulsations, into the wild and hurried beat ings of a continental enthusiasm. From the bleak hill-sides of New England, from the shores of the ocean lakes of the North, from the undulating prairies of the dis tant West, from the crowded marts of commerce, and from ten thousand hamlets of peace and plenty, a million men went rushing to avenge the insulted honor of the nation, and to plant once more on our outer battlements the fallen standard of the Republic. The flow of that current was irresistible ; everything gave way to the tramp of the embattled hosts. It was no time for trifling, nor for triflers. The secret foe of the Union kept his own counsel. The men whose hearts were with the parricides of the Fatherland stood back from the on-rolling tide, and cursed the gathering tempest. But the horde of politicians, who had retired in sullen disappointment from the late Presidential election, with hearts all covered with gangrene, and pockets once filled, but now emptied of the rewards of corruption and crime, many of these seized the first chance that invited to new scenes of robbery and peculation. The politicians of all parties, en masse, adopted the war, and they carried it on to its last day. They, at least, "made a good thing out of it," as they said. But this greedy horde could not all be satisfied. There were not green things enough for all the locusts ; there were not lambs enough for the whole pack of wolves. They were not patriotic enough to fight anywhere except at an election ; they were too lazy to work, and they must eat, and most of them drink a great deal. There were not commissions enough in the army, nor sinecures in civil life, for even the more "decent" of this class; and finally, when the war had been inaugurated into a grand, solemn fact., and it rose up to the gaze of the world in all its stupendous proportions, black with treason, and smoking with blood unrighteously shed, this unpaid, unbribed, unwashed locust-swarm seized the first occasion to dis parage the administration, and to exaggerate the ill fortune, and condemn the man agement of the war. Every disappointed seeker for office began to "doubt how the thing would come oiu." Day by day he shook his head despairingly; and when he was finally told to "get out of the way, and be oft"" with himself, he swore, in the holy indignation A SECESSION CAPITAL. 365 Those abettors and agents of Davis wore the mask as closely as they could ; and, although the habitues of the capital could tell them at a glance, and, by an in stinct of loyalty nearly infallible, know when one of of his soul, that " the generals were all fools, the Cabinet all rascals, and Old Abe n &c." Then the Secessionists proper. Washington swarmed with them. They were never asleep. Well might a member of Mr. Davis s cabal, in writing to a friend there (the letter was intercepted), say, "The Lincolnites may rest assured we shall only alarm their capital. We do not want it. It is of more use to us in their hands. It answers all our purposes. Our friends are there, and they are doing their work." They were, and they found no lack of coadjutors or agents in any depart ment : while their sympathizers were slyly gliding from salon to salon in every hotel where the best society held its conversazzioni . So, too, was it in the private houses of the rich. Washington had always been a Southern city. Now it was A SECESSION CAPITAL. Its society had always been of the Southern type. There were wealth, taste, pride, gallantry, beauty, pleasure, and somewhat of the abandon which we recognize the nearer we go to the tropics. Few of the rich families of the North came here, fewer still lived here. All the richest families of the South did both. Washington they looked upon as their Northern home. Here all the Foreign Embassies were established, and spasmodic efforts were made to have and hold a Republican court. But over it all was spread the slime of Slavery. The population was made up of Foreign Ministers, Heads of Department, Members of Congress, Judges of the Supreme Court, old dowagers and wives of absent officers, poor clerks, "poor whites," shiftless and lazy negroes, and still poorer and lazier office-seekers. Once rid of the atmosphere reeking with the slave-lash and the bowie-knife, which the politics and politicians of the South had infused into Washington, there came the first hope of Society in the capital. It was the only capital of any nation with out society. I need not say that by society I mean intercourse between that body of men and women who represent the highest culture and intelligence, the greatest re finement, delicacy, and blandishments of women, the loftiest standard of honor and chivalry in men, the fullest appreciation of learning, art, and beauty to which a nation has attained. To be society worthy of the name, such reunions must re present the best civilization of the people. In later days, such society has not been seen in Washington. Its palmy days passed away with the graceful regime ot Ladies Washington, Madison, Hamilton, Sedgwick, Bingham, and that glorious company of superb women who lent the fascinations of wit, taste, and beauty to adorn the early clays of the Republic. But through the medium of such society as we have had, the virus of practical secession has been industriously injected, and in all its subtlest forms. It has worn chameleon hues ; it has borrowed, for the time, all the lights and shadows that lay within its reach. In one coterie, severe criticisms were passed on generals at the head of their 366 A DEN OF SHE-VIPERS BROKEN UP. them entered the room, yet on some occasions the sud den announcement of bad news for our cause threw them from their guard, and a gleam of fiendish delight flashed from their faces. armies ; and, with all the eagerness of cormorant birds snuffing the carrion from afar, they seized the first discouraging rumor floating on the idle wind, and blew the gentlest breeze into a tempest. If* a secession woman had a husband, or brother, or lover, who had been refused a commission in the army, she did not hesitate to predict "the final failure of the Yankee cause, and the ultimate triumph of the chivalric sons of the South," " the dear, sunny South." And thus indignant crinoline, which had flirted in vain for a lover by being patriotic, became secesh when sailing in disloyal waters. In another circle of men, or women, or both (all of the upper classes, so called), serious and downcast looks were seen, and to every new visitor the "deep and painful regret" was expressed "lest Mr. Lincoln might be going too far in making his arrests;" "and are they not arbitrary? And then to take gentlemen from their offices, and even from their sleeping-chambers, and convey them to a distant city, and plunge them into a foul prison, tenanted by felons and haurited by rats ! And then think of General Butler ! that vulgar Yankee ! who published one of his tyrannical edicts, and placarded the insult on every corner of the Crescent City, to the ladies of New Orleans " ! And yet these same "gentle angels" were at the time besieging President and Secretaries for a commission for , " a brave and gallant fellow, \vho had rendered such signal services to the Federal cause, and longed so earnestly to put the old flag back where it once waved so proudly." This class of females have shown an alacrity and cleverness in their management in Washington which would have been admirable in any honest cause. But they were completely outdone by the artistes of the secession drama. Some few, sprightly, sharp-witted, and as the world goes charming women, undertook the more difficult parts. They were in no hot haste to win. They were looking for the main chance, to fail once or twice, perhaps, but to win at last. Never did Paul Morphy move chess-men with more studied care ; never did he conceal more completely every line of expression in hib face ; never did his heart palpitate with half the excitement, while making his decisive and finishing play. These women of the world watched every expression in the eyes of their listeners, and measured every gesture they made before the men who, meeting them by design or accident, swelled the retinue of their impoverished but pretentious court. Nothing but well-merited severity, visited at the right time and on the right heads, broke up this den of she-vipers that were striking their deadly fangs into the vitals of the Republic. There was squirming and hissing, but the den was finally broken up. All these subtle agencies of secession worked harmoniously with bolder and more public demonstrations of disloyalty. In both Houses of Congress, men no better than South Carolina traitors (often not half so bad;, and always more dangerous, un- THE NEWS AT WILLARD S. 367 " Baker was killed at Ball s Bluff this afternoon." Never did news transform men s countenances quicker. One class received it with blank amazement and horror ; the other, with demoniac exultation. XVII. Words fell which neither party could restrain ; and the blood of the coolest began to boil when they heard the murdered Baker s name insulted. A movement was made which bolder men than traitors would not have at tempted to resist. The villains started by a common im pulse for the two doorways, or that mosaic pavement would have worn another color within ten seconds. A minute later, the place was cleansed; the unclean spirits had gone out ! all but one, perhaps. A very red- faced, stalwart man, who had stood by arid seen all that had been going on without saying a word, finally remarked with a pretty determined air, that " as for himself he didn t care much about the fight. He blushingly reviled the Union, laughed the Republic to scorn, and trod the holy traditions of our r<w/;//07z-\VEALTH into the dust. These traitors were allowed to play the part of Catiline in open House, in open Senate, in the streets, most of all, in that loud-mouthed, blatant talk which is deemed eloquence in bar-rooms, but bad manners in decent society, and treason anywhere. And one of the chief themes of noisy discourse illegal arrests ! Why illegal ? Is it illegal to arrest the murderer of a man ? and is it not legal and just to seize and incarcerate the villain who is contemplating the wholesale murder of the friends of the nation the defenders of its Union, the protectors of its peace, its nationality and life? Is violence to be the law? Is the wretch who brandishes the torch of the incendiary recklessly, and scatters fire, arrows, and death through peaceful and loyal communities, to go on in his dreadful mission unchecked, unmanacled, unchained ? If such men escape justice, where can good citizens look for it ? If the severity of Mr. Lincoln is complained of by treason-hatchers or treason- mongers, how infinite must be the all-forgiving benevolence of that much-abused man ! t No ! no ! a thousand times No ! No blood rests on that troubled head. 368 WHO OWNS THE MISSISSIPPI. lived en the Lower Mississippi, and the people down his way could take care of themselves. As long as they owned the Mississippi, the d d Abolitionists could make all the muss they pleased. We hold the Gulf of Mexico, and the Northwest, and the Yankees may be d d." A very tall, lean, awkward, bony-looking man sidled quietly up to the Mississippian, and, putting his nose, by a stoop, quite close to his face, said, in unmistakable far- Western : " Look here, stranger," and gently emphasizing his remark by taking the stranger s left ear between his thumb and finger ; " now, yu may not know it, but I live in Minnesoty, and we make that Mississippi water you call yourn, and we kalkilate to use it some." The stranger s hand moved pretty quick for a side- pocket, but not quite quick enough. I saw a movement, I heard a blow, and the blood spattered surrounders slightly. In less time than such enterprises usually re quire, the stranger had fallen heavily on the marble floor, striking his head against an iron column, and re maining in a condition which rendered it desirable to have his friends look after him, if he had any. The Western gentleman was congratulated, when he apologized, " I didn t want to hurt the feller, and I didn t care about his bowie-knife going through me, nother. But the tarnal traitor must let the old country alone, and/^nickilarly that big river. We want to use that thar water out West." XVIII. Baker s body was brought across the Potomac the evening he fell. It rested all day, and then by ambu- BAKER S GRAVE IN CALIFORNIA. 369 lance was conveyed to Washington, and carried through the same hospitable doorway of his friend Colonel Webb, from whose steps we had parted with him as he mounted his horse and gave us his warm, earnest hand only two mornings before ! Oh, how radiant was his face ! how athletic and symmetrical his form ! how unsullied his ambition ! how pure his devotion to God and country ! " God spare his life, at least ! " we said, as we saw him disappear around the corner ! This prayer Heaven could not grant. The following day, when the last preparations for the tomb had been made, we went to gaze once more, and for the last time, on what of earth remained in the form which so lately enshrined the noble spirit. " Then mournfully the parting bugle bade Its farewell o er the grave." California claimed her hero and statesman, and his ashes now repose on the calm shore of that ocean which washes the western base of the empire for whose glory he lived and died. His body lies in Lone Mountain Cemetery, near the city of San Francisco, and over it should have risen one of the most superb monuments which the genius of Art has erected to human great ness.* In the closing paragraph of the last speech of Col- * On the 27th of March (1874), I wrote to Hon. A. A. Sargent, Senator from California, to learn the present condition of Col. Baker s grave ; and in reply, I re ceived the following interesting information from Mr. Robert J. Stevens, son-in-law of Col. Baker : WASHINGTON, D. C., March sist, 1874. MY DEAR SIR, I hasten to reply to your note of this morning, enclosing letter of Mr. C. Edwards Lester, inquiring about Baker monument. The plans for such monument, very magnificent, and studiously elaborated the work of Horatio Stone were sent by Rev. H. W. Bellows to Thos. Starr King at San Francisco (1862), and doubtless would have been in marble ere this, had it not been for his untimely 24. 370 BAKER S LAST SPEECH IN THE SENATE. onel Baker in the Senate, provoked by the insulting words of the Catiline whom for a few days longer Heaven had condemned our patience to tolerate as a Senator of the United States, the California Senator, ris ing in his place, said, There will be some graves reeking with blood, watered by the tears of affection. There will be some privation. There will be some loss of luxury. There will be somewhat more need of labor to procure the necessaries of life. When that is said, all is said. If we have the country, the whole country, the Union, the Constitution, free gov ernment, with these will return all the blessings of well-ordered civiliza tion. The path of the country will be a career of greatness and of glory such as our fathers, in the olden time, foresaw in the dim visions of years yet to come ; and such as would have been ours to-day, had it not been for the treason for which the Senator too often seeks to apol ogize. XIX. On this occasion Mr. LINCOLN was present. He en tered the Senate Chamber, supported by the Senators from Illinois, and was presented to the Vice-Presiclent, who invited him to a seat by his side on the clai s ap propriated to the President of the Senate. Mr. SUM MER uttered the following words : death. They are now deposited with the Society of California Pioneers, in their new building, subject to my order. The grave of Baker (at Lone Mountain) is principally marked by the towering monument of Broderick a few yards distant. It is in the midst of a considerable enclos ure, walled with concrete handsomely coped with fine stone ; it has above it a slab or tablet on columns of marble; this was done by myself, from the proceeds of his small estate. Capt. E. D. Baker the younger son is now engaged in carrying out the original idea of perfecting the enclosure by surmounting the low wall with a bronze railing of a military pattern, and it is his care that maintains the flower garden inside the wall. Very truly your obedient servant, ROBT. J. STEVENS. Hon. A. A. SARGENT, U. S. Senate. SUMNER S EULOGY ON BAKER. 371 Mr. President : The Senator to whom we now say farewell, was gen erous in funeral homage to others. More than once he held great companies in rapt attention while doing honor to the dead. Over the coffin of Broderick he proclaimed the dying utterance of that early victim, and gave to it the fiery wings of his own eloquence : " They have killed me because I was opposed to the extension of slavery, and a corrupt administration ; " and as the impassioned orator repeated these words, his own soul was knit in sympathy with the departed ; and thus at once did he win to himself the friends of Freedom, though distant. * * Baker was Orator and Soldier. To him belongs the rare re nown of this double character. Perhaps he carried into war something of the confidence inspired by the conscious sway of great multitudes, as he surely brought into speech something of the ardor of war. Call him, if you will, the Rupert of Battle ; he was also the Rupert of De bate. * * Child of Poverty ; he was brought, while yet in tender years, to Philadelphia, where he began life, an exile, having being born on a foreign soil. His earliest days were passed at the loom, rather than at school ; and yet, from this lowliness he achieved the highest posts of trust and honor, being at the same time Senator and General. It was the boast of Pericles, in his funeral oration in the Ceramicus, over the dead who had fallen in battle, that the Athenians readily communicated to all, the advantages which they themselves enjoyed ; that they did not exclude the strangers from their walls, and that Athens was a city open to the Human Family. The same boast may be repeated by us, with better reason, as we commemorate our dead fallen in battle. * * In the Senate, he took at once the part of Orator. His voice was not full and sonorous, but sharp and clear ; it was penetrating rather than commanding ; and yet, when touched by his ardent nature, became sympathetic, and even musical. Countenance, body and gesture all shared the unconscious inspiration of his voice, and he went on, master of his audience, and master also of himself. All his faculties were completely at command ; ideas, illustrations, words, seemed to come unbidden, and range in harmonious forms as in the walls of ancient Thebes each stone took its proper place of its own accord, moved only by the music of a lyre. * * His oratory was graceful, sharp, and flashing, like a cimeter; but his argument was powerful and sweeping like a battery. Not content with the brilliant opportunities of this chamber, he ac cepted a commission in the army, vaulting from the Senate to the saddle, as he had already leaped from Illinois to California. * * His career as a 372 WHO KILLED BAKER. general was short, though shining. * * He died with his face to the foe and he died so instantly that he passed from the service of his country to the service of his God. It is sweet and becoming to die for country : such a death, sudden, but not unprepared for, is the crown of the pa triot soldier. But the question is painfully asked, who was the author of this tragedy, now filling the Senate Chamber, as it has already filled the country, with mourning? There is a strong desire to hold somebody responsible, where so many perish so improfitably. But we need not appoint committees or study testimony, to know precisely who took this precious life. That great criminal is easily detected, still erect and defiant, without concealment or disguise. The guns, the balls, the men that fired them, are of little importance. It is the Power behind all, saying, "The State; it is I," that took this precious life: and this power is Slavery. The nine balls that slew our departed brother, came from Slavery. Every gaping wound of his slashed bosom, testifies against Slavery. Every drop of his generous blood cries out from the ground against Slavery. The brain so rudely shattered, has its own voice ; and the tongue so suddenly silenced in death, speaks now, with more than living eloquence. To hold others responsible is to hold the dwarf agent, and dismiss the giant principal. Nor shall we do great service, if, merely criticising some local blunder, we leave untouched that fatal forbearance through which the weakness of the Rebellion is changed into strength, and the strength of our armies is changed into weakness. May our grief to-day be no hollow pageant, nor expend itself in this funeral pomp ! It must become a motive, an impulse to patriot action. But patriotism itself, that commanding charity, embracing so many other charities, is only a name, and nothing else, unless we resolve calmly, plainly, solemnly, that Slavery, the barbarous enemy of our country, the irreconcilable foe of our Union, the violator of our Con stitution, the disturber of our peace, the vampire of our national life, the assassin of our children, and the murderer of our dead Senator, shall be struck down. And the way is easy. The just avenger is at hand, with weapon of celestial temper : let it be drawn. Until this is done, the patriot, discerning clearly the secret of our weakness, can only say, sorrowfully " Bleed, bleed, poor country ! Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure, For goodness dares not check thee ! " CODIFYING THE NATIONAL STATUTES. 373 Mr. SUMNER was bitterly assailed by all the Pro- Slavery journals of the North, for having, as was al leged, " even in the burial-service of the dead, mingled his sectional hate and personal wrath." But WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, in alluding to this, well said : " When there is howling in the pit, there is special rejoicing in heaven." XX. Nearly ten years before, when Mr. SUMNER first enter ed the Senate, he had presented a Resolution for a Revision and Consolidation of the National Statutes, and on many occasions at succeeding Sessions, he brought it forward, all without avail. At last, in his message, December 3, 1861, Mr. LINCOLN having recom mended the measure, Mr. SUMNER again brought for ward the old resolution, on which he said : " Some thing in earnest, sir, must be done. The ancient Roman laws, when first codified, were so cumbersome that they made a load for several camels. Ours swell to twelve heavy volumes, too expensive to be afforded by any except the few, while they should be in every public library and law office throughout the country." He advocated the reducing them to a single volume, as the cumbersome laws of Massachusetts had been, and of which the people of that State had purchased up wards of ten thousand copies. " I hope, sir, there will be no objection founded on the condition of the country. I do not forget the old saying, that the laws are silent in the midst of arms ; but I would have our Republic show, by example, that such is not always the case. It will be something if, through the din of war, this work 374 NO PATENTS FOR COLORED INVENTORS. of peace proceeds, changing the national statutes into a harmonious text, and making it accessible to all." But nothing effectual was done about it till 1866, when the bill was passed. The revision and consolidation were to be completed within three years ; but the work was neglected, although the salaries were drawn by CALEB GUSHING, Mr. JAMES, of Ohio, and Mr. JOHNSTON, of Pennsylvania. In 1870, a supplementary Act was passed, and President Grant reappointed Mr. JAMES, and associated with him Mr. ABBOTT, of New York, and Mr. BARRINGER, of North Carolina. XXI. To the disgrace of the Republic, three quarters of a century went by after the adoption of the Constitution, before a colored man was allowed to take out a patent in this country ! Mr. Sumner introduced the following resolution : That the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office be instructed to consider if any further legislation is necessary in order to secure to persons of African descent, in our own country, the right to take out patents for useful inventions, under the Constitution of the United States. He remarked : " If I can have the attention of the chairman of the Committee on Patents, I will state to him why this resolution is in troduced. It has come to my knowledge that an inventor of African descent, living in Boston, applied for a patent, under the Constitution and laws of the land, and was refused, on the ground that according to the DRED SCOTT decision, he is not a citizen of the United States, and therefore a patent cannot issue to him. I wish the Committee to consider whether, in any way, that abuse can be removed." The resolution was agreed to unanimously ; but no re port was made by the Committee, since it was a case for ON THE SEIZURE OF MASON AND SLIDELL. 375 interpretation, rather than legislation ; and the question, like that of passports, was practically settled soon after, by the opinion of the Attorney-General, that a free man, colored, born in the United States, is a citizen. XXII. Mr. SUMNER S. able speech on the surrender of MASON and SLIDELL, the Rebel agents taken from the British 5 mail steamer Trent, must receive a notice, however brief we may be compelled to make it. After the Senate had been purged by the flight of some of the Rebel members, the quiet retirement of others, and the expulsion of the rest, Mr. SUMNER was appointed chairman of the Committee on Foreign Rela tions. Little objection was made to the choice, for it was universally known that he was not only better qualified to fill that place than any other member, but that his familiarity with the condition of Foreign Nations, his profound and minute knowledge of International Law, and his clear conception of the position of our govern ment during the crisis, towards the other governments of the world, all stamped him as the ablest man in the country. It was, therefore, a most fortunate occurrence that when the Trent difficulty came up, the whole ques tion w r ould be illuminated by his knowledge, and en forced by his eloquence. Here a few words of explana tion become necessary. Soon after the Rebellion began, its leaders appointed two of their ablest men, JAMES M. MASON, of Virginia, and JOHN SLIDELL, of Louisiana, Commissioners, the first to England, and the second to France, with in structions and despatches, the exact purport of which did 3/6 CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SEIZURE. not become known. But the object of their mission was to obtain a recognition of the Southern Confederacy as an independent State, if possible ; or in any event, the recognition of the Southern States as belligerents. The Rebel ports being under strict blockade, they could cross the Atlantic only by reaching Havana, where, under a neutral flag, they might get conveyance to Europe. They took passage in the Trent, bound from Havana to St. Thomas, from which island a regular line of British steamers ran to England. o In Mr. RICHARD H. DANA S notes to Wheaton s Ele ments of International Law, he says of the envoys : 4< Their character and destination were well known to the agent and master of the Trent, as well as the great interest felt by the Rebels that they should, and by the United States officials that they should not, reach their destination in safety." As passengers, they were now on the high seas. Within a few hours sail of Nassau, the Trent was stopped and searched by the United States war vessel San Jacinto, commanded by Captain WILKES, who, without instructions, and entirely on his own responsi bility, seized the two commissioners and their secretaries, and returned with them as prisoners to the United States, while the Trent was left to proceed on her voyage. XXIII. The news of their seizure was received with un bounded sympathy and approbation. The press, and the public men of the country generally, not only gave their approval, but even their praise. On the ^oth of November, 1861, the Secretary of the Navy wrote a RASH PROPOSALS IN CONGRESS. 377 letter to Capt. WILKES, congratulating the commander, the officers, and the crew on the act, applauding the in telligence, ability, decision and firmness of the com mander, and alluding to his forbearance in omitting to capture the vessel itself. Two days later the first day of its session a joint Resolution was offered by OWEN LOVEJOY in the House of Representatives, tendering the thanks of Congress to Captain WILKES " for his brave, adroit, and patriotic conduct in his arrest and detention of the traitors JAMES M. MASON and JOHN SLIDELL." On reaching the Senate, the Resolution was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, although Mr. SUMNER suggested its reference to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Mr. o HALE, carried away by his own generous and patriotic impulses, went with the popular tide against the sur render of the Confederate Commissioners, under any and all circumstances. But as nothing was yet known of the course which the British Government would pursue, Mr. SUMNER addressed a few calm words to the Senate, deprecating the hasty presentation of any such Resolution, to which the Senate listened with great respect. XXIV. The seizure of the Commissioners was no sooner known in England, than a burst of indignation was witnessed, and by the first steamer, despatches were received from Earl RUSSELL to Lord LYONS the British Minister at Washington, dated London, November 3Oth, which were read to Mr. Seward on the igth of De cember. A peremptory demand was made for the 378 ENGLAND BENT ON WAR. liberation of the two Commissioners and their sec retaries, and an apology for the aggression which had been committed, with no further delay than seven days; after which, if not complied with, the minister was instructed to leave Washington, with all the members of his legation, taking with him the archives of the legation, and reporting immediately in London. He was also to communicate all information in his power to the British Governors of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Bruns wick, Jamaica, Bermuda, and such other of her Ma jesty s possessions as were within his reach. All this meant war. England saw her opportunity, and she was determined to embrace it. The settlement of the difficulty was fortunately made before these latter instructions to the British Minister were known. But being so positive and peremptory, admitting no pos sibility of delay, or time for arbitration, announcing the alternatives of instant surrender, with apology, or hosti lities, fully showed the spirit of the British Government. We learn also from the Annual British Register for 1 86 1, page 254, how promptly England was acting up to the plan of immediate war, for that official statement says : Troops were dispatched to Canada with all possible expedition, and that brave and loyal colony called out its militia and volunteers, so as to be ready to act at a moment s notice. Our dockyards here re sounded with the din of workmen getting vessels fitted for sea, and there was but one feeling which animated all classes and parties in the country, and that was, a determination to vindicate our insulted honor, and uphold the inviolability of the national flag. XXV. In the meantime, before Earl RUSSELL S dispatch was BRITISH CONDUCT SEVERELY CRITICISED. 379 received in Washington, or any possibility of news of the state of feeling in England could have reached here, Mr. SEWARD, Secretary of State, wrote to Mr. ADAMS, our Minister at London, an account of what had occurred, and stated that " Captain Wilkes acted without any instructions from the government, and he trusted that there would be no difficulty in adjusting the matter, if the British Government should be disposed to meet the case in the same pacific spirit which animated the President and his administration." By a singular coin cidence, this letter was read by Mr. ADAMS to Earl RUSSELL on the very same day that Lord LYONS had read the English Secretary s demand to Mr. SEWARD. It was then in the power of Earl RUSSELL to make the purport of Mr. SEWARD S letter known, which would at once have allayed the war fever which the British ministry had done everything in their power to in flame. But this was not done. In speaking of this, Mr. DANA remarks : The truth seems to be that, so long as they were uncertain whether their menace of war might not lead to war, they could not afford to withdraw the chief motive for the war spirit in the British people, and admit that their warlike demonstration had been needless. Their popular support depended upon the general belief in a necessity for their having accompanied their demand with the preparations and menace of war. This conduct of the British government subsequently cost her a large portion of the respect of the civilized world. In Count de Gasparin s L Am eriqite dcvant I Europe, in which that eminent publicist treats the whole question with consummate learning and ability, he remarks : Between great nations, between sister nations, it was a strange 380 WHY THE COMMISSIONERS WERE SURRENDERED. opening. The usage is hardly to commence with an ultimatum that is, to commence with the end. Ordinarily, when there has been a misunderstanding or regrettable act, especially when that act comes within a portion of the Law of Nations which is yet full of obscurity, the natural opening is to ask for explanations as to the intentions, and for reparation for what has been done, without mixing therewith an immediate menace of rupture. It is astonishing that a demand of apology should figure in the original programme, where it was entirely out of place. Seeing such haste, and proclamation so lofty of an exigence above debate ; seeing the idea of an impious war accepted with so much ease by some, and with such joy so little dissembled by others, Europe declared without ambiguity or reserve, that if England were not miraculously saved from her own undertaking that if she went so far as to fire a cannon at the North as an ally of the South, she would tear with her own hands her principal titles to the respect of the civilized world ; for from the moment that England becomes only the ally of Slave-traders, she has abdicated. But the wisest council prevailed in Mr. LINCOLN S Cabinet. A very brief examination of the case showed that the act of Captain WILKES could, under no circum stances, be sustained ; and that the surrender of the prisoners, with or without a demand from the British Government, would be only in strict conformity with the precedents which had been established by our own government. Consequently, without any regard to popular clamor, Mr. LINCOLN peremptorily ordered a release of the Rebel Commissioners, who had been confined in Fort Warren, in Boston harbor ; and that portion of the precious freight of which the steamer Trent had been relieved, was handed over to the British Government, much to the regret of the war party of Great Britain. Before this had taken place, however, Mr. SUMNER, who had received letters from distinguished friends of SUMMER S SPEECH ON THE TRENT AFFAIR. 381 America in England, read them, to the President, and his Cabinet. One from RICHARD COBDEN, January 23, 1862, said: "It is perhaps well that you settle the matter by sending" away the men at once ; consistently with your own principles, you could not have justified their detention! Mr. SUMNER S speech in the Senate to which his position as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs gave additional weight soon followed, and it settled the opinion of the world on that subject forever. His mild rebuke of Mr. HALE S patriotic, but indiscreet motion and speech, had induced that Senator to with draw the Resolution, for he had treated the whole matter on a hypothesis, by assuming that Great Britain had made an arrogant demand, when he knew nothing of the sort. " Who in the Senate," inquired Mr. SUM- NER, "knows it? Who in the country knows it? I don t believe it will not believe it, except on evidence. I submit, therefore, that the Senator acted too swiftly." We need not make any quotations from this ex haustive speech. The object of its delivery was fully accomplished, and England had the mortification of learning that we had acted right, without any reference to her threats or demands. There was no end to the congratulations Mr. SUMNER o received from his countrymen, and from the illuminated statesmen of all European countries. He showed me whole stacks of letters, journals, reviews, of which he remarked : " The grand source of satisfaction is, that we have done right : and I shall live long enough, I hope, to read these through some time." 382 CONDITION OF MEXICO IN 1 862. XXVI. Mr. WILKINSON, of Minnesota, having submitted to the Senate unmistakable evidence of disloyalty to the United States, on the part of Senator BRIGHT, of In diana, he introduced a resolution for his expulsion. It passed a very thorough discussion, in which Mr. SUM- NER took a prominent part, in two speeches, January 2 ist and February 4th, which resulted in the expulsion of Mr. BRIGHT, and on the 24th of January the Presi dent approved the Resolution. This wound up the public career of that traitor, who, without the courage of his Confederate associates, added the meanness of a skulking hypocrisy to the infamy of his treason. XXVII. We must glance, although it be only for a moment, at the condition of Mexico in the bejnnninqf of the year o o J 1862. The EMPEROR of FRANCE, who had for some time been indulging in the visionary dream of establishing an Empire in Mexico, had, through the subtle diplomacy of his agents, induced Great Britain and Spain to unite with France, in obtaining redress and security from Mexico, for the subjects of the three Great Powers, with indemnity for claims due from that Republic. A Convention to that effect was made in London, October 31, 1 86 1, and a month later, a note was addressed to the United States inviting us to join in that de mand. Of course, the invitation was -declined. Mr. CORWIN had been sent, minister to Mexico, with in structions to report to his government the actual con- MINISTER CORWIN S OPINIONS. 383 dition of affairs in that country, and to prevent the Southern Confederacy from obtaining any recognition there, thus cutting off all hope of augmenting the power of the South by acquisition, accompanied with Slavery, in Mexico, or any of the Spanish American Republics. He was also to use all proper means to prevent any European Power from gaining a permanent hold on this continent. On the 4th of April, 1862, in writing to Senator SUMNER, Mr. CORWIN spoke as follows : In the first object, I have fully succeeded. The Southern Commis sioner, after employing persuasion and threats, finally took his leave of the city, sending back from Vera Cruz, as I am informed, a very offensive letter to the government here. In obtaining the second end, I have had more difficulty. * * * If the French attempt to conquer this country, it is certain to bring on a war of two or three years dura tion. The gorges of the mountains, so frequent here, would afford to small detachments, stronger holds than any position fortified by art ; and the Mexicans have a strong hatred of foreign rule, which animates the whole body of the people. I trust our government will remonstrate firmly against all idea of European conquest on this continent, and in such time as to have its due influence on the present position of France in Mexico. But I am satisfied this danger may be avoided by the pecuniary aid proposed by the present treaty with us, and the united diplomacy of England, Spain, and the United States. If these means are not promptly and energetically applied, a European power may fasten itself upon Mexico, which it will become a necessity with us at no distant day to dislodge. To do this, in the supposed event, would cost us millions, twenty times told, more than we now propose to lend upon undoubted security. When the ambitious designs of NAPOLEON became fully known, England and Spain withdrew. The Em peror landed a large army on the Mexican soil, and in the prosecution of the macl enterprise, ultimately wit nessed the defeat of his object. The brave and virtuous 384 END OF AX INSANE EXPEDITION. MAXIMILIAN, whom he had placed upon the recon structed throne of Mexico, was brought to a just and ignominious death, many thousands of the finest sol diers in France left their bones on the soil ; her generals reaped no laurels in the field ; her ministers gained no fame in the cabinet ; an enormous amount of treasure was uselessly expended ; and Napoleon dis covered, only too late, that in the insane expedition, he had found his Moscow, from which dated the beginning of the decline of his power, which was effectually extin guished a few years later at Sedan. On the 1 7th of December, 1861, the President, in a message, transmitted to the Senate a draft of a Conven tion with the Republic of Mexico, in pursuance of the plan suggested by Mr. CORWIN. Mr. SEWARD ear nestly recommended the proposition of the President, but the following resolution finally passed that body : That, in reply to several messages of the President, with regard to a treaty with Mexico, the Senate express the opinion that it is not ad visable to negotiate a treaty that will require the United States to assume any portion of the principal or interest of the debt of Mexico, or that will require the concurrence of the European powers. XXVIII. Another infamous law had stood upon the statute books of the United States, from March 3, 1825, for more than a third of a century. It was as follows : That no other than a free white person shall be employed in convey ing the mail, and any contractor who shall employ, or permit any other than a free white person to carry, the mail, shall for every such offence, incur a penalty of twenty dollars. This bill was to blacken the statute book no longer. On the 1 8th of March, 1862, Mr. SUMNER asked and A PROPHETIC LETTER. 385 obtained the unanimous consent of the Senate to intro duce a bill to remove all disqualifications of color, in carrying the mails. It was reported back on the 27th of the month, by Mr. COLLAMER, of Vermont, Chairman of the Committee on Post-offices, without amendment, and passed. But in the House, it was laid on the table, by a large majority, on motion of Mr. COLFAX. It was renewed, however, by Mr. SUMNER, in the next Congress, and became a laAv. The original of the subjoined letter from Senator Sumner, with the italics marked by its author, is among the papers left by the late Count Gurowski. It shows the clear prophetic vision of the writer. WASHINGTON, 8 Jan., 61. MY DEAR COUNT : You will pardon my seeming negligence, and believe that whatever you write always interests and pleases me. Your book, I find on inquiry, has been received by many Senators, who speak of it warmly. I hope that the publishers speak as well. I wish you were here, that I might have the advantage of your conversa tion and of your overflowing knowledge and sympathy, too. Daily and hourly I plead for firmness against concession in any form. Sunday evening I had a visit from Thurlow Weed and Seward. The former told me that he found himself " alone." Nobody united with him. I rejoiced. Aspinwall and Corning are here for the same object. They urge that we cannot have a united North unless we make an effort for adjustment ; to which I reply : " We have the verdict of the people last November that is enough." But these compromisers do not comprehend the glory of a principle. Per is sent les colonies plutot qit un principe ! That exclamation exalts a period which has many things to be deplored. The slave States are mad. They will all move. Nothing now but abject humiliation on the part of the North can stay them. Nobody can foresee precisely all that is in the future, but I do not doubt that any conflict will precipitate the doom of slavery. It will probably go down.: in blood. Bon soir ! je vous embrasse de tout mon cceur. Ever yours, CHARLES SUMNER. 25 386 SLAVERY ABOLISHED IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. XXIX. The next measure that came up before the Senate, on which Mr. SUMNER spoke at any length, was the bill for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, March 31, 1862. On the i6th of April it was approved by the President, who sent a message expressing gratifi cation " that the two principles, compensation and coloni zation, are both recognized and practically applied in the act." The bill had been introduced into the Senate by Mr. WILSON, to provide for a commission to appraise the claims on account of the slaves liberated, limiting o their allowance, in the aggregate, to an amount equal to three hundred dollars a slave, and appropriating one million dollars to pay loyal owners ; to which Mr. Doo- LITTLE added the amendment, appropriating one hundred thousand dollars for the colonization of slaves who desired to emigrate to Hayti or Liberia. " For," as Mr. LINCOLN said of himself, " I am so far behind the Sumner light house, that I still stick to my old colonization hobby." But Mr. SUMNER, who preferred half a loaf to no bread, was willing to vote money for emancipation, as a ransom. While he disclaimed the title of the master to any remuneration whatever, he regarded it as a good beginning, of which he prophetically saw a better end. It was a blow levelled at Slavery outside of the District, as well as in it, and unmistakably proclaimed the power :and duty of Congress over the whole subject. Con gratulations came from all sides, but the best was from FREDERICK DOUGLASS, himself a redeemed slave. He wrote to Mr, SUMNER : I want only a moment of your time to give you my thanks for your great speech in the Senate on the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery in SUMNER S BRIGHT AND DARK HOURS. 387 the District of Columbia. I trust I am not dreaming ; but the events taking place seem like a dream. If slavery is really dead in the Dis trict of Columbia, and merely waiting the ceremony of " Dust to dust " by the President, to you, more than to any other American statesman, belongs the honor of this great triumph of justice, liberty, and sound policy. I rejoice for my own freed brothers, and, sir, I rejoice for you. You have lived to strike down in Washington the power that lifted the bludgeon against your own free voice. I take nothing from the good and brave men who have co-operated with you. There is, or ought to be, a head to every body ; and whether you will or not, the slaveholder and the slave look to you as the best embodiment of the Anti-Slavery idea now in the councils of the nation. May God sustain you ! I shall never forget how Mr. SUMNER S face brightened, and his eyes swam in the luxury of gratitude, whenever he received such letters, exclaiming with fervor, as he rose and shook himself, walking the floor " Thank God we have such opportunities to do good ! And where on earth will you find hearts that so readily melt with gra titude, as in the negro breast ? " And yet his severest trial, during these days, was in as he expressed it " screwing Old Abe up to the sticking point." And then, with considerable impatience, he broke out, " How slow this child of Freedom is being born ! If other children found as much difficulty in getting into the world, the earth would be depopulated with this genera tion. The idea of a man having to buy himself! We voted the money however, only as a ransom, as nations redeemed their citizens from Algerine slavery. But this business of buying men into, or out of slavery will cease very soon." XXX. In the time of the Caesars, as the traveler from the East approached Rome, over the Appian Way, he 388 RECOGNITION OF LIBERIA AND HAYTI. passed milestones some of which are still standing", after two thousand years telling him how near he was to the Eternal City. So, too, those who read our writ ings of this period, will trace with interest the Measures enacted by our government, which successfully marked the progress we were then making towards Universal Liberty. One of them will be an Act passed the 3d of June, 1862, recognizing the Independence of Hayti and Liberia. Although it seemed to concern but a handful of people, on the distant African coast, founded by American-born citizens, and fostered by the benevolence of the generous and the good in our own country, and which had, above all other communities on the earth, the first claim to our recognition and friendship ; and the other, a people who had successfully achieved their inde pendence in our neighborhood, striking for the same holy cause of Liberty which our fathers struck for ; and although they had both vainly looked for official recogni tion by our Republic, yet the taint of color was on them the curse of caste shut them out from the pale of our political charity, although they had encountered no such difficulty with any of the other nations of the globe. Feeling that this disgrace had rested long enough on our government, Mr. LINCOLN, in his first Annual Mes sage, had proposed the recognition of the independence and sovereignty of Hayti and Liberia. Of course, it encountered the bitter opposition of every Pro- Slavery Senator, and every hater of the colored race. A reso lution had been introduced into the Senate as long ago as July ist, 1836; and again in January and March of the following year. But with the exception of that venerable Sage and apostle of Liberty, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, scarcely a voice was heard in either House in VIOLENT OPPOSITION FROM THE SOUTH. 389 advocacy of the measure. Mr. HAMILTON, of South Carolina, declared that Haytien independence could not be tolerated in any form ; and his colleague, Mr. HAYNE, not only deprecated any such recognition, but demanded that our ministers in South America and Mexico, should protest against the independence of Hayti. Mr. LEGARE, also of the same State, opposed it violently. He was an accomplished scholar ; but even the amenities of literary culture had not gained any covert in his breast, where sympathy with black men struggling for elevation could find shelter. He said that the memorial originated in a design to revolutionize the South, and convulse the Union. " As sure as you live, sir," was his prophecy, " if this course is permitted to go on, the sun of this Union will go down in blood, and go down to rise no more. I will vote unhesitatingly against nefarious de signs like these. They are treason ! " Better things than those surely were to be hoped from Mr. BENTON, of Missouri, who prided himself on being considered the " illuminated " Senator. Even he used this language : " The peace of eleven States in this Union will not permit the fruits of a successful negro insurrection to be exhibited among them." And all this while the sacred form of Liberty lay crushed under the wheels of the Slavery Juggernaut. But the victims of this national idol were not to be forever offered up these immolations in our Temple dedicated to the God dess of Liberty were to cease. XXXI. On the 23d of April, on motion of Mr. SUMNER, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, when he delivered 390 AN EVENING WITH THE HAYTIEN MINISTER. an eloquent and convincing speech. It was the first ar gument worthy of the name ever uttered in either House on that subject, and it did its work so effectually, that it proved to be the last that was ever to be required. Com missioners were appointed by the three governments, and diplomatic intercourse was at once instituted. On the arrival of the Minister of the Republic of Hayti, I sought an early opportunity of making his ac quaintance ; and with a letter of introduction from Mr. Sumner I called at his residence, which had been just prepared for the reception of himself and family. I \vas politely received by his secretary, a handsome and gentlemanly young man who said in fine English, " The minister will soon come in. He does not speak English well, but of course you are so recently from Europe you must speak French and Italian one of which is his mother tongue, and the other his favorite." I was glad, for it happened also to be mine. In a moment the gentleman entered with Mr. Sum- ner s letter in one hand, and taking mine warmly with the other, led me to a sofa. In my Note-book of the War MS., I fined the following entry : I passed a most charming evening with the Haytien Minister no one being present but his Secretary. Having just moved into a new house a modest but nice one in the new part of the town to the North, he apologized for being non ancora pcrfcttamcnte stabilito, although the parlor was furnished in exquisite taste. He was sorry that he did not yet feel quite as much at home with our language as he soon hoped to, and so we dropped into Italian. He told me more about his native Island than I had ever learned from all other sources ; and as I desired it, he spoke freely about him- A DESCRIPTION OF HIM. 391 self. His ancestors had been slaves. He had been early sent to Europe for his education, and entering" the public service on his return, he was gratified with the appointment to Washington on the recognition of his Republic. He spoke with veneration of Mr. LINCOLN, and the hearty reception he had given him but of Mr. SUMNER he spoke with the deepest affection. " The name of no American," he said, "is so dear to the Hay- tien people as CHARLES SUMNER I cannot even except Washington himself. He left us only his grand ex ample. But Signor CARLO IL SENATORS ! why, his picture is in every cottage in Hayti. He has done everything for us." Two hours flew by before I knew it. We talked of what the Italians were doing of the progress of the Democratic principle in Europe of Art, Litera ture, everything. Young as he is and he cannot be over 27 he has not only been superbly educated, but he has done a great deal of hard thinking. The study of government, especially the history of Free States, seems to have had for him a fascination ; \vhile his fami liarity with our history and institutions is as striking as De Tocqueville s or Chevalier s. I came away alto gether captivated. He is the most accomplished and gentlemanly foreigner I have met in Washington among the whole diplomatic corps. How my cheek burned when I thought that at no respectable Hotel could he have been received as a guest ! Demon, darkest and meanest of all the hell-born crew ! Thy name is Caste ! The minister is just above the medium height finely formed, brilliant face, the complexion being rather dark, but his cheek glowing with the warm tint, and his eye with the liquid beauty of the Creole his voice soft, but clear and earnest; easy in manner, and what the Italians 392 TREATY FOR SUPPRESSING THE SLAVE TRADE. so well call simpatico his dress ? well, he was so well dressed I don t remember what he had on. His acquaint ance is a real acquisition in the dreadful rowdyism of this city, which has become disgusting during the war. XXXII. In the early part of 1862, after a conference between Mr. SEWARD and Senator SUMNER, negotiations were opened, and finally a Treaty concluded with Great Brit ain, for a mutual and restricted right of search, and mixed courts, with a view to the suppression of the Slave-trade. It was signed by Mr. SEWARD and Lord LYONS oh the ;th of April. On the 24th of that month Mr. SUMNER introduced a Resolution of ratification, ac companied by so convincing a speech, that the ayes and noes were dispensed with, and the resolution agreed to, without a dissenting vote. He had opened his speech by alluding to the fact that NATHANIEL GORDON, a Slave-trader, commanding the Slave-ship Erie, had been executed in New York on the 2ist of the preceding February, " being the first in our history to suffer for this immeasurable crime. Eng lish lawyers," he continued, " dwell much upon treason to the King, which they denounce in a term borrowed from the ancient Romans /ore-majesty ; but the Slave- trade is treason to man, being nothing else than Icse- humanity. Much as I incline against capital punishment, little as I am disposed to continue this barbarous pen alty unworthy of a civilized age, I see so much good in this example, at the present moment, that I can reconcile myself to it without a pang. Clearly, it will be a warning to Slave-traders, and also notice to the civilized world SUMNER MILESTONES. 393 that at last we are in earnest. While it helps make the Slave-trade detestable, crime is seen in the punishment ; and the gallows sheds upon it that infamy which nothing short of martyrdom in a good cause can overcome." He went on to show that our flag had been dese crated by this hateful commerce that ships equipped in New York were tempted by its cruel gains. But to stop this, had been found impossible while Slavery prevailed in the National Government. Here was an other milestone set up, that the future traveler will discern. XXXIII. Still another milestone was about to be planted. Al though the Generals in our army were continually receiving most valuable information from fugitive slaves, and many a disaster was prevented, as well as many a success obtained through their information of the posi tions, movements, and plans of the Rebels, as well as from their indispensable services as faithful and intelli gent guides, still, the prevailing sentiment in the army was for the rendition of such fugitives. Slave-holders were allowed to enter the camps of our Generals, and search private quarters of officers for slaves. This was particularly the case under General HOOKER S command ; while General McCooK s conduct, by way of rendering extraordinary facilities to Slave-hunters, was widely ap plauded by a journal at Nashville ; and in many other instances. Yet these officers could all plead, in behalf of their conduct, the infamous " Order No. 3," of Major- General HALLECK, in which he said : We will prove to them Slave-holders that we come to restore, not to violate, the Constitution and the laws. * * * It does not belong to the military to decide upon the relation of master and slave : such ques- 394 SFEECH AGAINST RENDITION OF FUGITIVES. tions must be settled by the civil courts. No fugitive slaves will, therefore, be admitted within our lines or camps, except when specially ordered by the General commanding. In HORACE GREELEY S American Conflict, the author well says : Never was a therefore more misplaced. How were the persons pre senting themselves adjudged to be or known as fugitive slaves ? Plainly, by the color of their skins, and that only. The sole end of this regu lation was the remanding of all slaves to their masters, seven-eighths of whom were most envenomed, implacable Rebels by depriving them of refuge within our lines from those masters power. XXXIV. In the same reliable work, volume 2, pages 241-256, will be found an extended, but very humiliating account of this impolitic and inhumane policy. On the ist of May, 1862, Senator WILSON introduced a resolution of inquiry on this subject, which was enforced by a strong speech of Mr. SUMNER, closing in the following words : How often must I repeat, that Slavery is the constant Rebel and universal enemy? It is traitor and belligerent together, and is always to be treated accordingly. Tenderness to Slavery now, is practical disloyalty, and practical alliance with the enemy. Believe me, sir, against the officers named I have no personal unkindness ; I should much prefer to speak in their praise. But I am in earnest. While I have the honor of a seat in the Senate, no success, no victory, shall be apology or shield for a General who insults human nature. From the midst of his triumphs, I will drag him forward to receive the con demnation which such conduct deserves. This movement ended in something effectual. The Bill for Confiscation and Liberation being passed, was approved on the i;th of July, providing for the freedom of the slaves of Rebels ; and all the enactments on this subject were embraced by the President in the First Proclamation of Emancipation, September 22, 1862. THE BATTLE-FLAG RESOLUTION. 395 XXXV. As early as May 8, 1862, Mr. SUMNER introduced a Resolution which was the beginning- of a policy on his part steadily pursued to the end, prohibiting the names of victories over fellow-citizens from being inscribed on the regimental colors. It ended years after, as all the world knows and Massachusetts too well in covering that State with dishonor, and her Senator with undying glory ; her vote of censure was a stain which, however, she was able to wipe out before her great Senator was called to his reward. After the capture of Williamsburg, May 6th, General MCCLELLAN having, in a dispatch, asked of the War De partment whether he would be authorized in following the example of other Generals, to direct the names of battles to be placed on the colors of regiments, Mr. SUMNER S Resolution was : " That in the efforts now making for the restoration of the Union, and the estab lishment of peace throughout the country, it is inexpe dient that the names of victories obtained over our fellow-citizens, should be placed on the regimental colors of the United States." But Mr. HALE objected to its consideration, and it was postponed. A few days later, even Mr. WILSON introduced a joint resolution to authorize the President to permit regiments of the vol unteer forces to inscribe on their flags the names of battles in which such regiments had been engaged. But fortunately for Mr. WILSON, as well as Mr. HALE, the whole matter was dropped. Mr. SUMNER S movement, however, was fully appre ciated by people whose hearts were exactly in the right place, and in sound condition. But it received one 396 SUMNER ENDORSED BY GEN. SCOTT. endorsement worth a lifetime to win, for it came from that great General and patriot who was then putting forth his last and best efforts for his country in the midst of her trouble. In his Autobiography, volume i, page 190, Lieut.-Gen. SCOTT left these imperishable words : t It had been proposed, without due reflection, by one of our gallant commanders engaged in the suppression of the existing Rebellion, to place on the banners of his victorious troops, the names of their bat tles. The proposition was rebuked by the Resolution submitted by the Hon. Mr. SUMNER, which was noble, and from the right quarter. XXXVI. On the 1 2th of May, and again on the 28th of June, Mr. SUMNER attempted in vain to get a Resolution passed providing that " In all judicial proceedings to confiscate the property and free the slaves of Rebels, there shall be no exclusion of any witnesses on account of color." He had already made two efforts against the exclu sion of witnesses under this pretext. But this states man, although ever vigilant, was ever patient in hope. He knew, as well as any old prophet of Judea forecast the future, that the day of absolute emancipation for a whole race was sure to dawn ; and so on, through the shadows, as the light came streaming in, he beckoned every ray, as a harbinger from the east, announcing the approach of the sun.* * In reply to the question, " What will be the end of all this ? " from a Senator whose heart was only half with us at this time, I addressed the following reply which Mr. Sumner so warmly approved of. I will reproduce it here. " How is it to end?" As ail the other great wrongs of the world have ended, not in blood merely ; for ANSWER TO "HOW WILL ALL THIS END?" 3Q/ But by this time, Mr. SUMNER had grown strong enough to set up milestones for himself, without any help from the Senate ; and hereafter we may call these rejected resolutions the SUMNER MILESTONES, and not the Senatorial. They marked the road to Freedom. XXXVII. Instead of a matter of surprise that the good Abra ham Lincoln sometimes lost his patience, I always won- men spill that freer than water over trifles, but by exterminating the power and the works cf the wrong-doer, and, if necessary, the wrong-doer himself. This does not mean half as much as GOD means when HE has traitors to deal with. History, the sacred chronicler from the grave, is Heaven s secretary. Open his books, and see how the Ruler of nations treats bad leaders of communities and empires. What became of a polluted world when its Maker could find no place in his great heart to screen or hold its bad people any longer ? He drowned them ! So your Bible tells you. What became of his own chosen people, for whom he had wrought miracles by land and water, to whom he had committed his holy tabernacle, the evidence of his divine presence by night and day in the everlasting flame, that never ceased to burn over the altar of his holy temple, telling that the Protector of Israel was there, his chosen people, on whom HE had lavished the wealth of his kingdom, and to whom he at last gave the most precious gem in his diadem, his " eternally begotten and well-beloved Son " ? Read the fate of that chosen people wherever the winds of heaven sweep, and, innumerable although they be, they are among the nations only chaff on the summer threshing-floor. What became of the Egyptian tyrant after he rejected the counsels of the great Hebrew statesman and set himself up against Moses " proclamation of emancipa tion " ? Drowning again. What became of Sodom and Gomorrah? Brimstone and fire. What became of Babylon and Nineveh, Tyre and Sidon, and all the great empires and states of antiquity? Any Sunday-school scholar can answer these questions. They did wrong ; they persisted in wrong ; they insulted God and ground his help less ones into the dust. They were foretold their fate ; they met it, and wound up their history, falling charred corpses into their sepulchres ; and future Layards and Champollions have busied themselves in digging away with Birmingham picks and spades, to heave up from the ashes of ages some few remains of these triflers with " the divine humanity." Modern history tells the same story; for God is just as much the Governor of 398 AN AMERICAN SLAVE EMPIRE. dered that he kept it at all. As soon as Mr. Edward Stanley reached his post as Provisional Governor of North Carolina, he made a striking display of his power by ordering 1 the Colored Schools recently established by all the earth to-day, as he was before the Caesars. No new dispensation has been granted to nations. It is graven among the pandects of eternity that "the nation that will not serve me shall perish." Heaven s code never changes. The decisions of that Court of final Appeals are never reversed. Charles I. of England did not understand this philosophy. His ignorance cost him his head from the window of Palace Hall. Louis XVI. did not understand it ; and his head rolled from the guillotine in Paris. So have a whole regal mob of the oppressors of mankind, sooner or later, from Tarquin to Louis, been sent to their doom by the swift judgment of Heaven. Modern nations have followed the same road as ancient empires wherever they have violated the great laws of civic prosperity and endurance. They have gone to ruin over the same beaten track where the dead dynasties of the past had left their bones. No statesman will pretend, be he saint or sinner, that a man or a nation can con tend against the Almighty and prosper. Justice and freedom are the fundamental statutes of God s system of jurisprudence. Neither men nor nations are exempt. These laws never change; and, thank God, we strike solid bottom when we are deal ing with Him! Whatever may have been the pretexts of this Rebellion, every man who is not wil fully blind saw its immediate object in the beginning. But, separation once effected, was not the ultimate design equally clear ? the establishment and consolidation of a colossal meridional empire, stretching from the free States of this Union towards the south, absorbing Mexico and Central America, Cuba, and all the islands of the sur rounding archipelago, and appropriating all the South American States east of the Andes ? This empire was to rest on African Slavery as its basis, and its wealth and power were to spring from a complete monopoly of cotton, and the principal tropical pro ducts of the world. Nor would the ultimate achievement have been beyond the regions of probability, had the leaders been allowed to break away from their allegiance and "go in peace." They contemplated nothing impossible in the gradual absorption of these vast ter ritories, partly by arms, and partly by treaties of annexation. They would have been only re-establishing African slavery where it had but recently been abolished, more by the shock of revolution than as a reform in the gradual progress of society. They would have encountered no unconquerable obstacles in the re-establishment of domestic slavery for a while at least. Slavery is congenial to the tastes of the Span- i>h and Portuguese nations, and in full harmony with the lower civilization which ex ists among their mixed American descendants. Besides, they wo.tld have readily found an ally in Cuba, which, on fair terms, GOV. STANLEY CLOSES COLORED SCHOOLS. 399 Vincent Colyer and others to be shut they were "for bidden by the Laws of the State" ! Mr. Colyer hurried on to Washington and called on Mr. SUMNER, who at once drove with him to the President s. After hearing what had been done, Mr. Lincoln excitedly exclaimed, " Do you take me for a School-Committee-Man ? " would gladly have joined this gigantic Power, and, asserting her independence, as all the other Spanish-American states had done, sprung to the alliance to assert her freedom, and save her half a million of slaves. Stepping on the South American continent, this new Power would have trodden triumphantly over a score of torn and shattered Republics on its march to Brazil, where it would have hoped to find a cordial ally and partner in that vast but youthful empire. Thus the only slave-holders and the only slave-empires of the earth would have met, and reared a structure which might have arrested for an age the progress of meridi onal American regions. Something far less strange than this would be, had long been history. The civili zation of ages was overthrown, and to all appearances the world s march was arrested for a thousand years. The combination of barbaric forces has often proved for the time too mighty for civilization. Even Christ s temples have been overthrown in a hundred nations, and thirty generations, embracing uncounted hundreds of millions, have ever since been groping in heathen darkness around their ruins. Although the mighty stream of human progress, as a volume, moves steadily on, yet some of its vast eddies move backward before their waters can once more mingle in the general current. Such a concentration of all the elements of barbaric power, with all the irresistible appliances of modern inventions, could, by the forced labor of the enslaved and de pendent classes, have reared a structure against which not only the puny shafts of refined nations would have struck in vain, but which would have overshadowed other states and ruled for a while sovereign of the ascendant. No meaner vision than this rested on the eyes of the projectors of the Southern re bellion. The only difficult step in the accomplishment of this stupendous scheme was the first one, secession from the Government of the United States. This was to prove an impossibility. All the rest would have followed at half the cost in blood and treasure which the South has already expended during the first two years of the war. The total enslavement of the depressed classes, and the creation of a powerful oligarchy of coadjutors, would have rapidly crystallized all the incoherent elements of society throughout all those semi-barbarous and revolution-devastated countries. Or der would have sprung from chaos ; but it would have been the order which reigns in the realms of tyrants ; wealth would have been multiplied by magic, but it would ha\e been the fruit of involuntary and hopeless toil. But such did not happen to be the will of Heaven. This virgin continent was not destined to so horrible a prosti tution. The clock of Time was not to go back again a thousand years. 4CO SUMNER CALLS FOR INFORMATION. "Not at all; I take you for President of the United States, and I come with a case of wrong-, in attending to which your predecessor, George Washington, if alive, might add to his renown." In an instant Mr. Lincoln s tone changed, and he heard the case patiently. Return ing to the Senate Chamber, June 2, 1862, Mr. SUMNER offered the following : Resolved, That the Secretary of War be requested to communicate to the Senate copies of any commissions or orders from his Department undertaking to appoint Provisional Governors in Tennessee and North Carolina, with the instructions given to the Governors. Unanimous leave being granted, he said: "If any person in the name of the United States, has under taken to close a school for little children, whether white or black, it is important that we should know the authority under which he assumes to act. Surely nobody here will be willing to take the responsibility for such an act. It is difficult to conceive that one of the first- fruits of national victory, and the re-establishment of na tional power should be an enormity not easy to char acterize in any terms of moderation. Sir, in the name of the Constitution, of humanity, and of common-sense, I protest against such impiety under sanction of the United States." In writing to a friend three days later, he said, " Your criticism of the President is hasty. I am confident, if you knew him as I do, you would not make it. I am happy to let you know that he has no sympathy with Stanley in his absurd wickedness, in closing the schools ; nor, again, in his other act of turning our camps into hunting-ground for slaves. He repudiates both, posi tively." SUMNER S CONFIDENCE IN LINCOLN. 401 In the same letter he also said : " Could you, as has been my privilege often, have seen the President, while considering the great questions on which he has already acted, beginning with the invitation to Emancipation in the States, then Emancipation in the District of Colum bia, and the acknowledgment of the Independence of Hayti and Liberia, even your zeal would be satisfied ; for you would feel the sincerity of his purpose to do what he can to carry forward the principles of the Decla ration of Independence. His whole soul is occupied, especially, by the first proposition, so peculiarly his own. In familiar intercourse with him, I remember nothing more touching than the earnestness and completeness with which he embraced the idea. To his mind it was just and beneficent, while it promised the sure end of Slavery. To me, who had already proposed a Bridge of Gold for the retreating Fiend, it was most welcome. Proceeding from the President it must take its place among the great events of history. I say to you, there fore, Stand by the Administration." * * A European correspondent asked me to give him an idea of Mr. Lincoln s char acter. I sent the following reply : You ask me about Mr. Lincoln : what kind of a man what kind of a President he is. When Mr. Lincoln entered the Presidential mansion, he could not have answered either of these questions himself. It is a matter of doubt if he could do it even now. It was once a post for the coronation retirement of a statesman, when he had earned the supreme honors of the state. In times of peace our great public men found their legitimate way to the Home of the Presidents as Washington wished to have the White House called. Those honors then were always worthily won, and the laurel wreath kept green on the brows of all their wearers, at least till the last of the primitive chieftains went to his untroubled rest under the shades of the " Hermitage." Yes, those men lived to reap the rich rewards of peace after their battles; of repose after their toils. But it was no pillow of down on which Abraham Lincoln was invited to lay his- head. He thought he understood something of what had been committed to him ;. and when he stood on the eastern portico of the Capitol, all blanched before the surg ing sea of anxious men and women who were waiting to learn " What of the night ? " 26 402 MR. LINCOLN S CHARACTER DRAWN. XXXVIII. On the i pth of January, 1862, Senator McDouGALL, of California, had introduced into the Senate a series of Resolutions concerning the attempt to subject the Repub lic of Mexico to French authority, in which the following peremptory clause appeared : " That it is the duty of would bring from the new sentinel, he uttered words to which the events of the future were to give an astounding and unforeseen significance. Lincoln s Presidency has been a heritage of trouble. No good man in his senses would have taken the honor, if he could have foreseen a tithe of its bewildering heart- achings, the treason, the blood, the agony it would cost the noble nation, betrayed by its own children, immolated before his own eyes, or the home-troubles it would bring to his fireside. But the men who voluntarily assume the direction of public, or even private, affairs, must be ready for any emergency. Nobody has any right to assume that everything \vill go right. Nor is there any ground to suppose that Mr. Lincoln did. On the ccntrary, his inaugural address clearly proved that his eye had pierced the probable future, not, indeed, all that future which has since become history, for human ken could not reach so far. But that he has had to confront more surprises, and grapple with more difficulties than could have been known to, or anticipated by any human in telligence, will hardly be denied. Some peculiar and fortunate qualities in his character have enabled him not only to -save the country from ruin, but also to inspire and sustain a most healthy state of the body politic, in the midst of the avalanches and whirlwinds which have struck and shaken our whole system of civic life. His first characteristic is self-control. lie very seldom loses his equanimity. This gives room for the constant exercise of his judgment. His second characteristic is his good, plain, home-made common-sense, "This is a quality," Southey said, " rarer than genius." So far as all the real business of life is concerned for men or nations, strong common-sense is the surest and safest guide. Through this alembic all the unfriendly and dangerous elements of this terrible conflict have had to pass. Another quality has mingled itself, by the laws of affinity in moral chemistry, with Mr. Lincoln s executive acts, humor, bonJiommic, good nature. Men have com plained of him on this ground. They have charged him with levity. But these critics should remember one of the fine sayings of Malesherbes, the great Frenchman, " A fortunate dash of pleasantry has often saved the peace of families, sometimes of an empire." It is fully believed that Mr. Lincoln s cheerfulness has dissipated many a cloud that lowered around the " Home of the Presidents," and left its fragments " in the deep ocean buried." And, last of all, his firm faith in the durability of the republic is unbroken. All these qualities, united, make him what he is. MR. LINCOLN S WRITTEN OPINION. 403 this Republic to require of the government of France, that her armed forces be withdrawn from the territories of Mexico," and on the 3d of February, when the Reso lutions came up for consideration, Mr. McDouGALL made an elaborate speech, in which he doubtless expressed the prevailing sentiment of the Senate, and of the coun try, so far as the intervention of France and our sympa thy with Mexico were concerned. But it was in violation of all prudential considerations, under the circumstances. In the affairs of nations, sometimes those things that are right in themselves, are altogether wrong, all things considered. Mr. McDouGALL did not make this distinc tion. But statesmanship could not afford to overlook it. In speaking on this subject, Mr. LINCOLN expressed the same words that he did to me when the Trent matter came up, which were exactly these, as he afterwards wrote them to me himself: "At that time, we were not prepared to shoulder fresh troubles, having all we could carry, of our own! So thought Mr. SUMNER, who, in reply to Senator McDouGALL, said: MR. PRESIDENT, At the present moment there is one touchstone to which I am disposed to bring every question, especially in our foreign relations ; and this touchstone is its influence on the suppression of the Rebellion. A measure may in itself be just or expedient ; but if it would be a present burden, if it w r ould add to our embarrassments and troubles, and especially if it would aggravate our military condition, then, whatever may be its merits, I am against it. To the suppression of the Rebellion the country offers life and treasure without stint, and it expects that these energies shall not be sacrificed or impaired by the assumption of any added responsibilities. If I bring these Resolutions to this touchstone, they fail. They may be right or wrong in fact or principle, but their influence at this mo ment, if adopted, must be most prejudicial to the cause of the Union. Assuming the tone of friendship to Mexico, they practically give to the 404 SUMNER ON OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. Rebellion a most powerful ally, for they openly challenge war with France. There is madness in the proposition. I do not question the motives of the Senator, but it would be difficult to conceive anything more calculated to aid and comfort the Rebellion, just in proportion to its adoption. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The present war is surely enough, without adding war with France. It is sufficient that the policy of the Senator from California, without any certainty of good to Mexico, must excite the hostility of France, and give to the Rebellion army and fleets, not to mention that recogni tion and foreign intervention which we deprecate. Let us all unite to put down the Rebellion. This is enough for the present. If Senators are sensitive, when they see European monarchies again setting foot on this hemisphere, entering Mexico with their armies, entering New Granada with their influence, and occupying the ancient ; San Domingo, let them consider that there is but one way in which this return of empire can be arrested. It is by the suppression of the Rebellion. Let the Rebellion be overcome, and this whole continent will fall naturally, peacefully, and tranquilly under the irresistible influ ence of American institutions. Resolutions cannot do this, nor speeches. I therefore move that the Resolutions lie on the table. They did. XXXIX. Our foreign relations, such as they were, such as they might be, was the subject which, next to the varying fortunes of the War for the Union, now occu pied the anxious thoughts of statesmen at home and abroad. Sometimes it is as true with nations as with individuals that an age is crowded into an hour, that the flash of a sabre may do in a second what a whole generation has waited for, that exhausted patience among men and governments may assume the prerogatives of the Al mighty, and let the bolt and the flash come together. But beware where the bolt strikes. HOW EUROPE FELT TOWARDS US. 4O5 This had a full application in our experience. We found our enemies had become those of our own household. They attempted to break up our Government, to over throw our Union, to destroy our prosperity, and wind up our history as a first-class Power. The Government of the United States had never deviated from the accom plishment of its legitimate objects. It was made for all, and it had protected all. No State could claim that it had been wronged in any measure, without instantly having its wrong adjusted by the supreme legislative, ju dicial, or executive power. And thus, without any infraction of law or any inva sion of prerogative, one section of the country was ar rayed in hostility against the other ; and suddenly we found ourselves threatened with the choice of two evils, a struggle to the death, if necessary, against dismem berment, if not indeed against total destruction ; or to submit tamely to inevitable ruin. This was a new spectacle for the nations of Europe to look on ; and, as might be expected, it gave them a good chance for showing how truly they had rejoiced in our prosperity, or how glad they would be in our mis fortune. XL. RUSSIA, by all odds the grandest of all European structures, without waiting an hour for consultation with other Powers, sent back her assurances of sympa thy with us in our efforts to frustrate this treasonable attempt to break up a free and prosperous Government, which had proved so powerful and beneficent a shield for the protection of all its people. 4G<3 FRIENDSHIP OF RUSSIA. Russia is the natural ally of the United States. She has a vast territory, and all her people look to her for protection. She has, during" a thousand years, been slowly but surely emerging from Asiatic barbarism into the light and strength of modern civilization. She has, moreover, done what no other nation had done : she has carried the masses of her people along with her as fast as she has travelled herself. Oriental in her origin, she has maintained a patriarchal government. If it has ever been a despotism in form, it W 7 as manifestly the only machinery strong enough to gov ern, protect, and bless all her people. She undertook a work far more difficult than Rome had to do. She had to aggregate, harmonize, and blend together the great nomadic tribes of the East. When from the affluent social systems of Asia, bursting with crowded populations, they drifted westward on her now European territories, Russia was submerged by wild, strange, and savage races. She had the most stupen dous task given to her which any nation has ever had to perform. Contending with difficulties which had never before been encountered, she has at last presented to the world the wonderful spectacle of a mighty empire made up of countless dissevered and warring communities, all ferocious, all untamed, all nomadic, all speaking different tongues, and representing all the religious superstitions of the East; but now all blended in a homogeneous so cial and political system, which has not only eclipsed, in the culture of its upper classes, the refinement of Euro pean courts, and matched them in the arts of war and peace, but has boldly struck the shackles of slavery from the limbs of as many million men as now make up the population of all our old Free States. I cannot resist BAYARD TAYLOR S ODE TO RUSSIA. 407 the desire here to link BAYARD TAYLOR S grandest poem with this portion of our historic chain. * That involuntary servitude should be abolished by the most despotic of nations, with the applause of the world, and the day of emancipation (March 3, 1863) be ushered in by chimes of gratitude and thanksgiving from every church-spire in the Russian Empire, while the great Re public of the world still bound the fetters upon four mil lion slaves, will hereafter read strangely in history. But a wiser and broader statesmanship than ours Of uides the destinies of Russia. * A THOUSAND YEARS. A thousand years, through storm and fire, With varying fate, the work has grown, Till Alexander crowns the spire Where Rurik laid the corner-stone. The chieftain s sword that could not rust, But bright in constant battle grew, Raised to the world a throne august, A nation grander than he knew. Nor he alone ; but those who have, Through faith or deed, an equal part, The subtle brain of Yaroslav, Vladimir s arm, and Nikon s heart, The later hands that built so well The work sublime which these began, And up from base to pinnacle Wrought out the Empire s mighty plan, All these to-day are crown d anew, And rule in splendor where they trod, While Russia s children throng to view Her holy cradle, Novgorod, From Volga s banks, from Dwina s side, From pine-clad Ural, dark and long, Or where the foaming Terek s tide Leaps down from Kasbek, bright with song, From Altai s chain of mountain-cones, Mongolian deserts far and free, And lands that bind, through changing zones, Tlu: Eastern and the Western Sea. To every race she gives a home, And creeds and laws enjoy her shade, Till far beyond the dreams of Rome Her Caesar s mandate is obey d. She blends the virtues they impart, And holds within her life combined The patient faith of Asia s heart, The force of Europe s restless mind. She bids the nomad s wandering cease, She binds the wild marauder fast ; Her ploughshares turn to homes of peace The battle-fields of ages past. And, nobler far, she dares to know Her future s task, nor knows in vain, But strikes at once the generous blow That makes her millions men again ! So, firmer based,, her power expands, Nor yet has seen its crowning hour, Still teaching to the struggling lands That Peace the offspring is of Power. Build up the storied bronze, to tell The steps whereby this height she trod, The thousand years that chronicle The toil of man, the help of God ! And may the thousand years to come The future ages, wise and free Still see her flag and hear her drum Across the world, from sea to sea, Still find, a symbol stern and grand, Her ancient eagle s strength unshorn, One head to watch the western land And one to guard the land of morn ! NOVGOROD, RUSSIA, Sept. 20, 1862. 408 ENGLAND S FEELING IN CONTRAST. It was from such a nation that the earliest words of sympathy and confidence came when our first domestic troubles began ; and it was not forgotten by the Ameri can people when that tempest swept by. We see new storms gathering over Europe, and our aid may be in voked against Russia, and invoked in vain. States men know that while individuals may forgive, nations never do. XLI. How has England looked on this contest ? Strange enough has been the course she has taken. She will hardly be able hereafter to explain it to others : it is doubtful if she can do it now even to herself. England lives in America to-day, and is dying at home. England is clinging to her sepulchres, and she may well do it ; for the places where her great ones repose are the greenest spots on her island. We Americans cheated ourselves most egregiously when we thought England once the head of the slave- trade, and only a few years ago the front of the aboli tionism of the world would turn her slavery-hating back on the only organized band of slavery propagandism on the earth ! Poor fools we ! Just as though the British aristoc racy the true name for the British Government meant anything but interference and trouble for us when her Grace the Duchess of Sutherland chaperoned the gifted Harriet Beecher Stowe through the court of her Majesty, simply because Mrs. Stowe, by writing a great dramatic novel against slavery, could be made a cat s-paw to pull the chestnuts of the British aristocracy out of the fire ! INSINCERITY OF ENGLISH PROFESSIONS. 409 Yes, abolitionism suited the purposes of the British aristocracy just then ; and lords and ladies swarmed at negro-emancipation gatherings at Exeter Hall. On all such occasions three standing jokes were played off, to the infinite amusement of dukes and duchesses, duch esses more particularly. First, there must be a live American negro, the blacker the better, sometimes ; but they generally got one as little black as possible, and an octoroon threw them into the highest state of subdued frenzy admissible in the upper classes. The aforesaid negro must have escaped from the indescribable horrors and barbarities of slavery in the Southern States, gashed, manacled if he showed the manacles, so much the better a sam ple of American barbarism, and a burning shame on the otherwise fair cheek of the goddess of American liberty. " Oh, yes," said my lord Brougham; nothing stands in your way now but negro slavery. Abolish that, and every heart in England is with you." Secondly, at these Exeter Hall meetings they must have a live American abolitionist, once a slaveholder who had emancipated his slaves. Here they found their man in the noble Judge Birney, as in \he. first they found a splendid specimen of a runaway octoroon in Frederick Douglas, Esq., the black Douglas, and who, by-the- by, made a better speech by far than any aristocrat in England. Thirdly, and last of all, some ecclesiastic gentleman bestowed upon the proceedings the benediction. This would have been well enough, certainly so far as the benediction was concerned, had not future events proved beyond a doubt that, at the very moment these curious things were occurring, the whole prestige 410 HATRED OF ENGLAND S RULING CLASSES. of the British empire was invoked to sanctify and adorn a spirit of hostility to the Government of the United States, and that the solemnities of our holy religion were also invoked in the same cause. But to my unpractised eye it looked at the time very much as later events have shown it, a thorough hatred of America by the ruling classes of England. Atone time Lord Brougham presided; again, O Con- nell ; and again, the venerable Thomas Clarkson : they even got his Royal Highness Prince Albert to do it once, on a somewhat narrower scale, where even ten der young duchesses could attend with impunity the American negro always being present, like Tom Thumb in Barnum s chief amusements and, being fortified with a supply of highly-perfumed kerchiefs, the young duchesses managed generally to live it through and revive after reaching the open air ! These farces were played off all through the British Islands ; and the poor British people who, from long habit, I suppose, go where " their betters " go, when allowed to -joined in the movement, and "American anti-slavery societies " were everywhere established. Even chambermaids and factory-girls contributed to raise a fund to send " English missionaries " over here "to enlighten the North about the duty of the South to abolish slavery." Some of these scenes were sufficiently vulgar ; but they were sometimes got up, in some respects, in fine taste. One occasion I recall with the highest pleasure, which, although ostensibly an anti-slavery dinner, was limited chiefly in its company to the literary men of London.* * Among the good things of that evening was a short poem written for the occa sion by Wm. Beattie, M.D., the gifted and well-known author of "Scotland Illus- DR. BEATTIE S ADDRESS TO OUR POETS. 411 It was a noble enthusiasm among the people ; but it was anybody could see through it, for it was the veriest gauze all an aristocratic sham. It did not mean any thing for human freedom. It meant hostility to the United States. It was got up by British politicians. Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington had no part or parcel in it, unless it were through sheer courtesy to the men of their class. XLII. This English crusade against the United States was got up by the British aristocracy in sheer animosity against our Government, not so much, perhaps, against our people, chiefly because they cared nothing about them. It was our system of government they hated, because it was a standing, growing, and luminous reproof of the blighting and degrading system of Eng- trated," etc. I do not know if it has been published. I remember some of the stanzas. It is an address from " England s Poets to the Poets of America." Your Garrison has faun d the flame, Oh, where should Freedom s hope abide, Child, Chapman, Pierpont, caught the fire, Save in the bosoms of the free? And, roused at Freedom s hallow d name, Where should the wretched negro hide, Hark ! 1 ryant, Whittier, strike the lyre ; Save in the shade of Freedom s tree? While here hearts myriad trumpet-toned, Oh, by those songs your children sing, Montgomery, Cowper, Campbell, Moore, The lays that soothe your winter fires, To Freedom s glorious cause respond, The hopes, the hearths, to which you cling, In sounds which thrill through every core. The sacred ashes of your sires, Their voice has conjured up a power By all the joys that crown the free, No fears can daunt, no foes arrest, Love, honor, fame, the hope of Heaven, Which gathers strength with every hour Wake in your might, that earth may se^ And strikes a chord in every breast, God s gifts have not been vainly give^. A power that soon in every land Bards of Freedom s favor d land, On Europe s shore, on ocean s flood Strike at last your loftiest key, Shall smite the oppressors of mankind Peal the watchword through the land, And blast the traffickers in blood. Shout till every slave be free. Long has he drain d the bitter cup, Long borne the burden, clank d the chain ; But now the strength of Europe s up, A strength that ne er shall sleep again. 412 STARVATION IN ENGLAND. land, which starves the masses of her people in order that the privileged few may die of surfeit. " Blackwood s Magazine," an authority not likely to be charged with hostility towards the British oligarchy, nor with favoritism towards our republic, said in speak ing on this same subject in the same year 1840 " It were well if some ingenious optician could invent an instrument which would remedy the defects of that long-sighted benevolence which sweeps the field for distant objects of compassion, while it is blind as a bat to the misery around its own doors." Well said ! I saw and felt it all when I went through the streets and lanes and cellars of Manchester, where fifty thousand blanched skeleton men, women, and chil dren were, slowly or rapidly, dying of starvation. In that city, also, vast anti-slavery meetings were got up to induce the North to put down slavery in the South. These assemblages were invariably under the auspices of the aristocracy, and they were held where the police were stationed at the doorways to drive off the famish ing, lest their plaint of hunger might salute the ears of their bloated task-masters. There was no lack of cotton in Manchester then. There was something worse than that. It was the same old complaint you will find in any part of England, the poor over-worked and under-fed to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I went up to Paisley, where more than half the po pulation were being fed from soup-kettles, and pretty poor soup at that. There, too, the abolition of Ameri can slavery seemed to be the only thing which drew forth the sympathies or reached the charity of the aristocratic classes. ENGLAND OWED US NO GOOD-WILL. 413 So everywhere in England it was, " that long-sighted benevolence, sweeping the distant horizon for objects of compassion, but blind as a bat to the misery at the door." It was not so in 1840 alone. I have been in England several times since, but I never saw a good year for the poor of that oppressive empire. To show that this was all the poorest of shams, and that England owed us no good-will, let us step from 1840 to 1863. We saw all things the same in England, except in the "negro business." Here all was changed. British sympathy was shifted from the slave and lavished on his master, from " moral pocket-handkerchiefs and reli gious fine tooth-combs " to the overseer s lash and the unleashed bloodhound, from the maintenance of free institutions to their overthrow, from civilization to bar barism, from liberty to bondage. In 1840, Mr. Stephenson, our Virginia slave-breeding Ambassador near the Court of St. James, became so odious that no chance to snub or insult him was lost by the British Government. Mr. Adams, holding that same post, and embellishing it with all the great and noble qualities of illuminated talents and Christian philanthropy, was treated with far more neglect and far less cordiality by the same class which pretended to despise Stephenson and feted Har riet Beecher Stowe. Then England complained of our remissness or shirk ing in not doing our share towards putting down the slave-trade. Now all her sympathies were with the sup porters of slavery itself, which was the only support of slavery on the earth ; and her ship-yards and arsenals 4H PLAIN LETTER TO LORD JOHN RUSSELL. were taxed to their utmost to build fleets of the strong est and swiftest steam pirates, to help the slave-driving Confederacy in sweeping our peaceful commerce from the sea, once more to inaugurate the traffic in flesh and blood. The British Government knew, when the Alabama s keel was laid, that she was to become a pirate ; and our minister protested against it in vain. Three hundred of the rich merchants of England, in broad daylight, boasted of their purpose, and exulted over its success ful execution. The British Government gave the earliest and hearti est encouragement to the rebellion, by recognizing it as a belligerent power the moment its task-masters reached London. It allowed all the materials and munitions of war the rebels called for to be furnished, and, from the first hour, gave to the Rebellion all the aid and comfort it dared to furnish our enemies, in their atrocious attempt to immolate liberty, and enthrone slavery in the Western world ! * * It has amazed those who were familiar with Lord John Russell s public history that he should have trifled so heartlessly with the great issues of civilization and free government at stake in this Rebellion. This shuffling cost him the confidence of the great middle class in England and the respect of the world. If the following letter addressed to him may seem to be unlike letters usually written to titled men, I con sider it quite respectful enough to the man who struck hands with pirates and became pimp to the propagandists of negro slavery. Although written more than eleven years ago, I see no occasion for retracting a syllable or cancelling a word. MY LORD : We have a habit you are not much accustomed to, of straight talk and honest dealing : so you need not be amazed if we speak very plainly in this despatch. You have all your life been a place- seeker or a place-holder. To get power and money, you have always turned your back on your friends, and let your Reform meas ures go to the dogs. Whenever you have been an " out," and any American question came up, you were a warm advocate of our Republic. When you were an k in," you changed your tone. When Liberty was at stake in a foreign nation, or at home, you have been its noisiest champion, if an " out." If an "in," you have done your best to crush it, in Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Poland. It was with a pang HIS UNWORTHY CONDUCT. 415 No jurist will pretend to say that in all this she did not violate the spirit, if not the letter, of her own laws of neutrality, and the laws of nations. No intelligent man will deny that by these acts she prolonged and inflamed that accursed war. No man in his senses sup poses for a moment that England would have ventured that you saw even old Greece become free. For half a century, if an "out," you have brawled for Freedom and Free Governments; if an "in," you have resorted to the very last trick to keep there. You have, if an "out," always paraded your friendship for the United States, and virulently assailed any Tory or Conservative ministry. "In" again, you first veered, then hesitated, then tacked, and then at tacked us, our Government, and all American things. You know our Republic has never had any fair play from any ministry except the Tories or Conservatives. All Americans involuntarily say of British politicians of your stripe, " Save us from our friends, and we will take care of our enemies." But you have reserved the meanest and most bare-faced tergiversation of your public life till you were pressing the verge of your mortal existence. After pointing a thousand times with exultation to our great and prosperous nation, and deploring the two wars waged against us, you are now gloating over the prospect (as you deem it) of our speedy disruption and down fall. After hobnobbing with every abolitionist and feting every run-away American negro who managed to reach England, and imploring Britons no longer to use slave- grown cotton and sugar, you now take sides with the "nigger-driving" secessionists of the rebel States, who are trying to break clown freedom in America, and extend the area of that accursed institution, and sanctify the revival of the African slave- trade. You are threatening war against the United States unless we will surrender two intercepted traitors on their way to your abolition arms and sympathies, the chiefest emissaries which the slavery you have always pretended to hate, could send to your shores. O JOHN RUSSELL ! how unworthy is all this of the descendant of your great an cestor, who sealed with his blood on the scaffold his life-long devotion to the cause of justice and human freedom ! Why must you, just as you are ending your career, rob your proud name of that ancient halo which has gathered around it, by expending your last efforts in trying to blot out Free Government, for which the founder of your race so nobly died, and perpetuating on our virgin soil African slavery, which the world is clamoring to see blotted out ? My lord, do you plead that the necessity of slave-grown cotton calls for so das tardly a betrayal by yourself of all the sonrenirs of your life? And will you, to ac complish this purpose, trample on all the canons of international law, and become public robber and go and steal this cotton? If you attempt it, will you succeed? How much. cotton would you get before your ministry went down? Before you lost a market for your commerce with twenty-three million freemen ? Before our bread- sUiffs, which are now keeping the wolf away from British doors, would reach your shores ? Before bread-riots would occur throughout the British Islands which would 4l6 ENGLAND OUR STEP-MOTHER. on such a course of hostility and inhumanity at any other period of our history since the Peace of 1815. No other thoughts can suggest themselves to impar tial men that, while we were going through a domestic trouble, a great trouble, which filled every true heart in America or elsewhere with a sadness which dragged us " down to the depths of the earth." Little did England then dream, that within eight short make you turn pale ? Before all seas would swarm with our privateers, now twenty- fold more numerous than in 1812, when you found them too fleet and too strong for you? Before you encountered, in addition to two millions of our native soldiers and sailors, half a million of adopted citizens, able-bodied men, formerly British sub jects, and burning to avenge the wrongs of centuries inflicted on their devoted Island ? My lord, do you plead that the exigencies of statesmanship demand that you should turn the arms of the earth against you ? Do you suppose that NAPOLEON would lose such a chance for avenging Waterloo? Or Russia for taking Constantinople? Or all despotisms for crushing your supremacy ? Or all the peoples of Europe for crushing monarchy ? It would seem that England* should be willing, at least, to let us manage our do mestic affairs, since she has incurred a quarter of her national debt in interfering with them; that she should not now take to her arms "the foul corpse of African slavery on our soil," when it cost her five hundred million dollars to get rid of it in her own territories ! Should not the Founder of Modern Liberty be glad to see how prosperously the brood of her young eagles had founded an empire-home in the New World s forests, and not writhe, and chafe, and bark at and hawk at our nest, till she could come here and tear it to pieces ? The time had gone by, we hoped, when England, our oivn mother, would try to become our step-mother ! Why could she not have been proud in the pride of her daughter, and let her wear the jewels she had herself so nobly won? And yet mali cious people say that England acts like some old dame, who, after parting with the title to a daughter s estate, feels that she has still some reserved right left to inter fere in what no longer concerns her, and casts now and then an envious glance at beauty yet unshrivelled, and conquests forever beyond her reach. Can it be, my lord, that such unworthy feelings as these can now enter your heart as an English statesman ? We cannot believe it. Can you desire to put one more great trouble on the heart of your beloved, widowed queen? We will not believe it. My lord, you should be engaged in doing some good to the people of your own empire, rather than in trying to hurt a great, a kindred, and a friendly nation. After attempting so long to be a statesman, do not finish by being only a ministerial bully. I am, my lord, your obedient servant, C. EDWARDS LESTER. SUMNER FOR COLORED TROOPS. 417 years and chiefly through the influence of CHARLES SUMNER she would be forced to yield to arbitration, and branded by a-n impartial Tribunal as a public enemy of the United States, and condemned to pay exemplary damages for herv-crime. XLIIL On the 26th of May 1862 of the previous year, Sen ator SUMNER had introduced a Resolution to the effect that the time had come for the nation to invite all persons, without distinction of color, to come forward every where to render all the assistance in their power to the cause of the Union, according to their ability, whether by arms, labor, information, or in any other way. On the 1 7th of the following July, an Act was approved, au thorizing the President to receive into the service of the United States, persons of African descent who might be found competent to aid in constructing entrenchments, or performing camp service or labor. This was the beginning of a wise policy in our legisla tion regarding the employment of Colored men. In the following October, at Fanueil Hall, Mr. SUMNER had spoken in justification of a direct appeal to the slaves of Rebels : but this was on all sides regarded as premature, at least. On the Qth of the following February, 1863, however, he introduced a bill to raise additional soldiers for the service of the United States, and to accept every able-bodied free male person of African descent, of the age of eighteen, and under forty-five years, for military service, the monthly pay of such free persons to be the same as that of volunteers ; provided, that the whole number thus called into the service should not exceed 27 4i 8 AUTHOR S HISTORIC STATEMENT. one hundred thousand men. But the Bill was not reach ed during the session. Colored volunteers had, how ever, been accepted everywhere, and the evidence of their bravery, and above all, their patriotic zeal, was placed beyond criticism it was above praise. XLIV. When the policy of the employment of African troops was first being agitated, I prepared by request, the following historic statement on the subject which Mr. LINCOLN made use of in his discussions with his friends and advisers, and which, by the advice of Mr. SUMNER, was anonymously printed after it had passed his thor ough revision. He believed it would fortify his position in the Senate, and Mr. LINCOLN with his Cabinet. The result justified those convictions. Those who have declaimed loudest against the employment of negro troops have shown a lamentable amount of ignorance, and an equally lamentable lack of common sense. They know as little of the military history and martial qualities of the African race as they do of their own duties as commanders. All distinguished generals of modern times who have had opportu nities to use negro soldiers, have uniformly applauded their subordi nation, bravery,- and powers of endurance. Washington solicited the military services of negroes in the Revolution, and rewarded them. Jackson did the same in the War of 1812. Under both those great captains the negro troops fought so well that they received unstinted ;praise. Bancroft, in speaking of the battle of Bunker Hill (vol. vii. p. 421. History of United States), says : " Nor should history forget to record that as in the army at Cam bridge, so also in this gallant band, the free negroes of the colony had their representatives. For the right of free negroes to bear arms in the public defence was at that day as little disputed in New England as their NEGRO TROOPS IN WASHINGTON S ARMY. 419 other rights. They took their places, not in a separate corps, but in the ranks with the white men ; and their names may be read on the pension- rolls of the country side by side with those of other soldiers of the Re volution." In the Memoir of Major Samuel Lawrence (by Rev. Dr. Lothrop, pp. 8, 9) the following passage occurs : "At one time he commanded a company whose rank and file were all negroes, of whose courage, military discipline, and fidelity he always spoke with respect. On one occasion, being out reconnoitring with this company, be got so far in advance of his command that he was surrounded and on the point of being made prisoner by the enemy. The men, soon discovering his peril, rushed to his rescue, and fought with the most determined bravery till that rescue was effectually secured." When the Committee of Conference on the condition of the army agreed that negro soldiers should be rejected altogether, Washington, on the 3ist of December, 1775, wrote from Cambridge to the President of Congress as follows : " It has been represented to me that the free negroes who have served in this army are very much dissatisfied at being discarded. As it is to be apprehended that they may seek employ in the ministerial army, I have presumed to depart from the resolution respecting them, and have given license for their being enlisted. If this is disapproved of by Congress, I will put a stop to it." Sparks s Life of Washington, vol. iii., pp. 218, 219. Congress sustained Washington in disregarding the resolution. XLV. The secret journals of Congress (vol. L, pp. 107, no), March 29, 1779, show that the States of South Carolina and Georgia were "re commended to raise immediately three thousand able-bodied negroes. That every negro who shall well and faithfully serve as a soldier to the end of the present war, and shall then return his arms, be emancipated and receive the sum of fifty dollars." Washington, Hamilton, Greene, Lincoln, and Lawrence, warmly ap proved of the measure. In 1 783 the General Assembly of Virginia passed "An act directing the emancipation of certain slaves who have served as soldiers in this war." 420 COLORED HEROES AT RED BANK. We next give an extract from an act of the "State of RJiodc Island and Providence Plantations, in General Assembly" February session, !7 7 8 : "Whereas, for the preservation of the rights and liberties of the United States, it is necessary that the whole powers of Government should be exerted in recruiting the Continental battalions ; and whereas his Excellency General Washington hath enclosed to this State a pro posal, made to him by Brigadier-General Varnum, to enlist into the two battalions, raising by this State, such slaves as should be willing to enter into the service ; and whereas history affords us frequent prece dents of the wisest, the freest and bravest nations having liberated their slaves and enlisted them as soldiers to fight in defence of their country ; and, also, whereas the enemy, with a great force, have taken possession of the capital and a great part of this State, and this State is obliged to raise a very considerable number of troops for its own immediate de fence, whereby it is in a manner rendered impossible for this State to furnish recruits for the said two battalions without adopting the said measure so recommended; "It is Voted and Resolved, That every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man-slave in this State may enlist into either of the said two battalions, to serve during the continuance of the present war with Great Britain ; that every slave so enlisting shall be entitled to and re ceive all the bounties, wages, and encouragements allowed by the Con tinental Congress to any soldier enlisting in their service. "// is further Voted and Resolved, That every slave so enlisting shall, upon his passing muster before Colonel Christopher Green, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely FREE, as though he had never been encumbered with any kind of servitude or slavery." The negroes enlisted under this act were the men who immortalized themselves at Red Bank. Arnold, in his "History of Rhode Island," vol. ii., pp. 427, 428, de scribing the "battle of Rhode Island," fought August 29, 1778, says, "A third time the enemy, with desperate courage and increased strength, attempted to assail the redoubt, and would have carried it, but for the timely aid of two Continental battalions despatched by Sullivan to support his almost exhausted troops. It was in repelling these furi ous onsets that the newly-raised black regiment, under Colonel Green, distinguished itself by deeds of desperate valor. Posted behind a thicket in the valley, they three times drove back the Hessians, who charged repeatedly down the hill to dislodge them." COMMODORE CHAUNCEY S BLACK SAILORS. 421 Negroes have always been favorites * in our navy, and their names always entered on the ships books without distinction. Commodore Chauncey thus speaks : u. j r egret that you are not pleased with the men sent you by Messrs. Champlin and Forrest, for, to my kno\yledge, a part of them are not surpassed by any seamen we have in the fleet ; and I have yet to learn that the color of the skin, or the cut and trimmings of the coat, can affect a man s qualifications or usefulness. I have nearly fifty blacks on board of this ship, and many of them are among my best men." In October, 1814, the State of New York passed an act to authorize the raising of two regiments of men of color. XLVI. The following proclamation and address of General Andrew Jack son covers the whole ground, and breathes the magnanimous spirit of that hero-patriot : "HEAD-QUARTERS, 7TH MILITARY DISTRICT. "MOBILE, September 21, 1814. " To THE FREE COLORED INHABITANTS OF LOUISIANA. " Through a mistaken policy, you have heretofore been deprived of * "In referring to Mr. Wickliffe s remarks against Generals Butler and Hunter, he (Mr. Dunn) pointed to the fact that General Jackson employed colored soldiers in the defence of New Orleans and complimented them upon their gallantry and good order. Kentuckians were in that battle with black men. Commodore Perry fought his battles on Lake Erie with the help of black men ; and black men, too, fought in the Revolutionary War. Commodores Stringham and Woodhull severally testify to the valuable services of the blacks in the navy, saying they are as brave as any who ever stood at the guns. They fought before Vicksburg, and elsewhere. " The rebels employ them wherever they can. When they cannot get them willingly, they force them, as they did at Yorktown, to take the front rank of danger. Why not now not only educate them to the use of arms, but prepare them to hold the Southern country wrested from rebels? He did not want the white man to go down and perish there. The negro population, armed, can hold the traitors in subjection. The gentleman from Kentucky was apprehensive if arms were placed ift the hands of blacks that they would commit great barbarities. * What, he asked, replying to that remark, had become of the Christian teachings which were said to prevail in the South? He said that General Meigs had informed him additional numbers of blacks were required to man the ships, this class of persons having proved highly valuable in the naval service." 422 GEN. JACKSON S PROCLAMATION, IN 1814. a participation in the glorious struggle for national rights in which our country is engaged. This no longer shall exist. " As sons of freedom, you are now called upon to defend our most inestimable blessing. As Americans, your country looks with con fidence to her adopted children for a valorous support, as a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed under her mild and equitable govern ment. As fathers, husbands, and brothers, you are summoned to rally around the standard of the eagle, to defend all which is dear in existence. " Your country, although calling for your exertions, does not wish you to engage in her cause without amply remunerating you for the services rendered. Your intelligent minds are not to be led away by false representations. Your love of honor would cause you to despise the man who should attempt to deceive you. In the sincerity of a soldier, and the language of truth, I address you. " To every noble-hearted, generous freeman of color, volunteering to serve during the present contest with Great Britain, and no longer, there will be paid the same bounty in money and lands now received by the white soldiers of the United States, viz. : one hundred and twenty-four dollars in money, and one hundred and sixty acres of land. The non-commissioned officers and privates will also be entitled to the same monthly pay and daily rations, and clothes, furnished to any American soldier. " On enrolling yourselves in companies, the major-general command ing will select officers for your government from your white fellow-citi zens. Your non-commissioned officers will be appointed from among yourselves. "Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freemen and soldiers. You will not, by being associated with white men in the same corps, be exposed to improper comparisons or unjust sarcasm. As a distinct, independent battalion or regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you will, undivided, receive the applause and gratitude of your countrymen. "To assure you of the sincerity of my intentions, and my anxiety to engage your invaluable services to our country, I have communicated my wishes to the Governor of Louisiana, who is fully informed as to the manner* of enrolment, and will give you every necessary information on the subject of this address. " ANDREW JACKSON, " Major- General commanding" JViles s Register^ vol. vii., p. 205. JACKSON S ADDRESS TO COLORED TROOPS. 423 XLVII. At the close of a review of the white and colored troops in New Orleans, on Sunday, December 18, 1814, General Jackson s address to the troops was read by Edward Livingston, one of his aids, and the following is the portion addressed : "To THE MEN OF COLOR. Soldiers ! From the shores of Mobile I collected you to arms, I invited you to share in the perils, and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I expected much from you ; for I was not uninformed of those qualities which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I knew that you could endure hunger and thirst, and all the hardships of war. I knew that you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like ourselves, you had to defend all that is most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes. I have found in you, united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm which impels to great deeds. " Soldiers ! The President of the United States shall be informed of your conduct on the present occasion ; and the voice of the represen tatives of the American nation shall applaud your valor, as your general now praises your ardor. The enemy is near. His sails cover the lakes. But the brave are united ; and if he finds us contending among ourselves, it will be for the prize of valor, and fame, its noble reward." Aries s Register, vol. vii., pp. 345, 346.* But the course of events has pretty effectually changed public opinion on the subject. From Major-General Hunter s department, f and * For many of the foregoing data I am indebted to Mr. George Livermore s re cent and valuable work, entitled "An Historical Research respecting the Opinions of the Founders of the Republic on Negroes as Slaves, as Citizens, and as Soldiers." f In a letter from General Hunter, written from South Carolina, Feb. n, 1863, to a friend, he says :* " Finding that the able-bodied negroes did not enter the military service as rapidly as could be wished, I have resolved, and so ordered, that all who are not regularly employed in the Quartermaster s Department, or as officers servants, shall be drafted. In this course I am sustained by the views of all the more intelligent among them. "In drafting them I was actuated by several motives, the controlling one being that I regarded their service as a military necessity if this war is to be ended in a triumph of the Union arms. Subordinate to this consideration, I regard the strict discipline of military life as the best school in which this people can be gradually lifted toward our higher civilization; and their enrolment in the negro brigade will have the further good effect of rendering mere servile insurrection, unrestrained by 424 ADVANTAGES OF COLORED SOLDIERS. from other quarters, the official reports of the services of negro" regi ments in the field are highly satisfactory. The superiority of African troops has been completely demonstrated in several important re spects. 1. They have nothing to fear from those Southern diseases which prove so fatal to Northern men. 2. They can endure greater hardships and exposures, in camp, on the march, and on the field of action. 3. They are more readily reduced to camp-discipline, and, from life long habits of unquestioning obedience, are by no means likely to be guilty of insubordination ; while desertion especially in slave-districts will be almost unknown. Finally, they fight not only for freedom and all the blessings it brings, but to escape the ignominious and dreadful death they must endure if they once more fall into the hands of their revengeful task-masters. But other considerations of the gravest magnitude, must enter into the general estimate. Whenever or however this war may end, nobody supposes it will leave us without a military and naval force strong enough to protect ourselves against insurrection at home, and aggression or insult from abroad. Our standing army might ultimately be made up chiefly of emancipat ed negroes ; and so may our navy ; and they would in time make such a military and maritime force as never has been seen. Since the days of slavery are numbered in the rebel States, where the institution falls with the fall of the rebellion, and in the border States, where the people, under an enlightened policy, are abolishing it them selves, it may require a vast armed force to enable the Government to carry out such mighty changes as will necessarily attend the reconstruc tion of Southern society. For this stupendous work the negroes will be the reliable instruments of the Government in vindicating the strength, the honor, and the glory of the republic. Another heavy force will be required in rebuilding the overthrown structures, and repairing the waste places of war s deso lations. the laws and usages of war, less likely. If any further argument were needed to justify my course, it would be found in my deep conviction that freedom (like all other blessings) can never be justly appreciated except by men who have been taught the sacrifices which are its price. In this course, let me add, I expect to be sustained by all the intelligent and practically-minded friends of the enfranchised bondman." 180,000 COLORED TROOPS IN THE, UNION ARMY. 425 It is not improbable, too, that another vast army may be needed to build the Pacific Railroad, ship-canals, and other great works of protec tion and defence.* And he would be both a short-sighted and sanguine optimist who should leave out of the horoscope of the next few years, the contingen cies, if not the probabilities, of a collision with Great Britain. That struggle is as inevitable as this rebellion was. All the issues have been gathering, and the result must come, unless through a premature flash of the millennium, all our difficulties should be settled by Arbitration, which Heaven grant, although it seems like praying for the " happy thousand years." No mortal power can protract it forever. We must be prepared for it, so that it can at no time take us by surprise. This is now the feeling among all parties and sections throughout the coun try. This feeling will not change. Nations never forgive wrongs or insults. Ours must and will be avenged. The African race emanci pated will hereafter constitute the great body-guard of the Union. XLVIII. In his American Conflict, Mr. GREELEY estimates the number of colored troops in the service, from first to last, at 180,000, of whom 29,298 died: the largest mili- * In speaking on the subject of defence for the Northern frontier, Senator Arnold, of Rhode Island, used the following striking language : He said, "It is the duty of the statesman not only to crush the rebellion, but to cement the Union. This canal will revive the idea of national unity ^ the grand idea which has inspired the vast and sublime efforts of the people to restore the na tional unity. This canal will be an east-and-west Mississippi. He spoke of the un qualified devotion of the West to the Union. There were rebels in the West, and elsewhere, who are seeking to alienate the West from the East. To this traitorous band was addressed the proclamation of the rebel General Bragg. How the West responds, the rebels learned from the mouths of her cannon at Murfreesborough. The soldiers of the East and the West, fighting together on many a glorious and san guinary field, will with their blood cement a union and a nationality so strong and deep that no sectional appeal can ever shake the loyalty of the glorious band of loyal States. The West will regard as traitors alike those who suggest a peace with any portion of the Mississippi in rebel hands, and those who suggest a Union with patri otic, brave New England left out. " The Northern frontier fhust be defended ; and this canal is the cheapest and best means of defending it. While the Atlantic shore is protected from any foreign ene my by three thousand miles of ocean, by forts and fortifications from Maine to le- rida, by a navy which has cost hundreds of millions, the Northern frontier, not less 426 SENATOR ARNOLD ON PUBLIC DEFENCE. tary African force we have any knowledge of in history, ever mustered into the service of any government, and the proportion of loss being- very much larger than among our White troops, of which only one in ten died in the service, while of the Black troops, the loss was nearly one to six. This does not look like a record of cowardice, or inca pacity. It is believed that, take their record all through, it was unsurpassed in courage, fidelity, and patriotism ; while in steadiness, patience, and subordination, it was perhaps unrivalled. Nor should another thing be over looked, although it can be easily accounted for. It im proves the manner, the spirit, and the whole bearing of important, is entirely defenceless, and within easy cannon-range for hundreds of miles of a foreign territory. "The North-west cheerfully pays her proportion for the defence of the Atlantic, and will pay further large appropriations now required. But we ask, in justice, that the Northern frontier should be secured. " He then read a memorial of ex-President Fillmore and others, showing the ex posed condition of Lake Erie, and showed that the lakes by the Canadian canals were accessible to British gunboats, and the lake cities and commerce were exposed to destruction. This canal will enable us to place our gunboats on the lakes. He read a letter from Admiral Porter, showing that we had now afloat more than fifty gunboats which could pass from the ocean to the lakes by this canal. " He then presented the importance fiscal, commercial, and agricultural of the interests thus seeking protection. " Fifty-eight million bushels of bread stuffs were shipped from Chicago alone during the past year. The commerce of the lakes was at least four hundred millions per an num. Corn, since cotton had committed felo de se, was now king, and kept the peace between Europe and America. This enlarged canal is the cheapest mode of defending the lakes. The whole cost of the canal was only thirteen million dollars. This will turn the Mississippi into the lakes, and unite forever the East and the West. Every dollar thus expended in defence cheapens transportation. " The capacity of the proposed Illinois Canal will be twelve times that of the Erie Canal. The largest steamers which navigate the Mississippi will steam directly to Lake Michigan. These grand results cost only thirteen millions. It will rapidly pay for itself, and is then to leave a grand national freerhighway. It will add to the taxable property of the Union as much, or more, than the Erie Canal has done. It will give stability to our Government, and add to the national wealth. It will in crease both our ability to borrow money and to pay it." IMPROVEMENT IN THE COLORED RACE. 42/ any man to enter a military service ; but the effect upon the Black troops was still more perceptible. Inured to obedience, and gifted with intuitive quickness and power of imitation, they became more plastic in evolution : while their former social inferiority had inspired them with an ambition they had never felt before, to improve their chances for social elevation. There was more room for improvement, it will be said. Granted. But herein is conceded all that is claimed by the friends of the Colored race capacity for improvement, quickness of perception, and readiness to embrace chances. Cer tainly we have no knowledge, in human records, of a case on so large a scale, of the sitdden transition of a vast community from a state of abject servitude to one of political equality. It was claimed to be a new and doubtful experiment and it was. But the result sur passed the expectations of its best prophets. The change was instantly visible ; not only in the Southern districts where shackles were struck off by a lightning blow, but it was seen everywhere, through the North, East, and West ; in every community the negro popula tion began to show signs of resurrection. New ambition fired the general body. They all seemed to act upon their good behavior, and to feel that the better they acted, the more they helped their cause. And this " Hope the charmer," was the inspiring angel. Vice perceptibly diminished among them. Habits of industry, sobriety, frugality, and thrift ; frequency in attending schools ; tidying up of apartments, and their surroundings ; better dressing of men, women, and children ; a quicker sympathy with all the interests of society ; grateful re cognition of new kindnesses shown to them, instead of a spirit of assumption, or gratified vanity : 428 AN EVENING S READING TO SUMNER. These were some of the fresh aspects which began to be seen wherever the Colored people were found ; and it gave good ground for encouragement to assist them. A new responsibility was rolled upon the whole rank and file of the body of White society. Even those who had been the least hopeful, not to say the most provokingly prophetic of evil omen, found themselves insensibly participating in the general feeling of sym pathy and respect. And so the five millions of Ameri cans of African descent halted suddenly on their dreary and downward road, and with a " right about face," they began their " forward march." XLIX. No Senator entered more warmly into any measure that was proposed for the efficiency of our system of military hospitals, nor manifested a deeper sympathy for disabled soldiers. One evening as he was resting on his sofa from a very wearying day in the Senate, I read to him from " My War Note-Book," the following passages of scenes I had recently witnessed in the hos pitals around Washington. Heroism in the Hospital. It was as often witnessed there, and in sublimer forms, perhaps, than in the field. We came to the body of a non-commissioned officer, a fine, large man, who, during the last few hours, had become delirious. His thigh-bone had been shattered by a Minie-ball so high up, that amputation could not be performed. So there was nothing left for him, but to lie there and die. Watching the terrible hues of mortification coming upon his limb, feeling the poison steal up towards his vitals, seizing and deadening new tissues every hour it proved too fearful for even his vigorous frame. He would utter no cry nor complaint, and his mind, with the suppressed torture, flew to insanity for relief. As we approached his cot, he fixed his cold, HEROISM IN THE HOSPITAL. 429 despairing eyes upon us, and pointing back over his shoulder, ex claimed, "Do you see him? Old Death, there, sitting at the head board and laughing? A grim army-joker, in truth ! The other night I felt a cold touch, and it woke me. The moon flung in a bar of light, and I saw Old Death feeling of my wound. His icy touch benumbed it ; and the next time I woke, his hand was slowly closing round my leg. So it goes ! He ll be soon pulling at my heart-strings." The maniac then stopped, as if trying to remember. After a low, sardonic laugh, he continued : " I plead with him ; I told him they d be lonely at the old home in Illinois. A wife and child are pleasanter than a tomb, I said. He laughed at that." We had to leave him ; and what a sight it was ! The rottenness of the grave, and the vitality of a strong man, joined in a terrific grapple on a- hospital bed. Life, with the full pulse of five-and-twenty years, had marshalled all its forces, and been defeated. His name was C. P. Dunster, of Illinois. A noble young fellow in the Douglass Hospital had been injured by the passage of a shell near his head. Shortly after, a solid shot carried away his left arm. He was well treated on the field, and sent to Washington for recovery. Here, the effect of the concussion of that screaming shell, began to show itself on the brain. He became delirious. Watching by him one night, I took down some of his strange ravings: "No! I won t go home till the Union is safe. I d rather die here, by the roots of this old tree, and dig my own grave, than have any croaker in Wisconsin say that / let the old flag drop ! Not I ! Bring it out ! Let me see it once more ! Now I am ready for the last charge one more chance at the rebels !" and springing from the bed, he plunged forward. I caught him, and laid him down gently. A quiver went through his body, a flash came from his beautiful face, and every muscle fell. The pulse had stopped. " He slept his last sleep, he had fought his last battle ; No sound could awake him to glory again." L. Another youthful soldier, slowly coming up from what he called "that Chickahominy fever " Don t you ever get disheartened ?" "Yes; once in a while, about myself, while I am here alone, after midnight ; it seems so long before daylight. I never was sick before. I may be able to fight again yet but, disheartened about our great 430 DYING AWAY FROM HOME. cause? Never ! Why shouldn t /stand by the old flag, as well as any other man ? But if our whole army sinks into the earth, the cause is just as safe as ever. I believe in a God my mother taught me that ; and He can t afford to let this country go down." And as he heroically lifted his clinched fist, his wrist was so thin and white the gaslight shone through it. " The battle of Williamsburg was over, the rebels driven from the field ; the war-storm hushed, and the sad duty of caring for our wounded, and burying our dead remained to be performed. Groping our way through the darkness, we came upon the body of a pale, slender, beardless boy, a member of Co. I, 37tlv Regiment, N. Y. Volunteers one of hundreds who had marched from their beautiful hill- girt homes in Cattaraugus County. We raised him up. He was not dead, but badly wounded. On carrying him to our improvised hospi tal, the surgeon pronounced his wound mortal. He heard the decision ; and although suffering greatly, not a sigh, or groan, or even an ex clamation of surprise, passed his lips. He was asked if he desired to send any message to his family. I shall never forget how his mild blue eye lit up. After a moment s pause he said, Tell them that Lafayette Morrow, the boy soldier, died at his post, and sends his love. Turning over with a deep sigh, he added wearily, I think I will sleep now. He did the sleep -that knows no waking. " During the desperate fight at Williamsbtirg, while the Color-company of the 57th New York went rushing over the bodies of the dying and dead, to take the place of a New Jersey regiment which had fallen back half slaughtered, one gallant fellow, who had been carried to the rear, was seen leaning against a tree, swinging one bleeding arm, while the other hung shattered and dangling by his side, screaming out in his death-agony, " There goes the old flag ! Hold her up, boys, forever ! " and fell a senseless, gory mass at the roots of the tree. In returning from the field from which the rebels had been driven, two men left the ranks to look after the dead soldier. They dug his grave where he lay, and long before now the oak " hath shot his roots abroad, and pierced his mould." I have seen many who had seldom thought about their own death boys, who left homes of luxury, fondled by sister s caresses, and mother s love, brought from the battle-field, and laid down in a hospital to die. When the fading twilight of a joyous youth was passing into the deep eclipse of death s shadow as it moved out from the unknown land, those who had thought of the last hour so sure to come, SCENES IN THE WASHINGTON HOSPITALS. 431 and grown familiar with what cannot be seen till we meet it those few who had been introduced to the far-off future till their Father s house became their home such boys, and the thoughtless ones, too, all had one solicitude alike " Land where my fathers died save her, oh God !" Young Osgood was buried at the Soldiers Home. Before recovering his body, they had to open seven coffins, and when they at last reached the dust of the loved one, another name was inscribed on the case. Oh to gather the ashes of a stranger, when the breaking heart can be healed only by the last act of affection done to the de parted loved one. LI. The surgeon said, " He can hardly live." He laid the hand down softly, and left this patient, to pass through the ward. It seemed to say that all that earth could do had been done, to save the life of the gallant young soldier. I followed the surgeon a few steps on the routine of duty. We stopped, and looked each other in the face. He knew I wanted to know the whole truth. " Must this boy die ? " " There is a shadow of a chance. 1 will come again after midnight." I went back, with a heavy heart, to the cot we had left, and, knowing something of hospitals and dying men, I sat down to wait and see what new symptoms would occur, with the full directions of the surgeon in any event. The opiate, or whatever it may have been, which I had last adminis tered, could not take effect at once ; and, somewhat worn out with the day s labors, I sat down to think. To sleep, was out of the question ; for I had become so deeply interested in this young man it seemed to me I could not give him up. * * It was nearly midnight. The gas had been turned off just enough to leave the light needed, and twilight was grateful to the sick-room ; for in this vast chamber there were more than two hundred sick men. Now and then came a suppressed moan from one couch, or a low plaint of hopeless pain, while at intervals thrilled from the high ceiling the shrill scream of agony. But all the while the full harvest-moon was pouring in all the lustrous sympathy and effulgence it could give, as it streamed over the marble pile called the Patent Office, the unfinished north wing of which had been dedicated to this house of suffering. 432 A BRAVE ONEIDA COUNTY BOY. Almost noiselessly, the doors of this ward opened every few moments, for the gentle tread of the night nurses, who came, in their sleepless vigils, to see if in these hours they could render some service to the stricken, the fallen, and yet not comfortless. Leaving my young friend for a few moments, I walked through the north aisle ; and it seemed to me so perfect was the regime of the hospital, so grand were its architectural proportions more like walking through some European cathedral by moonlight, than through a place for sick soldiers. The silence greater than speech, the suffering unex pressed, the heroism which did not utter one complaint, the complete ness of the whole system of care and curative process, made one of those sights and scenes which I would not tear away from my memory if I could ; for they have mingled themselves with associations that will link each month and year of time to come with all the months and years gone before them. LII. I felt a strange interest in this young man, whom I had left in what I supposed was his last quiet slumber ; and yet I knew he would wake once more before he died. I approached his cot again. He was still sleeping, and so tranquilly I felt a little alarmed lest he might never wake, till I touched his pulse and found it still softly beating. I let him sleep, and thought I would sit by his side till the surgeon came. I took a long, free breath, for I supposed it was all hopelessly over. Then I thought of his strange history : I knew it well. He was born not far from Trenton Falls, the youngest son, among several brothers, of one of the brave tillers of that hard soil. He had seen his family grow up nobly and sturdily, under the discipline of a* good religion and good government, and with a determination to defend both. When his country s troubles began, his first impulses thus found expression to his brothers : " Let me go ; for you are all married ; and if I fall, no matter." He went. He had followed the standard of the Republic into every battle-field where the struggle carried him, till, worn out, but not wounded, he was borne to this hospital in Washington, a sick boy. He seemed to have a charmed life, for on several occasions his comrades had been shot dead or wounded on either side ; and when his last car tridge had done execution, he carried off two of his wounded companions THE TWO LOADSTONES LOVE, COUNTRY. 433 from the field, bearing them and their muskets to the rear, if there were a rear in the flight from the Bull Run of July, 61, and nourished and watched and stood by these comrades till they died, and then got the help of a farmer to carry them with his cart, a whole day afterward, to be buried in a place which he chose. This boy s example had inspired that farmer with such benevolence if he were not inspired by patriotism already that he made honored graves for them ; and the writer of this work knows where their ashes res t. When this was all over, the boy came back, as a kind of rear-guard, of one, in the flight of the army of the Potomac, and, having reached the city of Washington and reported himself to his commander, fell senseless on Pennsylvania Avenue. He was taken to a neighboring house and well cared for ; and I saw him in the hospital of which [ have spoken. But this was only his life as a soldier. There was another and a deeper life than that. The great loadstone that led him away was the magnet of his nation. Another loadstone held his heart at home : it was the magnet of Love. His wild and wayward history wild only with adventure and wayward only with romance, he seemed to me, as I looked upon his face, so calm, and chiselled into sculptured beauty, I thought, either he looked like an Apollino with his unstrung bow, or a nautilus, cast on the tur bulent ocean, to be wafted to some unknown clime, or sink forever, on the floor of the deep sea, to find a coral sepulchre. His dark eyelashes bent up in such clear relief against their white ground slowly and calmly began to move. I sprang to my feet ; for it seemed to me there was a chance yet. The surgeon was long in coming ; and yet I knew he would come. He did. His sharp and experienced eye, as he approached the cot, opened with surprise. Touching my shoulder, he said, with surprise, " He is still alive." In an instant, taking the hand of the dying or dead boy, I scarcely knew which, a faint smile passed over the surgeon s face. " I am not sure but he may come up yet. If he revives, there is one chance left for him, if it be but one in a thousand. But I will work for that chance, and see what it will come to. Here Art triumphs, if it triumphs at all. " The pulse seemed to be coming as he took the hand. "It acts strangely ; but I have seen two or three cases very much 28 434 COMING BACK TO LIFE. like it. Mind you, I do not think we can do much with this case ; but you stay and watch, and I will come back in half an hour." So, while he went through some other wards, I watched the patient. The last glimmer of life, which had given some light as this scene was being enacted, faded into what seemed to me the calmest repose of death. But then, I thought, it is a strange sight, a heart filled with the earnest passions of youth, in the first hopes of life budding into their fruition beneath his own primeval forest-shades, where, if there be an element that ever sanctified an early life, it would have built a sanctuary for the love he must have borne to the fair being for whom he had treasured up his boyhood s jewels, for whom he gave up everything of the earth earthy, to rescue a Republic, and then go back after this episode of suffering to inaugurate the life of a citizen farmer on the bleak hills of New York : if all this could not sustain him, what could ? In former visits to him he had made me his confidant in regard to tfhese matters. He seemed to be haunted with the idea that he would, ;after all, return to Utica, and once more see those he loved ; and yet ;he also seemed to me like one whose days were numbered, and the surgeon had told me, after repeated counsels with his professional brethren, that it was next to impossible to save his life, and that 1 must not expect it. All the while I clung to the belief that some vitality of faith, or love, or hope, or patriotism, or divine aid, would still send that boy back to the banks of the Mohawk. I saw another nervous twitch around the temples. I felt his pulse. It was an indication of hope, or sudden death. The surgeon came by again. " That boy has wonderful vitality," he said, as he looked at his face. Whether it was purely my fancy, my hope, or a fact, I did not know, but twilight seemed to pass over his face. "Yes, yes I I wait a moment. Oh, I shall not die !" He opened his eyes calmly, and then a glow which I shall never for get suffused his cheek, and, lifting his emaciated hands for the first time in several weeks, feebly, it is true, but they seemed to me strong, he exclaimed, in a natural voice, " How floats the old flag now, boys?" The transition from death to life seemed like enchantment. I could scarcely believe my senses. And yet I knew that if he ever rallied this would be the way. IS BELLA WELL? 435 I now feared that his excitement would carry him beyond his strength. I could not keep him from talking. I was bending over him to see if he would remember me. Looking me steadily in the eyes, his brows knit with perplexity for a few seconds, when with a smile of delight and surprise he said, " Yes ! yes ! It is you, Mr. L . I am glad you stayed with me. I have been dreaming about you while I ve been asleep ; and I must have been asleep a great while. How long ? " I told him enough to let him understand how ill he had been, how long, and how weak he still was. He did not realize it. His eyes wandered down to his thin hands, white as alabaster, and through which the pale-blue thread-like veins wandered. " Oh ! Is it I ? so lean ? I was not so when I fell sick." And large tears rolled down his cheeks. I implored him to be quiet and rest, and I promised him he should get better every day, and be able to go home in a short time. But he grew impatient the more I tried to soothe and restrain him. He looked at me beseechingly, and asked, "Won t you let me talk a little ? I must know something more, or it seems to me I shall go crazy. Please put your ear down to me : I won t speak loud, I won t get excited." I did. " Have you got any letters for me ? " "Yes, but they are at my office. You shall have them to-morrow. They are all well at home." " And Bella ? " "Yes." " Oh, God be praised ! " After a few moments of repose, he again opened his eyes wide. " I have been gone so long from the army ! It seemed as though I never could get back when I got home. I got away ; and I wandered, and wandered. Oh, how tired I was ! Where is McDowell ? Is General Scott dead ? They said so. Did they carry off Old Abe ? Ho\v did he get back ? Did the Rebels get into Washington that night ? How long have I been sick ? What place is this ? Oh, my head ! my head ! " I was frightened. He had risen from the deep ocean into the sun light for a brief hour, and now he seemed to be going down to come up no more. The tender chord of memory had given way. In a little while the surgeon came by, and I told him what had happened. " I was afraid of that. But I think we can manage it. If he wakes 436 LIBERTY CHEAP .AT ANY PRICE. again within two hours, give him this powder on his tongue, and a sip of the liquid. If he does not, wake him gently." And so that anxious night wore away. In the morning he woke bright and clear; and from that hour he began to get well. But for whole days his life was pulsating in its gossamer tenement, fluttering over the misty barriers of the spirit-world. Bella s letters, received during his extreme illness, could now be read. They were among the noblest ever written by woman. " Our heart-prayers for you have been answered by our Father. We now wait only for your return. When we parted, it was not with re pining : you had gone to the altar of your country in solemn and com plete dedication. I too was prepared for the sacrifice. I expected it, although I knew how crushingly the blow would fall. But if you had not loved your country better than Bella, it would have broken her heart. I hope now in a few weeks you will be again by my side. When your health is once more restored, I will promise in advance, as you desire, not to try to keep you from rejoining your regiment ; and if the stars have written that Walter shall not be my husband, God has decreed that I shall die a widow never married." He did return to the Mohawk Valley. He married Bella. He re turned to the war ; and on the eve of the great day of Antietam he heard that his son was born, and the hero-father died by the side of Hooker. Sic transit gloria mundi. "How much Liberty costs!" sadly said Mr. Sumner. " But it is cheap at any price." LIII. In the memorable speech of Mr. SUMNER at Cooper In stitute, September 10, 1863, on Our Foreign Relations, Mr. GREELEY, who had been suspected of a lack of cor dial approval of some of Mr. SUMNER S views, said in a communication to the Independent : Mr. Sumner s speech is not, therefore, a mere rehearsal and arraign ment of national wrongs already endured ; it is a protest and a warn ing against those which are imminently threatened. In showing how SUMNER AGAIN AT COOPER INSTITUTE. 437 deeply, flagrantly, France and England have already sinned against us, he admonishes them against persistence in the evil course on which they have entered, against aggravating beyond endurance the indigni ties and outrages they have already heaped upon us. * * Mr. Surn- ner s is the authentic voice, not of the mob, but of the people. He utters the sentiments of the conscientious, the intelligent, the peace-lov ing. His inoffensive protest against the wrongs to which we have been subjected, is utterly devoid of swagger or menace. It is a simple but cogent demonstration, by the application thereto of the established principles of International Law, of a systematic injustice to which we as a people have been subjected. A miracle of historical and states manlike erudition, his address is severe without being harsh, an in dictment, judicial in its calmness, its candor, its resistless cogency. This speech had inflamed a spirit of bitter animosity towards the country among the leading classes of Eng land. Earl RUSSELL not only justified everything the British Ministry had done in a hostile spirit towards the United States, but he gloried in it. Even the London Daily Nczus, which tried to be favorable to us, criticised the speech at length, with great severity. And in the press of the British Empire, hardly a journal of any espe cial influence could speak of us without bitterness, ex cept the Morning Star, of London, which from the be ginning to the end of the Rebellion, bravely and nobly sustained our national cause. It said : The Hon. CHARLES SUMNER has not belied the confidence inspired by a long and illustrious career. He is as firmly as ever the friend of peace, and especially of peace between Great Britain and America. The eloquent voice which has so often employed the stores of a richly furnished mind in persuasives to international amity, has not, as the telegrams suggested, been inflamed by the heat of domestic conflict to the diffusion of discord between kindred peoples. His speech at New York on the loth of September is, indeed, heavy with charges against France and England. But it is an appeal for justice, not an incentive to strife. It is a complaint of hopes disappointed, of friendship with held, of errors hastily adopted and obstinately maintained. It is, 438 THE MORNING STAR OF LONDON. however, an argument which does honor even to those against whom it is urged, and which aims to establish future relations of the closest alliance. Senator Simmer s chief reproach is this, that we have acted unworthily of ourselves, unfaithfully to our deepest convictions and best memories. * There runs through the whole of Mr. Simmer s gigantic oration far too long to have been spoken as printed, but yet without a word of superfluous argument or declamation an idea on which we can now only touch. From the first sentence to the last, Slavery is present to his mind. It colors all his reasoning. It inspires him to prodigious eloquence. Not merely as the Senator for Massachusetts, the honored chieftain of the political Abolitionists, but as the Chairman on Foreign Relations, he sees everywhere the presence of the Slave Power. Against it he invokes, in periods of classic beauty, all the moral forces of the Mother Country. To Eng land he makes a pathetic and passionate appeal more for her own sake than that of the slave more for the sake of the future than of present effects that she withdraw all favor and succor from Rebel slave owners.* LIV. Mr. SUMNER had now been in the Senate for nearly twelve years, and Massachusetts was to re-elect him for the third term, or choose another man. What were called his extreme views, had alienated from him large * From OUR FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, where I treat this whole subject with some portion of the attention which its importance claims, I extract a brief passage : " That England should choose such a period of our national adversity, such a moment as she had so often passed through, of vindicating the supremacy of govern ment to save civilization a moment when she saw what she fondly deemed, a fatal blow struck at our prosperity, if not our very existence at such an hour to join our foes, to make our destruction sure ! She was the only nation that contemplated with satisfaction our impending doom ! Thank God, she was not to see it ! We have been punished for our national sins till the blood burst from every pore ; but we did not die. In the Doomsday- Book of Nations, many a leaf must be turned, after England s record is passed, before ours can be reached. Nations never die in the morning of life. They are chastised in their youth, that they may grow up into wisdom and righteousness. But when they have grown hoary in crime, and chas tisement will no longer end in reformation, they must go to their graves unwept, unrepentant, unforgiven." ONCE MORE IN FANEUIL HALL. 439 numbers of his party, and especially in Massachusetts it was known that in attempting his re-election, his friends \vould encounter the most bitter opposition. The First Proclamation of Emancipation, September 22, 1862, had filled the hearts of his friends with new hope, and inspired his enemies with greater malignity. A meeting was called of the citizens of Boston, to respond to the First Proclamation, and once more, October 6th the Senator was to address his constituents in Faneuil Hall. Before an immense meeting, which was transported with the greatest enthusiasm, he pronounced his well- known speech on the policy of EMANCIPATION, in the opening of which he uttered the following words in de fence of his public course : Such are accusations to which I briefly reply. Now that we are all united in the policy of Emancipation, they become of little con sequence ; for even if I was once alone, I am no longer so. With me are the loyal multitudes of the North, now arrayed by the side of the President, where, indeed, I have ever been. If you will bear with me yet longer in allusions which I make with reluctance, I would quote, as my unanswerable defence, the words of Edmund Burke, when addressing his constituents at Bristol. "And now, gentlemen, on this serious day, when I come, as it were, to make up my account with you, let me take to myself some degree of honest pride on the nature of the charges that are against me. I do not here stand before you accused of venality, or of neglect of duty. It is not said that, in the long period of my service, I have in a single instance sacrificed the slightest of your interests to my ambition or to my fortune. It is not alleged, that, to gratify any anger or revenge of my own or of my party, I have had a share in wronging or oppressing any description of men, or any one man of any description. No ! the charges against me are all of one kind, that I have pushed the principles of general justice and benevolence too far, further than a cautious policy would warrant, and further than the opinion of many would go along with me. In every accident which may happen through life, in pain, in sorrow, in depression, and distress, I will call to mind this accusation, and be comforted." Among the passages in eloquence which can never die, I know none 440 ELECTED FOR THE THIRD TERM. more beautiful or heroic. If I invoke its protection, it is with the consciousness, that, however unlike in genius and fame, I am not unlike its author in the accusations to which I have been exposed. FELLOW-CITIZENS, a year has passed since I addressed you ; but, during this time, what events of warning and encouragement ! Amidst vicissitudes of war, the cause of Human Freedom has steadily and grandly advanced, not, perhaps, as you could desire, yet it is the only cause which has not failed. Slavery and the Black Laws are abolished in the national capital ; slavery interdicted in all the national territory ; Hayti and Liberia recognized as independent republics in the family of nations ; the slave-trade placed under the ban of a new treaty with Great Britain; all persons in the military and naval service prohibited from returning slaves, or sitting in judgment on the claim of a master; the slaves of Rebels emancipated by coming within our lines ; a tender of compensation for the abolition of Slavery : such are some of Free dom s triumphs in the recent Congress. Amidst all doubts and uncer tainties of the present hour, let us think of these things and be com forted. I cannot forget, that, when I last spoke to you, I urged the liberation of the slaves of the Rebels, and especially that our officers should not be permitted to surrender back to Slavery any human being seeking shelter within our lines ; and I further suggested, if need were, a Bridge of Gold for the retreating fiend. And now all that I then pro posed is embodied in the legislation of the country as the supreme law of the land. LV. The effect of the speech was best measured in the sub sequent nomination and reelection of the speaker. On the 1 5th of the following January, at noon, each branch of the State Legislature proceeded in its own chamber, as by previous appointment, to the election, which was by viva voce. The roll was called, and thirty-three Senators out of thirty-six again announced Mr. SUMNER to be their first choice ; while one hundred, and ninety-four as against forty-one, proclaimed the same preference in the House of Representatives. When the result was announced, HORACE GREELEY ON CHARLES SUMNER. 441 an unusual thing in a Massachusetts Legislature, manifestations of applause were too earnest to be read ily suppressed. Again we quote the words of HORACE GREELEY, in an. article signed by his name, in the N. Y. Independent, entitled Charles Sumner as a Statesman : For the first time in our political history, a party has been organized and a State ticket nominated for the sole purpose of defeating the re election of one Who is not a State officer, and never aspired to be. Governor Andrew is regarded with a hostility intensified by the fewness of those who feel it ; but the bitterness with which Mr. Sumner is hated insists on the gratification of a canvass, even though a hopeless one ; and, since there was no existing party by which this could be attempted without manifest futility, one was organized for the purpose. And it was best that this should be. Let us have a canvass of the friends and the enemies of Mr. Sumner in the State which he has so honored. I have said, that, while Senators have shared his convictions, none has seemed so emphatically, so eminently as he, to embody and repre sent the growing, deepening Anti-slavery sentiment of the country. None has seemed so invariably to realize that a public wrong is a pub lic danger ; that injustice to the humblest and weakest, is peril to the well-being of all. Others have seemed to regard the recent develop ments of disunion and treason with surprise and alarm : he has esteemed them the bitter, but natural, fruit of the deadly tree we have so long been watering and cherishing. The profound, yet simple truth, that "RIGHTEOUSNESS exalteth a nation," that nothing else is so baleful as injustice, that the country which gains a large accession of territory or of wealth at the cost of violating the least tittle of the canons of eter nal rectitude, has therein made a ruinous mistake, that nothing else can be so important or so profitable as stern uprightness ; such is the key-note of his lofty and beneficent career. May it be vouchsafed him to announce from his seat in the Senate the final overthrow of the de mon he has so faithfully, so nobly resisted ; and from Greenland to Pa nama, from the St. John to the Pacific, the sun in his daily course looks down on no master, and no slave ! LVI. At the same time, another and more significant article 442 EFFECT OF LINCOLN S PROCLAMATION. appeared in the National Intelligencer,- of Washington, which had always been politically"hostile to Mr. SUMNER ; and this hostility had been displayed with as much as perity as its venerable editor ever allowed to appear in the columns of that dignified and able journal. This is the third time that this gentleman has been thus honored by the Legislature of Massachusetts. Such repeated tokens of confidence would seem sufficiently to indicate, that, whatever dissent from the views of Mr. Sumner may elsewhere exist, he is the favorite,* as he is admitted by all to be the able representative of the opinions entertained by a majority of the people of this great and influential State. And these views now predominate in the conduct of the present Administration, which may be said to have adopted, reluctantly and at a late day, the political and military policy early commended to its favor by Mr. Sumner. If we are not able to concur with Mr. Sumner in certain of his opinions on questions, of domestic politics, it gives us only the greater pleasure to bear our cheerful and candid testimony to the enlightened judgment and peculiar qualifications he brings to the discharge of the important duties devolved on him as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate. In this capacity he has deservedly won the confidence of the whole country. LVII. It had been claimed by the friends of a more vigorous policy than the President had hitherto adopted, that the cause of the Union would gain strength after the Pro clamation of September 22d. Their prophecies were more than fulfilled : for when the one hundred days, of which the President had given notice, had expired, and the full and Great Proclamation, as it was well called, of January ist, 1863, appeared, the skies everywhere be gan to brighten. A new spirit of hope dawned over the popular mind ; a fresh spirit of Freedom and enthusiasm for Liberty inflamed the popular heart ; new zeal went COLORED SUFFRAGE IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 443 through the army. Slavery was losing its last hold up on the North, and the star of Hope, which had hitherto sent but feeble rays through the clouded air, was to give place to the full-orbed sun of Liberty. The leaders of the Rebellion saw the rising tide at the North swelling against them, and they began to display a vigor and determination, which, desperate as their cause might seem to impartial and well-informed ob servation, were to indicate how fearfully the agencies of a bad cause may be multiplied, as they are marshalled for the final conflict, which gives the last energy to de spair. LVIII. The extension of suffrage to Colored citizens of the District of Columbia, being before the Senate, Mr. SUMNER said : The bill for impartial suffrage in the District of Columbia, concerns directly some twenty thousand colored persons, whom it will lift to the adamantine platform of equal rights. If it were regarded simply in its bearings on the District, it would be difficult to exaggerate its value ; but when it is regarded as an example to the whole country under the sanction of Congress, its value is infinite. It is in the latter character that it becomes a pillar of fire to illumine the footsteps of millions. What we do here will be done in the disorganized States. Therefore, we must be careful that what we do here is best for the disorganized States. If the question could be confined in its influence to the District, I should have little objection to an educational test. I should be glad to witness the experiment and be governed by the result. But the question cannot be limited to the District. Practically, it takes the whole country into its sphere. We must, therefore, act for the whole country. This is the exigency of the present moment. Now, to my mind nothing is clearer than the absolute necessity of the suffrage for all Colored persons in the disorganized States. It will 444 SYMPATHY WITH EMPEROR ALEXANDER. not be enough if you give it to those who read and write ; you will not in this way acquire the voting force which you need there for the protection of Unionists, whether white or black. You will not se cure the new allies which are essential to the national cause. As you once needed the muskets of the Colored persons, so now you need their votes ; and you must act now with little reference to theory. You are bound by the necessities of the case. Therefore, when I am asked to open the suffrage to women, or when I am asked to establish an educational standard, I cannot on the present bill simply because the controlling necessity under which we act will not allow it. By a singular providence, we are now constrained to this measure of enfran chisement for the sake of peace, security, and reconciliation, so that loyal persons, white or black, may be protected, and that the republic may live. Here in the District of Columbia we begin the real work of reconstruction, by which the Union will be consolidated forever. The Bill was passed by a large majority ; but being 1 vetoed by the President, as all good measures then were, it was passed over his veto by two-thirds of both Houses. LIX. In the Senate, on the 8th of May, he reported the following resolutions : Resolved, etc., That the Congress of the United States has learned with deep regret of the attempt made upon the life of the Emperor of Russia by an enemy of emancipation. The Congress send their greeting to his Imperial Majesty and to the Russian nation, and congratulates the twenty million serfs upon the providential escape from danger of the sovereign to whose head and heart they owe the blessings of their freedom. And be it further resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the Emperor of Rus sia. Mr. SUMNER said: The public prints have informed us that an attempt was made on the life of the Emperor of Russia, by a person animated against him on THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 445 account of his divine effort to establish emancipation. That report, I am inclined to think, has not disclosed completely the whole case. It does not appear, from what we are told, that the special ground of ani mosity to the Emperor at the present moment, is- so much the original act of emancipation as the courage and perseverance and wisdom which he has displayed in carrying it forward to its practical results. I have had occasion, formerly, to remind the Senate how completely the Emperor has done his work. Not content with issuing the decree of emancipation, which was in the month of February, 1861, he has proceeded, by an elaborate system of regulations, to provide in the first place, for what have been called the civil rights of all the recent serfs ; then, in the next place, to provide especially for their rights in court ; then, again, to provide for their rights in property, securing to every one of them a homestead ; and then, again, by providing for them rights of public education. Added to all these, he has secured to them also political rights, giving to every one the right to vote for all local officers, corresponding to our officers of the town and of the county. It is this very thoroughness with which he has carried out his decree of emancipation, that has aroused against him the ancient partisans of slavery ; and I doubt not it was one of these who aimed at him that blow which was so happily arrested. The laggard and the faithless are not pursued by assassins. The Emperor of Russia was born in 1818, and is now forty-eight years of age. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his late fa ther in 1855. Immediately after his accession, he was happily inspired to bring about emancipation in his great country. One of his first ut terances when declaring his sentiments, was, that it was important that this great work should begin from a.bove, to the end that it should not proceed from below. Therefore he insisted that the Imperial Government itself should undertake the blessed work, and not leave it to the chance of insurrection or of blood. He went forth bravely, encountering much opposition ; and now, that emancipation has been declared in form, he is still going forward bravely in order to crown it, by assuring all those rights, without which emancipation is little mere than a name. It was, therefore, on account of his thorough ness in the work, that he became the mark of the assassin ; and, sir, our country does well when it offers its homage to the sovereign who has attempted so great a task, under such difficulties and at such haz ards, making a landmark of civilization. -446 HOW TO TREAT THE REBEL STATES. The measure was adopted, and the resolution trans mitted to the Emperor of Russia, in the iron-clad steamer Miantonomah. LX. No public man seemed to have such clear ideas of that all-important subject, of how we should treat the Rebel States. The policy Mr. SUMNER proposed in the beginning, he adhered to till the end. It was dictated by enlightened judgment, and a spirit of hearty good will to the South ; for in his case, as in that of HORACE GREELEY, GERRIT SMITH, and many others of the most enthusiastic champions of Freedom, their hostility was against a system of wrong, rather than against the wrong-doer. They wanted to see the system extermi nated, without the ruin of its upholders. There was, therefore, nothing strange in what could hardly be un derstood at the time the expression of so much sympa thy with the South in her prostration. The first hand extended to the Chief of the Rebellion was by HORACE GREELEY, in the bail-bond of JEFF. DAVIS, for which he received the jeers of thousands. While the war lasted, these men advocated its prosecution with unrelenting vigor. When it ceased, the cry went out, " All hands to the rescue save what we can from the wreck ! " And, without the fear of contradiction, I boldly assert, that after the South laid down their arms, the earliest, the strongest, the most constant friends they had at the North, were among the file-leaders of the first crusade against Slavery, and among the rank and file of the men who had done the hardest fighting during the war. In the October number of the Atlantic Monthly for MILITARY RULE IN THE SOUTH. 447 1863, with his usual ability, in an article on Our Domestic Relations, or, How to Treat the Rebel States, Mr. SUMNER goes over a part of this ground. Assuming that the Union victory had already been substantially won, although hundreds of thousands of lives, and un counted millions of treasure were yet to be added to complete the immolation, the Senator enters upon the discussion of a question which was soon to assume such vast magnitude How we were to treat the Rebel o States. It became clear that the same Supreme Power which in its sovereignty was suppressing the Rebellion, and vindicating the laws, would be obliged to fix the conditions of perpetual peace, and determine by what process the transition from rebellion to loyalty might be most surely accomplished. It was plain enough that the doctrine of State Rights, which had been at the bottom of the Rebellion, would have to go by the board. The absurdity of two sov ereignties, to say nothing about thirty or forty, in one community, subject only at their caprices to the Sov ereign over all, was an absurdity that would no longer require extensive argument. LXI. Early in the progress of affairs, Mr. SUMNER foresaw the danger that would arise from Military Rule in the South. The appointment of Military Governors, which had then already been done for Tennessee, South Car olina, North Carolina, and Louisiana, and as was sub sequently done over other subjugated States, was a necessity at the time, in which all men of sense concurred. But he anticipates the possible danger that this impera- 448 POSSIBLE ABUSE OF THE POWER. torial dominion, indefinite in extent, might also be indefinite in duration ; for, if under the Constitution and laws it be proper to constitute such Governors, it is clear that they may be continued without regard to time for years, if you please, as well as for weeks ; and the whole region which they are called to sway might become a military empire, with all powers, executive, legislative, and even judicial, derived from one man in Washington. Could any prophet have foreseen clearer what actu ally followed in so atrociously unrepublican a form, and in violation of all the Republican souvenirs of our coun try in the case of Louisiana ? It would have been well enough if this tremendous power at Washington had limited itself, as it had done in the appointment of Mili tary Governors in Mexico and California after their con quest, and before peace. But to appoint Military Gov ernors, and prolong their power in a conquered country , beyond all civil jurisdiction, beyond an undoubted necessity, and their appointment for temporary purposes by the urgent necessity of suppressing a Rebellion the distinction must be very clearly drawn, and the civil power must come in the first moment the opportunity occurred, and the military power be withdrawn. Then comes in the power of Congress to establish Provisional Governments ; and even these provisional governments must hold sway no longer than the voice of the people who are to be governed, shall be heard in the appointment of their own Governors. On this point the opinion of Chancellor KENT is quoted : "Though the Constitution vests the executive power in the Presi dent, arid declares him Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States, these powers must necessarily be subordinate to the legislative power in Congress. It would appear to me to be the policy CARPETBAGISM IN THE SOUTH. 449 or true construction of this simple and general grant of power to the President, not to suffer it to interfere with those specific powers of Con gress which are more safely deposited in the legislative department, and that the powers thus assumed by the President do. not belong to him, but to Congress" It has been in violation of this principle that so much harm has been done to the South that the Executive Power at Washington has been so severe in its re pression as to carry a blight all through the South, both to the White man and the Black man. This, of course, has been attended with executive favoritism, by which, under a regime since known as Carpetbagism, robberies to the extent of many millions have been committed, fortunes untold extorted from the help less, and insults, injuries, and wrongs without number inflicted upon a prostrate and ruined people. LXII. Mr. SUMNER looks at the argument of the State for feiture thus : But again it is sometimes said., that the States, by their flagrant treason, have forfeited their rights as States, so as to be civilly dead. It is a patent and indisputable fact, that this gigantic treason was inaugurated with all the forms of law known to the States ; that it was carried forward not only by individuals, but also by States, so far as States can perpetrate treason ; that the States pretended to withdraw bodily in their corporate capacities ; that the Rebellion, as it showed itself, was by States as well as in States ; that it was by the governments of States as well as by the people of States ; and that, to the common observer, the crime was consummated by the several corporations, as well as by the individuals of whom they were composed. From this fact, obvious to all, it is argued, that, since, according to Blackstone, "a traitor hath abandoned his connection with society, and hath no longer any right to the advantages which before belonged to him 29 450 THE SOUTHERN STATES VACATED. purely as a member of the community," by the same principle the traitor State is no longer to be regarded as a member of the Union. But it is not necessary, on the present occasion, to insist on the application of any such principle to States. Without going into theories about State suicide, or State abdication, or any of those endless mazes, he asserts the plain fact that, for the time being , in the absence of a loyal government, those States could take no part and perform no function in the Union or in the administration of civil government. The bright spaces once occupied by those governments, were abandoned and vacated. He continues : That patriot Senator, Andrew Johnson, faithful among the faithless. the Abdiel of the South, began his attempt to reorganize Tennessee iby an Address, as early as the i8th of March, 1862, in which he made nise of these words : " I find most, if not all, of the offices, both State and Federal, vacated, either by actual abandonment, or by the action of the in- .cumbents in attempting to subordinate their functions to a power in hostility to the fundamental law of the State, and subversive of her .national allegiance." In employing the word " vacated," Mr. Johnson hit upon the very term -which, in the famous resolution of 1688, was held to be most effective in dethroning King James. After declaring that he had abdicated the government, it was added, " that the throne had thereby become vacant" on which Macaulay happily remarks : " The word abdication conciliated politicians of a more timid school. To the real statesman the simple important clause was that which declared the throne vacant ; and if that clause could be carried, he -cared little by what preamble it might be introduced." LXIII. It was therefore enough that the Southern States were declared vacated, as in fact they were ; and the road was open to the exercise of a rightful Federal jurisdiction, THREE SOURCES OF CONGRESSIONAL POWER. 451 until the period should arrive when they could claim their rights, as well-ordered communities, to again resume self-government under the aegis of a common protecting Constitution. The three sources of Congressional power during this interval of transition, he makes to consist, first, in the necessity of the case ; for where there is no other government within a certain district of our territory, the jurisdiction must lie with Congress ; for it is incident to the guardianship of the eminent domain which belongs to the United States wherever its people, or property, or territory exist. Secondly, this jurisdiction is also derived from the Rights of War. The power of the President to appoint Military Governors, was a War Power, and that was a Congressional Power ; for among its prerogatives, the Constitution clearly enumerates " to declare war," " suppress insurrections," and " support armies." It is Congress that conquers, and the same authority that conquers, must govern. " Would you know," inquires Mr. SUMNER, " the extent of these powers that must be conceded to Congress ? " He gives the following answer : They will be found in the authoritative texts of Public Law, in the works of Grotius, Vattel, and Wheaton. They are the powers con ceded by civilized society to nations at war, known as the Rights of \Yar, at once multitudinous and minute, vast and various. It would be strange, if Congress could organize armies and navies to conquer, and could not also organize governments to protect. De Tocqueville, who saw our institutions with so keen an eye, re marked, that, since, in spite of all political fictions, the preponderating power resided in the State governments, and not in the National Go vernment, a civil war here " would be nothing but a foreign Avar in disguise." Of course the natural consequence would be to give the National Government in such a civil war, all the rights which it would 452 MEANING OF REPUBLICAN FORM. have in a foreign war. And this conclusion from the observation of the ingenious publicist has been practically adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States in those recent cases where this tribunal, after the most learned argument, followed by the most careful con sideration, adjudged, that, since the Act of Congress of July i3th, 1861, the National Government has been waging "a territorial civil war," in which all property afloat belonging to a resident of the belligerent territory is liable to capture and condemnation as lawful prize. P.ut surely, if the National Government may stamp upon all residents in this belligerent territory the character of foreign enemies, so as to subject their ships and cargoes to the penalties of confiscation, it may perform the milder service of making all needful rules and regulations for the government of this territory under the Constitution, so long as may be requisite for the sake of peace and order ; and since the object of war is " indemnity for the past and security for the future," it may- do everything necessary to make these effectual. But it will not be enough to crush the Rebellion. Its terrible root must be extermi nated, so that it may no more flaunt in blood The last point is found in the Constitutional provision that "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion." In these words, <( guarantee " and " obligation " on the part of the Federal Government, is found the recognition of the original concession it had of a power conferring juris diction above all pretended State rights. And the occa sion had come with the war, for the exercise of that two fold power of the national government which had been thus solemnly conceded. He therefore remarks that- All that Congress proposes is simply to recognize the actual condition of the States, and to undertake their temporary government, by provid ing for the condition of political syncope into which they have fallen ; and, during this interval, to substitute its own constitutional powers for the unconstitutional powers of the Rebellion. Of course, therefore, Congress will blot no star from the flag, nor will it obliterate any State liabilities. But it will seek, according to its duty, in the best way, to SUMNER S. CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENT. 453 maintain the great and real sovereignty of the Union, by upholding the flag unsullied, and by enforcing everywhere within its jurisdiction the supreme law of the Constitution. LXIV. He closes his luminous essay, in these words : To my mind nothing can be clearer, as a proposition of constitutional law, than that everywhere within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Na tional Government Slavery is impossible. The argument is as brief as it is unanswerable. Slavery is so odious that it can exist only by virtue of positive law, plain and unequivocal ; but no such words can be found in the Constitution. Therefore Slavery is impossible within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Government. For many years I have had this conviction, and have constantly maintained it. I am glad to believe that it is implied, if not expressed, in the Chicago Platform. Mr. Chase, among our public men, is known to accept it sincerely. Thus Slavery in the Territories is unconstitutional ; but if the Rebel territory falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Government, then Slavery will be impossible there. In a legal and constitutional sense, it will die at once. The air will be too pure for a slave. I cannot doubt that this great triumph has been already won. The moment that the States fell, Slavery fell also ; so that even without any Proclamation of the President, Slavery had ceased to have a legal and constitutional ex istence in every Rebel State. * * But enough. The case is clear. Behold the Rebel States in arms against that paternal government to which, as the supreme condition of their constitutional existence, they owe duty and love ; and behold all legitimate powers, executive, legis lative, and judicial, in these States, abandoned and vacated. // only remains that Congress should enter and assume the proper jurisdiction. If we are not ready to exclaim with Burke, speaking of Revolutionary France, "It is but an empty space on the political map," we may at least adopt the response hurled back by Mirabeau, that this empty space is a volcano red with flames, and overflowing with lava-floods. But whether we deal with it as " empty space" or as "volcano," the jurisdiction, civil and military, centres in Congress, to be employed for the happiness, welfare, and renown of the American people,- changing Slavery into Freedom, and present chaos into a Cosmos of perpetual beauty and power. 454 THE PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION. LXV. As a war measure, The Proclamation of Emancipa tion, Jan. i, 1863, was the first effectual blow struck at the heart of the rebellion. It shook the structure to the centre. It was the last thing the slave oligarchy had thought of. It came upon them like the trump of doom. It annihilated all hope of intervention by the Powers of Europe, in behalf of the slave-propped rebellion. This they acknowledged themselves. They saw it was clear enough even to the blind that the first throne in Europe which took sides with slavery in America, would crumble to dust in the earthquake of a revolution. It banished all idea of the recognition of the Confederacy from the brain of every minister in Europe. It was one of the grandest deeds ever enacted on the earth ; it will have more influence over the fortunes of the human race, than almost any act of any other ruler of nations. Scarcely had a short month gone by, be fore it was known to every sitter in the Valley of the Shadow of Death ; and it colored the policy of every government in Europe. Those who sneered at it as a pompous brutum fulmen, forgot that slavery never was restored, where it had, by supreme authority, once been proclaimed abolished. Liberty takes no such steps backward. Slavery had been abolished by proclamation in San Domingo ; it was the attempt to reinstate it, that whelmed that island in blood. Anywhere else, it would have the same effect. Lord Russell ridiculed it because it was levelled only at " Slavery over territory beyond Mr. Lincoln s control, while all the States and Districts held by Federal armies were exempt." This would be a very flimsy objection, DEATH-KNELL OF AFRICAN SLAVERY. 455 if it were true ; but it was not. His Lordship forgot that the Proclamation was purely a war measure. Hu mane and sublime as the results were to be, it was not done as an act of humanity. Its sole immediate object was like that of any other war measure to weaken the enemies of the country, and strengthen its friends. In this light the measure was adopted for, and intended to apply only to, districts in rebellion ; it was to take effect there, at the cannon s mouth. Slave labor was the strong prop of the revolt. It either raised bread and meat on the plantations, or it did the heavy work of the camp ; and able-bodied slaves had, from the hour the rebellion began, been as necessary, and often as efficient, as white soldiers in the field. This gave the South half a million extra soldiers. It would have been no war measure to proclaim slavery abolished in districts which were loyal ; for our friends there, would thus, not only have been punished for their loyalty, but deprived of the very slave-labor aid to strengthen them in fighting our enemies, which the Pro clamation was intended to rob the rebels of. Besides, thinking men knew that the Proclamation was not a mere isolated act ; it was part and parcel of the imperative policy of a government charged with the responsibility of rescuing itself from imminent, and appalling danger. Universal emancipation of the African race everywhere, was embraced in the plan ; for the rebellion had made it inevitable. The Proclamation was hailed with gladness by all the uncompromising friends of the Union ; and intelligent men saw, that, hastily as the verdict had been rendered, sanctioning the act, the approval was the solemn voice of the nation ; and the ratification of the deed sounded 456 EMANCIPATION OF THE AFRICAN RACE. the death-knell of African Slavery. It was the sudden beginning of a swift end. Students of History ! Let memory go gleaning over all the fields of the past: where will she find an instance that Freedom had once proclaimed Slavery dead, where it ever lived again? Some systems of wrong, once sent to their graves, have no resurrection. But these results were only the first steps in the march of the earthquake which had startled the world. Some events are understood just about as well before, as after, they happen. On the subject of African slavery, the voice of no nation could be so potential as America s. When slavery was declared abolished here, it meant that it had received its death-wound in every land. If negro slavery fell dead before our altars where liberty was born, it would carry all like systems with it to a com mon sepulchre. SECTION NINTH. Emancipation of the African Race. I. In the debate, on the passage of the bill amending the Charter of the City of Washington, in May, 1864, preju dice and injustice still insisted on inserting the word white before the word male, so as to exclude Colored suffrage. When all its advocates had finished, Mr. SUM- NER dropped a few words, especially to Mr. WILLEY, of West Virginia, who had opposed the extension of the right to Colored people, with the violence indicated by SLAVERY DIES HARD. 457 these words: "This provision, I undertake to say, is not only odious to the people of this District, but that it will be disastrous in its results, not only here, but in its influence on popular opinion everywhere in the nation." MR. PRESIDENT, Slavery dies hard. It still stands front to front with our embattled armies, holding them in check. It dies hard on the battle-field ; it dies hard in the Senate Chamber. We have been com pelled during this session, to hear various defences of slavery, some times in its most offensive forms. Slave-hunting has been openly vin dicated ; and now to-day the exclusion of Colored persons from the electoral franchise, simply on account of color, is openly vindicated ; and the Senator from West Virginia, newly introduced into this Cham ber, from a State born of Freedom, rises to uphold Slavery in one of its meanest products. Had Slavery never existed among us, there would have been no such prejudice as that of which the Senator makes him self the Representative. * * The Senator says he has not vindicated Slavery. If he has not used the word, he has vindicated the thing, in one of its most odious features. He seeks to blast a whole race, merely on account of color. Would he ever have proposed such injustice, but for the prejudice nursed by Slavery ? Had not Slavery existed, would any such idea have found place in a Senator naturally so generous and humane ? No, sir. He spoke with the voice of Slavery, which he cannot forget. He spoke under the unhappy and disturbing influences which Slavery has left in his mind. Now, Sir, I am against Slavery, wherever it shows itself, whatever form it takes. I am against Slavery when compelled to meet it directly, and I am against Slavery in all its products and its offspring. I am against Slavery when encountering the beast outright, or only its tail. The prejudices of which the Senator makes himself the representative to-day, permit me to say, are nothing but the tail of Slavery. Unhap pily, while we have succeeded in abolishing Slavery in this District, we have not yet abolished the tail : and the tail has representatives in the Senate chamber, as the beast once had. * * The enjoyment of the electoral franchise by the Colored citizens in the State of North Carolina, for a long time after the Constitution, is not a matter of doubt. Her most eminent magistrate, the late Mr. Justice Gaston, accomplished as a jurist and a man, laid down the law of his State in emphatic words. Pronouncing the opinion of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, in the casrof The State vs. Manuel, in 1838, he said: 45S BUREAU OF FREEDMEN S AFFAIRS. "Slaves manumitted here become free men, and therefore, if born in North Carolina, are citizens of North Carolina, and all free persons in the State are corn citizens of the State. The Constitution extended the elective franchise to every free man who had arrived at the age of twenty-one, and paid a public tax : and it is a matter of universal noto riety tliat under it free persons, without regard to color, claimed and exercised the franchise until it was taken from free men of Color a few years since by our amended Constitution" At this moment of revolution, when our country needs the blessing of Almighty God, and the strong arm of all her children, this is not a time for us solemnly to enact injustice. In duty to our country, and in duty to God, I plead against any such thing. We must be against Slav ery in its original shape, and in all its brood of prejudice and error. II. This speech killed the bill. It was brought up again, but this second battle for suffrage in the District was lost this time by only two votes. In fact, it was a battle won ; for shortly afterwards the emancipation of the Colored people of the District was made complete. A far greater measure, however, was soon to come before Congress. After a long and disjointed debate in the House of Representatives, a Bill was adopted by that body to establish a BUREAU OF FREEDMEN S affairs. When the Bill reached the Senate, a substitute was pre pared by Mr. SUMNER, for the House Bill was by no means satisfactory. Some of the best men in the coun try laid before the Committee different projects, no less than nine or ten in all, and among their authors were such men as ROBERT DALE OWEN, JOHN JAY, and ED WARD L. PIERCE. But the Bill drafted by Mr. SUMNER, and adopted by his Committee, after having been pre pared with the utmost care, was presented to the Senate, and explained and enforced by Mr. SUMNER in an able SPEECH ON THE FREEDMEN S BUREAU. 459 speech. It embraced ten sections, the first of which provided that " An office should be created in the Treas ury Department, to be called THE BUREAU OF FREED- MEN, and meaning thereby such persons as have become free since the beginning of the present war." From this most effective and beautiful speech I can not resist the temptation of extracting a few passages. He opened thus : III. MR. PRESIDENT, The Senate, only a short time ago, was engaged for a week considering how to open an iron way from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is now to consider how to open the way from Slavery to Freedom. * * In what I have to offer, I shall confine myself to a sim ple statement which I hope will not be taken as dictated by any spirit of controversy, or any pride of opinion. Nothing of that kind could justly enter into such a discussion as this. The importance of the measure is seen at a glance ; it is clearly a charity and a duty. By virtue of existing Acts of Congress, and also under the Proclamation of the President, large numbers of slaves have suddenly become free. They may be counted already by the hundred-thousand ; in the pro gress of victory, they will be counted by the million. Deriving their freedom from the United States, the national government cannot be excused from making such provisions as may be required for their immediate protection during the present transition period. The freedom conferred must be rendered useful, or at least saved from being a burden. Reports, official and unofficial, show the necessity of action. In some places it is a question of life and death. After glancing at these reports from the Southern States, which showed that wherever our arms had pre vailed, the old social system had been destroyed, mas ters having fled from slaves, and slaves assuming a new character released from former obligations and sent adrift in the world, rolling like eddies around military posts, and all of them looking to the victorious power to 460 HELPLESSNESS OF THE EMANCIPATED. which they had fled for protection ; the exigency was pressing. It had been alleged that most of them were idle and vicious, and indisposed to work ; but General BANKS, then having command in Louisiana, used these words in one of his despatches : " Wherever in the Department they have been well treated, and reasonably compensated, they have invariably rendered faithful service to their employers. From many persons who manage plantations, I have received the information that there is no difficulty whatever in keeping them at work, if the conditions to which I have referred, are complied with." IV. But the curse of Slavery was still on them somebody must take them by the hand ; for, however generous had been the aid given by private societies organized at the East and West, their efforts, of necessity, were wholly inadequate to the work. Without government super vision, distress would become all but universal, and thousands be left to perish. Mr. SUMNER showed that the service required was too vast and complex for unorgan ized individuals. Nothing but the government could supply the adequate machinery, and extend the proper net-work of assistance, with the proper unity of opera tion. The national government must interfere in the case precisely as in building the Pacific Railroad. It was therefore a matter of imperative necessity that a Bridge from Slavery to Freedom should be constructed ; and call it charity, or duty, it was as sacred as humanity. The bill he had proposed, would protect the Freedman from any system of serfdom, or enforced apprenticeship FIRST COMMISSION ON FREEDMEN. 461 an idea which many of the former slave-masters clung to as a reliance for the still imremunerated labor of those from whom it had once been exacted. To the Treasury Department had already been confided jurisdiction over " houses, tenements, lands and plantations, deserted and abandoned by insurgents within the lines of military occupation." The Bill provided against any system of enforced labor or apprenticeship. It was constructed just as carefully as to what it should not attempt to do ; the trouble being in all such cases in trying to ac complish too much. " It does not," as he remarked, " assume to provide ways and means of support for the Freedmen ; but it does look to securing them the oppor tunity of labor, according to well-guarded contracts, and under the friendly advice of the agents of the Govern ment, who will take care that they are protected from abuse of all kinds." The Commission on Freedmen, appointed by the Secretary of War, in their report had already said : " For a time we need a Freedmen s Bureau ; not because these people are negroes only, because they are men who have been for generations despoiled of their rights. This Commission has already recommended the estab lishment of such a Bureau." It was a long, hard fight. It encountered at every step, whenever it came up, bitter opposition. It finally passed the Senate, on the 28th of June ; but it had a still harder struggle to go through in the House, where it did not pass until the gth of February of the following year, and then only by a majority of two. It had the ordeal of another struggle in the Senate, when it at last passed that body without a division, and on the same day, March 3d, was approved by the President, and the 462 LETTER OF COUNSEL TO AFRICANO-AMERICANS. FREEDMEN S BUREAU WAS ESTABLISHED. For whatever abuses may afterwards have crept into the administration of the system it was no more to blame, than was the sys tem of contracts for munitions of war, or any other depart ment for the war to save the Union was disgraced from beginning to end by robbery and plunder. But the historic pen which traces the first steps of mil lions of Freedmen to civilization, will have to record the fact that this BUREAU was, what Mr. SUMNER had first declared it to be, THE BRIDGE TO FREEDOM.* * After the Proclamation of Emancipation I addressed the following Letter of Counsel to colored men, which met the warm approval of Mr. Lincoln and Sena tor Stunner. It may not be wholly inappropriate now. WASHINGTON, Jan. ist, 1863. KIND WORDS TO AFRICANO-AMERICANS. FELLOW-MEN : The day you have waited for so long has at last come. You are all free now, or you soon will be Your charter has been duly signed by the President of the United States, and that deed is ratified in heaven. God is always on the right side : he is the everlasting friend of freedom. Being free, your earthly salvation is put into your own hand?. While you had a master, he gave you bread, clothing, and shelter such as they were. In escaping the lash, you must provide these things for yourselves. You have always claimed you could do it, and your friends believe you can. What is still better, you have through generations proved you could not only support yourselves, but your masters too. Now, laying all theories aside, and coming down to practical business, think what questions are before you. But first let me tell you what is not before you. 1. You need not give yourselves any trouble about the great question of your free dom. It is a moral fact. It will be an actual material fact sooner by far than you can prepare for it. Remember that when the song of freedom is once sung its notes will vibrate forever. Slavery is mortal, and must die ; Liberty is eternal. 2. Give yourselves no solicitude about the prejudice against your color ; for that prejudice does not exist in pure and generous hearts in such a form or to such an extent as materially to interfere with your prosperity and future elevation. Let your minds rather be directed to the means you should employ for accomplishing the destiny which is now within your reach. First. Get work as soon as you can, anything that is honorable, and begin to lay up money. If you are idle, you will be despised as vagabonds; if you contract bad habits, you will have no friends ; if you commit crime, you will be punished without mercy. In no community whatever can you expect to escape punishment when you do wrong. The color of the white man may save him, no matter how RESOLUTIONS OFFERED FOR RETALIATION. 463 V. On the 23d of January, 1863, a joint resolution was offered in the Senate, advising retaliation for the cruel treatment of prisoners in the hands of the Rebels. " As it has come to the knowledge of Congress, that great numbers of our soldiers who have fallen as prisoners of war into the hands of the in surgents, have been subjected to treatment unexampled for cruelty in the history of civilized war, and finding its parallels only in the conduct of savage tribes a treatment resulting in the death of multitudes by the slow but designed process of starvation, and by mortal diseases occa sioned by insufficient and unhealthy food, by wanton exposure of their person to the inclemency of the weather, and by deliberate assassination of innocent and unoffending men, and the murder in cold blood of prisoners after surrender ; and as a continuance of these barbarities, in contempt of the laws of war, and in disregard of the remonstrance of the national authorities, has presented the alternative of suffering our brave soldiers thus to be destroyed, or to apply the principle of retaliation for their protection ;" the resolution declares that, " in the judgment of Con- black his crime or loathsome his bestiality. But if you once put that bitter cup to your lips you will have to drain it to the last dregs. Here your friends cannot save you. You must beware in time, and escape the danger. The law was made for you as well as for white men, and in your case it will be sternly enforced. Few voices will be heard pleading in your behalf, on the ground that you have been a slave. On the contrary, you will find what does not often happen that all the bad as well as the good will be arrayed against you. If you do not keep a sharp look-out, you will find that freedom, although a holy, is often a dangerous gift. A great poet says, " Lord of himself, that heritage of woe." Second : GET KNOWLEDGE Other things being equal, your progress and ele vation will depend entirely upon the amount of your intelligence. Ignorance is one of the principal curses of slavery. In Heaven s name, rid yourselves of it as quickly as possible. FIRST OF ALL, LEARN TO READ, and teach your wives and children. Do it nights and Sundays, if you can find no other time. And when this is done you will, indeed, find yourselves in a new world. You don t know how much good it would do you all. Ignorance cannot help you or anybody else. Ignorance is dark knowledge is light. Do not think you have done much till you can read that glorious book which our Father sent down to us from heaven. It is his voice. It speaks to you. You must learn to read it. But, whatever you may neglect for yourselves, don t, oh, don t let your children grow up in ignorance ; for they would still be under the curse of slavery. Get as near to the school-house and a Sunday-school as you can. There will hereafter be no law in the South punishing 464 BARBARITY PROPOSED FOR BARBARITY. gress it has become justifiable and necessary that the President should, in order to prevent the continuance and recurrence of such barbarities, and to insure the observance by the insurgents of the laws of civili/ed war, resort at once to measures of retaliation ; that in the opinion of Con gress, such retaliation ought to be inflicted upon the insurgent officers now in our hands, or hereafter to fall into our hands as prisoners ; that such officers ought to be subjected to like treatment practised toward our officers or soldiers in the hands of the insurgents, in respect to quantity and quality of food, clothing, fuel, medicine, medical attend ance, personal exposure, or other mode of dealing with "them ; that, with a view to the same ends, the insurgent prisoners in our hands ought to be placed under the control and in the keeping of officers and men who have themselves been prisoners in the hands of the insur gents, and have thus acquired a knowledge of their mode of treating Union prisoners ; that explicit instructions ought to be given to the forces having the charge of such insurgent prisoners, requiring them to carry out strictly and promptly the principles of this resolution in every case, until the President, having received satisfactory information of the abandonment by the insurgents of such barbarous practices, shall revoke or modify those instructions. Congress do not, however, intend by this resolution to limit or restrict the power of the President to the modes or principles of retaliation herein mentioned, but only to advise a resort to them as demanded by the occasion." anybody that teaches you to read. All good people will help you, and you will find it not only very easy, after a little while, but very delightful. Then, and then only, will you know what freedom is worth. You must forget and forgive all the wrongs you have suffered. "If you forgive not, neither shall you be forgiven." This is God s rule ; and you must obey it if you would have his blessing. I know how hard it will sometimes come to forgive those who have sold your wives and children and heaped on your heads wrong upon wrong. But you must do it. Christ did it to his murderers. " Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." All your friends are proud to hear that you have behaved so well wherever you have been instantly set free. The foes of emancipation predicted that you would be guilty of every crime. But of the tens of thousands who have suddenly passed into freedom, no record of crime yet appears against you. We can now point to your example, and justify ourselves for all the confidence we have had in you. So too are we happy and grateful to learn that the three millions and a half of your race who still clank the chain are meekly and patiently waiting for the day of their liberation. God grant that they may wait patiently still ! While HE is doing the work, do not stand in His way. Show to the world that you were worthy to be free. The more you prove this, the quicker the fetters will fall. Let it be God s act. He will hasten it in his time. From the beginning of the war till now, you have been compelled to look on, idle spectators of this great struggle; and you know the reason why. The war was not begun by the North, nor was it carried on by the North for the sake of destroying SUMNER S CIVILIZED SUBSTITUTE. 465 VI. This resolution was vigorously defended by Mr. WADE, of Ohio, and Mr. HOWARD, of Michigan ; but Mr. SUM- NER moved the following, as a substitute : That retaliation is harsh always, even in the simplest cases, and is permissible only where, in the first place, it may reasonably be expected to effect its object ; and where, in the second place, it is consistent with the usages of civilized society ; and that, in the absence of these essen tial conditions, it is a useless barbarism, having no other end than ven geance, whidi is forbidden alike to nations and to men. And be it further resolved, That the treatment of our officers and soldiers in rebel prisons is cruel, savage and heart-rending, beyond all precedent ; that it is shocking to morals ; that it is an offence against human nature itself; that it adds new guilt to the crime of the rebellion, and constitutes an example from which history will turn with sorrow and disgust. And be it further resolved, That any attempted imitation of rebel slavery. It was begun by the slave-holders to destroy the Union, extend slavery, and open the slave-trade. The North went into it to preserve the Union ; and when we found that slavery would destroy the republic unless slavery should be wiped out it self, then Mr. Lincoln declared freedom to all the slaves of all the enemies of the Union. Now it has come to this, that this great war is between slavery and freedom. It Jias become a war for you. Now you can come into the fight, and take the field, and help work out your own salvation. And you must do it; for remember that "he who would be free, himself must strike the blow." If you will not help yourselves, whom are you to look to ? Yes, you must not hang back. Enlist in the army the first chance you get. If you are not as ready and willing to spill your blood for your own freedom as white men are to do it for you, then you will prove, what your masters have always said, that you are not fit nor worthy to be free. You are not asked to take a life, or use or destroy any property, except as soldiers, under the command of your officers. In all this you are doing but your duty as men and citizens of a great and glorious country. You will not forget that mankind respect nothing so much as valor. To fight gal lantly in a good cause will win for you and your race more honor and respect than you can win in any other way. By showing that you are good soldiers, you will do more towards your own progress and elevation than all your friends could do for you in a century. In this way, and in this way only, can you repay the debt of gratitude which you owe 30 466 NEW PLEDGES FOR ENDING THE REBELLION. barbarism in the treatment of prisoners would be plainly impracticable, on account of its inconsistency with the prevailing sentiments of hu manity among us ; that it would be injurious at home, for it would bar barize the whole community ; that it would be utterly useless, for it could not affect the cruel authors of the revolting conduct which we seek to overcome ; that it would be immoral, inasmuch as it proceeded from vengeance alone ; that it could have no other result than to de grade the national character and the national name, and to bring down upon our country the reprobation of history ; and that being thus im practicable, useless, immoral, and degrading, it must be rejected as a measure of retaliation, precisely as the barbarism of roasting or eating prisoners is always rejected by civilized powers. And be it further resolved, That the United States, filled with grief :and sympathy for the cherished citizens who, as officers and soldiers, have become the victims of Heaven-defying outrage, hereby declare their solemn determination to put an end to this great iniquity by put ting an end to the rebellion of which it is the natural fruit ; that to secure this humane and righteous consummation, they pledge anew their best energies and all the resources of the whole people ; and they call upon .all to bear witness that in this necessary warfare with barbarism, they re- "to your deliverers. Every brave deed you do, the higher your fidelity to your flag, the more complete your subordination and discipline, the higher you and your race will stand, not only with your commanders and with the whole country, but with all nations. Never before have Africans had such a chance ! In the name, then, of your nearly :iive millions in the United States, of more than half as many in South America and the West India Islands, and of the uncounted millions on the great continent of Africa, we call on you to shoulder the musket ! and let your valor and martial achieve ments work the long-delayed redemption of a mighty people. Another consideration, which is likely to be of grave magnitude hereafter, should not be left out of sight now. It is EMIGRATION, NOT COLONIZATION MERELY. It 1 as been a Sisyphus work for us to try to found colonies in Africa while we held mil- Jions of slaves at home, and offered no inducement to emigrate except either to be .made free at the price of expatriation, or to receive the poor boon of escaping the Jilighting influence of prejudice against color, at the cost of a life-long exile among .barbarians of a darker skin, and no knowledge of civilization or the living God. Few of your race went to Africa on these hard terms ; and I am glad of it. I might now March 28th, 1874, when we have the sad news of Dr. Livingstone s death in the heart of Africa press this consideration with earnestness: for it is my full conviction that the civilization of Afiica which is so sure to come will he effected chiefly through the agency of the emancipated Africano- American Race. SPEECH SUSTAINING THE SUBSTITUTE. 467 nounce all vengeance and every evil example, and plant themselves firmly on the sacred landmarks of civilization, under the protection of that God who is present with every prisoner, and enables heroic souls to suffer for their country. In sustaining his Resolutions Mr. SUMNER said : " Now, sir, I believe that the Senate will not undertake in this age of Christian light, under any inducement, under any provocation, to counsel the Executive Government to enter into any such compe tition with barbarism. Sir, the thing is impossible; it cannot be en tertained ; we cannot be cruel, or barbarous, or savage, because the rebels, whom we are now meeting in warfare, are cruel, barbarous, and savage. We cannot imitate that detested example. Sir, we find no precedent for it in our own history, nor in the history of other nations. * * The Senator from Michigan, who advocates so elo quently this unprecedented retaliation, attempted a description of the torments of the rebel prisons; but language failed him. After speaking of their immeasurable criminality, and the horrors of these scenes, which he said were * absolutely indescribable, he proceeded to ask that we should do these same things ; that we should take the lives of pris oners, even by freezing and starvation, or turn them into living skeletons by Act of Congress." Mr. SUMNER S amendment, to the honor of the Senate, was adopted by a large majority, although rejected in the House. VII. In a letter to the NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY of New York, December 2ist, 1863, Mr. SUMNER said: "Amid all the sorrows of a conflict without precedent, let us hold fast to the consolation that it is in simple obedience to the spirit in which New England was founded, that we are now resisting the bloody efforts to raise a wicked power on the corner-stone of Human Slavery, and that as New Englanders we could not do otherwise. If such 468 ON BUILDING THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. a wicked power can be raised on this continent, the Mayflower traversed its wintry sea in vain." " We remember too that another ship crossed at the same time, buffeting the same sea. It was a Dutch ship with twenty slaves, who were landed at Jamestown, in Virginia, and became the fatal seed of that Slavery which has threatened to overshadow the land. Thus the same ocean, in the same year, bore to the Western Continent the Pilgrim Fathers, consecrated to Human Liberty, and also a cargo of slaves. In the holds of those two ships were the germs of the present direful war ; and the simple question now is between the May flower and the slave ship. Who that has not forgotten God can doubt the result ? The Mayflower must pre vail." VIII. Being invited by the Colored citizens of Boston to a public meeting for the celebration of Emancipation, he was obliged to decline; but in reply, he said: " I am glad that you celebrated the day. It deserved your celebration, your thanksgiving, and your prayers. ON THAT DAY AN ANGEL APPEARED UPON THE EARTH." IX. On the building of the Pacific Railroad May 23d, 1863 " I have always voted for it, and now that it is authorized by Congress, I follow it with hope and confi dence. Let the Road be built, and its influence will be incalculable. People will wonder that the world lived so long without it. Conjoining the two oceans, it will be an agency of matchless power, not only commercial, UNION OF MISSISSIPPI AND LAKES. 469 but political. It will be a new girder to the Union, a new help to business, and a new charm to life. New houses and new towns will spring up, making new de mand for labor and supplies. Civilization will be pro jected into the forest and over the plain, while the desert is made to yield its increase. There is no productiveness to compare with that from the upturned sod which re ceives the iron rail. In its crop are school-houses and churches, cities and States." On the " Union of the Mississippi and the Lakes by canal" May 27, 1863 "The proposition to unite the greatest navigable river in the world with the greatest inland sea, is characteristic of the West. Each is worthy of the other. With this union, the Gulf of Mexico will be joined to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the whole continent, from Northern cold to Southern heat, trav ersed by one generous flood, bearing upon its bosom untold commerce. Let its practicability be demonstrated and the country will command it to be done, as it has already commanded the opening of the Mississippi. Triumphant over the wickedness of an accursed Re bellion, we shall achieve another triumph, to take its place among the victories of Peace. Mirabeau was right when he protested against the use of the word impossi ble, as simple stupidity. But I doubt if the word will be found in any Western dictionary." XL The managers of the Young Men s Association of Albany, after excluding from their lecture-room all 470 AMENDMENT ABOLISHING SLAVERY. Colored persons, had invited Senator SUMNER to address them, on the character and history of Lafayette. Their heroic achievement seems to have been fully appreciated, and they received the following" well-merited reply : " I am astonished at the request. I cannot consent to speak of LAFAYETTE, who was not ashamed to fight be side a black soldier, to an audience too delicate to sit be side a black citizen. I cannot speak of Lafayette, who was a friend of universal liberty, under the auspices of a society which makes itself the champion of caste and vul gar prejudice." This can hardly be called a SUMNER milestone, but it is one of those little shining pebbles that the feet of the traveler may turn up, on the sands of time like some ancient intaglio with the two charmed names : Lafayette Sumner. XII. At last the long struggle was drawing to a close ; the battle in the Senate was virtually ended the victory won. While the CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ABOLISH ING SLAVERY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, was on its passage, 8th of April, 1864, the great Massachusetts Senator rose in his place in the Senate House, and delivered his final argument, which opened with these words : MR. PRESIDENT, If an angel from the skies or a stranger from another planet were permitted to visit this earth and to examine its surface, who can doubt that his eyes would rest with astonishment upon the outstretched extent and exhaustless resources of this republic, young in years, but already noted beyond any dynasty in history ? In propor tion as he considered and understood all that enters into and constitutes the national life, his astonishment would increase, for he would find a numerous people, powerful beyond precedent, without king or noble, but with the schoolmaster instead. And yet the astonishment he con- THE CONSTITUTION OPPOSED TO SLAVERY. 471 fessed, as all these things unrolled before him, would swell into marvel, as he learned that in this republic, arresting his admiration, where is neither king nor noble, but the schoolmaster instead, there are four million human beings in abject bondage, degraded to be chattels, under the pretence of property in man, driven by the lash like beasts, despoiled of all their rights, even the right to knowledge and the sacred right of family, so that the relation of husband and wife is impossible, and no parent can claim his own child, while all are condemned to brutish ignorance. Startled by what he beheld, the stranger would naturally inquire by what authority, under what sanction, and through what terms of law or constitution, this fearful inconsistency, so shocking to human nature itself, continues to be upheld. His growing wonder would know- no bounds, when he was pointed to the Constitution of the United States, as final guardian and conservator of this peculiar and many- headed wickedness. XIII. After showing that Slavery finds no support in the Constitution, he glances at the positive provisions by which it is brought completely under the control of Congress, i. Among the powers of Congress, and associated with the power to lay and collect taxes, is that " to pro vide for the common defence and general welfare." In the Virginia Convention, Mr. GEORGE MASON, a most decided opponent of the Constitution, said : That Congress should have power to provide for the general welfare of the Union, I grant." But PATRICK HENRV was far more explicit ; he foresaw that this power would be directed against Slavery, and he unhesitatingly de clared : Slavery is detested. We feel its fatal effects. We deplore it, with all the pity of humanity. Let all these considerations, at some future period, press with full force on the mind of Congress. T^et that ur banity, which, I trust, will distinguish America, and the necessity of of national defence let all these things operate on their minds. They 47 2 THE CONSTITUTION ANALYZED. will search that paper the Constitution and see if they have power of manumission and have they not, sir? Have they not power to pro- ride for the general defence and welfare ? May they not think that these call for the abolition of Slavery ? May they not pronounce all slaves free ? And will they not be warranted by that power ? This is no ambi guous implication or logical deduction. The paper speaks to the point they have the power in clear, unequivocal terms, and will clearly and certainly exercise it. 2. Next comes the fountain. " Congress shall have power to declare war, to raise and support armies, to provide and maintain a navy." He shows that this power must authorize the government to contract with all enlisted soldiers, and such a contract would be an act of manumission, for a slave cannot make a contract. 3. There is still another clause. " The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union, a Republi can form of Government." JOHN ADAMS, in the corre spondence of his old age, says: "The customary mean ings of the words Republican and Commonwealth have been infinite. They have been applied to every government under heaven that of Turkey, and that of Spain, as well as that of Athens, and of Rome ; of Ge neva and San Marino." But the guaranteeing of a Republican form of Government, was too explicit to leave any doubt ; and such a form could not embrace involun tary servitude. 4. Another source of power is found in " No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." Liberty can thus be lost, only by " due process of law." This was the sheet-anchor of all the old Bills of Rights. So Lord Coke defined it as being borrowed from the Common Law. The late Justice BRONSON, of New York, in a judicial opinion, said : " The meaning of the section, then, seems to be, that no CONSTITUTIONAL SLAVERY AN OUTLAW. 473 member of the State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of his rights or privileges, unless the matter shall be adjudged against him upon trial had according to the course of the Common Law. * * The words due pro cess of law/ in this place, cannot mean less than a pro secution or suit instituted and conducted according to the prescribed forms and solemnities for ascertaining guilt, or determining the title to property." He thus argues conclusively that, under these guarantees and prohibitions, no person can be held as a slave. Constitutional slavery," Mr. SUMNER said, "has al ways been an outlaw wherever that provision of the Con stitution was applicable. Nothing against slavery can be unconstitutional : it is hesitation that is unconstitutional. And yet, slavery still exists, in defiance of all these require ments," and he demands that it shall be forever abolished, by the supreme authority of the Republic. That authority, he claims, does exist in Congress, which is clothed with the supreme power of legislation ; and if this shall be called in question, we have that grand re course still left, appealing to the authority which made the Constitution. Therefore he argues for that Amend ment which was ultimately to follow the law as enacted by Congress, after the hard struggle Liberty had to go through, to achieve its final victory. XIV. Tuesday, the 27th day of January, 1865, was the time for the final vote on the Amendment to the Constitu tion, in the House of Representatives. Vice-President WILSON says in his "Anti-Slavery Measures of Con gress,"- 474 WILSON S ANTI-SLAVERY MEASURES. Notice had been previously given, by Mr. Ashley, that the vote would be taken on that day. The nation, realizing the transcendent magni tude of the issue, awaited the result with profound anxiety. The galleries, and the avenues leading to them, were early thronged by a dense mass intensely anxious to witness the scene. Senators, Cabinet officers, Judges of the Supreme Court, and even strangers, crowding on to the floor of the House, watched its proceedings with absorbing interest. During the roll-call, the vote of Speaker Colfax, and the votes of Mr. English, Mr. Ganson, and Mr. Baldwin, with assured success, were warmly applauded by the Republican side. And when the Speaker declared, that, the Constitutional majority of two-thirds having voted in the affirmative, the joint resolution was passed, the an nouncement was received by the House and the spectators on the floor with a wild outburst of enthusiastic applause. The Republican members instantly sprang to their feet, and applauded with cheers and clapping of hands. The spectators in the crowded galleries waved their hats, and made the Chamber ring with enthusiastic plaudits. Hundreds of ladies, gracing the galleries with their presence, rose in their seats ; and by waving their handkerchiefs, and participating in the general demon stration of enthusiasm, added to the intense excitement and interest of a scene that will long be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to witness it. For several minutes, the friends of this crowning act of emancipation gave themselves up to congratulations and demonstrations of public joy. "In honor," said Mr. Ingersoll (Rep.), of Illinois, "of this immortal and sublime event, I move that the House adjourn." The Speaker declared the motion carried ; and then, again, cheering and demonstrations of applause were renewed. Mr. Harris (Dem.), of Maryland, demanded the yeas and nays on the adjournment, yeas, 121 ; nays, 24. So the House adjourned, having on that day passed a measure which made Slavery forever impossible in the Republic of the United States. XV. Those who knew and loved Mr. Lincoln as many of us did, were more disposed to sympathize with him in the deep sadness which weighed down his spirit, than to criticise his occasional facetious remarks, in which, on his account chiefly, we were so glad to hear him indulge THE DARK IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 475 The following" extracts from OUR FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, page 596, may illustrate the subject : The Dark in the White House, -Feb. 22, 1862. "Willie Lincoln is dead ! " Everybody in Washington knew Willie ; and everybody was sad. Sad, for it seemed hard for the lovely boy to be taken away so early, while the sun was just gilding the mountain up which he was pressing, and from which he could look down the sweet valley, and see so far into the future ! Sad for her who held him as one of the jew els of her home-coronet ; dearer than all the insignia of this world s rank. That coronet was broken, now. Its fragments might dazzle, and grace still ; but it could never be the same coronet again. Sad for the master of the Executive Mansion, for there was weight enough pressing on that tired brain, sorrow enough in that great heart. With the burden of a mighty republic on his shoulders a republic betrayed, and wounded in the house of its friends a republic that had cost so much and become so dear to its own true children, and in whose pros perity the hopes of all men who waited for the consolation of the na tions, were bound up a republic for whose safety and triumph, God, angels, and all good men would forever hold him responsible, and dis aster clouding almost every battle-field it seemed to us for a moment, when we heard the news of the boy s death, that even heaven s own " sweet fountain " of pity had dried up. It was a wild winter night, but I wished to see again how far the pro cess of Willie s embalmment had gone, and as Dr. B was to make one more visit that night, I took his arm at a late hour, and we walked up together. The wind howled desolately ; angry gusts struck us at every corner : tempest-clouds were careering high up in the heavens : and the dead leaves of last year, as they flew cuttingly against our cheeks, seemed to have come out of their still graves to "join in the dreadful revelry" of the death of the Republic of Washington, on the very anniversary of his birth for it was on the eve of the 22d of Feb ruary, the night in which he was born. " Is it not among the strangest of things that this event should have happened ? " " No, doctor : I do not so regard it ; still stranger events than this have taken place in the White House. It has been no more exempt from trouble, than the other dwellings of America. Poor Gen eral Harrison entered it, as a Prince goes to his palace to rule a great people ; in one month he was borne from it, to his grave. General Taylor, fresh from the fields of his fame as a patriot warrior, came here 4/6 HINTS FOR UNION SPEECHES. only to pass a few months of troubled life, and then surrender to the only enemy he ever yielded to. Fillmore, who also was summoned here by the act of God, after acquitting himself most manfully and hon orably of all his duties, had scarcely vacated the mansion, before he was called to entomb the wife of his youth and the mother of his children, of whom the fair one he loved best, soon after went to the same repose. He descended from his high place to become the chief mourner ; and his ovation was a funeral at Buffalo. So, too, with his successor, who left the new-made grave of his only son in Concord, killed in an instant, to be inaugurated at the Capitol, and enter as a mourner, this stately mansion." "Yes, gentlemen," said Edward, the chief door-keeper, "it is all still in the house now." We entered the Green Room ; Willie lay in his coffin. The lid was off. He was clothed in his soldier s dress. He had been embalmed by the process of Susquet, of Paris, and thus Wil lie Wallace Lincoln s body was prepared for its final resting-place in the home of his happy childhood. One more look at the calm face, which still wore its wonted expression of hope and cheerfulness, and we left him to his repose. In the meantime, a measured footfall had come faintly from the East Room, and the tall form of the chief mourner was passing into the sa cred place. "Is it all well? All my thanks." Leaving the stricken President in the solemn silence of the deep night, alone with his boy, we passed out of the mansion. The coming storm was clouding the heavens with a deep mourning, and its heavy sighings wrapped the Home of the Presidents in sadness and gloom. " God heal the broken hearts left there," was our only prayer. XVI. Being frequently asked during the war, to help friends prepare addresses to be delivered on the all-engrossing topic of the time, I sent the following hints for their use : WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 1862. THE IMMOLATION AND REDEMPTION OF THE AFRICAN RACE. Nations pay dear for liberty. Civilization the sole object of free government crystallizes slow. But, once firmly established, it resists the untiring " course of all-impairing Time." HOW SLAVERY HAS DESTROYED NATIONS. 477 The true civilization, in perfection, is yet to come. The world has been filled with false civilizations ; and history shows that they have not vitality enough to preserve nations from decadence. It has been just as plainly proved that where slavery existed it either destroyed civilization, or was destroyed by it. The two never could live together. China and Japan are the only two ancient Asiatic nations that have preserved their early civilization, or even their exist ence. Slavery never existed among them. So in Europe : Slavery destroyed every European nation that main tained it. Greece, Rome, the empire of the Othman, where are they ? But Slavery never existed among the Magyars or Slavonic nations ; nor have they ever been subjugated, much less destroyed. Hungary is a vast and illuminated nation, and is advancing in civilization ; while Russia has removed the last encumbrance to her progress by emanci pating twenty million serfs, and is now moving on to complete civiliza tion faster than any other people. The Swiss never breathed the tainted air of slavery ; her people have always been free, and in civilization they have lagged behind those of no other country. At an early period England and France abolished villanage, and fol lowed in the wake of Italy, which was the first of the nations to give revival to letters, commerce, and arts. So we find that just in proportion as nations emancipated themselves from the thraldom of a system of forced or involuntary labor, just in that proportion they advanced in knowledge, wealth, and the elements of endurance. A careful survey of truthful history would establish this as a fixed and clearly-determined law for the physical and moral progress and development of states. Nations may grow strong, or rather for midable, for a while, under the sceptre of a tyrant, and the slave-lash of an oligarchy. But such strength is weakness : it does not last. It is against all the ordinances of God that it should. This is pre-eminently true in our age, when daylight is dawning upon all peoples. Darkness has lost its power. Universal light is now assert ing its dominion. No power can contend against it. Darkness must give way. So far as my argument on the subject of slavery in the United States or elsewhere is concerned, it matters not whether the reader accept or not the code of revealed religion which I offer as authority ; for profane history coincides with it perfectly. There is no sort of conflict between the two. The plagues that wasted the vitals of dead nations are just as legibly inscribed on their tombs, for their readers, as they were on the 4/8 DEBT OF AMERICA TO AFRICA. pages of prophecy before the events took place. God alone writes history before it happens. Both records are so clear that he who runs may read ; and the wise and good man who reads either will run to rescue his country from the curse which God has chained to the chariot- wheels even of the mightiest empires which dare to make war on the eternal principles of justice which support his empire. Go where we will, from the Pillars of Hercules to the gates of the Oriental morning, " Rude fragments now Lie scatter d where the shapely column stood. Their palaces are dust." Journey through the home of the Saracens, a race of scholars and warriors, "Dead Petra in her hill-tomb sleeps : Her stones of emptiness remain ; Around her sculptured mystery sweeps The lonely waste of Edom s plain. "Unchanged the awful lithograph Of power and glory undertrod, Of nations scatter d like the chaff Blown from the threshing-floor of God." Let us calculate the debt which America owes to Africa. We can reach something like an approximation to the number of Africans or Africano- Americans who have lived and died on our soil. We do not propose to enumerate any considerable portion of the wrongs we have inflicted on that people, how many we stole from their homes, how many perished in the passage, ho\v many cruelties and indignities they and their descendants have suffered, and are suffering to this horr. That were a work for which any created being would find himself unequal. It will be found to occupy no inconsiderable space in the records of the last tribunal before which the human race will be cited to appear. We will therefore determine, as accurately as we can, how many lives. Africa has offered up for this nation. But first let us glance at the origin of slavery in the United States. We borrow a striking passage from the classic and powerful pen of Senator Sumner, who has probably investigated the whole African question, in all its relations, more pro foundly than any other man living, certainly more so than any other American. In one of his orations he draws the following picturesque ar.d start ing contrast : THIRTEEN MILLION AFRICANS IMMOLATED. 479 "In the winter of 1620, the Mayflower landed its precious cargo at Plymouth rock. This small band, cheered by the valedictory prayers o the Puritan pastor, John Robinson, braved sea and wilderness for the sake of liberty. In this inspiration our Commonwealth began. That s ime year another cargo, of another character, was landed at James town, in Virginia. It was nineteen slaves, the first that ever touched and darkened our soil. Never in history was greater contrast. There was the Mayflower, filled with men, intelligent, conscientious, prayer ful, all braced to hardy industry, who, before landing,* united in a written compact by which they constituted themselves a civil body politic, bound to frame just and equal laws. And there was the slave-ship, with its fetters, its chains, its bludgeons, and its whips, with its wretched victims, forerunners of the long agony of the slave-trade, and with its wretched tyrants, rude, ignorant, and profane, who had learn d their only prayers From curses, ***** and who carried in their hold the barbarous slavery whose single object is to compel labor without wages, which no just and equal laws can sanc tion. "Thus in the same year," says Charles Sumner, "began two mighty influences ; and these two influences still prevail far and wide through out the country. But they have met at last in final grapple ; and you and I are partakers in this holy conflict. The question is simply be tween the Mayflower and the slave-ship." Beginning with the first importation of Africans in 1620 (nineteen), we find their increase till 1790, slave and free, amounting to 757,363, From 1790 (first census) to 1860 (eighth census), slave and free, 4,441,- 730. It is and will always remain impossible to determine the number of the African race whose ashes sleep in our soil; but, applying the ratio of increase from 1790 to 1860 to the period undetermined, it is easy to approximate the number. My most careful estimate renders it certain that the number of persons of African descent who have died in our country cannot fall short of eight millions and a half, or nearly twice as many as are now living. Thus we roll up the figures to thirteen millions, living and dead, each one of whom has felt the blighting curse of slavery, more or less of the miseries and degradation which are its legitimate and inevitable consequences ! This is the immolation ; and it is the most appalling and stupendous 480 COUNTS IX OUR TERRIBLE INDICTMENT. in the annals of the human race. Leaving out all the barbarities attend ing the capture and ocean-transportation ; the brutal atrocities the stolen Africans suffered by a system of merciless task-labor under the lash, the maiming and torture of nerve and muscle, with the endless category of physical suffering, still each one of the mighty host of Afri- cano-Americans an army of thirteen millions^ bond and free, living and dead appears in solemn judgment against his individual oppressor and against the whole nation. The one has perpetrated the murder, and the Government has stood by and consented unto his death, and held the garments of those that slew him. What are the counts in this terrible indictment ? 1. The annihilation of home, whose charities are just as dear to the lower as to the higher classes of beings. Torn from their continental homes and transplanted to a new world, they should at least have had a chance to strike their roots into a stranger soil. But cupidity, accident, or caprice tore the plant up by the roots, and, with comparatively few exceptions, subjected it to a new and trying process of acclimation. 2. The annihilation of marriage. This sacrilegious blow at the first, the holiest, and the dearest of all God s institutions struck the race. It cast the deadliest blight which can fall on man. It made more bastards in America than ever lived elsewhere under heaven. 3. The annihilation of light. . This means the impious inauguration of heathenism in the very garden of God. No home, no wife or children he can call his own ! Can a higher insult be offered to a man made in the divine image and for whom the Son of man died? Oh, how incom parably blessed in the contrast was the Thracian slave dragged to Rome to make, in the arena, a holiday for the slave-holders of the Eternal City ! He left at least a home, wife, children. "I see before me the gladiator lie : He leans upon his hand ; his manly brow Consents to death, but conquers agony. * * * * His eyes Were with his heart, and that was far away : He reck d not of the life he lost, nor prize, But where his rude hut by the Danube lay. There were his young barbarians, all at play, There was their Dacian mother, he, their sire, Butcher d to make a Roman holiday ! All this rush d with his blood : shall he expire, And unavenged ? Arise ! ye Goths, and glut your ire !" WHAT AFRICA HAS SUFFERED. 481 I am fully aware that a fallacy will be alleged against this argument, that a demurrer will be entered against each and every count in the general indictment. It will be said, i st. That through slavery and the slave-trade alone have any portion of the African race been introduced to the light and blessings of civili zation. This is a mean and blasphemous subterfuge. Just as though any such idea ever mixed itself up with the thoughts of the slave- vampires of the African coast ! Just as though the century-protracted efforts of the Saracens to overthrow the religion of Christ were worthy of praise because they brought Christendom to its feet, in the vindication of Christianity ! As soon should the sight of the fair-haired Angli boys brought to Rome and sold as slaves, and thus become the occasion of the introduction of the gospel into Britain, have justified the kidnappers who did the nefarious work ! As soon plead pardon for the traitor of all the ages for selling the Man of sorrows, because " when he bowed his head on the cross he dragged the pillars of Satan s kingdom to the dust." 2d. They have risen far higher here in the scale of physical comfort. This I deny. They have not, as a community , enjoyed as much physi cal comfort as the wild beast in his lair, or the cattle on a thousand hills. By no means has their animal condition approached that of the native African tribes. I fully believe yea, I certainly know, and I believe and know it more profoundly than any slaughterer of men that the wrath of man shall be made to praise God, while the remainder thereof he will restrain. But let no man, who has ever been a willing party to the awful crime we are speaking of, come forward now, while daylight is breaking over Africa, and claim any participation in the glory which is coming. For this dawn such men never longed ; they never con templated that rising sun with any exultation. And yet how nobly has Africa earned the boon of civilized life ! She has from the earliest ages been the slave of the nations. All men who had ships went to her coasts and sailed up her great rivers to steal her children. The Egyptians lashed them to their toil, in the valley of the Nile. The Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, and the Arabs stole them from the Mediterranean coast. The Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch, the English, kidnapped them by the hundred thousand on the coast of the Atlantic ; and, last of all, as late as within the memory of men now living, the African slave-trade constituted the most profitable branch of the commerce of New England. 3 1 482 ALL HAIL, NIOBE OF NATIONS 1 . The blessed light of civilization which had irradiated every other con tinent never illuminated Africa. Great empires had been founded on the African coasts, the arts that exalt and embellish life had been carried and cultured there by the Pharaohs, the Alexanders, the Han- uibals, the Arab, the Saracen, the Moor, and the Briton ; but it was not for the poor African. Light, which came to all others, came not to him. Every empire ever founded in Africa was cemented by the blood of her helpless people. But the day of her emancipation has come. She has waited for it over three thousand years. God has accepted the sacrifice. The indications of Providence are too plain to be mis taken. No unknown portion of the globe has been so thoroughly ex plored during the present century. No nation has ever been so ready to receive Christianity and the arts of peace. No one can more readily be brought into the family of nations. No country ever had so many missionaries ready to carry to a benighted continent commerce, agricul ture, manufactures, education, and the light of everlasting truths. .All hail, then, Niobe of the nations ! "Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling; . . . thou shalt no more drink it again." "Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people ; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and .thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders." "Ye shall be redeemed without money." "Thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband, . . . and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel." " O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sap phires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of car buncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children -shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children. . .. . Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror ; for it shall not come near thee." "For I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and 1 will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." DUTY TO FALLEN SOLDIERS. 483 " Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God." "I the Lord have spoken it." * XVII. Feeling very deeply the ditty of the Republic to its fallen soldiers, after consultation with Mr. SUMNER, and many of our leading public men in Washington, I pre pared the following, which was effectively used in the movement soon started, and pushed with such great vigor that it ended in the establishment of the National Ceme teries, which have reflected so much honor upon the country : THE DUTY OF THE REPUBLIC TO ITS FALLEN HEROES. "Ccelumque aspicit et dulcis moriens reminiscitur Argos." VIRG. " Such honors Ilion to her hero paid, And peaceful slept the mighty Hector s shade. * * * * * Here let me grow to earth! since Hector lies On the bare beach deprived of obsequies. Oh, give rne Hector! to my eyes restore His corse, and take the gifts! I ask no more. * * * * * The best, the bravest of my sons are slain. * * * * * * P or him through hostile camps I bend my way. * * H= * * Lo! to thy prayer restored, thy breathless son. * * * * * Steeped in their blood, and in the dust outspread, Nine days neglected, lay exposed the dead." ILIAD. The first duty of a Government is to protect the life of the soldier; the second is to give him honorable burial when he has fought his last battle. This duty has been recognized by all nations, and it has been * "And we may see in all this that law of compensation which God vouchsafes the wrpnged and suffering for all their woes and suffering. After being afflicted by nigh three centuries of servitude, God calls chosen men of this race from all the lands of their thraldom, men laden with gifts, intelligence and piety, to the grand and noble 484 PLEA FOR NATIONAL CEMETERIES. considered imperative. No nation so barbarous as to neglect the ashes of its patriots, no family so divested of social affection as not to de sire to recover the earthly relics of one of their number who died awav from home. That mysterious chain which binds the heart of the survivor to thu dust of the departed is now binding the hearts of an innumerable com pany of our people to the graves of our fallen soldiers. To recover the ashes of the loved one is the first thought that occurs ; and the un certainty of the spot where the body is reposing intensifies the grief. Promiscuous burial the human soul abhors. This feeling is natural, and it cannot be repressed. Virgil has beau- fully expressed it in the line we have quoted above With his back to the earth and his eyes on heaven, the dying soldier thinks of his beloved home. It is generally among the very last wishes of those dying among strangers, that they could die at home. Our fancies will visit the red fields of valor which have been sancti fied by the baptism of patriotic blood ; they will haunt the halls of our hospitals, filled with the suffering, and steal into the countless chambers of the bereaved, where Rachels are "weeping for their children, and will not be comforted, because they are not." The duties of Governments to their fallen soldiers apply with pecu liar force to the soldiers and families of republics. Our grand army of a million men is a fair, full, and honorable representation of the great body of the people. There are whole regiments and brigades where there is not a man who did not leave home and kindred for the war, kindred who watch with tenderness and apprehension the news of every battle, and whose affection spreads its drooping wings over the camp where the soldier sleeps. How many of our rank and file would not have Christian burial if they died at home, and some plain stone, at least, in memoriam, placed to mark the last couch of the sleeper? How many of our army, fallen already, have not left friends who would part with some treasure to recover the bodies of those they loved, or at least to know the spot of sepulture ? Hundreds of instances yes, thousands are known of attempts, often fruitless, to find, identify, mark, the spot, or make inquiries about mission which they only can fulfil, even to plant colonies, establish churches, found missions, and lay the foundations of universities along the shores and beside the banks of the great rivers of Africa, so that the grandeur and dignity of their duties may neutralize all the long, sad memories of their servitude and sorrows. * Grummet s Future of Africa, p. 127. DOWNFALL OF THE REBELLION. 485 the graves. The Western battle-fields alone have grouped a million stricken hearts around those suddenly-created sepulchres of the brave. Our officers and soldiers put forth their last heroic exertions, in every skirmish and in every fight, to bring off our dead, or bury them on the field, preserving their identity as far as the horrible exigencies of war will allow. But this was not enough ; and the Sanitary Commission early under took to obtain information by which " the place of burial of the volun teers who have been killed in battle, or who have died in hospitals, may be established. They have also elaborated a system of records for those dying in hospitals, and of indications of their burial-place, by which their bodies may be identified ; which has received approval, and been ordered to be carried out, blanks and tablets for the purpose being furnished to each regimental quartermaster." This plan was warmly embraced by Congress and the Soldiers Re lief Associations, and it was in the main adopted, and has been carried out as far as it seemed possible. One thing more was needed. Besides having cemeteries, larger or smaller, wherever our soldiers have fallen, we should have a great national cemetery for soldiers near Washington, where all our brave men who fall in the service in this neighborhood, or who can be brought here, may have honorable graves. Each State shall have a space al lotted for its own citizens ; and this City of the Dead should be embel lished by emblems of art and beauty, which exalt and refine civilized life. The cost of this war for one hundred minutes would munificently ac complish this. SECTION TENTH. Downfall of the Rebellion. I. MR. GREELEY has given, towards the close of his American Conflict, an affecting description of the part ing of LEE with his devoted followers. He says : 486 GEN. LEE S PARTING WITH HIS SOLDIERS. It was a sad one. Of the proud army which, dating its victories from Bull Run, had driven McClellan from before Richmond, and withstood his best efforts at Antietam, and shattered Burnside s host at Fredericks- burg, and worsted Hooker at Chancellorsville, and fought Meade so stoutly, though unsuccessfully, before Gettysburg, and baffled Grant s bounteous resources and desperate efforts in the Wilderness, at Spott- sylvania, on the North Anna, at Cold Harbor, and before Petersburg and Richmond, a mere wreck remained. It is said that 27,000 were included in Lee s capitulation; but of these not more than 10,000 had been able to carry their arms thus far on their hopeless and almost foodless flight. Barely nineteen miles from Richmond when surren dered, the physical possibility of forcing their way thither, even at the cost of half their number, no longer remained. And if they were all safely there, what then ? The resources of the Confederacy were utterly exhausted. Of the 150,000 men whose names were borne on its muster-rolls a few weeks ago, at least one-third were already disabled or prisoners, and the residue could neither be clad nor fed not to dream of their being fitly armed or paid ; while the resources of the loyal States were scarcely touched, their ranks nearly or quite as full as ever, and their supply of ordnance, small-arms, munitions, etc., more ample than in any previous April. Of the million or so borne on our muster-rolls, probably not less than half were then in active service, with half so many more able to take the field at short notice. The Rebellion had failed and gone down ; but the Rebel Army of Virginia and its commander had not failed. Fighting sternly against the Inevit able against the irrepressible tendencies, the generous aspirations of the age they had been proved unable to succeed where success would have been a calamity to their children, to their country, and the human race. And, when the transient agony of defeat had been endured and had passed, they all experienced a sense of relief, as they crowded around their departing chief, who, with streaming eyes, grasped and pressed their outstretched hands, at length finding words to say, " Men, we have fought through the War together. I have done the best that I could for you." There were few dry eyes among those who witnessed the scene ; and our soldiers hastened to divide their rations with their late enemies, now fellow-countrymen, to stay their hunger until provi sions from our trains could be drawn for them. Then, while most of our army returned to Burkesville, and thence, a few days later, to Petersburg and Richmond, the work of paroling went on, under the guardianship of Griffin s and Gibbon s infantry, with McKenzie s cavalry ; LINCOLN S VISIT TO RICHMOND. 487 and, so fast as paroled, the Confederates took their way severally to their respective homes : many of them supplied with transportation, as well as food, by the government they had fought so long and so bravely to subvert and destroy. II. The day after the fall of Richmond, Mr. LINCOLN vis ited the Capital of the late Confederacy, so recently and suddenly abandoned by its fugitive chief. Being recog nized by the Black population as he entered Richmond, there was a rush which packed the street, and a shout of welcome that rang through the city. On the day of LEE S surrender he returned to Wash ington, and the next evening he addressed the vast mul- titude assembled before the Executive Mansion. In a speech characterized by two qualities so peculiar to him self ; turning over to Congress the settlement of all diffi culties connected with the representation of the revolted States, and expressing his desire that some participation in government, through right of suffrage, might be ac corded to that vast Colored population, who had so re cently come out from the house of bondage : but, above all, without a trace of bitterness or resentment towards the late enemies of the Republic, he expressed an anxious wish that those States should be restored to all the functions of self-government, and equal power in the Union, at the earliest moment that might be consistent with the integrity, safety, and tranquillity of the nation. III. The next day, April 12, the telegraph flashed through the country an order from the War Department, to put a stop to all drafting and recruiting for our armies, the 488 LINCOLN S ASSASSINATION. purchase of arms, munitions, and provisions of war, the reduction in number of Generals and Staff officers, and the instant removal of all military restrictions on com merce and trade. It happened to be just four years after the surrender of Fort Sumter by Major ANDERSON, and a crowd of loyal citizens had sailed down to Charleston, to raise over the ruins of that historic fortress, the very flag which ANDERSON had borne away with him when he was driven in helplessness from his post. All through the country it was a gala day. Peace had come, with victory. The President had passed some hours with his Cabinet, to listen to a report from Gen. GRANT, who had just arrived from Appomattox, and it was proposed that the party should seek some relaxation from the labors and excitements of the day, by attending the theatre. Mr. GREELEY gives the following simple account : At 8 P.M., the President and his wife, with two others, rode to the theatre, and were ushered into the private box previously secured by him ; where, at 10^ P.M., while all were intent on the play, an actor of Baltimore birth, John Wilkes Booth by name, son of the more emi nent English-born tragedian, Junius Brutus Booth, availing himself of that freedom usually accorded at theatres to actors, entered at the front door, stood for a few moments, after presenting a card to the Presi dent s messenger, in the passage-way behind the dress-circle, surveying the spectacle before him ; then entered the vestibule of the President s private box, shut the door behind him, fastened it from the inside by placing a short plank (previously provided) against it, with its foot against the opposite wall, and then, holding a pistol and a dagger in either hand, stepped through the inner door into the box just behind the President, who was leaning forward, with his eyes fixed on the stage, and fired his pistol, while holding it close to the back of the President s head, piercing his skull behind the left ear, and lodging the ball, after traversing the brain, just behind the right eye. Mr. Lincoln s h-j-ul fell slightly forward, his eyes closed, but he uttered no word or cry ; SUMNER S EULOGY OF LINCOLN. 489 and though life was not extinct for nine hours thereafter, he gave, thenceforth to his death in a neighboring house, at 7: 22 next morning, no sign of intelligence ; and it is probable that he never on earth knew that he had been shot, or was conscious even of suffering, much less of malice and murder. A merciful heaven, that knew his work was done, now flung open its doors to receive the Savior of the Union, and the Deliverer of the African race. From no lips could the eulogy of ABRAHAM LINCOLN fall so gracefully, as from CHARLES SUMNER S : In the universe of God there are no accidents. From the fall of a sparrow to the fall of an empire, or the sweep of a planet, all is ac cording to Divine Providence, whose laws are everlasting. It was no accident which gave to his country the patriot whom we now honor. It was no accident which snatched this patriot so suddenly and so cruelly from his sublime duties. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away ; blessed be the name of the Lord. IV. The following condensed summary of Anti-Slavery measures in Congress, which Vice-President WILSON gives in the close of his work on that subject, is here quoted, to convey to the reader more distinctly, their scope and magnitude : When the Rebellion culminated in active hostilities, it was seen that thousands of slaves were used for military purposes by the rebel forces. To weaken the forces of the Rebellion, the 37th Congress decreed that such slaves should be forever free. As the Union armies advanced into the Rebel States, slaves, inspired by the hope of personal freedom, flocked to their encampments, claim ing protection against Rebel masters, and offering to work or fight for the flag whose stars for the first time gleamed upon their vision with the radiance of liberty. Rebel masters and Rebels sympathizing with mas ters sought the encampments of the loyal forces, demanding the sur render of the escaped fugitives ; and they were often delivered up by 490 ANTI SLAVERY MEASURES OF CONGRESS. officers of the army. To weaken the power of the insurgents, to strengthen the loyal forces, and assert the claims of humanity, the 37th Congress enacted an article of war, dismissing from the service officers guilty of surrendering these fugitives. Three thousand persons were held as slaves in the District of Colum bia, over which the nation exercised exclusive jurisdiction: the 37th Congress made these three thousand bondmen freemen, and made slave- holding in the capital of the nation for evermore impossible. Laws and ordinances existed in the national capital, that pressed with merciless rigor upon the Colored people: the 37th Congress enacted that Colored persons should be tried for the same offences, in the same manner, and be subject to the same punishments, as white persons ; thus abrogating the " Black Code." Colored persons in the capital of this Christian nation were denied the right to testify in the judicial tribunals, thus placing their property, their liberties, and their lives, in the power of unjust and wicked men : the 37th Congress enacted that persons should not be excluded as wit nesses in the courts of the District, on account of color. In the capital of the nation, Colored persons were taxed to support schools, from which their own children were excluded ; and no public schools were provided for the instruction of more than four thousand youth : the 38th Congress provided by law that public schools should be established for Colored children, and that the same rate of appropri ations for Colored schools should be made, as are made for the educa tion of white children. The railways chartered by Congress excluded from their cars Colored persons without the authority of law : Congress enacted that there should be no exclusion from any car, on account of color. V. Into the Territories of the United States, one-third of the surface of the country, the slave-holding class claimed the right to take and hold their slaves, under the protection of the law: the 37th Congress prohibited slavery for ever in all the existing territory, and in all terri tory which may hereafter be acquired ; thus stamping freedom for all, for ever, upon the public domain. As the war progressed, it became more clearly apparent that the Rebels hoped to win the Border Slave States ; that Rebel sympathi/en- in those States hoped to join the Rebel States ; and that emancipation WHAT SLAVERY HAD BEEN. 49.1 in loyal States would bring repose to them, and weaken the power of the Rebellion : the 37th Congress, on the recommendation of the President, by the passage of a joint resolution, pledged the faith of the nation to aid loyal States to emancipate the slaves therein. The hoe and spade of the Rebel slave were hardly less potent for the Rebellion than the rifle and bayonet of the Rebel soldier. Slaves sowed and reaped for the Rebels, enabling the Rebel leaders to fill the wasting ranks of their armies, and feed them. To weaken the military forces and the power of the Rebellion, the 37th Congress decreed that all slaves of persons giving aid and comfort to the Rebellion, escaping from such persons, and taking refuge within the lines of the army ; all slaves captured from such persons, or deserted by them ; all slaves of such persons, being within any place occupied by Rebel forces, and afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves. The provisions of the Fugitive-slave Act permitted disloyal masters to claim, and they did claim, the return of their fugitive bondmen : the 37th Congress enacted that no fugitive should be surrendered un til the claimant made oath that he had not given aid and comfort to the Rebellion. The progress of the Rebellion demonstrated its power, and the needs of the imperilled nation. To strengthen the physical forces of the United States , the 37th Congress authorized the President to receive into the military service persons of African descent ; and every such person mustered into the service, his mother, his wife, and children, owing service or labor to any person who should give aid and comfort to the Rebellion, was made forever free. VI. The African slave-trade had been carried on by slave-pirates under the protection of the flag of the United States. To extirpate from the seas that inhuman traffic, and to vindicate the sullied honor of the nation, the Administration early entered into treaty stipulations with the British Government for the mutual right of search within certain limits ; and the 37th Congress hastened to enact the appropriate legis lation to carry the treaty into effect. The slave-holding class, in the pride of power, persistently refused 492 HOW SLAVERY DIED. to recognize the independence of Hayti and Liberia ; thus dealing unjustly towards those nations, to the detriment of the commercial interests of the country : the 37th Congress recognized the inde pendence of those republics by authorizing the President to establish diplomatic relations with them. By the provisions of law, White male citizens alone were enrolled in the militia. In the Amendment to the acts for calling out the militia, the 37th Congress provided for the enrolment and drafting of citizens, without regard to color ; and, by the Enrolment Act, Colored persons, free or slave, are enrolled and drafted the same as White men. The 38th Congress enacted that Colored soldiers shall have the same pay, clothing, and rations, and be placed in all respects upon the same foot ing, as White soldiers. To encourage enlistments, and to aid eman cipation, the 38th Congress decreed that every slave mustered into the military service shall be free forever ; thus enabling every slave fit for military service to secure personal freedom. By the provisions of the fugitive-slave acts, slave hunters could hunt their absconding bondmen, require the people to aid in their recap ture, and have them returned at the expense of the nation. The 38th Congress erased all fugitive-slave acts from the statutes of the Republic. The law of 1807 legalized the coastwise slave-trade : the 38th Con gress repealed that act, and made the trade illegal. The courts of the United States receive such testimony as is permit ted in the States where the courts are holden. Several of the States exclude the testimony of Colored persons. The 38th Congress made it legal for Colored persons to testify in all the courts of the United States. Different views are entertained by public men relative to the re construction of the governments of the seceded States, and the validity of the President s Proclamation of Emancipation. The 38th Congress passed a bill providing for the reconstruction of the governments of the Rebel States, and for the emancipation of the slaves of those States ; but it did not receive the approval of the President. Colored persons were not permitted to carry the United States mails : the 38th Congress repeated the prohibitory legislation, and made it lawful for persons of Color to carry the mails. Wives and children of Colored persons in the military and naval service of the United States were often held as slaves ; and, while husbands and fathers were absent fighting the battles of the country, FINAL EXTINCTION OF SLAVERY. 493 these wives and children were sometimes removed and sold, and often treated with cruelty : the 38th Congress made free the wives and children of all persons engaged in the military or naval service of the country. VII. The disorganization of the slave system, and the exigencies of civil war, have thrown thousands of freedmen upon the charity of the nation : to relieve their immediate needs, and to aid them through the transition period, the 38th Congress established a Bureau of Freedmen. The prohibition of slavery in the Territories, its abolition in the Dis trict of Columbia, the freedom of Colored soldiers, their wives and children, emancipation in Maryland, West Virginia, and Missouri, and by the reorganized State authorities of Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisi ana, and the President s Emancipation Proclamation, disorganized the slave system, and practically left few persons in bondage ; but slavery still continued in Delaware and Kentucky, and the slave codes remain unrepealed in the Rebel States. To annihilate the slave sys tem, its codes and usages ; to make slavery impossible, and freedom universal the 38th Congress submitted to the people the anti-slavery amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The adoption of that crowning measure assures freedom to all. VIII. Such are the "ANTI-SLAVERY MEASURES" of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses during the past four crowded years. Seldom in the history of nations is it given to any body of legislators or law givers to enact or institute a series of measures so vast in their scope, so comprehensive in their character, so patriotic, just, and humane. But, while the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses were en acting this anti-slavery legislation, other agencies were working to the consummation of the same end the complete and final abolition of slavery. The President proclaims three and a half millions of bond men in the Rebel States henceforward and forever free, Maryland, Vir ginia, and Missouri adopt immediate and unconditional emancipation. The partially reorganized Rebel States of Virginia and Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana, accept and adopt the unrestricted abolition of slavery. Illinois and other States hasten to blot from their Statute- 494 AVAILABILITY A FATAL POLICY. books their dishonoring Black codes. The Attorney-General officially pronounces the Negro a citizen of the United States. The Negro, who had no status in the Supreme Court, is admitted by the Chief-Justice to practice as an Attorney before that august tribunal. Christian men and women follow the loyal armies with the agencies of mental and moral instruction to fit and prepare the enfranchised freedmen for the duties of the higher condition of life now opening before, them. IX. The death of LINCOLN carried ANDREW JOHNSON to the Presidential office. The result proved how foolish, if not how fatal, is the policy of political parties who are guided more by present availability than by profound sagacity, or high principle, in the choice of candidates. This had proved true on two former occasions with the Whig party. In 1840 they had nominated for the Presi dency a most respectable, pure, and patriotic man, who was so far in the decline of life and vigor, that his little remaining strength soon gave way to the worry and pressure of the occasion ; and for the Vice-Presidency, a man who was conspicuously destitute of every quali fication necessary for the station he was called upon to fill. His administration ended in lamentable failure for himself, and in humiliation to his party. The same policy prevailed in the nomination of Gen. TAYLOR, who, as a blunt and patriotic old soldier, had done his duty well, but who had not one conceivable quality to insure a successful administration. The party were no more successful, although the country was more fortunate, in having its affairs fall into the hands of a providential successor. Mr. FILLMORE had the integrity and sense to keep faith with his party, and surround himself by able and illustrious advisers. But his ambition, as well ANDREW JOHNSON BECOMES PRESIDENT. 495 as their own, rose no higher than stemming, as well as they could, the rising tide which was to sweep the past away, banishing the supremacy of the slave-power from the control of national affairs, and introducing a new period of national activity for the more liberal spirit of the advancing age. X. But, of all the misfortunes which attended that party, and impaired its administration of affairs, the greatest was in following out the same policy, for the third time. Of the men who nominated ANDREW JOHNSON for the Vice- Presidency, few ever thought of the contingency of Mr. LINCOLN S death. But there must have been members enough in the Convention fully aware of the entire unfit- ness of Mr. JOHNSON for the execution of any high trust whatever. Born and brought up in a community where few of the amenities of civilized life were known ; with poor chances for a knowledge of public affairs, and fewer still for intellectual culture ; coarse-grained by na ture, but gigantic in build and well calculated to " rough it," in rude communities, ANDREW JOHNSON fought his way by sheer force into public observation. And although not destitute of a certain degree of native sturdiness of character, and a careless openness of manner which was easily mistaken by the vulgar for magnanimity and greatness ; and having, neither by inheritance nor ac quisition, any interest in common with the better classes of the South, his restless nature urged him into the first collisions of political parties. Happening to take the right side, at the right moment, he was swept on by the current of fortune, till its last crowning freak landed him 496 ANDREW JOHNSON S CHARACTER. in the Presidential chair. But no native endowment, or habit of mind, had fitted him for the new and exalted sphere. Incapable either of comprehending the difficul ties of his position, of choosing discreet private advisers, or even of listening to their counsels when once chosen, the bull-headed obstinacy of his character found a most welcome field for rioting in the slouo-h of his ignorance O O <!5 and passion. Familiar only with the stereotype formulas of tra ditional democracy, and the free slang of the West ern stump, he was entirely incompetent to grapple with any problem of statesmanship, or hold his passions iu subjection long enough for wise deliberation. He soon found himself plunged into a sea of difficulties. In capable of retaining his old friends, or of making new ones ; possessing no qualities which bound men to him by any stronger ties than office ; conscious of a total lack of the dignity which so high an office confers ; and knowing that his inferiority became the more conspicuous in contrast with the loftiness of his position ; rash and hasty in judgment ; too ignorant to know how, and too obstinate to find out when to yield or retreat ; he went through his Presidential term with just about as much sagacity and dignity as the proverbial bull goes through a china-shop. What little there was of reputation for him to lose when he went into office, he managed to get rid of pretty quick ; and the poor man must at last have felt about as much relieved in getting rid of his party and his office, as they felt in getting rid of him. But neither his obstinacy nor his ignorance worked any great mischief. The national sentiment was well re- O presented in both Houses of Congress, and gradually the dashing stream of events was washing away the slime of SENATE CHAMBER SOKNK THE AUGEAN STABLES CLEANSED. 497 Slavery from the nation. For that slime had been gathering as gangrene gathers over old sores, and foul matter concretes in dark, dank places, away from the sunshine and pure air. The long-obstructed flood gates had broken way, and the rushing waters had cleansed the Augean stable. Mr. JOHNSON S Cabinet was made up chiefly of good and able men ; and as he did not know enough about Foreign Affairs, even to interfere with the Depart ment of State, besides being altogether too weak a man to cope with the gigantic force of STANTON, wis dom and vigor characterized those departments ; while Congress was powerful enough to carry through a whole series of beneficent measures against his unavailing op position. One by one the cardinal Amendments to the Constitution had passed both Houses, and been reenacted over his vetoes. Every necessary restraint was imposed on his tendency to do mischief; he was, by special enact ments, stripped of much of his executive power ; so that he went hamstrung through his term. His writhings and bellowings, as these withes were bound around him, were characteristic of such demonstrations on the part of the lower animals, under similar circumstances. It was a public relief when he made way for the great soldier who became his successor, and in whom the nation was justified in feeling absolutely safe ; for they could repose on his supreme knowledge of the military condition of the country, and how the integrity and power of the Union had been vindicated ; while from no quarter, at the time, nor do we believe, since, was breathed a doubt that the patriotism of the citizen was not as much above suspicion, as his valor had been above praise. 32 498 THE THREE GREAT AMENDMENTS. XI. The THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT had abolished Slavery. The Fourteenth had secured the rights of citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, disabling a cer- tian class of chief officers in the late Rebellion ; declar ing the validity of the national debt, and forbidding the payment of the debt of the so-called Confederacy. The FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT secured the right of suf frage to all the citizens of the Republic without regard to race, color, or previous condition, the joint resolution for which passed both Houses on the 26th of February, 1869; while, about the same time, a law was enacted, the chief provision of which was as follows : " The faith of the United States is solemnly pledged to the payment in coin or its equivalent, of all interest-bearing obligations of the United States, except in cases where the law au thorizing the issue of any such obligation, has expressly provided that the same may be paid in lawful money or other currency than gold and silver." To each one of these cardinal measures, which se cured the fruits of the great struggle, and established the government upon a basis too strong to be questioned, at least by the generation of men now living, Senator SUMNER gave his unwearied attention, and his most earnest support. A vast number of other measures, necessary or beneficent, were also passed, which, by virtue of provisions made in the Amendments them selves, clothed Congress with power to enforce them by proper legislation ; in most of which Mr. SUMNER actively participated, and over all of which he cast the illumina- THE JOHNSON-CLARENDON TREATY. 499 tion of his learning, enforced by the power of his elo quence. XII. In one respectand perhaps in others sufficient jus tice has not been done to ANDREW JOHNSON S motives, for he gave no evidence of corruption in office ; and with all his imperfections, he never displayed any lack of patriotism. But we speak specially in reference to his efforts to terminate our complications with Great Britain, by a final treaty, and appointing Mr. REVERDY JOHNSON, a learned, venerable, and high-minded gentleman, Minis ter to England for this purpose. The prospect seemed to be fair that our perplexing difficulties with England would find a termination ; but in the opinion of the people of the country, as well as of the Senate, the envoy made a failure in his efforts, for the JOHNSON- CLARENDON Treaty, whatever it may have meant, was unanimously rejected by the Senate. It was on this occasion that Mr. SUMNER pronounced that exhaustive argument in favor of Ameri can indemnity, the mere rumor of which so frightened that fast-anchored isle from her propriety, that not a jour nal in the British Empire dared to print the speech. There were certain reasons why the public men of Great Britain were horrified by that speech. First of all, Mr. SUMNER was a great favorite in England : he was re garded as our foremost statesman ; and being Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, a weight was car ried with his opinion which British politicians supposed would be irresistible with the American people. No such Philippic was supposed possible to come from a man who enjoyed such great reputation and popularity in England. It was looked upon as treason to all his 500 SUMNER S SPEECH ON THE TREATY. antecedents ; as a betrayal of all his English friends ; as an outrage on every principle of International law ; and as a gross and unpardonable insult to the British Empire. The indignity was still more inflamed by insisting upon the payment of an incredible amount for indirect claims, and constructive damages, with the proposition to seize at once the British Colonies in America, as a security for the debt which England owed for sweeping our com merce from the ocean, prolonging our war, giving aid and comfort to the rebels, and lending all the assistance she could without open hostilities, to sustain the falling cause of slavery, and trying her best to work the politi cal ruin of this country. That speech cost Mr. SUMNER, for the time being, about every friend he had in the British Empire ; but there were some men in England who looked upon the whole case dispassionately, and who did not hesitate, through the press, at the time, to help arrest this new storm of passion and hate that was again sweeping over the Brit ish Isles. XIII. In speaking of the duty of Congress to secure univer sal suffrage, both at the North, as well as at the South, for all its citizens, he had said : I submit that the doing it in the loyal States is only the just comple ment to your action in the Rebel States. How can you look the Rebel States in the face when you have required colored suffrage of them, and fail to require it in the other States? Be just; require it in the loyal States as you have now required it in the Rebel States. There is an un answerable argument, and I submit it on the question of order. If we are now privileged to consider only matters that are in aid of the re construction measures, then I submit that this bill is in aid of those CIVIL RIGHTS SUPPLEMENT BILL. 5<DI measures, for it is to give them completeness and roundness. Unless you pass this bill your original measure is imperfect ; ay, it is radically unjust. I know it is said you have one title to legislation over the Rebel States which you have not over the loyal States, to wit, that they have been in rebellion ; but the great cardinal sources of power over the Rebel States are identical with those over the loyal States. They are one and the same. There is the clause in the Constitution directing you to guarantee a republican form of government. It is a clause which is like a sleeping giant in the Constitution, never until this recent war awakened but now it comes forward with a giant s power. There is no clause in the Constitution like it. There is no clause which gives to Congress such a supreme power over the States, as that clause. There, as I have already said, you have the two other clauses. Your power under the Constitution is complete. It is not less beneficial than com plete. * * Who then can hesitate ? Look at it in any light which you please. Regard it as the completion of these reconstruction meas ures ; regard it as a constitutional enactment ; regard it as a measure of expediency in order to secure those results which we all desire at the approaching elections; and who can hesitate? You have had no bill before you for a long time, the passage of which would be of more prac tical advantage than this. XIV. On the 1 2th of May, 1870, Mr. SUMNER introduced his Civil Rights Supplement ; and in doing so, said that the passage of the Bill would render further legislation on the subject unnecessary. It declares all citizens of the United States, without distinction of race and color, entitled to equal and impartial enjoyment of accommoda tion, advantage, facility or privilege afforded by common carriers on railroads, steamboats, or other public convey ance ; in hotels, licensed theatres and other houses of public entertainment ; common schools and other insti tutions of learning authorized by law ; church institutions, incorporated either by National or State authority ; also on juries in all courts, both National and State. It sub- 5O2 JUSTICE TO THE COLORED RACE EVERYWHERE. jects any one violating, or inciting to violation of its pro visions, to payment of $500 to the person aggrieved, and imprisonment, and a further fine of from $500 to $1,000. When the violation is committed by a corpora tion, the penalty to be forfeiture of charter. He intro duced substantially the same Bill on the 2Oth of January, 1871, the one which he commended so earnestly to his friend Judge Hoar, with almost his dying breath. XV. In the debate on the Amnesty Bill, December 2Oth, 1871, he used the following language on justice to the Colored race everywhere : We have all heard of the old saying, " Let us be just before we are generous." I do not like to be against anything that may seem to be generous ; but I do insist always upon justice ; and now that it is pro posed to be generous to those who were engaged in the rebellion, I in sist upon justice to the Colored race everywhere throughout this land ; and in that spirit I shall ask the Senate to adopt as an amendment in the form of additional sections, what is already known in this Chamber as the Supplementary Civil Rights Bill. * * I insist that by the law of the land all persons, without distinction of color, shall be equal be fore the law. Show me, therefore, a legal institution, anything created or regulated by law, and I show you what must be opened equally to all without distinction of color. Notoriously, the hotel is a legal insti tution originally established by the common law, subject to minute provisions and regulations ; notoriously, public conveyances are in the nature of common carriers, subject to a law of their own ; notoriously, schools are public institutions, created and maintained by law ; and now I simply insist that in the enjoyment of those institutions, there shall be no exclusion on account of color. * * I hope there will be no question about adopting this amendment. But I will ask once more my friends over the way, who insist upon amnesty, to unite with me now in justice to the Colored race. Let us do this work all at once. I wish to have the pleasure of voting for this bill. I wish to unite with tlv.j Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Alcorn) in the generosity that he pro- Till-: PRESIDENCY AS A TRUST. 503 poses ; but I do implore him to unite with me in justice to his own con stituents. Treat the two together ; put them both in the same bill ; pass them by a two-thirds vote, and let the country see how grandly unanimous we are in an act which is at once generous and just, full of generosity, the noblest generosity, the grandest magnanimity in human history, and full, also, of simple justice. XVI. In the United States Senate, May 31, 1872, in speak ing of the Presidency as a trust, and the Republicans as being a personal party, he used this language, which alienated him pretty effectually from that great organiza tion : To the Republican party, devoted to ideas and principles, I turn now with more than ordinary solicitude. Not willingly can I see it sacrificed. Not without earnest effort against the betrayal, can I suffer its ideas and principles to be lost in the personal pretensions of one man. Both the old parties are in a crisis, with this difference between the two : The Democracy is dissolving ; the Republican party is being absorbed. The Democracy is falling apart, thus losing its vital unity ; the Republican party is submitting to a personal influence, thus visibly losing its vital character. The Democracy is ceasing to exist. The Republican party is losing its identity. Let the process be completed, and it will be no longer that Republican party which I helped to found and always served, but only a personal party ; while, instead of those ideas and principles which we have been so proud to uphold, will be Presidential pretensions ; and instead of Republicanism there will be nothing but Grantism. Political parties are losing their sway. Higher than party are country and the duty to save it from Caesar. The caucus is at last understood as a political engine, moved by wire-pullers ; and it becomes more in supportable in proportion as directed to personal ends ; nor is its cha racter changed when called a National Convention. Here, too, are wire-pullers ; and when the great Office-holder and the great Office- seeker are one and the same, it is easy to see how naturally the engine responds to the central touch. A political convention is an agency and a convenience ; but never a law, least of all a despotism ; and when it seeks to impose a candidate whose name is a synonym of pretensions 504 SUMNER S LETTER TO COLORED CITIZENS. unrepublican in character, and hostile to good government, it will be for earnest Republicans to consider well how clearly party is subordi nate to country. Such a nomination can have no just obligation. XVII. In a letter to Colored citizens, on Harmony between the Races, he wrote: Thus far, in constant efforts for the Colored Race, I have sincerely sought the good of all ; which I was convinced would be best obtained in fulfilling the promises of the Declaration of Independence, making all equal in rights. The spirit in which I acted appears in an early speech, when I said : " Nothing in hate, nothing in vengeance." Never have I asked for punishment. Most anxiously I have looked for the time, which seems now at hand, when there shall be reconciliation ; not only between the North and South, but between the two races ; so that the two races and the two sections may be lifted from the ruts and grooves in which they are now fastened ; and, instead of irritating antag onism without end, there shall be sympathetic cooperation. The ex isting differences ought to be ended. There is a time for all things, and we are admonished by a widespread popular uprising bursting the bonds of party, that the time has come for estrangement to cease between people who by the ordinance of God must live together. Gladly do I welcome these happy signs ; nor can I observe without regret the colored people in organized masses resisting the friendly overtures, even to the extent of intimidating those who are the other way. It is for them to consider carefully whether they should not take advantage of the unex pected opening, and recognize the bail bond given at Baltimore as the assurance of peace, holding the parties to the full performance of its conditions, provided always that their rights are fixed. I am sure it cannot be best for the colored people to band together in a hostile camp, provoking antagonism and keeping alive the separation of races. Above all there must be no intimidation, but every voter must act freely, without constraint from league or lodge. Much better will it be when two political parties compete for your vote, each anxious for your support. Only then will that citizenship by which you are entitled to the equal rights of all, have its full fruits. Only then will there be that hurmony which is essential to a true civilization. THE WONDERFUL YEAR l8/O. 505 XVIII. The year 1870 witnessed a series of astounding con vulsions in Europe, the record of which, even while they were taking place, seemed to transcend in magnitude any preceding revolutions, partaking more of the dreams of romance, than the sober transactions of his tory. The resistless march of the great German armies into the heart of France ; the capture, in rapid succes sion of her fortified cities and army corps ; the overthrow of the throne of NAPOLEON III. and the imprisonment of its Emperor ; the final occupation of Rome by the national Government of Italy, and the annihilation at last of the Temporal sovereignty of the Pope, all crowded to gether within the space of a few months, read, even at thir. short distance of time, like a fairy tale. In the meantime, the Federal Government of the United States was becoming more and more consoli dated. All the States were restored to their old places in the Union, under Constitutions made by themselves, and approved by Congress ; and once more their civil powers were administered by citizens of their own choice. The giant form of the Rebellion was fast moving into the dim past, and a new vista of progress and splendor was opening to the advancing Republic. Early in the year, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution had been ratified by the necessary number of States, twenty- nine having voted for it. The announcement of the re sult was made on the 3Oth of March, by a message from the President, and a bill was at once introduced, and speedily passed, to secure freedom of suffrage to the whole Colored population of every State in the Union. It was vain any longer in Congress to oppose the enact- 5C6 JOY IN WASHINGTON OVER THE RATIFICATION. ment ; outside of Congress all opposition jyas known to be unavailing. The final decision of a great Nation was clothed with a solemnity of sanction which transcended that of any divinity which ever hedged a king. The public joy in the capital was manifested by illu minations, serenades, and speeches. To the multitude amongst them thousands of the colored of both sexes- assembled in front of the Executive Mansion, President GRANT ventured upon one of the longest speeches of his life. He said : I can assure those present that there has been no event since the close of the war in which I have felt so deep an interest, as that of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution by three- fourths of the States of the Union. I have felt the greatest anxiety, ever since I have been in this house, to know that that was to be se cured. It looked to me as the realization of the Declaration of Inde pendence. I cannot say near so much on this subject as I would like to, not being accustomed to public speaking ; but I thank you very much for your presence this evening. But this speech, long as it was for him was greeted with tremendous and prolonged cheers, and the crowd retired, as the band struck up what seemed to have al ready become one of the national airs "John Brown s body lies mouldering in the grave." XIX. But the grandest demonstration of all was before the house of Senator SUMNER. It was the first time he had ever appeared and responded on such an occasion, and he embraced the opportunity to lift the flag of reform and progress still higher, rather than to fritter away such precious moments in public or self congratulation. He did, in the beginning, congratulate the now silent SUMNER S RESPONSE TO THE SERENADE. 507 multitude on the great results accomplished in securing equal rights for all, which had so long been his object, and his hope ; and to greet the hour when the promise of the Declaration of Independence had become a real ity. He would not say that it was entirely accomplished, for it was not. It was his nature to think more of what , remains to be done, than of what has been done more of duties than of triumphs. He had only just heard from Philadelphia of a decision in a court of justice, that a colored person of foreign birth could not be natural ized in this country, because of color. This is in accord ance with an old statute a relic of the days of slavery. He had now a bill before the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, striking the word " white " from our natural ization laws. It remains further that equal rights shall be conceded in all the public conveyances in the United States, that no one be excluded therefrom by reason of color. It also remains, he said, that you here in Washington shall complete this equality of rights in your common schools. You all go together to vote, and any person may find a seat in the Senate of the United States ; but the child is shut out of the common school on account of color. This discrimination must be abolished. All schools must be open to all, without distinction of color. In accomplishing this, you will work, not only for yourselves, but will set an example for all the land, and most especially for the South. Only in this way can your school system be extended for the equal good of all. And now, as you have at heart the education of your children, that they should grow up in that know ledge of equal rights, so essential for their protection to the world, it is your bounden duty here in Washington to see that this is accomplished. Your school system 508 THE SAN DOMINGO SCHEME. must be founded on equal rights, so that no one shall be excluded on account of color. XX. The President, and a strong party with him, were anxious to secure the annexation of Dominica, and with this object in view, on the 5th of December, 1870, in his annual message, he had said: " I now firmly believe that the moment it is known that the United States have entirely abandoned the project of accepting as a part of its territory, the Island of San Domingo, a free port will be negotiated for by European powers, in the Bay of Samana ; " and ringing some changes upon the MONROE doctrine, he manifested a strong wish to have o something effectual done on the subject. On the i2th of the month, Mr. MORTON offered Resolutions autho rizing the President to appoint three Commissioners, and a Secretary, to proceed to the Island, to obtain all sorts of information, etc., and report. When the matter came up, Mr. SUMNER, who com prehended the whole subject better than any man in either House, moved that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive business ; and he spoke against the whole annexation scheme. He began by saying : " Mr. President, The resolution before the Senate commits Congress to a dance of blood. It is a new step in a measure of violence ; several steps have already been taken, and Congress is now summoned to take another." He went on to show that " the motive which prompted the appointment of this Commission was by no means limited to inquiry concerning the con dition of that Island, but it committed Congress to the , COLORED CONVENTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 509 policy of its annexation. He foresaw that the country would suffer in its good name ; that the negotiation for annexation was begun with a person known as BUEN AVENTURA BAEZ, whom official and unofficial evidence showed to be a political jockey ; that it was a scheme which would be attended with violence towards Dominica and violence towards Hayti." XXL A convention of delegates representing the Negro population of the country had been held in St. Louis, on the 2 /th of September, which, among other Resolutions, passed one asking all the State Legislatures to enact a compulsory law compelling all children between seven and twelve years of age to attend school. Another Con vention representing all the Negro population in the late slave-holding States, was held at Columbia, South Carolina, on the 24th of October. It was a manly and noble address which the delegates adopted to be sent out to the people of the United States, a portion of which was as follows : While we have, as a body, contributed our labor in the past to en hance the wealth and promote the welfare of the community, we have as a class been deprived of one of the chief benefits to be derived from industry, namely, the acquisition of education and experience, the return that civilization makes for the labor of the individual. Our want in this respect not only extends to general education, and experience such as fit the man to adorn the society of his fellows, but to that special edu cation and experience required to enable us to enter successfully the departments of a diversified industry. We ask that your Representatives in Congress may be instructed to afford such aid, in extending education to the uneducated classes in the- States we represent, as may be consistent with the financial interests of the nation. Although we urge our unrequited labors in the past as the 510 ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. ground of this appeal, yet we do not seek these benefits for ourselves alone, but for the white portion of the laboring-class in our States, whose need is as great as ours. In order to secure the promotion of our industrial interests, you can render us assistance. It is true we have no demands to make of the national government in this respect ; but it is in the power of the people of the United States to aid us materially. In order to advance our knowledge and skill in the industrial arts, it is necessary that we should have the advantage of the means employed in the country at large for those purposes. That in preparing for industrial pursuits and in putting our skill in operation, we should come in contact with educated and experienced workmen, and be put in possession of the result of their skill and knowledge. If the trades and workshops are shut against us, we cannot reach that point of excellence to which we desire to attain. We ask your aid and sympathy in placing us on the same footing in reference to the pursuit of industry, as that enjoyed by other citizens. If, after having access to the means of becoming skillful workmen, we fail to attain that standing, we are content to take rank among the in dustrial classes of the country according to the degree of our proficiency. Should we be excluded from these benefits, a state of things will arise, most prejudicial to the interest of skilled labor, namely, the existence of a great body of workmen ready to supply the market with poor work, at cheap rates. While slavery existed, the Northern States were not affected by the low state of the industrial arts in the Southern States ; but labor being now free to find the best market, it is, beyond question, the interest of the artificers of the North to raise the standard of profi ciency at the South. It is clearly the interest of the great industries of the North to strengthen themselves by alliance with those at the South. This result would be practicable to the fullest extent, if those of our color throughout the North could be placed in a position to bring among us the best knowledge and skill in the departments of trade to which they belong. XXII. During the session of this Convention, the following letter from Mr. SUMNER was read : BOSTON, October 21, 1871. DEAR SIR : I am glad that our colored fellow-citizens are to have a convention of their own. So long as they are excluded from rights, or SUMNER S LETTER TO THE COLORED CONVENTION. 511 suffer in any way, on account of color, they will naturally meet together in order to find a proper remedy, and, since you kindly invite me to communicate with the convention, I make bold to offer a few brief suggestions. In the first place, you must at all times insist upon your rights, and here I mean not only those already accorded, but others still denied, all of which are contained in equality before the law. Wherever the law supplies a rule, there you must insist upon equal rights. How much remains to be obtained, you know too well in the experience of life. Can a respectable colored citizen travel on steamboats or railways, or public conveyances generally, without insult on account of color? Let Lieutenant-Governor Dunn, of Louisiana, describe his journey from New Orleans to Washington. Shut out from proper accommoda tions in the cars, the doors of the Senate Chamber opened to him, and there he found the equality which a railroad conductor had denied. Let our excellent friend, Frederick Douglass, relate his melancholy experience, when, within sight of the Executive Mansion, he was thrust back from the dinner-table where his brother commissioners were already seated. You know the outrage. I might ask the same question in regard to hotels, or even common schools. An hotel is a legal institu tion, and so is a common school. As such, each must be for the equal benefit of all. Now, can there be any exclusion from either on ac count of color? It is not enough to provide separate accommodations for colored citizens, even if in all respects as good as those of other persons. Equality is not found in an equivalent, but only in equality. In other words, there must be no discrimination on account of color. The discrimination is an insult and a hindrance, and a bar, which not only always destroys comfort and prevents equality, but weakens all other rights. The right to vote will have new security when your equal right in public conveyances, hotels, and common schools, is at last established ; but here you must insist for yourselves, by speech, by petition, and by vote. Help yourselves, and others will help you also. The Civil Rights law needs a supplement to cover such cases. This defect has been apparent from the beginning, and, for a long time, I have striven to remove it. I have a bill for this purpose now pending in the Senate. Will not my colored fellow-citizens see that those in power shall no longer postpone this essential safeguard ? Surely, here is an object worthy of effort. Nor has the Republican party done its work until this is established. 512 HIS ADVICE TO THE CONVENTION. Is it not better to establish all our own people in the enjoyment of equal rights before we seek to bring others within the sphere of our in stitutions, to be treated as Frederick Douglass was on his way to the President from St. Domingo ? It is easy to see that a small part of the means, the energy and the determined will spent in the expedition to St. Domingo, and in the prolonged war-dance about that island, with men ace to the black Republic of Hayti, would have secured all our colored fellow-citizens in the enjoyment of equal rights. Of this there can be no doubt. Among the cardinal objects in education which must be insisted on must be equality, side by side with the alphabet. It is vain to teach equality, if you do not practise it. It is vain to recite the great words of the Declaration of Independence, if you do not make them a living reality. What is lesson without example ? As all are equal at the ballot-box, so must all be equal at the common school. Equality in the common school is the preparation for equality at the ballot-box ; there fore do I put this among the essentials of education. In asserting your own rights you will not fail to insist upon justice to all, under which is necessarily included purity in the government. Thieves and money-changers, whether Democrats or Republicans, must be driven out of our temple. Tammany Hall and the Republican self-seekers must be overthrown. There should be no place for either. Thank God, good men are now coming to the rescue ! Let them, while uniting against corruption, insist upon equal rights for all, and also the suppression of lawless violence, wherever it shows itself, whether in the Ku-klux Klan outraging the South, or illicit undertakings outraging the black Republic of Hayti. To these inestimable objects, add specie payments, and you have a platform which ought to be accepted by the American people. Will not our colored fellow-citizens begin this good work ? Let them at the same time save themselves and save the country. These are the only hints which I submit to the convention, hoping that its proceedings will tend especially to the good wishes of the colored race. Accept my thanks and best wishes, and believe me faithfully yours, CHARLES SUMNER. XXIII. During the years which followed the close of the Re bellion, Senator SUMNER embraced every available op- COLORED NATIONAL CONVENTION, NEW ORLEANS. $13 portunity to press his Civil Rights Bill upon the Senate. Speech after speech, resolution after resolution, the occa sion of presenting" petitions from Colored persons, one and all were alike to him. But he seemed to encounter that worst of all obstacles, indifference which it was impossible to overcome. Upon a direct vote, as a mat ter of principle, none of the friends of the three grand Amendments to the Constitution would have pretended to argue ; and all objections urged were either confessedly futile, or totally unworthy of the spirit of Congress that had achieved so much for humanity, and for the elevation of the Colored race. A Colored National Convention assembled in New Orleans in 1872, on the I5th of April. There were many able delegates in that body, and their proceedings were marked with high intelligence, calm deliberation, and maturity of judgment. The following letter was read from Mr. SUMNER, and received with the profoundest respect and many demonstrations of admiration and gra titude : * WASHINGTON, April 7, 1872. MY DEAR SIR : In reply to your inquiry, I make haste to say that, in my judgment, the Colored Convention should think more of prin ciples than of men, except so far as men may stand for principles. Above all, let them insist on the rights of their own much-abused and insulted people. It is absurd for anybody to say that he "accepts the situation," and then deny the equal rights of the colored man. If the " situation " is accepted in good faith, it must be entirely, including not merely the abolition of slavery and the establishment of equal suffrage, but also all those other rights which are still denied and abridged. There must be complete equality before the law, so that in all institutions, agencies or conveniences, erected or regulated by law, there can be no discrimination on account of color, but a black man shall be treated as a white man. In maintaining their rights, it will be proper for the convention to invoke the Declaration of Independence, so that its principles and 33 5H A FRIEND S LAST EVENING WITH SUMNER. promises shall become a living reality, never to be questioned in any way, but recognized always as a guide of conduct, and a governing rule in the interpretation of the national Constitution, being in the nature of a bill of rights, preceding the Constitution. It is not enough to pro claim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. Equality must be proclaimed also, and as, since both are promised by the great declaration, which is a national act, and as from their nature they should be uniform throughout the country, both must be placed under the safeguard of national law. There can be but one liberty and one equality, the same in Boston and New Orleans, the same every where throughout the country. The colored people are not ungenerous, and therefore will incline to any measures of good-will and reconcilia tion ; but I trust no excess of benevolence will make them consent to any postponement of those equal rights which are now denied. The disabilities of colored people, loyal and long-suffering, should be re moved before the disabilities of former rebels, or at least the two re movals should go hand-in-hand. It only remains that I should say, " Stand firm ! " The politicians will then know that you are in earnest, and will no longer be trifled with. Victory will follow soon, and the good cause be secure forever. Meanwhile, accept my best wishes for the convention, and believe me, dear professor, faithfully yours, CHARLES SUMNER, To Professor JOHN M. LANGSTON. XXIV. An intimate friend who had made his last call upon the Senator the Monday evening previous to his death, thus wrote, in the Washington Chronicle : He greeted me, saying, " I am so weary thinking over my speech on finance.* I wanted a change a ray of sunlight and I am so glad you * One cause of regret, even in his dying hours, was that he had not l>een well enough to participate in the Debate on Finance then going on in the Senate. But al though his inflexible opposition to any further inflation of the currency was well known, he placed the matter beyond the reach of doubt by writing the following with his own hand: "Mr. Sumner consented with great reluctance to the original measure suspending specie payments, and he has been always for the earliest practi cable resumption. At different times he has introduced bills to secure this result, and has urged it by speech at home and in the Senate. During the present session he has SUMNER AT HOME. 5*5 came." He at once began to talk on European politics, which to him was an outspread map, and whose kaleidoscopic changes he viewed with absorbing interest. He spoke of Gladstone his noble struggle in the cause of Liberalism, his success, his failure, and his fall ; he gave a sketch of a breakfast with him, and summed up by expressions of his firm faith in the ultimate triumph of those principles which Gladstone so nobly championed. " A great man under the shadow of a defeat," said he, " is taught how precious are the uses of adversity, and as an oak tree s roots are strengthened by its shadow, so all defeats in a good cause are but resting-places on the road to victory at last." He spoke of the patchwork Empire of Germany, of Bismarck, and Delia Mar mora of truth, stranger than fiction, viz., of the Italian statesman s as sertion of Bismarck s offer to cede France a portion of German territory of the impolicy of the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine of the dif ferences with the Catholic Church, the imprisonment of her prelates and then, taking a volume of Milton, he read, in deep, rich tones of tender melody, his famous sonnet upon the persecution of the Wal- denses during Cromwell s protectorate. In closing, he added : " Thus history revenges herself." About this time his evening mail was brought ; whenever he came to one interest ing note or letter he would look it over and then hand it to me to read. * * * The next letter was from Philadelphia, an anonymous attack of the bitterest description, impugning his motives concerning his speech on the International Centenary Exposition, winding up with a threat of violence, which I forbear to transcribe. As lie handed it to me he said, good-humoredly : "I am used to such letters." I read it, and, as I did so, consigned it to the blazing grate. The next letter was from Indiana, one of those good, whole-souled letters, full of sympathy and admiration, with an urgent, earnest invitation for him to visit the writer next summer, and an offer of generous and unstinted hospitality. "There," said he, " you have burned the bane, and here is the anti dote." His next letter was from Boston, full of hearty thankfulness for his restoration to health, and cheer for the future. It was closely writ- introduced a bill providing for the monthly withdrawal of greenbacks by the substitu tion of compound interest notes, which has been approved by many leading financial characters, and especially by the Boston Board of Trade. He regrets the withdrawal of money from Massachusetts, but regards this measure as insignificant by the side of the attempt to inflate the currency. He sees no objection to free banking if united with specie payments. The possibility of a new issue of inconvertible paper he re gards with amazement and anxiety, and, in his judgment, such an issue would be a detriment and a shame." 5l6 LAST SPEECH IN THE SENATE. ten, and as he handed it to me he said : " This is no summer friend." The last of many letters was one of congratulation about the Massa chusetts legislative resolutions, rescinding the vote of censure. I never saw him look more happy than when he finished reading it. He then arose and showed me with satisfaction the legislative resolutions beau tifully engrossed on parchment, and observed the copies for the Re presentatives were simply on paper. I asked, " Will you address the Senate when they are presented ?" He replied, "The dear old Com monwealth has spoken for me, and that is enough." XXV. His last speech in the Senate the Friday before his death was on the subject of the Centennial Celebra tion, strongly urging that it should be made simply a National, and not an International affair fearing it would be attended with corruption, and end in failure ; and in doing so, he laid down the following propositions, which he commended to the attention of the Senate and the country, and which he intended subsequently to enforce by further argument : The Centennial celebration of 1876 should be first and foremost, and I think it scarcely too much to say, only a grateful vindication of 1776. It should be severely and grandly simple, not ostentatious or boast ful. It should be inexpensive, for a thousand obvious reasons but, above all, because it does not become a nation any more than an individual on the verge of bankruptcy to be extravagant, especially at the moment when the attention of the world is invited to the study and imitation of her methods of management. It should be national and not provincial. It should be so conducted that all, and not a few only, can participate in it. It should not involve the displacement of large masses of people, which is perilous to the health, expensive, and more or less demoraliz ing. It should be free from every feature calculated to sectionalize or di DESCRIPTION OF THE CLOSING SCENES. 5 1/ vide trie country, and be so managed as to secure the greatest possible harmony and unanimity. It should be as educating and elevating in its influences as possible, both in this and foreign countries. All these results may be secured by proper instrumentalities. I think none of them will be if the Philadelphia scheme is encouraged by the Federal Government any further. Of the international part of it, the converting it into a European Fair, with an American corner for Yankee notions, I will not trust myself to speak. To all these considerations I add yet another. A World s Fair is essentially governmental in character. Such it has been in other coun tries, and such I fear it must be in ours. The Government invites, the Government is host; the Government, therefore, must guide and shape its conduct, and must pay the expenses, as if it were the army or navy. SECTION ELEVENTH. His Death, and Public Honors to his Memory. I. PROBABLY one of the most careful and accurate accounts of Mr. Sumner s illness and death that appeared at the time, or that will be likely to be given hereafter, was printed in that very able journal, the Boston Daily Globe. The writer was a personal friend of the great statesman, and an eye-witness of the scenes he describes. His account was written and transmitted to Boston the evening of the sad day, and appearing later, also, in weekly edition, any inadvertencies would be corrected. The Hon. Charles Sunnier died at ten minutes before three o clock, this afternoon, March n. Those present in the chamber when the 5l8 HIS FRIENDS AT HIS LAST DINNER. Senator expired were his physicians, Senator Schurz, Judge Hoar, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Downing. The sudden illness of Senator Stunner, which terminated fatally, to-day, was known only to his physician and a few of his most intimate friends, last night. On Monday evening, he complained of some symptoms of his attack of last winter, but neither he nor his friends paid much at tention to it. Yesterday, he went to the Senate, as usual, and appeared to be in good health and spirits. Several persons who had not seen him for some time remarked that he looked unusually well. About two o clock, yesterday afternoon, the Hon. Samuel Hooper visited Mr. Sumner, at his seat in the Senate. The Senator then complained of acute pain in the region of the heart, and said something about going home early. Mr. Hooper volunteered to drive him home in his carnage, at half-past three, the hour at which Mr. Hooper generally leaves the House. Mr. Sumner accepted the invitation, whereupon Mr. Hooper returned to the House, saying he would call for him at the hour desig nated. In the meantime, Mr. Sumner attended to his business in the Senate, writing letters, and occasionally listening to the financial debate which was in progress. About half-past three, Mr. Hooper appeared in the Senate. Mr. Sumner remarked that the pain was only temporary, and he did not feel it then. He and Mr. Hooper left together, the latter s carriage taking the Senator to his residence, corner of H Street and Vermont Avenue. At six o clock he dined, having as his guests the Hon. H. L. Pierce, of Boston, and Major Ben. Perley Poore. At dinner, he appeared to be in his usual health and enjoyed the meal with his customary heartiness and zest. Mr. Pierce and Major Poore took their departure about half-past eight o clock. During the progress of the dinner, the Senator referred to his health, and particularly to the pain he had experienced in the afternoon. He seemed to dread a re turn of the attack of last winter, but his guests expressed the hope that nothing serious would follow. Between nine and ten o clock in the evening, the paroxysm of pain returned, and steadily increased until the Senator called upon his sec retary, Mr. Johnson, for aid. His physician, Dr. Tabor Johnson, hap pened to be present, and, at Mr. Sumner s request, administered a sub cutaneous injection of morphine. His feet were bathed in hot water, with mustard and salt. This afforded temporary relief, and, at the re quest of Dr. Johnson, Mr. Sumner retired to bed. As soon as the soothing effect of the morphine passed away, the pain returned, with more intensity. It was now near midnight, and Mr. Johnson, becoming FEELING IN WASHINGTON. MR. DANA S SUN. 519 alarmed at the threatening symptoms, thought it prudent to call in more medical aid and the assistance of such of the Senator s friends as were in the vicinity. He awoke Mr, James Wormley, the well-known colored caterer, and Mr. Simmer s lifelong devoted friend. Mr. Wormley informed the Hon. Samuel Hooper, who lives directly opposite Wormley s Hotel, and also the Hon. Henry L. Pierce, who is a guest at Wormley s. Mr. DANA, in his New York 82111, thus touchingly speaks of the feeling" which pervaded Washington : As CHARLES SUMMER lay dying, the sorrow of an entire nation was seen in the air of affliction which pervaded the Federal city. The breathless suspense which awaited the departure of his spirit was con fined to no class. If there was gloom in the Capitol there was mourn ing in the cabin. Courtly Senators deplored a public calamity, and exchanged graceful tributes to the memory of a statesman ; but the enfranchised slave bewailed a personal loss, and raised his unfettered hands to bless a benefactor. All men who love justice and honor integrity, felt that justice and integrity were about to lose a well-tried, living exemplar. Many, indeed, bemoaned it as a sad hour for SUMNER to die in. They remembered his work, that it was done ; but they re membered his soul, that it was pure, and they would have had it pass away unvexed by the licentious practices which at present prevail in the Government he lived to serve. Men spoke softly on the street ; their very voices betokened the im pending event, and even their footfalls are said to have been lighter than common. But in the neighborhood of the Senator s house there was a scene of singular and touching interest. Splendid equipages rolled to the corner over pavements conceived in fraud and laid in cor ruption, to testify the regard of their occupants for eminent purity of life. Liveried servants carried hopeless messages from the door of him \vho was simplicity itself, and to whom the pomp and pageantry of this evil day were but the evidences of guilty degeneracy. Through all those lingering hours of anguish the sad procession came and went. On the sidewalk stood a numerous and grateful representation of the race to whom he had given the proudest efforts and the best energies of his existence. The black man bowed his head in unaffected grief, and the black woman sat hushing her babe upon the curbstone, in mute expectation of the last decisive intelligence from the chamber above. 520 SUMNER S LAST HOURS. The Globe continues : In the meantime, a messenger was despatched for Dr. Lincoln. The entire party was soon at the bedside of Mr. SUMNKR, who. by this time, was suffering great pain. After another injection of morphine, and a dose of brandy and ammonia, he seemed easier, and at t\vo o clock he had so much improved that his friends, with the exception of his sec retary, thought it safe to retire to their homes. The Senator appeared to be unusually sensitive, and apologized for giving so much trouble. He told his secretary, Mr. Johnson, and his physicians, to go to bed, assuring them that he was much better. Dr. Johnson remained all night, watching with anxiety the development of the symptoms. It is proper to state that during all his illness. Dr. Johnson has merely acted under the advice of Dr. Brown-Sequard, only administering the pre scriptions of that physician, who thoroughly understood Mr. Su inner s case. Towards morning the Senator grew worse, his symptoms became more alarming, and he began to lose strength rapidly. About six o clock, Mr. Wormley, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Pierce, and other friends ar rived, and it was at once decided to have a consultation of physicians. Surgeon-General Barnes. Dr. Lincoln, and Dr. W. P. Johnson were summoned, and were soon in attendance. The result of the consul tation was the opinion that Mr. Sumner could scarcely survive. At the Senator s request, Mr. Wormley telegraphed to New York for Dr. Brown-Sequard, to Philadelphia for Colonel J. W. Forney, and other intimate personal friends. Those around his bedside are of the opinion that, at this time, Mr. Sumner fully realized the dangerous character of his condition. Everything was done by the physicians and those in at tendance to procure relief, but all to no purpose. The frequent injec tion of morphine seemed to relieve, in some degree, the pain, while the administering of stimulants arrested, for a time, the failing strength. It was now manifest to all that the death of the great Senator was ap proaching. His secretary telegraphed at once to Mr. Sumner s only surviving relative, Mrs. Dr. Hastings, his sister, at San Francisco, informing her of her brother s condition. The news of his illness spread rapidly through the city, and hundreds of people (white and black), wended their way to his residence. Only his physicians, his secretary, the members of the Massachusetts delegation, and a few friends were admitted to the Senator s bed chamber and his library adjoining. Every effort was made to sustain life until the arrival of Dr. Brown-Sequard, who was expected at half- SENATOR SUMNER S LAST MOMENTS. ANTHONY. DOWNING. POORE. HOAR. SCHURZ. WORMLEY. FRIENDS AROUND HIS DEATH-BED. 52! past five o clock. It was supposed by the Senator s friends that he might be able to do something to save his life. A telegram was received from Dr. Sequard stating that he had left New York on the early train, and recommending that an electric bath be administered. When this was received, the Senator s nervous system was so prostrated that the physicians in attendance feared the bath might result in violent convulsions, and they did not like to take the responsibility. He grew worse ; became unconscious, and at times delirious. Occasionally, however, he would recognize those around him. Among those almost constantly in attendance in the Senator s bed-chamber were Senator Schurz, Judge E. Rockwood Hoar, Mr. Pierce, and Mr. Hooper. To those around him he frequently expressed regrets about the un finished condition of his works. He said : "I should not regret this, if my book was finished," alluding to his speeches and writings, now in course of publication. He was always in the habit of calling this his "Book." This appeared to be constantly on his mind; and, when suf fering intense agony and rolling about in the bed, he would exclaim, " My book, my book," in a tone of utter hopelessness. At one time he said, and this was the last allusion he made to the subject, "My book will not be finished, but the great account is closed.* It is the opinion of his secretary that his allusion to the great account meant his account with American slavery and the conflict engendered. When Judge Hoar entered the Senator s room at 10 o clock, this morning, he im mediately recognized him. Mr. Johnson had lifted him up, and had his arm under him. He said, "Don t let the bill be lost," to which Mr. Johnson replied, " Certainly not, Senator." Mr. Sumner answered, " You mistake : I mean the Civil Rights Bill ;" and then turning to Judge Hoar, who was holding his hand, he said, " Judge, the Civil Rights Bill ; don t let it be lost." Upon each appearance of Judge Hoar after that, the Se nator said something about the Civil Rights Bill, until his secretary, sup posing that the presence of Judge Hoar called this to his mind and disturbed him, suggested that he withdraw. * It was reported, says the N. Y. Tribune, that Mr. Sumner expressed his regret that he must die before his book was completed, and the natural inference was that he alluded to his forthcoming volume on the " Prophetic Voices Concerning Ame rica." But it seems the word he really used was his " work," and that he thus referred to his pending bill for securing full civil rights to the freedmen he had done so much to redeem from bondage. The Tribune is doubtless correct. His life-work^ and not a book, was his " ruling passion strong in death." 522 HE DIES AT 2.50 P.M., MARCH II, 1874. Towards the close of the eventful scene, Judge Hoar came into the room, when the Senator again called attention to the bill, whereupon Judge Hoar promised him that it should not be lost, at the same time kissing the Senator s hand. About ten minutes before his death, he called Judge Hoar and said : " Tell Emerson I love and revere him." The Judge answered, " I will tell Emerson you love and revere him, for he has told me you had the whitest soul he ever knew." During his great pain he would exclaim, " I am so tired; this can t last long." Among those who called was Frederick Douglass, but the Senator was then too far gone to recognize him. A little before 2 o clock, Mr. Sumner apparently fell asleep ; but he soon awoke and seemed better. His friends hoped a change for the better had taken place, but it soon became apparent he was rapidly sinking, while he was evidently suf fering less pain. Towards the end, it is said, he was entirely conscious, and recognized all around him. At 2.50 o clock, Dr. Lincoln had his hand on the Senator s pulse while George T. Downing was holding his other hand. Suddenly there was a convulsive movement of the mus cular system, the Senator grasping the hand of Downing so powerfully that he almost crushed it. Then, with a sudden throwing up of his hands, the Senator expired just as the clock in his library struck three, though the correct time was about ten minutes earlier. II. The Boston Daily Advertiser thus describes the pub lic obsequies of Friday at the Capitol : The scene at the residence was the most unusual. There was no re lative present and yet the house was filled with mourners. The Mas sachusetts delegation, with their families, assembled early and went with the remains to the Capitol. A great assemblage of colored men, headed by Fred. Douglass, followed the hearse, and after them came carriages with the committees and mourners. The coffin was placed in the centre of the rotunda, the outer cover removed, a plate glass covering the entire top of the coffin, and the features and figure of Mr. Sumner were clearly exposed. He was dressed in a full suit of black, with his hand on his breast, as he had so often held it while speaking. The features were not entirely natural, but there was far less change PUBLIC OBSEQUIES AT THE CAPITOL. 523 than all his friends had feared. There was a great profusion of choice flowers upon and around the coffin, some from the White House and some from colored ladies, and the floral offerings, like the company gathered to honor his memory, were from all classes and conditions. The rotunda, the Senate chamber and the porches were heavily draped. The great building, like the multitude it contained, was in mourning. Long before the hour for the services in the Senate drew near, the gal leries were crowded, and nearly all the Senators were promptly in their places. The House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, the President and all the Cabinet, were successively announced, and each were re ceived by the whole body present standing. General Sherman and many other officers of the army, Admiral Porter, with a number of his associates, and the authorities of the district were present. The lega tions sent a large representation, and the diplomatic gallery was filled with the wives and families of the Cabinet and the legations. At pre cisely 2.20 the pall-bearers appeared at the door with the coffin. The great company, so fully representing the nation, rose and stood in pro found silence as the coffin, covered with flowers, but open and so ex posed that all could see, was carried slowly up to its place before the desk. The arrangement brought those together who, had not death stepped in, would seldom so meet. Nearest to the head of the coffin sat the President; next to him Secretary Fish, and nearest the foot. Senator Schurz. And here in the presence of this death, they were all moved alike to tears. The nation in its three branches, legislative, ex ecutive and judicial, stood close around the coffin, and the people from all quarters of the land looked down upon it. The eyes of the great throng seemed to wander from the coffin to the one empty chair and unoccupied desk, and back to the features of the dead Senator in his coffin. The religious exercises were brief, lasting but half an hour, and at their close Senator Carpenter, in a tone and manner which none who heard and felt will ever forget, made this simple and beautiful announce ment : "And now the Senate of the United States entrusts the re mains of Charles Sumner to its sergeant-at-arms and the committee ap pointed to convey them to his home, there to commit them, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the soil of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Peace to his ashes." It was by far the most impres sive sentence uttered in the chamber, and all were deeply moved by it. 524 THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO BOSTON. III. The funeral train reached New York at midnight, when the casket was conveyed to the Fifth Avenue Ho tel and rested in a private parlor until the next morning, when it was escorted to the Grand Central Depot by a committee of the Union League. At New York the o Congressional deputation, which embraced nearly every Massachusetts member, welcomed Messrs. A. A. Low, S. B. Chittenden, Cyrus W. Field, and Elliott C. Cow- din, a committee appointed to attend the funeral by the New York Chamber of Commerce. The party then comprised Senator Anthony, Carl Schurz, Gen. B. F. Butler, James G. Blaine, J. M. S. Williams, Daniel W. Gooch, Aaron A. Sargent, John Sherman, Richard J. Oglesby, Augustus S. Merriman, Stephen A. Hurlbut, Eugene Hale, Charles Foster, Joseph H. Rainey, Charles Clayton, Henry J. Scudder, Samuel J. Randall, Joseph B. Beck, John Hancock, James Buffinton, Henry L. Dawes, George F. Hoar, E. R. Hoar, Henry L. Pierce, B. W. Harris, Samuel Hooper, Alvah Crocker and Mr. George M. Downing, President of the Civil Rights Council in Washington. The casket rested in the cen tre of a baggage-car, draped in black and white, and was under the charge of Sergeant-at-Arms French, as sisted by the Chief of the Capitol Police, with six men. It was what has been called a State casket, composed of rosewood covered with black broadcloth and very heavi ly mounted with silver. A drapery of black covered the casket except when stops were made at the several sta tions, when the doors were thrown open and the casket was exposed to public view, guarded by the colored sen tinels who had it in charge. Behind the baggage-car, DEMONSTRATIONS OF RESPECT AND GRIEF. 525 two drawing-room cars contained the mourners, and all was attached to the rear of the fast train from New York City. The depots on the line were hung in mourn ing, and flags \vere at half-mast. All along on its mournful way, the funeral train was greeted by demonstrations of respect and grief. At every village and station silent crowds stood waiting for it to come and pass, while at New Haven, and other cities, the whole population seemed to pour out to pay their last tribute to the dust of the great Statesman. At Spring field, Mr. HAYES, with the Committee of the Massachu setts Legislature, appeared, and thus addressed Senator ANTHONY: Gentlemen of the Congressional Committee, o the Legislature of Massachusetts has charged us with the duty of waiting upon you and receiving the remains of our beloved Senator. Permit me to conduct you and the members of the Massachusetts delegation in Congress, and the honored guests of the State to its Capitol, when it shall please you to continue your journey. Senator Anthony replied to the address of Hon. Mr. Hayes, thanking the committee for the reception and for the sympathy expressed, and their union in the dis charge of the sad duty imposed upon them. For many miles before reaching its destination the cars seemed to be passing through walls of mourning people, over which waved in sadness the draped national emblem. As the evening shadows lengthened, and the light of that long day was fading, the home of the great departed was reached. IV. While the funeral train was threading the valleys of Massachusetts, the people of Boston had flocked to 526 PUBLIC MEETING IN FANEUIL HALL. Faneuil Hall, that sacred shrine of Liberty, where the heart of New England was to pour out its last plaint of love and grief. The representative of the New York Herald that everywhere present photographer of the age thus describes the scene : Never since the old Cradle of Liberty was dedicated to freedom lias there been such a gathering within its portals. The persons making up the vast concourse assembled seemed as if each had lost a dear personal friend. Many of them had before sat in this old historic hall to listen to his eloquent addresses, and now they were gathered to pay a sad and feeling tribute to his memory. The interior of the venerable building presented a solemn and funereal aspect, with its windows curtained in black, shutting out the light of day, while its gas-jets burned dimly along the edge of the balconies. The emblems of grief, blended with the permanent memorials of the patriots of former days and the statesmen of later days, imparted to the hall an air of subdued mourning in consonance with the feelings of the community. The historical rostrum was heavily draped with sombre folds and festoons, as was the great painting of the scene in the Senate Chamber when the Great Defender of the Constitution replied to the arrogant South Carolinian. The facade of the galleries was neatly decorated with festoons, caught up at the columns with black lappels with white borders. Behind this extended another line of drapery in pure black, and above it, at the tops of the gallery pillars, white and black festoons alternated on either side of the hall. The cornice over the gallery windows was similarly adorned. The clock, upon the front gallery, was entirely hidden by a life-like portrait of Mr. Simmer, resting beneath an arch bearing the name " Charles Sumner," and flanked with tablets, upon which were inscribed the date of birth " February 6, 1811" and decease "March n, 1874." From the centre of the ceiling radiated long strips of black and white bunting and four American flags. Seats were arranged on either side of the platform for the accommodation of the members of the city government and others, and the galleries were reserved for ladies. All the rest of the hall was clear and open to the general public. The doors were open to the ladies at half-past ten o clock, at which hour several hundred, who had been waiting upwards of an hour in the bleak wind without, were admitted to the hall. The galleries were speedily filled, and HON. JAMES B. SMITH S SPEECH. 527 many who arrived late were disappointed in not finding seats. At half- past eleven the guards which had been stationed at the approaches to the hall were drawn in, and the general public admitted. In fifteen minutes after the public were allowed to enter, every seat and every available standing place in the hall were occupied, and a sea of saddened upturned faces greeted the distinguished gentlemen who as sembled on the platform. V. For hours the eloquence of Massachusetts, chastened by the solemnity of the occasion, consecrated the scene. Hon. Alex. H. Rice, Gen. N. P. Banks, Mr. Gaston, the Democratic Mayor, Edward Everett Hale, Richard H. Dana, and other eminent men spoke. But perhaps the most affecting- words fell from the trembling lips of Hon. Jas. B. Smith, member of the Legislature for Cam bridge, the personal friend of Mr. SUMNER : Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen : I would not appear before you to-day to say a word, for I do not feel able to do it, and I can only say, Mas sachusetts has lost a Senator, the United States has lost a statesman, the world has lost a philanthropist, and I have lost a friend. I would not trust myself out here before you to-day except but for one reason. I shook Mr. Simmer s hand for the last time last Sunday evening, at half-past eight o clock. He bade me say to the people of Massachusetts, through their Legislature, this : "I thank them for re moving that stain from me ; I thank those that voted for me. Tell those that voted against me that I forgive them all, for I know if they knew my heart they would not have done it. I knew Massachusetts was brave, and wanted to show to the world that it was magnanimous, too, and that was my reason for my action." I have felt that the greatest tribute that I could pay to him for his kindness to me was simply to drop a tear to his memory ; but our hon ored Mayor was kind enough to bring me forth to show you the fruits of his labor. I can go back to the time when I sat under the eagle in this hall and when I saw some one stand on this platform, and I did wish when I 528 FEELING IN THE ASSEMBLY. heard certain expressions that I could sink. I can go back to my boy. hood, when I have seen other boys in their sports and plays, and I would walk off in the woods and say, "Oh God, why was I born." I can remember forty-five years ago, on a Christmas Day, passing through the orchard and saw a silk-worm hanging to the leaf of a tree, when my eyes turned up to my God, and I said, "Why am 1 here ?" There hangs something out of the cold, but it will be a butterfly. I took it home, hung it in the room, put it where it was warm, and it hatched out before the atmosphere was prepared to receive it. I lifted the window and it flew off, but had to return, as it could not stand the atmosphere. And just so was I brought forth by the eloquence of Charles Sumner, and I have been turned loose on the public atmos- phera, for really I had to suffer intensely ; and I could only feel at home and feel well when I turned back into his presence, and his arms were always open to receive me. (Applause.) And now, Mr. Mayor, our ship in which he has commanded is still adrift. We are standing out now in the open sea, with a great storm, and in behalf of those five millions of people of the United States, I beg of you to give us a good man to take hold where he left off. (Applause.) We are not educated up to that point. We cannot speak for our selves. We must depend upon others. We stand to-day like so many little children, whose parents have passed away. W T e can weep, but we don t understand it; we can weep, but we must beg of you to give us a man who will still lead us forward until we shall have accompanied all those thousands for which he offered his life. Mr. Mayor, I thank you for this. I have appeared in Faneuil Hall many times. If I was only able to, if I only had his tongue, if I could only thank him for what he has done, but I cannot ; but such as I have I give him. (Applause.) Mr. Mayor, I second the resolutions. Of the letter read from Charles Francis Adams, the Globe said : Last, but not least, the tribute of such a conservative statesman as Charles Francis Adams to the great qualities of his friend and asso ciate of many years was worthy of the historic name he bears, and makes us take fresh courage when we think of what virtues still dignify the character and lives of some of our public men. Sumner lives again in these eloquent words of recognition of his noble services and life, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS S LETTER. 52Q and the memorial that is suggested in the resolutions will fitly supple ment the monumental career that he has left for our example and guid ance. This memorial will, we trust, preserve for many generations the likeness of the great man whose mortal remains are, to-day, to be borne through our streets and laid beneath the sods of Mount Auburn. 57 MOUNT VERNON STREET, March 13, 1874. Richard H. Dana, Jr., Esq. : MY DEAR MR. DANA I regret much that an engagement previously made must prevent me from joining you in the proceedings in honor of our late friend, contemplated to-morrow in Faneuil Hall. It would have given me a mournful satisfaction to contribute my mite to the gen eral testimony borne to his long and arduous labors in the country s service, and more particularly to that portion of them with which you and I were both most familiar. It is now nearly thirty years since we became associated in the prosecution of one great reform in the polit ical institutions of this country. It is more than twenty since Mr, Sumner attained a position that enabled him the most fully to develop his great powers to the attainment of that end. How much he exerted himself during the early days of severe trial, and how deeply he suffered in his own person as a penalty for his courageous persistence in de nouncing wrong, the public know too well to need further illustration at this time. Like most reformers, he possessed that species of ardor and impetuosity which seems almost indispensable to rouse the sympathy and secure the co-operation of the great and controlling masses of the people of a republic, in the difficult work of changing settled convic tions at the hazard of overturning cherished institutions. The trial was a very costly one, we all admit, but when we look to see how it has cleared us from the most threatening evils that weighed upon the minds of the early founders of the Republic, we cannot be too thankful to each and all of the intrepid band who took the lead in the work of reno vation, and persistently carried it on to the glorious end. Among that number the name of Charles Sumner must ever remain blazoned in the most conspicuous characters. To the attainment of this great end two qualities were indispensable and both of these belonged to Mr. Sumner. One of them was firm ness, which insured persistency over all obstacles. The second was personal integrity, unassailable by any form of temptation, however specious. After nearly a quarter of a century of trial there is not a trace left of the power of any temptation, either in the form of pecuni- 34 530 SENATOR ANTHONY DELIVERS THE BODY. ary profit, or the much more dangerous one of management for place. He was pure throughout and this was the crowning honor of his great career. I am very truly yours, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. VI. The train arrived at Boston at 7 o clock in the even ing, where the Committee were received by Mayor COBB, when the coffin was placed in a hearse drawn by four horses, escorted by a mounted Guard of Honor from the First Battalion, and followed by a long Hne of carriages, and an immense procession, through Lincoln, Sumner, Winter, Tremont, and Park streets, to the State House. The bells of the city were all tolling, business was suspended, and a deep gloom had settled over the old town which had given birth to its illustrious but now departed son. The casket was slowly borne up the steps of the State House, and deposited on a lofty catafalque. Forty of the Shaw Guards, under Major LEWIS GAUL, were in charge of Doric Hall, where the catafalque had been placed. Following the casket, came the mourners, headed by Col. W. B. STOKER, who introduced Senator ANTHONY to Gov. WASHBURN, when the Senator uttered these grand, but chaste and appropriate words : May it please your Excellency, We are commanded by the Senate of the United States to render back to you your illustrious dead. Nearly a quarter of a century ago you dedicated to the public service a man who was even then greatly distinguished. He remained in it, quickening its patriotism, informing its councils, and leading in its deliberations, until, having survived in continuous service all his original associates, he has closed his earthly career. With reverent hands we bring to you his mortal part, that it may be committed to the soil of the State, already renowned, that gave him birth. Take it ; it is yours. FROM HIS RESIDENCE TO THE CAPITOL. SATURDAY NIGHT OF SILENCE AND GLOOM. 531 The part which we do not return to you is not wholly yours to receive, nor altogether ours to give. It belongs to the country, to mankind, to freedom, to civilization, to humanity. We come to you with emblems of mourning which faintly typify the sorrow that dwells in the breasts upon which they lie. So much is due to the infirmity of human nature. But, in the view of reason and philosophy, is it not rather a matter of exultation, that a life so pure in its personal qualities, so high in its public aims, so fortunate in the fruition of noble effort, has closed safely before age had marred its intellectual vigor, before time had dimmed the lustre of its genius ! May it please your Excellency, Our mission is completed. We commit to you the body of Charles Simmer. His undying fame the muse of history has already taken in her keeping. The Governor tendered to the Committee the thanks of the Commonwealth for the tender care of the precious^ dust of its Representative, assuring them that it should ever be cherished by Massachusetts as among its most precious treasures. The hospitalities of the Common wealth were then extended to the Congressional Com mittee, who were escorted to the Revere House. The crowd then retired from the State House, the iron gates were closed, and the Capitol of Massachusetts was left to a night of silence and gloom. VII. From the columns of the American Traveler, which among all the able journals of Boston, gave dignified and touching descriptions of the scenes, we transfer the following : From nine o clock Sunday morning until a very late hour in the after noon, there were at no time less than five thousand people in Beacon Street, opposite the State House. The iron gates, guarded by State and city police, were thrown open at fifteen minutes past nine, and from that hour until noon, a constant stream passed through the State House, 532 DECORATIONS OF DORIC HALL. finding exit at the door on Mount Vernon Street. The total number was at least thirty-five thousand. Doric Hall has been beautifully de corated. Around the cornices are festoons of black and white cloth ; each festoon is looped up with a rosette, with pendent drapery. Over the centre entrance and over the arches of the windows are heavy drap eries, and the alcoves on each side of them are hung with black, hand somely looped. In the rear of the hall, over the niche where the statue of Washington stood, are black cloth curtains, looped up from the centre, relieved by a little white at the top, and in front of this a shield with Mr. Stunner s monogram. On each side of these curtains and next the cannons are three national flags draped. The bases of the columns in the hall are draped with black, as are the tops from the door to the rear of the hall. The catafalque is covered with black cloth and draped with black alpaca with white fringe, the festoons looped up with large black and white rosettes. Mr. Simmer s monogram is placed at the end of the structure next to the entrance door, sides and ends are festoons of s*milax, and along the upper edge are fixed at intervals calla lilies, the blossoms filled with violets, and surrounded with begonia leaves and ferns. The top of the dais is strewn with a variety of choice flowers, including roses, violets, and carnations. At the head of the casket, and resting upon the catafalque, stands a magnificent cross seven feet high, formed of calla blossoms and leaves of the calla plant, carnations, vio lets, spiral japonicas, azaleas, and stock gilley. The foot of the cross is fixed to a pedestal covered with begonia rex and calladicus marantas. At the foot of the casket and rising from the marble floor stands a column of flowers emblematical of an incomplete life. This is six feet high, and is formed of flowers and leaves similar to those composing the cross. Upon the top of the broken shaft, which is thickly studded with roses, rests a pall of violets, and the base is covered with a collection of choice foliage and exotics. At the foot and on one side of the casket stands an upright anchor of roses and violets, the cable of which, formed of smilax and violets, extends along the upper edge and forms the dressing of the casket. This is shaded with roses and pinks. On the other side is a broken lyre, the strings of which are formed of violets. In the centre of one side of the casket is placed a mound of rich blossoms and on the other a basket of flowers, while at the upper corners of the catafalque stand two small crosses. Festoons of smilax, caught up at the handles, and sago palms form the decoration of the sides of the casket, on the top of which rests a large bouquet of callas and other choice flowers ; and also a large floral heart, the offering of colored citizens of Boston, THE BODY LYING IN STATE IN DORIC HALL, CHASTE SIMPLICITY OF BOSTON S TRIBUTES. 533 with the following inscription : " From the colored citizens of Boston. Charles Simmer, you gave us your life, we give you our (hearts)." A still larger floral design, the gift of a club of the friends of Mr. Simmer in Brooklyn, is placed on the top of the dais facing the main entrance to Doric Hall, and bears the following inscription wrought in violets upon a bed of white carnations : " DON T LET THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL FAIL." Above the catafalque is suspended a crown of glory, beneath which floats a white dove in full flight, holding in its beak an olive branch. In front of the alcove in which stands the statue of Washing ton, are placed three pots of dutzia graccilis in full bloom, and in front of the alcove containing the marble bust of Mr. Sumner is displayed a large design in carnations, immortelles, and violets, with which latter blossom was wrought the motto of the deceased statesman, " EQUAL RIGHTS TO ALL." The funeral obsequies were conducted with that chaste simplicity which always characterizes whatever tokens of respect that venerable city pays, as she has had such frequent occasions, to her many illustrious sons. A few moments before the doors were shut, Mr. GEORGE SEXXAT placed on the beautiful monument of flowers at the foot of the casket, the following epitaph : Humanitas Justitiaque Maerent Et Maerebunt Te Sumner Justitue Cultor Eximius Justitia Ob Vitam Purissima Inter Sordiores Humanitas Ut Tibi Nusquam Aliena Tu Fine Labor um Immortalis Initio Gaudeas Tali Morte Tale Superstite Nullo Felix Faustus Fortunatus Gloria Resurgens Ave. 534 CEREMONIES AT KING S CHAPEL. TRANSLATION. The following may be given as a nearly literal translation : Humanity and Justice Mourn and will mourn Thee, O Simmer, most renowned Fosterer of Justice I Justice, on account of thy most pure life Among the base ; Humanity, in that she never was a stranger to Thee. Thou rejoicest in the end of labors and the beginning of Immortality. O Happy, Blessed, and Fortunate One, In such a Death that none like Thee remains. Rising to Glory, Hail! VIII. At half-past two, the procession moved to King s Chapel. On entering, preceding the Mayor were four men who bore a massive cross nine feet in height, com posed of calla lilies, camellias, lilies of the valley, violets and other exotics. At the base, in a bed of white violets, were the words : "A tribute from his native city and home." Impressive ceremonies were held. After the response from the choir, at the close of the special invocation " Almighty and ever-living God, we fly to Thee as our eternal refuge ; we rest ourselves upon Thee, the Rock of ages," etc. they sang MONTGOMERY S hymn, " Servant of God, well done." The benediction followed, and the services closed with the playing of the funeral march of MENDELSSOHN as the assemblage moved slowly from the church. Of the grand procession to Mount Auburn, the Daily Globe said : THE PROCESSION TO MOUNT AUBURN. 535 The absence of any great military or civic display would ha\ e im pressed an intelligent foreigner as a strange thing in a funeral ceremony of a great public character. What there was of these, however, was eminently appropriate for the obsequies of the great Senator whose ef forts in the cause of peace were so well supplemented by his conflicts for the equality of human rights. The chiefs of the State in present and in former years, the men most eminent in its councils, and those who stand highest in intellect and culture, bore the pall of the most illustrious representative whom Massachusetts for many years lias had in the assembly of the nation. Behind them came the representatives of the dusk) 7 race, for whom Charles Sumner battled and suffered, and in whose cause he laid down his life. No gorgeous display of military pomp and pride, such as signalized -the obsequies of Napoleon, or Wellington, or Nelson, could have had a tithe of the significance of the presence of these representatives of an enfranchised race, mourning the loss of their friend and benefactor. As the procession passed from the capitol, in whose Doric Hall, hung with the torn and tattered flags of the conflict in which he was a mar tyr, the great Senator laid in state on his return to deliver up the trust confided to him by his beloved Commonwealth, there were sad yet glorious memories of how nobly his life-work had been performed. The old stone chapel, with its associations of colonial days, received, with fitting tribute of honor and love, the mortal remains of a kinglier nature than any with which its historic walls were ever associated, and the dirge of the band without, seemed the echo to the waiting populace of the solemn music that pealed through the venerable edifice. Fit ting in their impressive simplicity were these funeral services, and when the tolling bells throughout the city heralded the passage of the pro cession to Mount Auburn, there was a sad significance suggested by the places through which it passed. By the fairest and the stateliest abodes of the city of his birth, whose social and intellectual attractions were, though so highly prized, less to him than the rights of the hum blest negro ; past the cherished scenes of his collegiate life and legal study, where he laid the foundations of the scholarship and culture which adorned his later life, the mortal remains of Charles Surnner were borne. His dear alma mater, for whom he had a scholar s affec tion and a filial love, may well have sighed as all that was mortal of her favorite son passed by her to the tomb. In the shades of Mount Au burn, he sleeps well ; his earthly work all done, his meniory a precious legacy to the people of the city of his birth, to the State, the nation 53^ LAST SCENES AT THE GRAVE. and the world, and his example a needed stimulus to carry on the work which he so worthily began. IX. The cortege reached the SUMNER burial lot just as the sun was going" clown. Reverently and by tender hands the casket was placed by the side of the grave. At the foot stood RALPH WALDO EMERSON, Dr. HOLMES, and Vice- President WILSON, and around them gathered the members of the Washington delegation. At the head, was a beautiful cross of ivy, and sheaves of ripened wheat, with spring violets. Outside the reserved space, were clustered thousands who had orathered to witness o this scene of worship and love. All stood bowed and uncovered when the brief services began. After Chap lain SUNDERLAND had recited the Lord s Prayer, a choir of forty gentlemen from the Apollo Club sang that in imitable ode of Horace, Integer vitce. While this solemn music was rising, two ladies, the only mourners of their sex within the enclosure, stepped forward and placed upon the coffin, already laden with floral tributes of rarest beauty, an exquisite wreath, and a cross. * Rev. HENRY W. FOOTE pronounced the words, " I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write : From henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for so saith the Spirit. They have rested from their labors, and their works do follow them." And as the dust began to fall upon all there was mortal left of * A request was received from Mrs. Hastings, Mr. Sumner s sister in San Fran cisco, asking Miss Maud Howe, daughter of Dr. S. G. Howe, to have prepared for her a wreath and cross, the description of which was fully given, which she wished to have placed on the Senator s coffin previously to burial. The order was tenderly exe cuted at the grave in Mount Auburn. MOUNT AUBURN. TRIBUTES FROM THE BOSTON PULPIT. 537 the great sleeper, the bereaved multitude slowly left the City of the Dead. The ashes of the Statesman had at last found their congenial resting-place, by the side of those of his beloved mother. X. The following day was the New England Sabbath, and it dawned without a cloud. All things betokened the coming spring. " In every sheltered place," said the Post, " the grass was springing fresh and green, and the birds piped merry melodies from the limbs of the budding trees. The face of nature was gay, but many sad hearts were abroad, and thousands as they slowly made their way to the various places of worship, thought of departed worth and genius rather than of the glories of the natural world. In almost every pulpit of the city, words were spoken in eulogy of Mr. Sumner." This volume could not contain them all. The pulpit of the Church of the Disciples was tastefully draped in purple in this case, more than royal mourning, and on the table stood a bust of SUMNER. Not venturing to speak at length, the address of the pastor, JAMES FREE MAN CLARKE, was read. From it we take a few pas sages : The friends who have fought by his side during long years when success seemed hopeless, whose little barques have sailed attendant on his and partaken the same gales ; younger men who have chosen him for their leader, and amid the thick of battle pressed on where they saw his white plume waving, now clasp hands in silent sympathy. The colored people, whose hearts are always right, though their heads are often wrong, now recognize in him the best friend their race have ever had ; a friend who with his dying breath still besought that equal rights might be given them. Massachusetts, disgraced by an unauthorized act of one of her Legislatures, hastened to right the wrong where it was 538 JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE S DISCOURSE. given, and happily her voice reached him in the Senate Chamber before he left it forever. Even those who opposed him now hasten to revise their opinions and float in the great current of sympathy. The Ameri can people admire smart people, but this event has shown that Charles Simmer is loved. So it was shown that the people loved Abraham Lincoln and John A. Andrew, and they were men of the same type of honesty, sincerity, and conscience. He was unpopular from first to last. He loved peace with all his heart, but was always in war. He loved approbation, but never bought it. He loved the good-will of men, but was obliged to relinquish it. He loved sunshine, but had to live in storms. His fidelity to principle cost him dearly. Abraham Lincoln and Simmer were always friends. Difference of opinion never estranged them. Many disliked Sumner because he always kept himself on that upper level of principle. The air was not suited for them to breathe. He would not come down to the more com fortable platform of party expediency. When a man dies whose virtues have created hostility there often comes a singular reaction. It was the case with Lincoln when the nation was weeping " in the passion of an angry grief," and so it is with Charles Sumner. Death removing him from our outward eye enables us to see him inwardly and truly. Thus we have looked at a mountain and only seen the creeping mists and clouds which concealed it. So when the west wind moved the air the vapors suddenly were dispersed and the pure snowy summits came out in sharp outline against the blue sky. Death does the office of that cold wind. After the earthquake and fire and whirlwind of passionate and godless strife have passed, death comes and the Lord speaks in that still small voice. When any important subject came up, Sumner, being a statesman and not a mere politician, always studied it in the light of history and political science, without reference to party interests. He sought to declare the truth. The country is in peril to-day because there are so few statesmen in public life. He believed in men and his life was devoted to the service of his fellow-men, high and low, rich and poor, white and black. In him man was sacred. During all the long contest wiih slavery his voice was heard like a trumpet appealing for the rights of man. He stood conspicuous in the nation s eye, a young Apollo " In silent majesty of stern disdain," and dreadful was the clangor of his sil ver bow as he shot his arrows thick and fast into the sophisms used by the slave-holders and their allies. When they could not reply by argu THE BLOODY COAT.. CAPT. JOHN BROWN. 539 ment they silenced him with murderous blows, but Simmer did as much for the cause of freedom by his suffering as he had done by his speech. When the news reached Boston of that assault, a meeting was hastily called. The men who ought to have spoken were absent, and, said Mr. Clarke, I remember with some pleasure that I had the opportunity of speaking first in Boston against that cowardly, brutal, and murderous assault. But many a man who did not raise his voice in public at that time took a vow of hostility in his heart against the institution which prompted that assassination. Once, while Mr. Sumner was here in Boston, still suffering from those injuries, I called at his house in Hancock Street. He was resting in an easy-chair, and with him were three gentlemen. He introduced them to me, one as Captain John Brown, of Ossawattamie. They were speaking of this assault by Preston Brooks, and Mr. Sumner remarked : "The coat I had on at that time is in that closet. The collar is stiff with blood. You can see it if you please." Captain John Brown arose, went to the closet, slowly opened the door, carefully took down the coat and looked at it for a few moments with the reverence with which a Roman Catholic regards the relics of a saint. Perhaps the sight caused him to feel a still deeper horror of slavery, and to take a stronger resolution of attacking it in its strongholds. So the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. Allusion was made to the encouragement that Mr. Sumner took when discouraged and unhappy from the fear that his work was done forever after the assault, by reading certain lines of Milton, of which he was very fond. Milton still lives in his great example, and so does Sumner. Milton stood by the side of Sumner in that dark hour, and so shall Sum ner inspire and awaken other souls centuries hence, so that they in turn can say, " I have fought the good fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the faith." He then spoke of Mr. Sumner s visit to a Wednes day evening meeting at this church, and how his heart went out to the young people there, and what a happy evening it was. Nothing could be more modest, genial and friendly than were his words and conversa tion at that time. A happy smile was on his face all the evening, and I could not but fancy that he felt more at home among those youthful admirers than in the Senate chamber or among his political associates. It is a pleasant memory to carry in our hearts. Few of the ten thousand pulpits of New England but paid tributes to the virtues of the deceased Statesman. 540 THE REPUBLIC IN MOURNING. XI. It were vain to attempt any adequate description of the tokens of respect and sorrow which were displayed throughout the country. The funeral bells went tolling with the sun in its circuit, from noon-day on the Atlantic to the noon-day of the Pacific, the two oceans bounda ries of a continent stricken by a common grief. Memorial meetings were held in every State and Territory of the Union ; everywhere, Morse s lightning had made it a funeral-day in America. A hundred thousand flags drooped to his memory : he was the theme of eulogy in ten thousand Universities, and schools of learning : his praises were uttered over countless work-benches, and among diversified scenes of honest toil : the plough halted in the furrow of a million upturning fields : the incense of prayer for the repose of his gentle spirit, witnessed only by guardian angels, went up from myriads of closets : his pictures were wreathed in mourning in the humble cabins of innume rable homes of his dusky worshippers : -young mothers pressed his name on the foreheads of new-born babes : the news of his death cast a shadow over many a bridal morning, and folded the wings of love around many a scene of enchantment : the old sank tremblingly into their easy-chairs, as they heaved one of their latest sighs to his cherished memory ; and the dying, with the last praises of earth, thanked the God of Liberty that its great champion had lived. And so, from the frozen gates of our Republic on the North, where the brooks had not yet begun to murmur, down to meet the blush ing spring in its coming, till it reached the orange -groves of Florida, one wave of sorrow swept its gentle way : HIS WORK WAS COMPLETE. 541 while under the oceans, the sad news was flashing- to distant nations. There was not a clime where the tribute of tears was not paid to him. It was one of those few funeral days in which the obsequies of a great philan thropist were held within twenty-four hours, all round the globe. He was the friend of Humanity, and Hu manity wept when he was no more. XII. But the deepest grief was in the hearts of the children of Africa, for whose redemption he had lived and died. Never again were they to have such a friend ; and, blessed be God ! the day had gone by when they would ever need another like him. It w r as, then, after all, a vain and needless regret of SUMNER, in his last hours, that his WORK was not done. It was done. The immolation was perfected HIS WORK WAS COMPLETE.* A few brief passages more must be entwined into the final wreath we lay over his ashes. The Boston Daily Advertiser draws the parallel between the American Senator and Edmund Burke. Mr. Simmer will hold some such place in history as that which belongs to Edmund Burke, who is as well known to our times, though he has been in his grave almost fourscore years, as he was to his con temporaries, and there is every reason for supposing that he will be just as well known in future centuries as he is known to the nineteenth century. Burke was in Parliament about twenty-eight years. He held office and never high office only about a year. He belonged to the opposition throughout most of his public life. He was never popular in the House of Commons. Often he spoke to empty benches, and * It is most earnestly to be hoped that before it be too late, some one qualified for the labor shall have commenced the collection of TRIBUTES PAID TO CHARLES SUMNER by the Pulpit, the Press, the Memorial Meetings, and by individuals every where. With the exception of LINCOLN S, such a collection would be unrivalled in magnitude and veneration by any that could have been^made for any other man who has in our times lived on this continent, perhaps in the world. 542 CHARLES SUMNER AND EDMUND BURKE. not imfrequently to the most hostile of hearers. He became, under the workings of poverty and illness, of disappointments and insults, one of the most irritable of mankind. He indulged in savage language on occasions that even the most factious and fractious of men ordinarily have allowed to control their imaginations and to bridle their tongues. He was, for most of his public life, positively odious to the majority of the English people. Yet he was the ablest man of his time, and made the ablest speeches that ever were heard in the British Parliament. His original legislation was small, nor does any great statute owe its existence to him. But he connected himself and his history by the most indissoluble of ties with a number of the greatest subjects that ever were discussed and debated by man : with the contest between England and her American Colonies ; with Catholic Emancipation ; with the Trial of Warren Hastings, and generally with all East Indian affairs ; with the French Revolution, and with other matters ; and the dozen volumes which contain his writings and speeches belong to the very first rank of British political and historical literature, and they are read by every man who aspires to understand history and politics. Mr. Simmer, like Burke, often was in opposition ; like Burke, he would not be governed by his party when he thought that party was in the wrong ; like Burke, his sympathies were with the oppressed, and he would labor hard for men whom he never could expect to see, and many of whom never could hear of him ; and, like Burke, his works make his best monument, and are integral parts of the history of his country and his age. Finally, as he resembled Burke in the character of his labors, and in his readiness to be the champion of the wronged and the oppressed, so will he resemble him in the circumstance that his fame will be the greater as it is removed from the mists of contemporary calumny and detraction ; and the true proportions of his character will stand out clearly before men when " the dead grow visible from the shades of time." XIII. Among" the most eloquent of tributes from the pulpit was the one which fell from Rev. Dr. E. H. CIIAPIX, whose lips when speaking in behalf of humanity always seem to be touched with a live coal from the celestial altar. We caught but a single flaming passage : That man, the announcement of whose death has come upon us so suddenly, and which has startled us like the vanishing of some conspi- TRIBUTES BY CHAPIN AND FROTHINGHAM. 543 cuous landmark, with the associations of the most exciting period of our national history clinging around it, was one in whom large gifts and rich acquirements were fused into the condensed energy and solid splendor of moral purpose. He has died in his harness, with the dents of many conflicts upon his shield, and the serene light of victory on his crest. But while among the great men who have fallen so thickly around us, there may have been those who matched him in ability, and excelled him in genius, we must look far and wide through our land, and through our age, to find any who have equalled him in this loyalty of conviction, this sublime tenacity of righteousness. For this, as he lies to-day in the Capitol of his grand old State, he is mourned and honored. For this, to-morrow, the overshadowing regret of a nation, and the tears of an emancipated race, will follow to the grave of CHARLES SUMNER. Rev. O. B. FROTHINGHAM the author of that noble Biography of a noble life Theodore Parker s : Charles Sumner was a statesman who knew what statesmanship was meant for. He kept before him all the time the idea of the State. He did not wish to put his hand into the treasury ; he did not seek or ask to be sent to the Senate because he might have an independent for tune, for the reputation of a public man, complimented and flattered by his countrymen. He felt himself a servant of the public. He was a man who carried his consciousness so far that he seemed to be vision ary, a man who so perpetually clung to the ideal that men said he was a man of one idea. He was. He believed in God in government. He sometimes erred; of course he did ; he was a man. He cherished a profound and personal interest in the ideal of law, the ideal of govern ment, and worked to bring about the time, if it ever could be brought about, when war should cease and slavery of all kinds be done away and the different conditions of men equalized, and justice, simple jus tice, should be done to the smallest man, the meanest man and woman in the land, and that these privileges should be extended over all the earth. That was Charles Sumner. He was a man who had the heart of a little child, but it was the heart of a little child of God. Rev. THEODORE L. CUYLER Some of the most soul-stirring eloquence of this generation came from the lips of Charles Sumner. His utterances commanded a willing ear in two hemispheres. He must be regarded as the impersonation of patriotism. No soldier ever gave his life more willingly, nor did his 544 THE MIRACLE OF THE SLAVE PICTURE. country more service than did Charles Sumner. His incorruptibility was never impeached. No one ever dared offer him a bribe. He was always on the side of justice, and did not care what the consequences might be ; to give the largest freedom to every man of every color was the polar star on Charles Sumner s horizon which never set. The type of manhood of which Charles Sumner was a representative, is growing scarcer every year. When his body was taken from the Senate cham ber last Friday he did not leave his peer behind him. He stood pre eminent as a scholar, as a statesman, and in general culture. He was a fine model for our American youth to emulate. He was a splendid example for the advancement of those principles which make true patriots. The genial Washington correspondent of Mr. Beech- er s Christian Union This house of his was as wonderful and as curious as the man him self. It was so crow r ded with all things rare and beautiful, and so many of them bore on their faces or carried in their hands a story they seemed longing to tell, that he must have little of feeling or culture who did not find the very walls an inspiration. Over the mantel in his dining-room, hung the painting he has singled out from the rest and willed to his friend, Mr. Smith, of Boston. It is called " The Miracle of the Slave." Mr. Simmer s ow r n words, as nearly as I can remember them, will tell its story better than I can. Said he, at a breakfast party one morning, " I suppose that picture, or its original, did more than any one thing toward my first election. I saw it first on my first trip to Europe, but it made no great impression on me. Still the picture remained in my mind, though I thought no more about it. When I w r as a candidate for the Senate, they wanted me to speak in Faneuil Hall, and at last they persuaded me to. It was at the time of the Fugitive Slave excitement in Boston, and while I was speaking I remembered that picture. So I said to the audience : There is in Venice a picture of a slave brought before the judge to be remanded to his owner. On the one side are the soldiers who have brought him there, on the other the men from whom he has fled. Just as the judge is about to give him back to their tyranny, St. Mark appears from the heavens and strikes off the fetters from the hands and feet of the trembling man. So, if ever Massachusetts remands to his master a slave who has sought protection in her borders, I pray God that the holy angels may themselves appear and strike the fetters from his hands and feet. The next time I went to Venice, in rummaging around the print-shops, I found this picture, and was told HIS CHARACTER BY BEECHER. 545 that it was either a very old copy, or possibly the original sketch from which Tintoretto painted the larger picture. I determined to have it at any price, and before I left the shop it belonged to me." And of him Mr. BEECHER himself said, in one of his glowing discourses The greatest gift of God to a nation is upright men for magistrates, statesmen, and rulers. That republic is poor, although every wind may waft to it the richest stores, that is not governed by noble men. Signs of Government decay show themselves sooner than anywhere else in the men who govern. When rulers seek the furtherance of their own ends, when laws and the whole framework of Government are only so many instruments of wrong, the nation cannot be far from decadence. Simmer s love of justice and truth made him essentially a Democrat. Personally, he was not one, but he became one in the times in which he lived. By the force of circumstances he became the leader of his party. He came forward at the time when Webster, Choate, and Holt were the heroes in Massachusetts, when it was almost worth a man s life to say a word against any of them. Now, how is it ? By nature Sumner was endowed with a manly person, of an admirable cast of mind ; yet he was a made-up man. He fell lately from the blow he received in his earlier career, and neither Brown nor Lincoln was a greater martyr for liberty than Charles Simmer. How beautiful to die so ! The club that struck him was better than knighting him. It brought him to honor and immortality. No son possesses his name. No child shall carry it down to posterity. He is cut off from that. But the State of Massa chusetts shall carve his name so deep that no hand can rub it out. No son or daughter wept at his bier, but down a million dusky cheeks the tears stream ; and they feel that a father and protector has gone from among them, and I would rather have the honor of the smitten than the honor of the high. He joined himself to the best things of his time, and now he is with God. Nothing can speak better for his principles than the fact that corrupt men dared not approach him. He made this re mark to me once : " People think Washington such a corrupt place, but I don t believe a word of it; I have lived here a long time, and I have never seen any of it ! " And he never did. His was not a bellig erent statesmanship. He was an advocate for peace, although he de manded justice. Everywhere his views were against violence, and his preference for peace based upon justice, and for the defence of the poor and the needy. He was a statesman, indeed, and the more to be hon ored because his tastes did not lead him to the common people. His 35 54-6 TRIBUTES BY PUTNAM AND TALMAGE. was an example of personal integrity, much misunderstood partly from his own fault, and partly from circumstances. All the gathered treasures of ages were his, and these he employed to build better huts for the lowly. No man has surpassed him in his service to the poor and the needy. When any disability has been removed, every poor and honest man will be made to participate in the bounty he gave his life to preserve. Rev. A. P. PUTNAM His only feeling toward those who had wronged him was that of for giveness and pity ; his noble effort at extending the olive branch of peace by proposing in Congress that the names of battles with fellow-citizens should not be continued on the Army Register, or placed on the regi mental colors of the United States, "perhaps," said the speaker, "the purest and most beautiful act which Mr. Su inner ever performed, and one which will be more and more remembered to his honor and glory in all the hereafter. Massachusetts and the vote of censure regarding the measure was here touched upon in the following words : " Dear Old Massachusetts ! how could she have been betrayed into conduct like that ? Bitterly indeed will she rue the day when she discarded her chivalrous leader of. years ago, and sold herself to one who really never knew her or loved, and who now, from his exalted seat of power and patronage, rewards her devotion by appointments which are an insult, and by tyranny which a free people will not long bear. The State will yet right itself. Her heart has soundness in it still, and in that better time which is to come, she will revere Charles Sumner as the noblest of all her sons. Rev. T. DE WITT TALMAGE We have never had a better lesson concerning the hollowness and uncertainty of worldly honors than we have had in the life and death of Charles Sumner. Now the land uncovers its head as a silent body goes through to its burial-place. Independence Hall is offered for the reception of the remains. The flags are at half-mast. Funeral eulogiums are sounded through the land, and the minute guns on Boston Common throb, now that his heart has ceased to beat. But while he lived, how pursued he was ; how maltreated, how censured by legislative resolutions, how caricatured in the pictorials, how charged with every ambitious and impure motive ! his domestic life assailed, and all the urns of scorn, and hatred, and billingsgate and falsehood emptied on his head ! And when Brooks club struck him down in the Senate Chamber, there were hundreds of thousands to cry, " Good DISCOURSES BY HAZEN AND MACARTHUR. 547 for him served him right ! " When the speaker saw such a man as Charles Sumner, pursued for a lifetime by all the hounds of the political kennels, buried under a mountain of flowers and amid a great national requiem, he saw what a hypocritical thing was human favor ! We take a quarter of a century in trying to pull down his fame, and the next quarter of a century in attempting to build his monument. Either we were wrong then, or are wrong now. Rev. E. O. HAZEN In culture and in acquaintance with the works of the past and with the men of the past he stood, perhaps, without a peer in this country ; but his great characteristic was fidelity to what he believed to be right. Early he came to the conclusion that his great nation possessed a pure, healthy constitution, and that the greatest evil under which the nation suffered was exceptional ; that it was not an integral part of our political economy, and that properly worked, our nation could cast out that evil without a revolution and without any radical change in its organic character ; and he resolved that his life should be devoted to that work ; and he was successful. Had there not been some men to do the work of Charles Sumner, there never would have been the call for such a man as Abraham Lincoln, and never would this great work have been wrought out. Though he was not seemingly endowed with that wondrous, strange, magnetic power that calls out the love of individuals for himself in an extraordinary degree, he will be followed to his grave especially with the tears of that race which he was the instrument in the hands of God so greatly of blessing. Rev. Dr. MACARTHUR, Colored Baptist Church, New York- We shall not again see another Sumner in our halls of legislation. The school to which he belonged is a thing of the past. We have men now of a narrower gauge, a lower tone and a feebler grasp ; men who may be sharp and shrewd, but who certainly are not broad, compre hensive and scholarly. The princely form of the great Senator we shall see no more ; the fine, full, melodious voice is silent forever. One day he is in his place, a leader and king among men ; the next day he is numbered among the dead. One day Canon Kingsley speaks loving words with him in Washington ; the next evening Canon Kingsley in Brooklyn speaks loving words of him, and mourns him dead. He has fallen crowned with honor an apostle of liberty a martyr of freedom. 548 THE LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL. The spirit of barbarism and slavery struck him down 18 years ago. He never fully recovered. There is, too, among some of us, a sort of idea, that, to be a great man, one must have been poor, ignorant and somewhat coarse. We rejoice that the genius of our Government is such that men coming from the lowest place, may go to the highest ; but we must not forget that poverty and ignorance are a great drawback, and that when men rise from these conditions, they rise in spite of these hindrances, and not because of them. Mr. Simmer s life from first to last was along a different line. He was born to position and wealth. He was born heir to a glorious inheritance. He was born of ancestors who were scholars, gentlemen, Christians. He received a fine body, a glorious intellect, and a noble heart. His leisure and his wealth might have been a curse to him ; they might have taken away from him, as from many others, all ambition and desire for scholarship and promotion. They, however, quickened the desire for both, as they furnished the opportunity for the attainment of either. He was just such a man as we can least afford to lose. American society and political life have too few such men. Who can take the place which Charles Simmer filled ? The great principles of the science of political economy are not studied, far less understood, by the majority of our public men. The days of scholars and thinkers of the higher order, the days of Seward, Chase, and Sumner, seem to be numbered. A species of rowdyism, Butlerism, with an obliquity of moral vision which looks past the right, and mistakes success for honest ability, is imminent and greatly to be dreaded. A radical reform is needed here. Precisely here is Mr. Simmer s life peculiarly valuable. We need to learn the necessity of patient and untiring perseverance, if we are to accomplish great things for God or man. The Louisville Courier- Journal, in a long and feeling notice, says- Fifteen years ago, the news that Charles Surnner was dead, would have been received with something like rejoicing by the people of the South ; ten years ago they would have hailed it as a message from Hea ven, telling them that an enemy had been removed from the face of the earth. To-day, they will read it regretfully, and their comment will be, " He was a great man, he was an honest man ; as he has forgiven us, so have we long ago forgiven him." THE CHICAGO AND CINCINNATI PRESS. 54Q JOHN G. WHITTIER to a personal friend The dear and noble Sumner ! My heart is too full for words, and in deepest sympathy of sorrow I reach out my hands to thee, who loved him so well. He has died as he wished to, at his post of duty, and when the heart of his beloved Massachusetts was turned towards him with more than the old-time love and reverence. God s peace be with him. The Chicago Times The death of Charles Sumner has taken away another of the very few Americans who have done honor to the name of statesmen. There is not left in the public councils his equal in political learning, in integrity, in high devotion to whatever he believed to be right. Though untrusted by time-serving partisans, he stood head and shoulders above them all, both in intellectual greatness, and in devotion to principle. The Chicago Tribune No man has ever graced the American Senate, who will be remem bered longer, or more gratefully than he. He walked on a higher plane than Mr. Sevvard. He went deeper into the merits of the anti-slavery cause than Mr. Chase. He was the most inflexible man of his time, as well as the most polished and erudite of his contemporaries. His in dustry was even more vast than his learning. His personal purity was so far above reproach that he was never even accused of dishonor. The Chicago Inter -Ocean He was a just man, pure in private and in public life. His faults were transient, and his virtues constitute a permanent legacy to the people of the country he served with distinguished ability and unsullied honor. The Cincinnati Commercial Air. Sumner was a man of great dignity of manner. He had an im posing address, a leonine head, a sonorous voice. To the scholar he united the wisdom of the sage, and to the reformer the discretion of the statesman. The Cincinnati Gazette Charles Sumner is an honor to the American name, and an example for future generations of young Americans who aspire to be statesmen. He has shown them a way to honor and fame through the highest paths 55O INDIANA, MICHIGAN, AND OHIO. of rectitude, and through devotion to the cause of the oppressed and down-trodden. The Cincinnati Times He goes to his grave with a character unsullied by a political career of thirty years, and carrying the gratitude of a nation, and the worship of a race freed from bondage, and elevated to the rights of citizenship. The Indianapolis Journal Had he been free from faults he would have been either more or less than human ; but, taking him for all in all, it cannot be denied that America has lost one of her greatest men. The Indianapolis Sentinel When the proper time comes, and the story is adequately told, Charles Sumner will stand as the type of the noblest American of his genera tion a Washington in purity, a Luther in fervor, a Cromwell in persist ence and greatness of soul a man beyond the loftiest ideal of public virtue. The Detroit Free Press He belonged to that class of statesmen who were governed in their action by their ideas of what was just and right, and who could not be moved from their settled convictions by any considerations of policy or expediency. The Cleveland Leader His death leaves a vacancy in the Senate which must long remain but imperfectly filled. The noble services of his life so far overbalance his errors, that men of all parties will forget his faults, and join sorrow fully in the reverent procession which will follow the veteran of the Senate to his grave. The Cleveland Herald The principal objection to him was that he was almost all intellect. Had he been less an incarnation of intellectual greatness, and possessed more of human weakness, he would have been less isolated from the people who admired his learning, but sometimes doubted his judgment. The Buffalo Commercial Those who most hotly hated Charles Sumner as a leader in the sec tional strife which culminated in civil war, will surely feel their animosi- PITTSBURG, RICHMOND. DR. GARNET. 551 ties soften when they remember, that it was his noble effort to heal the wounds of that war, and blot out its melancholy traces, which brought upon him the censure of his own State. For Massachusetts also, this fact will not be without instructive suggestion. The Pittsburg Despatch Whatever political prejudices occasionally existed against him, he was undoubtedly the highest and most commendable type of American statesmen. Intelligent, generous-hearted, of refined sensibilities, he expressed the clear truth as he saw it without regard for opposition. He was a man who could not intentionally be guilty of meanness, and who was above intrigue. The Pittsburg Chronicle Brave, in days when it took bravery of the most lofty kind, to be the advocate of a lowly and down-trodden race, Simmer will live in the memory of all as a man of the most conspicuous mark. The Richmond Journal - The sudden passing away of this profound scholar and statesman will cause a deep feeling of sorrow to pervade the breasts of his many friends both in this country and Europe. The Rev. Dr. H. H. GARNET, the eloquent pastor of the Colored Presbyterian Church of New York him self a fugitive from Slavery in his boyhood delivered a touching and beautiful address at the great Colored meeting, at Cooper Institute : He did not know to what religious creed Mr. Sumner belonged, nor need we inquire concerning a man whose faith and life-work are so clearly exhibited ; but he did know that the self-sacrificing spirit that was in Christ, the Saviour of the world, and the broad humanity of the Gospel, were as clearly illustrated in his life and public services, as in those of any other man he ever knew. The great and illustrious states man literally resisted oppression of every form even unto blood ; and he laid down his life for his brethren. The old Anti-Slavery leaders are fast passing away. Chase and Stanton are gone, and John Brown and Lincoln are in their tombs ; and to-morrow the mortal remains of Sum ner will be laid in their last resting-place. But the principles of liberty 552 SUMNER S LETTER ABOUT BATTLE-FLAGS. are imperishable. The people of Massachusetts would doubtless rear a fitting tomb to his memory, and other States would vie with them in doing honor to his noble deeds ; but there was one class of American citizens who had written his name on the living monuments of their hearts. He meant that class for whose welfare he labored, suffered, and died. In the language of his life-long friend, John Greenleaf \Vhittier, those millions recently crowned with the blessings of liberty and enfranchisement, as they shall think of their departed friend, they will say : " We ll think of thee, O brother ! And thy sainted name shall be In the blessings of the captive, And the anthems of the free." The Springfield Republican, of Springfield, Mass., that able and always illuminated journal, in a memorial issue devoted chiefly to Mr. SUMNER, prints a letter from him to a personal friend, dated March 20, 1873, in which, after alluding" to his sickness, which he says "goes back in its origin to injuries received seventeen years ago," he speaks as follows of his " battle-flag" bill: It seems to me unjust and hard to understand that my bill can be called hostile to the soldier or to the President, when it was introduced by me May 8, 1862, and then again Feb. 27, 1865, and when it has been commended by Gen. Scott, Gen. Robert Anderson, and Gen. Thomas, all good and true soldiers. If persons would only consider candidly my original convictions on this question, they would see how natural and inevitable has been my conduct. As if in such a matter I could have "hostility" or "spite" to anybody. I am a public servant, and never was I moved by a purer sense of duty than in this bill, all of which will be seen at last. Meanwhile men will flounder in miscon ception and misrepresentation, to be regretted in the day of light. Sincerely yours, CHARLES SUMNER. XIV. We cannot, however, bring even this brief list of cita tions to a close without some tributes, which Mr. G. W. SPIRIT OF THE ENGLISH JOURNALS. 553 SMALLEY, the accomplished London correspondent of T/ie New York Tribune, sent from the English jour nals, which during the Alabama discussions spoke of the leader of the American Senate with so much bitterness : "It is an honor to The Times, however" Mr. Smalley remarks, that it lifts itself high enough to say : Yet when we look back upon the 30 years during which Mr. Charles Sumner was among the foremost in the United States, we must admit that his career was such as to deserve the highest admiration and grati tude of his fellow-citizens ; and those who are disposed to judge his faults with severity must remember how much there was to provoke to intemperance of judgment the man who was pursued with such ani mosity that he barely escaped with life from a cowardly assault in the Senate Chamber at Washington. The Daily News, which, during the arbitration, was one of Mr. Sum ner s most hostile critics, lays aside its animosities in order to do him justice. The article is obviously by one who knew him, and thus speaks of his appearance and character : During his recent visit to England, his friends noticed that he was growing somewhat bowed and heavy, and showing rather prematurely the weight of years. But until this very late period he had the advantage of as striking a presence as any public man in our day has ever dis played. Physically, there was, perhaps, no statesman of our time so remarkable, except Prince von Bismarck ; and without odious com parisons it may be observed that Mr. Sumner had a very handsome face, as well as a form of almost gigantic proportions, and a bearing expressive of singular energy and strength of will. His character and career as a politician were well in harmony with his appearance. Whatever he willed he strongly willed. All the flexibilities and docili ties, all the quickness that suits itself with ease to new conditions, all the dexterity which extracts the utmost advantage out of unavoidable compromises, all the artistic self-control with which clever statesmen have sometimes contrived to give to defeat itself the appearance of a qualified victory all this was wanting to Mr. Sumner. He had clear principles, a strong will, and a vigorous intellect, which went straight at obstacles, and either crushed over them at once, or drew back and tried to crush over them again. He was an accomplished scholar, a good linguist, a master of Euro pean literature, and almost a devotee of art. During his latest visit to Europe, a year or two back, he found no pleasure so great as that of ransacking the old bookshops and bookstalls of Paris for quaint and curious editions to add to his collection. He was a great talker upon 554 DAILY NEWS, THE GLOBE, THE ECHO. art and literature, as well as upon politics ; and talked, as he did every thing, with tremendous energy and with an individual self-confidence which his enemies, and some even of his friends, set down as egotism. Many slyly satirical or humorous stories were told in America apropos of Mr. Simmer s faith in his own eloquence stories which would have affected Mr. Stunner little even if he had heard them, for he was one of the very few Americans who have no perception of the meaning of a jest. He was a strong, serious man, often in the wrong, often unfair in his judgment, but never consciously yielding to prejudice ; always inflexibly faithful to his principles as he saw them, and gifted with power of thought and speech and work enough to make him a distinct and a memorable figure in the history of his country s political growth. The Globe, the evening Conservative daily, contains a tribute to Mr. Simmer, indeed, quite remarkable, and the more gratifying from an op ponent of Liberalism. The Globe says : From 1850, when he was elected to the seat in the Senate vacated by Webster, who had entered the Fillmore Cabinet, the name of Simmer has been as famous in Europe as in the United States. In his own country the influence he exerted was always great, and his ten years Chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Relations made him a power abroad. His argument in the famous Mason and Slidell case, to the effect that the seizure on a British ship was unjustifiable according to the law of nations, gave temporary offence to his countrymen, but on the whole Simmer was one of the most popular American statesmen of this generation. The secret of his success was due to the ability he possessed of catching " the opinion of to-morrow" on any question in which public opinion was excited. Once having found this and his statesmanlike mind seldom missed in the search he maintained his po sition with admirable tenacity till " the opinion of to-morrow" became that of to-day. When necessity required he declined to act as the mouthpiece of public opinion, assured that the time would soon come when, without changing his own attitude, he would be its correct exponent. The Echo, a very widely circulated Liberal paper, thinks some future biographer may explain why Mr. Sumner lost his hold of power and in fluence, and this will be his conclusion : He may and probably will regard Charles Sumner as too pure and upright-minded a man for the highest political success. He was im pulsive, too, and this is apt to detract from the influence of a statesman as a leader. No American of equal importance admired England more and yet none was popularly regarded as more her enemy. His famous speech putting forth the first mention of the Indirect Claims, made Englishmen too ready to forget his great services to humanity in regard to the Abolition of Slavery. Perhaps Mr. Sumner was a man of too self-conscious, too refined a mind, for success ; one who was ever careful THE EXAMINER AND ANGLO-AMERICAN TIMES. 555 in self-examination, and too careless of the thoughts of others for the largest popularity. The Pall Mall Gazette is silent ; for which, all thanks. So is The Saturday Review for this week. It is pleasant to find in The Examiner the following paragraph : The obituary of the week includes the name of Charles Sumner, an American for whom Englishmen have always felt the greatest respect and sympathy. His voice was most powerfully raised against the insti tution of Slavery in the Southern States long before the issue of civil war came to solve the otherwise unsolvable question. On all other matters where individual liberty was at stake, Mr. Charles Sumner was ever found among the boldest and most uncompromising champions of the oppressed ; and he was not without that meed of persecution which is the invariable fate of men of his heroic character. He annoyed some of his friends by supporting the claims for " indirect damages" in the Alabama case ; but we have reason to believe that the conduct of our Government in the proceedings which led up to the arbitration, went far to bring Mr. Sumner back to his former apprecia tion of England and Englishmen. All the more pleasant, because the controlling influence in The Exam iner is now in the hands of one of the men I have referred to as faithful friends to us during the Rebellion, and then losing patience and waxing wroth during the arbitration business. Among all the articles I have seen in English papers there is none comparable for careful study of Mr. Sumner s character and acts, and wise estimate of them, to that in The Anglo-American Times ; a journal, I should add, edited by Englishmen, and written by English men, and which other Englishmen would do well to study for its teach ing and example. It says : Perhaps of all Americans, Charles Sumner stood foremost in the es teem of his countrymen. He was eloquent, he was cultured, pure in character, lofty in aspiration, patriotic and unselfish in his aims. Few men have been so tried by the perversity of human nature, yet he never lost faith in it. In all the broad Union there was no more ardent lover of freedom, nor any man with a stronger faith in the institutions of the Republic he loved so well and worked for so long and faithfully. In deed, he may be called a martyr to his devotion to human rights ; for his death is traceable to the assault Mr. Brooks made upon him in the Senate Chamber. He was a tall, handsome, strongly built man ; but the injuries he then received laid him on a bed of sickness for years, causing him intense suffering, ultimately sending him to his grave at an age when a period of usefulness might still be looked for. But Charles Sumner was too earnest to witness unmoved the Administration sinking into corruption ; and he worked so assiduously to stem the current that 556 WORTHY TRIBUTE TO SUMNER S CHARACTER. he helped towards the accomplishment of the assassin s design, till his medical adviser almost forced him, in the midst of the last Presidential campaign, to run across to Europe, effectually to shut from his sight papers, books, and business, * * * We now know, as do all who study American politics, that Senator Sumner was in the right ; an admission truth compels us to make, al though, at the time, we shared that feeling. It is because we now more fully comprehend the magnitude of the contest and the difficulties of the position in the struggle of the statesman against the "politicians," that we are able to appreciate the force of what the Senator then said ; and we may add, that we deplore the loss of the great leader in the cause of reform. The Senator has passed away at the climax, leaving the conduct of the war to other, though, we fear, less efficient hands, but not till the great utility of his life had been impaired through his failing health. He leaves, however, a record, not only as an example to the young, but to inspire those bent on carrying on the war against the political system which has bred such corruption, to a successful issue ; a reputation unblemished in an atmosphere of intrigue ; pure, where political purity is rare ; ever surrounded by strong temptations, wielding, as he did, a power greater than has perhaps yet been wielded on the continent of North America. With that I close, rejoicing that, in the country which Mr. Sumner loved and the opinion of which he valued so highly, at least one trib ute not unworthy of him has appeared. I should add that in the leading provincial journals, the articles I have seen are, on the whole, more just than those of London. But it was not from England that justice to the de parted statesman was expected to come. By the en lightened and unprejudiced journalists of the continent of Europe to which strangeness of language gives the impartiality of time CHARLES SUMNER met that judg ment at once, which in England is shown the Americans only by the next generation. Perhaps in no quarter has Senator Sumner s character as a man and a statesman, been more candidly drawn, than it was in the Boston Journal on the day of his funeral : The time has not come for doing full justice to the great career and the great character so faintly outlined in the preceding sketch. Mr. HIS PORTRAIT BY THE BOSTON JOURNAL. 557 Sumner was essentially different from the most distinguished American statesmen who had gone before him. He was primarily a scholar, con strained by prophetic moral impulses into the field of politics. In en- cyclopediac knowledge none of our statesmen are to be compared with him, unless it may have been John Quincy Adams. In philosophical tendencies he somewhat resembled Jefferson, while he revealed an earnestness, breadth and fervor in his humane sympathies which were as much superior to Jefferson s as his eloquence was greater. He was not a great debater, on account, partly, of the scholastic character of his mind, and because he had a peculiar conception of the sphere of a Senator. He once said : "A seat here in the Senate is a lofty pulpit with a mighty sounding-board, and the whole wide-spread people is the congregation." Whenever he arose, therefore, to speak, it was not merely to discuss the legislative question in hand and to address the little circle of Senators around him ; he was to expound in their full ness the large relations and suggestions of the topic for the benefit of the press and the whole American nation. His speeches were treatises winged with oratory. There is nothing like them in the records of our national eloquence. They are wanting in the massive simplicity, the conciseness and severe taste of Webster s speeches ; their profusion of historic allusions and quotations would seem artificial, but for its being the natural expression of the author s mind, and it is doubtful if the peculiarity will give pleasure to another generation of readers. But the force of reasoning, the broad energy of purpose, sweeping along like the Mississippi like that, too, showing its power in its crevasses as well as in its legitimate channel and the soul of moral heroism which illumines every sentence, will never want for admirers ; what is better, will never cease to disseminate good influences and to bear good fruit among mankind. This moral heroism, indeed, constitutes the crowning distinction of Charles Sumner, and gives him his title to immortal fame. It shone about his whole working life as a public servant. Throughout his checkered career no enemy and none had bitterer than he was ever found bold enough to connect his name with any jobbery or inter ested scheme. His integrity was more than Roman, it was Chris tian. So, too, this heroism was seen in its triumphing over the adverse influences of his training and in its transformation of his own character. He was not democratic in his personal sympathies, while the associa tions of his early life were limiting if not aristocratic in their tendencies ; and no one from tlience could have predicted that here was to be the 558 CHAPLET WOVEN BY GRACE GREENWOOD. champion of equality, the apostle of deliverance to the poor and de spised of another race. But the principle that was in him took him up with the devotion of a Luther and the zeal of a Loyola. All men be came alike in his eyes alike entitled to justice, to the protection and the immunities of the law. In pursuit of this object he feared noth ing on earth and he spared nothing that stood in his way. And though his unswerving fidelity brought him to death s door, he lived as few of the world s heroes have to see his complete triumph, and to feel in his heart, we have no doubt, the sweet consciousness that mankind would never willingly let his memory die. But amongst all the floral offerings which " deck his sylvan grave," one at least shall be laid there by the gentle hand of woman : and whose fingers could better weave the chaplet than Grace Greenwood s ? With the memory of my great friend (can it be that he is already only a memory ?) come certain further off, pale and uncertain presences the friends who were about him when I knew him first Hawthorne, with his noble, sensitive face, his deep-set, furtive, melancholy eyes ; Starr King, radiant with genius. and princely in his perfect humanity; that beautiful wife of his poet-friend, she whose sweet, sad voice was pro phetic of her martyr-like fate ; that scholarly brother, so like him in person, in voice, in love of books and art ; and that illustrious scientist, beloved and revered alike upon two hemispheres, that sweet, strong, childlike and grand human soul we knew as Louis Agassiz. These and many more choice spirits whose lives have mingled with or touched on his, come before me, and I am inexpressibly comforted by the thought of the goodly company he has been called to rejoin. Whenever I have had a friend from abroad to whom I would show special courtesy, I have taken him or her to that beautiful house by the Arlington, and have always been sure of a welcome. Whatever his engagements or his ailments, if able to see his friends at all, he received them with a cordial grasp of the hand, and that rare, sweet smile, which was like a burst of pure Spring sunshine on a sombre day. I was in that house on the morning of that sad Wednesday, lingering and wait ing, with other friends, refusing to believe that there was "no hope." I saw there men I had heard called, and half believed to be. hardened and heartless politicians, weeping like women, and, despite the judg ment of his enemies and detractors, I was doubly convinced that the man had a "genius to be loved." THE SILENT HOUSE AND VACANT CHAIR. 559 Last evening I passed by that house so soon to be despoiled of its precious books and art-treasures. It was apparently unchanged lighted up as cheerfully as before he went away ; even the graceful transparen cies in those pleasant study-windows remained as they were. The hall- door was open, and the gas-light shone full on the tall, old-fashioned clock, which had ticked off for him so many hours of faithful toil of weary wakefulness, of cruel pain, till that last moment of mental agony, when his great, pure, honest heart broke. How plainly that old clock repeats to the souls who loved the master of the house : " Never here, forever there, Where all parting, pain and care, And death and time shall disappear : Forever there, but never here ! The horologe of eternity Sayeth this incessantly, Forever never never, forever ! The face of Mr. Simmer in death bore more than the usual resem blance to Edmund Burke. With his gray hair resting like a glory on the pillow, he looked very noble, but so tired ! We felt amid our griev ing that all was well. God had given His beloved sleep. Most of the floral offerings laid on the great Senator s coffin were from his colored friends. They lavished upon him the most rare and costly flowers. On his desk stood a bouquet of roses and azalias, white as the "white soul" Emerson so honored. Saddest of all sights was his empty chair, draped in mourning, and yet an august presence seemed to hover about it. If, indeed, he were there able to see, and hear, and understand ; if he looked around on the scene of many struggles and conflicts, on his enemies and on his friends, what poor things must have seemed to him all human strifes and ani mosities ; how precious human love and loyalty ; how great and sor rowful a thing life ; how beautiful and blessed death ! 560 THE STERN DUTY OF THE HISTORIAN. SECTION TWELFTH. His Character and Fame. I. IN tracing Mr. SUMNER S course in the Senate, I inten tionally avoided any account of his rupture with the President, and the alienation from him of the great body of the Republican party. I took this course partly from a repugnance I have had all my life to entering into the contests and bickerings of partisans ; and partly from reluctance to appear in any attitude of hostility to a President, a Secretary of State, and the leaders of the great political organization which had saved the nation from overthrow, and by so many noble and beneficent acts, commanded the confidence of the country, and the respect of mankind. I did not deem it worthy of a pa triotic man, to allow any disappointment, or even per sonal injury, however deep, to deter him from supporting a party that was doing so well ; while it should always be beneath the true dignity of a historian, to cast over the mind of his reader any of the shadows of party con flicts to disturb the judgment with which the occurrence of important events should be contemplated. At the same time, I should feel that I was acting utterly unwor thy of the responsibility I assumed in writing this book, if I should close it without an unqualified expression of the disapproval which all honorable minds must enter tain of that act of insult, folly and cowardice by which the greatest man in the American Senate, was displaced from the Chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The petty annoyances and revenges with which SUMMER S RUPTURE WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. 561 his manhood, independence, and integrity were outraged, and the hatred manifested against him, were pitiful in deed ! It would, now, be wrong a wrong to the memory of CHARLES SUMNER, and a wrong to the truth of history, to withhold any portion of the facts, however unfavora bly they may reflect upon others : and if, in moving this shadow from the fair fame of the great Senator, it falls upon other men, however bright their names may hith erto have been, or however high they may stand to-day, all this is their business, not mine. They make his tory : I write it. II. The facts, then, are these. It was well-known that the only reason alleged for the removal by the Senate of Mr. SUMNER from the position he had for many years filled with such consummate ability, as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, was, that he was not upon friendly social terms with the President and the Department of State. He prepared, at the time, a care ful statement showing why the cordiality of those rela tions had been disturbed ; and it was known that he in tended to deliver that speech in the Senate. But his friends Mr. TRUMBULL and CARL SCHURZ, to whom his intention was made known, dissuaded him from his pur pose, by appealing to his generous nature; and to this appeal he yielded. During three years " he refrained from delivering it, suffering in silence the most offensive imputations from those who were unable to appreciate his loyal support, or his disinterested opposition." These words I have quoted from the New York 36 562 THE JUDGMENT OF THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE. Tribune of this Monday morning, April 6, 1874 in which the editor says : In the opinion of his friends, the time has come when this speech, suppressed by its illustrious author from the highest considerations of dignity and patriotism, should be given to the country, in explanation of the circumstances which lost to the Senate the influence of its great est and purest member, and by which the Administration deprived it self of a friend as powerful as he was unselfish. We presume the essential facts of this disclosure will remain undis puted. As to the inferences to be drawn from them, there are many who will disagree with Mr. Sumner as to the share of responsibility which should rest upon the Secretary of State for the course pursued by the Administration towards Mr. Motley. It is probable that the Senator may have revised his own judgment at a later day, as it is certain that he gave his hearty support and approval to the course of the Secretary of State in reference to the seizure of the Virginius, The facts here brought forward would seem to point to what every candid person must regard as the vulnerable feature of the Secretary s administration his tendency to yield to the vulgar malice and ignorant caprices of the President, instead of obeying his own instincts, and resisting or resign ing. The chief discredit, however, as we have said before, falls upon the . Senate of the United States. Their most valuable and distinguished member opposed, in a frank and open manner, with his usual energy, but with his usual courtesy also, a plan of the President to acquire, by unconstitutional means, a neighboring island. He succeeded in defeat ing this scheme in the Senate. The President, upon this, dismissed our Minister at London, because he was an intimate friend of Mr. Sumner ; he also said " that if he were not President he would call Mr. Sumner to account.;" his aide-de-camp, the messenger between the Executive .Mansion and the Senate Chamber, said, "if he were not an officer of the army he would chastise Mr. Sumner." The Senate, far from resent ing these indecent attacks, sided with the Executive against their col league, and hastened to propitiate the angry President by depriving the Massachusetts Senator of his places on the Committees where he had no rival. Into the vast vacancy which he made at the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Simon Cameron was put by the vote of a Senate which seemed to have lost with its conscience its sense of honor, and the most -scholarly statesman of our time was further grossly JUSTICE FROM THE MUSE OF HISTORY. 563 insulted by being placed fourth in the Committee on Education, pre sided over by Mr. Flanagan of Texas. The document we print to-day will show how much excuse they had for this piece of folly and slavish subservience. It is a part of the history of the country, and an import ant chapter in the biography of one of its first statesmen. It is due also to the fair fame of the most brilliant historian America has yet given to the world, that the insult to him should be hurled back where it came from ; and that another illustration may be given of the glori ous fact, that the fame of such men as JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY and CHARLES SUMNER, is in the keeping of the Muse of History, and not of the politician. She presides serenely over the tribunal of justice, and from her stern awards there is no appeal. In preserving this speech, we have reproduced it with typographical accuracy from the Tribune. The circum stances under which the speech was prepared and sup pressed, were stated by the eminent author himself, in the subjoined note, with which the Tribune introduces the speech itself: III. To the Reader. This statement was prepared in March, shortly after the debate in the Senate, but was withheld at that time from unwilling ness to take part in the controversy, while able friends regarded the question of principle involved as above every personal issue. Yielding at last to various pressure, Mr. Sumner concluded to present it at the recent called session of the Senate, but the Treaty with Great Britain and the case of the newspaper correspondents were so engrossing as to leave no time for anything else. WASHINGTON, June, 1871. Mr. SUMNER While I was under trial before the Senate, on articles of impeachment presented by the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Howe), J forbore taking any part in the debate, even in reply to allegations, asserted to be of decisive importance, touching my relations svith the 564 SUMNER S SUPPRESSED SPEECH. President and Secretary of State. All this was trivial enough ; but numerous appeals to me, from opposite parts of the country, show that good people have been diverted by these allegations from the question of principle involved. Without intending in any way to revive the heats of that debate, I am induced to make a plain statement of facts, so that the precise character of those relations shall be known. 1 do this with unspeakable reluctance, but in the discharge of a public duty where the claims of patriotism are above even those of self-defence. The Senate and the country have an interest in knowing the truth of this matter, and so also has the Republican party, which cannot be indifferent to pretensions in its name ; nor will anything but the com- pletest frankness be proper for the occasion. In overcoming this reluctance I am aided by Senators who are deter mined to make me speak. The Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Howe), who appears- as prosecuting officer, after alleging these personal rela tions as the gravamen of accusation against me making the issue pointedly on this floor, and actually challenging reply not content with the opportunity of this Chamber, hurried to the public press, where he repeated the accusation, and now circulates it, as I am told, under his frank, crediting it in formal terms to the liberal paper in which it appeared, but without allusion to the editorial refutation which accompanied it. On still another occasion, appearing still as pros ecuting officer, the same Senator volunteered out of his own invention to denounce me as leaving the Republican party ; and this he did, with infinite personality of language and manner, in the very face of my speech to which he was replying where, in positive words, I declare that I speak " for the sake of the Republican party," which I hope to save from responsibility for wrongful acts, and then, in other words, making the whole assumption of the Senator an impossibility, 1 an nounce, that in speaking for the Republican party it is " because from the beginning I have been the faithful servant of that party, and aspire to see it strong and triumphant." In the face of this declared aspira tion, in harmony with my whole life, the Senator delivered his attack, and, assuming to be nothing less than Pope, launched against me his bull of excommunication. Then, again playing Pope, he took back his thunder, with the apology that others thought so ; and this alleged understanding of others, he did not hesitate to set above my positive and contemporaneous language, that I aspired to see the Republican party strong and triumphant. Then came the Senator from Ohio (Mr. WHY SUMNER OPPOSED THE PRESIDENT S SCHEME. 565 Sherman), who, taking up his vacation pen, added to the articles of impeachment, by a supplementary allegation, adopted by the Senator under a misapprehension of facts. Here was another challenge. Dur ing all this time I have been silent. Senators have spoken, and then rushed into print ; but I have said nothing. They have had their own way with regard to me. It is they who leave me no alternative. It is alleged that I have no personal relations with the President. Here the answer is easy. I have precisely the relations which he has chosen. On reaching Washington in December last, I was assured from various quarters that the White House was angry with me, and soon afterward the public journals reported the President as saying to a Senator that if he were not President, he " would call me to account." What he meant I never understood, nor would I attribute to him more than he meant ; but that he used the language reported I have no doubt, from information independent of the newspapers. I repeat that on this point I have no doubt. The same newspapers reported also, that a member of the President s household, enjoying his peculiar con fidence, taking great part in the Santo Domingo scheme, had menaced me with personal violence. I could not believe the story except on positive, unequivocal testimony. That the menace was made on the con dition of his not being an army officer, I do not doubt. The member of the household when interrogated by my excellent colleague (Mr. Wil son) positively denied the menace, but I am assured, on authority above question, that he has since acknowledged it, while the President still re tains him in service, and sends him to this Chamber. During this last session, I have opposed the Presidential policy on an important question ; but always without one word touching motives, or one suggestion of corruption on his part, although I never doubted that there were actors in the business who could claim no such immunity. It now appears that Fabens, who carne here as plenipotentiary to press the scheme, has concessions to such amount that the diplomatist is lost in the speculator. I always insisted that the President was no party to any such transaction. I should do injustice to my own feelings if I did not here declare my regret that I could not agree with the President. I tried to think as he did, but I could not. I listened to the arguments on his side ; but in vain. The adverse considerations multiplied with time and reflection. To those who know the motives of my life, it is superfluous for me to add that I sought simply the good of my country 566 HE FEELS FORCED TO THE REVELATION. and Humanity, including especially the good of the African race, to which our country owes so much. Already there was anger at the White House when the scheme to buy and annex half an island in the Caribbean Sea was pressed upon the Senate in legislative session, under the guise of appointing a Commis sion, and it became my duty to expose it. Here I was constrained to show how, at very large expense, the usurper Baez was maintained in power by the Navy of the United States, to enable him to sell his country, while at the same time the independence of the Black Re public was menaced, all of which was in violation of International Law, and of the Constitution of the United States, which reserves to Con gress the power " to declare war." What I said was in open debate, where the record will speak for me. I hand it over to the most careful scrutiny, knowing that the President can take no just exception to it, unless he insists upon limiting proper debate, and boldly denies the right of a Senator to express himself freely on great acts of wrong. Nor will any Republican Senator admit that the President can impose his own sole will upon the Republican party. Our party is in itself a Re public with universal suffrage, and until a measure is adopted by the party, no Republican President can make it a party test. Much as I am pained in making this statement with regard to the President, infinitely more painful to me is what I must present with re gard to the Secretary of State. Here again I remark that I am driven to this explanation. His strange and unnatural conduct toward me, and his prompting of Senators, who, one after another, have set up my al leged relations with him as ground of complaint, make it necessary for me to proceed. We were sworn as Senators on the same day, as far back as 1851, and from that distant time were friends, until the Santo Domingo business in tervened. Nothing could exceed our kindly relations in the past. On the evening of the inauguration of Gen. Grant as President, he was at my house with Mr. Motley in friendly communion, and all uniting in aspirations for the new Administration. Little did Mr. Motley or myself imagine in that social hour that one of our little circle was so soon to turn upon us both. Shortly afterward Mr. Fish became Secretary of State, and began his responsible duties by appealing to me for help. I need not say SUMNER IN CONFERENCE WITH SECRETARY FISH. 567 that I had pleasure in responding to his call, and that I did what I could most sincerely and conscientiously to aid him. Of much, from his arrival down to his alienation on the Santo Domingo business, I pos sess the written record. For some time he showed a sympathy with the scheme almost as little as my own. But as the President grew in earnestness the Secretary yielded, until tardily he became its attorney. Repeatedly he came to my house, pleading for the scheme. Again and again he urged it ; sometimes at my house and sometimes at his own. I was astonished that he could do so, and expressed my astonishment with the frankness of old friendship. For apology, he announced that he was the President s friend, and took office as such. " But," said I, "you should resign rather than do this thing." This I could not re frain from remarking on discovery from dispatches in the State Depart ment that the usurper Baez was maintained in power by our navy. This plain act of wrong required instant redress ; but the Secretary as tonished me again by his insensibility to my appeal for justice. He maintained the President, as the President maintained Baez. I confess that I was troubled. At last, some time in June, 1870, a few weeks before the Santo Do mingo treaty was finally rejected by the Senate, the Secretary came to my house about 9 o clock in the evening and remained till after the clock struck midnight, the whole protracted visit being occupied in earnest and reiterated appeal that I should cease my opposition to the Presidential scheme ; and here he urged that the election which made Gen. Grant President had been carried by him and not by the Repub lican party, so that his desires were entitled to especial attention. In his pressure on me he complained that I had opposed other projects of the President. In reply to my inquiry he named the repeal of the Ten- ure-of-Office Act, and the nomination of Mr. Jones as Minister to Brus sels, both of which the President had much at heart, and he concluded with the Santo Domingo treaty. I assured the Secretary firmly and simply that, seeing the latter as I did with all its surroundings, my duty was plain, and that I must continue to oppose it so long as it appeared to me wrong. He was not satisfied, and renewed his pressure in vari ous forms, returning to the point again and again with persevering as siduity, that would not be arrested, when at last, finding me inflexible, he changed his appeal, saying, " Why not go to London ? 1 offer you the English mission. It is yours." Of his authority from the President I know nothing. I speak only of what he said. My astonishment was 568 REMOVAL OF MR. MOTLEY. heightened by indignation at this too palpable attempt to take me from my post of duty ; but I suppressed the feeling which rose to the lips, and, reflecting that he was an old friend and in my own house, answered gently, " We have a Minister there who cannot be bettered." Thus already did the mission to London begin to pivot on Santo Domingo. I make this revelation only because it is important to a correct un derstanding of the case, and because the conversation from beginning to end was official in character, relating exclusively to public business, without suggestion or allusion of a personal nature, and absolutely without the slightest word on my part leading in the most remote de gree to any such overture, which was unexpected as undesired. The offer of the Secretary was in no respect a compliment or kindness, but in the strict line of his endeavor to silence my opposition to the Santo Domingo scheme, as is too apparent from the facts, while it was plain, positive, and unequivocal, making its object and import beyond ques tion. Had it been merely an inquiry, it were bad enough under the circumstances, but it was direct and complete as by a plenipotentiary. Shortly afterward, being the day immediately following the rejection of the Santo Domingo Treaty, Mr. Motley was summarily removed, ac cording to present pretence, for an offending not only trivial and formal, but condoned by time, being a year old very much as Sir Walter Ra leigh, after being released from the Tower to conduct a distant expedi tion as admiral of the fleet, was at his return beheaded on a judgment of fifteen years standing. The Secretary in conversation and in cor respondence with me undertook to explain the removal, insisting for a long time that he was " the friend of Mr. Motley ; " but he always made the matter worse, while the heats of Santo Domingo entered into the discussion. At last, in January, 1871, a formal paper justifying the removal and signed by the Secretary was laid before the Senate. Glancing at this document I found, to my surprise, that its most salient characteristic was constant vindictiveness toward Mr. Motley, with effort to wound his feelings, and this was signed by one who had sat with him at my house in friendly communion and common aspiration on the evening of the inauguration of Gen. Grant, and had so often insisted that he was " the friend of Mr. Motley ; " while, as if it was not enough to insult one Massachusetts citizen in the public service, the same document, 569 after a succession of flings and sneers, makes a kindred assault on me ; and this is signed by one who so constantly called me "friend," and asked me for help. The Senator from Missouri (Mr. Schurz) has already directed attention to this assault, and has expressed his judg ment upon it, confessing that he "should not have failed to feel the in suit," and then exclaiming with just indignation, " when such things are launched against any member of this body, it becomes the American Senate to stand by him and not to attempt to disgrace and degrade him because he shows the sensitiveness of a gentleman." (Congressional Globe Debate, of March 10, 1871.) It is easy to see how this Senator regarded the conduct of the Secretary. Nor is its true character open to doubt, especially when we consider the context, and how this full blown personality naturally flowered out of the whole document. Mr. Motley, in his valedictory to the State Department, had alluded to the rumor that he was removed on account of my opposition to the Santo Domingo Treaty. The document signed by the Secretary, while mingling most offensive terms with regard to his " friend " in London, thus turns upon his "friend" in Washington : " It remains only to notice Mr. Motley s adoption of a rumor, which had its origin in this city in a source bitterly, personally, and vindictive ly hostile to the President. " Mr. Motley says it has been rumored that he was removed from the post of Minister to England on account of the opposition made by an eminent Senator who honors me (him) with his friendship to the Santo Domingo Treaty. " Men are apt to attribute the causes of their own failures or their own misfortunes to others than themselves, and to claim association or seek a partnership with real or imaginary greatness with which to divide their sorrows or their mistakes. There can be no question as to the identity of the eminent Senator at whose door Mr. Motley is willing to deposit the cause of his removal. But he is entirely mistaken in seeking a vicarious cause of his loss in confidence and favor, and it is unworthy of Mr. Motley s real merit and ability, and injustice to the venerable Senator alluded to (to whose influence and urgency he was originally indebted for his nomination}, to attribute to him any share in the cause of his removal. " Mr. Motley must know, or if he does not know it he stands alone in his ignorance of the fact, that many Senators opposed the Santo Do mingo Treaty openly, generously, and witli as tnucJi efficiency as did the distinguished Senator to whom he refers, and have nevertheless con tinued to enjoy the undiminished confidence and the friendship of the Presi dent, than whom no man living is more tolerant of honest and manly differences of opinion, is more single or sincere in his desire for the 5/0 OFFICIAL INSULTS TO THE SENATOR. public welfare, is more disinterested or regardless of what concerns him self, is more frank and confiding in his own dealings, is more sensitive to a betrayal of confidence, or would look with more scorn and contempt upon one who uses the words and assurances of friendship to cover a secret and determined purpose of hostility." (Senate Executive Docu ment No. 11, pp. 36, 37, XLIst Congress. Third Session.) The eulogy of the President here is at least singular, when it is con sidered that every dispatch of the Secretary of State is by order of the President; but it is evident that the writer of this dispatch had made up his mind to set all rule at defiance. If beyond paying court to the Presi dent, even at the expense of making him praise himself, the concluding sentence of this elaborate passage, so full of gall from beginning to end, had any object, if it were anything but a mountain of words, it was an open attempt to make an official document the vehicle of personal in sult to me, and this personal insult was signed " Hamilton Fish." As 1 became aware of it, and found also that it was regarded by others in the same light, I was distressed and perplexed. I could not comprehend it. I knew not why the Secretary should step so far out of his way, in a manner absolutely without precedent, to treat me with ostentatious indignity, especially when I thought that for years I had been his friend, that I had never spoken of him except with kindness, and that con stantly since assuming his present duties he had turned to me for help. This was more incomprehensible when I considered how utterly ground less were all his imputations. I have lived in vain if such an attempt on me can fail to rebound on its author. Not lightly would I judge an ancient friend. For a time I said nothing to anybody of the outrage, hoping that perhaps the Secretary would open his eyes to the true character of the document he had signed, and volunteer some friendly explanation. Meanwhile a propo sition to resume negotiations was received from England, and the Sec retary, it seems, desired to confer with me on the subject ; but there was evident consciousness on his part that he had done wrong, for, in stead of coming to me at once, he sent for Mr. Patterson of the Senate, and telling him that he wished to confer with me, added that he did not know precisely what were his relations with me, and how I should re ceive him. Within a brief fortnight I had been in conference with him at the State Department and had dined at his house, beside about the same time making a call there. Yet he was in doubt about his relations with me. Plainly because since the conference, the dinner, and the THE SECRETARY S CONDUCT SET FORTH. 571 call, the document signed by him had been communicated to the Senate, and the conscience-struck Secretary did not know how I should take it. Mr. Patterson asked me what he should report. I replied, that should the Secretary come to my house he would be received as an old friend, and that at any time I should be at his service for consultation on pub lic business, but that I could not conceal my deep sense of personal wrong received from him absolutely without reason or excuse. That this message was communicated by Mr. Patterson, I cannot doubt, for the Secretary came to my house and there was a free conference. How frankly I spoke on public questions without one word on other things, the Secretary knows. He will remember if any inquiry, remark, or allu sion escaped from me except in reference to public business. The interview was of business and nothing else. On careful reflection, it seemed to me plain, that, while meeting the Secretary officially, it would not be consistent with self-respect for me to continue personal relations with one who had put his name to a docu ment, which, after protracted fury toward another, contained a studied insult to me, where the fury is intensified rather than tempered by too obvious premeditation. Public business must not suffer ; but, in such a case, personal relations naturally cease ; and this rule 1 have followed since. Is there any Senator who would have done less ? Are there not many who would have done more ? I am at a loss to understand how the Secretary could expect anything beyond those official relations which I declared my readiness at all times to maintain, and which, even after his assault on me, he was willing to seek at my own house. To expect more shows on his part grievous insensibility to the thing he had done. Whatever one signs he makes his own, and the Secretary, when he signed this document, adopted a libel upon his friend, and when he communicated it to the Senate he published the libel. Nothing like it can be shown in the history of our Government. It stands alone. The Secretary is alone. Like Jean Paul in German literature, his just title will be "the only one." For years I have known Secretaries of State, and often differed from them, but never before did I receive from one anything but kindness. Never before did a Secretary of State sign a document libelling an associate in the public service, and publish it to the world. Never before did a Secretary of State so entirely set at defiance every sentiment of friendship. It is impossible to explain this strange aberration except from the disturbing influences of Santo Domingo. But whatever its origin, its true character is beyond question. 57 2 OFFICIAL MISREPRESENTATIONS. As nothing like this State paper can be shown in the history of our Government, so also nothing like it can be shown in the history of other governments. Not an instance can be named in any country where a personage in corresponding official position has done such a thing. The American Secretary is alone, not only in his own country, but in all countries ; " none but himself can be his parallel." Seneca, in the Hercules Furens, has pictured him : " Qiueris Alcicfoe parem ? Nemo est nisi ipse." He is originator and first inventor, with all prerogatives and responsibili ties thereto belonging. I have mentioned only one sally in this painful document ; but the whole, besides its prevailing offensiveness, shows inconsistency with actual facts of my own knowledge, which is in entire harmony with the recklessness toward me, and attests the same spirit throughout. Thus we have the positive allegation that the death of Lord Clarendon, June 27, 1870, "determined the time for inviting Mr. Motley to make place for a successor," when, in point of fact, some time before his lordship s illness, even the Secretary had invited me to go to London as Mr. Mot ley s successor thus showing that the explanation of Lord Clarendon s death was an after-thought when it became important to divert attention from the obvious dependence of the removal upon the defeat of the Santo Domingo treaty. A kindred inconsistency arrested the attention of The London Times in its article of January 24, 1871, on the document signed by the Secre tary. Here, according to this journal, the document supplied the means of correction, since it set forth that on the 25th June, two days before Lord Clarendon s death, Mr. Motley scorning removal was announced in a London journal. After stating the alleged dependence of the removal upon the death of Lord Clarendon, the journal, holding the scales, re marks, "And yet there is at least one circumstance appearing, strange to say, in Mr. Fish s own dispatch, which is not quite consistent with the explanation he sets up of Mr. Motley s recall." Then, after quoting from the document, and mentioning that its own correspondent at Phila delphia did, on the 25th June, " send us a message that Mr. Motley was about to be withdrawn," the journal mildly concludes that " as this was t>vo days before Lord Clarendon s death, which was unforeseen here, and THE TRUE REASONS FOR MOTLEY S REMOVAL. 5/3 could not have been expected in the States, it is difficult to connect the resolution to supersede the late American Minister with the change at our Foreign Office." The difficulty of The. Times is increased by the earlier incident with regard to myself. Not content with making the removal depend upon the death of Lord Clarendon when if was heralded abroad, not only before the death of this minister had occurred, but while it was yet unforeseen, the docu ment seeks to antedate the defeat of the Santo Domingo treaty, so as to interpose "weeks and months" between the latter event and the re moval. The language is explicit. The treaty," says the document, " was admittedly be practically dead, and was only wanting the formal action of the Senate for weeks and months before the decease of the illustrious statesman of Great Britain." Weeks and months. And yet during the last month, when the treaty "was admitted to be practically dead," the Secretary who signed the document passed three hours at my house, pleading with me to withdraw my opposition, and finally wound up by the tender to me of the English mission, with no other apparent object than simply to get me out of the way. Then again we have the positive allegation that the President em braced an opportunity " to prevent any further misapprehension of his views through Mr. Motley by taking from him the right to discuss further the Alabama claims," whereas the Secretary, in a letter to me at Boston, dated at Washington, Oct. gth, 1869, informs me that the dis cussion of the question was withdrawn from London, " because [the ital ics are the Secretary s] we think that when renewed it can be carried on here, with a better prospect of settlement, than where the late attempt at a convention which resulted so disastrously and was conducted so strange ly was had ;" and what the Secretary thus wrote he repeated in conver sation when we met, carefully making the transfer to Washington depend upon our advantage here, from the presence of the Senate thus show ing that the pretext put forth to wound Mr. Motley was an afterthought. Still further, the document signed by the Secretary alleges, by way of excuse for removing Mr. Motley, " the important public consideration of having a representative in sympathy with the President s views," whereas, when the Secretary tendered the mission to me, no allusion was made to " sympathy with the President s views," while Mr. Motley, it appears, was charged with agreeing too much with me all of which 574 A Ft LL REVELATION OF THE FACTS. shows how little this matter had to do with the removal, and how much the Santo Domingo business at the time was above any question of con formity on other things. In the amiable passage already quoted there is a parenthesis which breathes the prevailing spirit. By way of aspersion on Mr. Motley and myself, the country is informed that he was indebted for his nomination to "influence and urgency" on my part. Of the influence I know nothing ; but I deny positively any "urgency. I spoke with the Presi dent on this subject once casually, on the stairs of the Executive man sion, and then again in a formal interview. And here, since the effort of the Secretary, I shall frankly state what I said and how it was intro duced. I began by remarking that, with the permission of the Presi dent, I should venture to suggest the expediency of continuing Mr. Marsh in Italy, Mr. Morris at Constantinople, and Mr. Bancroft at Ber lin, as all these exerted a peculiar influence and did honor to our coun try. To this list I proposed to add Dr. Howe of Greece, believing that he, too, would do honor to our country, and also Mr. Motley in Lon don, who, I suggested, would have an influence there beyond his official position. The President said that nobody should be sent to London who was not " right " on the claims question, and he kindly explained to me what he meant by "right." From this time I had no conversation with him about Mr, Motley, until after the latter had left for his post, when the President volunteered to express his great satisfaction in the appointment. Such was the extent of my "urgency;" nor was I much in advance of the Secretary at that time, for he showed me what was called the " brief" at the State Department for the English mission, with Mr. Motley s name at the head of the list. Other allusions to myself would be cheerfully forgotten if they were not made the pretext to assail Mr. Motley, who is held to severe ac count for supposed dependence on me. If this were crime, not the Minister but the Secretary should suffer, for it is the Secretary and not the Minister who appealed to me constantly for help, often desiring me to think for him, and more than once to hold the pen for him. But forgetting his own relations with me, the Secretary turns upon Mr. Mot ley, who never asked me to think for him or to hold the pen for him. Other things the Secretary also forgot. He forgot that the blow he dealt, whether at Mr. Motley or myself, rudely tore the veil from the past, so far as its testimony might be needed in elucidation of the truth ; BUHNER S RELATIONS WITH SECRETARY FISH. 575 that the document he signed was a challenge and provocation to meet him on the facts, without reserve or concealment ; that the wantonness of assault on Mr. Motley was so closely associated with that on me, that any explanation that I might make must be a defence of him ; that even if duty to the Senate and myself did not require this ex planation, there are other duties not to be disregarded, among which is duty to the absent, who cannot be pennitte.d to suffer unjustly duty to a much-injured citizen of Massachusetts, who may properly look to a Senator of his State for protection against official wrong duty also to a public servant insulted beyond precedent, who besides writing and speaking most effectively for the Republican party and for this Administration, has added to the renown of our country by unsur passed success in literature, commending him to the gratitude and good will of all. These things the Secretary strangely forgot when he dealt a blow which tore the vail. The crime of the Minister was dependence on me. So says the State paper. A simple narrative will show who is the criminal. My early relations with the Secretary have already appeared, and how he began by asking me for help, practising constantly on this appeal. A few details will be enough. At once on his arrival to assume his new duties he asked my counsel about appointing Mr. Bancroft Davis Assis tant Secretary of State, and I advised the appointment, without suffi cient knowledge I am inclined to believe now. Then followed the questions with Spain growing out of Cuba, which were the subject of constant conference, where he sought me repeatedly and kindly listened to my opinions. Then came the instructions for the English mission known as the dispatch of May 16, 1869. At each stage of these in structions I was in the counsels of the Secretary. Following my sug gestion he authorized me to invite Mr. Motley in his name to prepare the " memoir " or essay on our claims, which, notwithstanding its en tirely confidential character, he drags before the world, for the purpose of assault, in a manner clearly unjustifiable. Then, as the dispatch was preparing, he asked my help especially in that part relating to the concession of belligerent rights. I have here the first draft of this im portant passage in pencil and in my own handwriting, varying in no es sential respect from that adopted. Here will be found the distinction on which I have always insisted, that while other Powers conceded belligerent rights to our rebels, it was in England only that the con cession was supplemented by acts causing direct damage to the United 576 MOTLEY S OFFICIAL CONDUCT. States. Not long afterward, in August. 1869, when the British storm had subsided, I advised that the discussion should be renewed by an elab orate communication, setting forth our case in length and breadth, but without any estimate of damages, throwing upon England the opportunity, if not the duty, of making some practical proposition. Adopting this recommendation, the Secretary invited me to write the dispatch. [ thought it better that it should be done by another, and I named for this purpose an accomplished gentleman, whom I knew to be familiar with the question, and he wrote the dispatch. This paper, bearing date Sept. 25, 1869, is unquestionably the ablest in the history of the pre sent Administration, unless we except the last dispatch of Mr. Motley. In a letter dated at Washington, Oct. 15, 1869, and addressed to me at Boston, the Secretary describes this paper in the following terms : " The dispatch to Motley (which I learn by a telegram from him has been received) is a calm, jfo// review of our entire case, making no de mand, no valuation of damages, but I believe covering all the ground and all the points that have been made on our side. I hope that it will meet your views. I think it will. It leaves the question with Great Britain to determine when any negotiations are to be renewed." The Secretary was right in his description. It was "a full review of our whole case ; " " covering all the ground and all the points ; " and it did meet my views, as the Secretary thought it would, specially where it arraigned so strongly that fatal concession of belligerent rights on the ocean, which in any faithful presentment of the national cause, will always be the first stage of evidence, since without this precipitate and voluntary act, the common law of England was a positive protection against the equipment of a corsair ship, or even the supply of a blockade runner for unacknowledged rebels. The conformity of this dispatch with my view s was recognized by others besides the Secretary. It is well known that Lord Clarendon did not hesitate in familiar conversation to speak of it as "Mr. Simmer s speech over again ; " while another .English personage said that "it out-Sumnered Simmer." And yet with his name signed to this dispatch, written at my suggestion, and in entire conformity with my views, as admitted by him and recognized by the English Government, the Secretary taunts Mr. Motley for supposed harmony with me on this very question. This taunt is still more un natural when it is known that this dispatch is in similar conformity with the " memoir " of Mr. Motley, and was evidently written with knowl- OUR INSULTED MINISTER. 577 edge of that admirable document, where the case of our country is stated with perfect mastery. But the story does not end here. On the communication of this dispatch to the British Government, Mr. Thornton was instructed to ascertain what would be accepted by our Government, when the Secretary, under date of Washington, Nov. 6, 1869, reported to me this application, and then, after expressing un willingness to act on it until he " could have an opportunity of consult ing" me, he wrote, -When will you be here ? Will you either note what you think will be sufficient to meet the views of the Senate and of the country, or will you formulate such proposition ?" After this respon sible commission, the letter winds up with the earnest request : " Let me hear from you as soon as you can (the italics are the Secretary s), and I should like to confer with you at the earliest convenient time." On my arrival at Washington the Secretary came to my house at once, and we conferred freely. Santo Domingo had not yet sent its shadow into his soul. It is easily seen that here was constant and reiterated appeal to me, especially on our negotiations with England, and yet in the face of this testimony, where he is the unimpeachable witness, the Secretary is pleased to make Mr. Motley s supposed relations with me the occasion of insult to him, while, as if this were not enough, he crowns his work with personal assault on me all of which, whether as regards Mr. Motley or me, is beyond comprehension. How little Mr. Motley merited anything but respect and courtesy from the Secretary, is attested by all who know his eminent position in London, and the service he rendered to his country. Already the London press, usually slow to praise Americans when strenuous for their country, has furnished its voluntary testimony. The Daily News of August 1 6, 1870, spoke of the insulted Minister in these terms : We are violating no confidence in saying that all the hopes of Mr. Motley s official residence in England have been amply fulfilled, and that the announcement of his unexpected and unexplained recall was received with extreme astonishment and unfeigned regret. The vacancy he leaves cannot possibly be filled by a Minister more sensitive to the honor of his Government, more attentive to the interests of his country, and more capable of uniting the most rigorous performance of his public duties with the high-bred courtesy and conciliatory tact and temper that 37 5/8 SACRIFICE OF SENATOR AND MINISTER. make those duties easy and successful. Mr. Motley s successor will find his mission wonderfully facilitated by the firmness and discretion that have presided over the conduct of American affairs in this country during too brief a term, too suddenly and unaccountably concluded. The London press had not the key to this extraordinary transaction. It knew not the potency of the Santo Domingo spell ; nor its strange influence over the Secretary, even breeding insensibility to instinctive amenities, and awakening peculiar unfriendliness to Mr. Motley, so amply certified afterward in an official document under his own hand all of which burst forth with more than the tropical luxuriance of the much-coveted island. I cannot disguise the sorrow with which I offer this explanation. In self-defence, and for the sake of truth, do I now speak. I have culti vated forbearance, and hoped from the bottom of my heart that I might do so to the end. But beyond the call of the public press has been the defiant challenge of Senators, and also the consideration sometimes presented by friends, that my silence might be misinterpreted. Tardily and most reluctantly I make this record, believing it more a duty to the Senate than to myself, but a plain duty to be performed in all simplicity without reserve. Having nothing to conceal, and willing always to be judged by the truth, I court the fullest inquiry, and shrink from no con clusion founded on an accurate knowledge of the case. If this narration enables any one to see in clearer light the injustice done to Mr. Motley, then have I performed a further duty too long postponed ; nor will it be doubted by any honest nature, that since the assault of the Secretary, he was entitled to that vindication which is found in a statement of facts within my own knowledge. Anything short of this would be a license to the Secretary in his new style of State paper, which, for the sake of the public service and of good-will among men, must be required to stand alone, in the isolation which be comes its abnormal character. Plainly without precedent in the past, it must be without chance of repetition in the future. Here I stop. My present duty is performed when I set forth the simple facts, exhibiting those personal relations which have been drawn in question, without touching the questions of principle behind. TllUS HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH. SENATOR WILSON S WISE COUNSELS. 579 From The Boston Globe we extract : The following letter from Vice-President Wilson, written while he was Senator, is interesting as corroborating the statements in Sumner s suppressed speech. This let ter was written only eight days after the death of Lord Clarendon, the event which, according to Secretary Fish, fixed the time for Motley s removal. The letter was written "after much reflection." The report of the contemplated removal must have gained circulation and credit more than a week before the date of the letter to have enabled Wilson to give much attention to it. UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER, ) WASHINGTON, July 5, 1870. ) PRESIDENT GRANT Dear Sir : After much reflection I have decided that duty demands that I should write to you my views touching the proposed removal of Mr. Motley. I fear you will make a sad mistake if you remove him, and I beg of you to consider the case carefully before acting. His removal is believed to be aimed at Mr. Sumner. Right or wrong, this will be the construction put upon it. Can you, my dear Sir, afford to have such an imputation rest upon your administration? Mr. Motley is one of the best known and most renowned of our countrymen. In letters he is recognized as one of the foremost living authors of our country or of the world. Office can add little to his reputation. Removal from office, while it will wound his feelings, will not affect his standing among the most cultivated of the age. I assure you, my dear Sir, that the men of Massachusetts, who gave you more than 75,000 majority, are proud to number Mr. Motley among their most loved and honored sons. They remember that during the war his pen, voice, and social influence and position were on the side of his struggling country. They were grateful to you for his appoint ment as Minister to England. I need not say that they are surprised at the rumor that he is to be removed. They are pained to have it said that his removal is on account of Mr. Simmer s opposition to the Santo Domingo treaty. His removal will be regarded by the Republicans of Massachusetts as a blow not only at him, but at Mr. Sumner. There has been much feeling about the treaty. Imprudent words have been ut tered, as they always are when men s feelings are excited. Perhaps Mr. Sumner may have said things that may have been distasteful to you, but the people of Massachu setts are with him as ten to one. Holding on general principles that the prominent interests of the country would be advanced by a foothold in the Gulf, and wishing to sustain your Administration whenever I could do so, I voted for the treaty, though I knew that nine-tenths of the people of my State were against it, I had nothing to gain and something to lose by such a vote. I am ready to take the consequences of that vote, but I am not insensible to the fact that the dismissal of Mr. Motley, under present circumstances, will not only be a loss to your Administration, but a blow to me. Personally, I ask nothing, but I do entreat you, before acting, to look well to the matter. Your Administration is menaced by great opposition, and it needs peace and unity among the people and in Congress. The head of a great party, the Presi dent of the United States has much to forget and forgive, but he can afford to be magnanimous and forgiving. I want to see the President and Congress in harmony, and the Republican party united and victorious. To accomplish this, we must all be just, charitable, and forgiving. Very truly, HENRY WILSON. 580 SUMNER S BRIEF MARRIED LIFE. IV. This seems also to be the proper place to allude to Mr. SUMNER S unfortunate marriage, but fortunately brief married life. In speaking of it, the Boston Journal holds the following discreet language : At this period of his life 1866 the friends of Mr. Sumner were much gratified by the announcement of his marriage with the widow of a son of Hon. Samuel Hooper, formerly Miss Mason of Boston. The union, however, proved unfortunate, and a separation by mutual con sent soon followed, involving no diminution of respect to Mr. Sumner on the part of those best acquainted with the circumstances. Though thus deprived of the crowning felicities of a home, his house, with its rare treasures of literature and art, and its host, ever far more genial in private than his somewhat austere public life indicated, continued to be one of the most attractive in Washington. V. It is a dangerous experiment, after a certain period of life, especially such a life as a very great man, with con firmed habits of seclusion and study, must lead to go out into a new world, so foreign to the one he had lived in so long, and leave forever the temple around whose altars are hung all the garlands of triumph, and the wreaths of an early love ; for the new life can never be what once it miofht have been. Nor should it be too o rashly assumed, that amongst this class, however few may be their number, there is a single life unhallowed by romantic souvenirs. They may be buried away out of sight from all others, deep under the fallen leaves of many years ; but they are all still there, tremulous to every sweep of Memory s wing. In such cases, the tenderness that is still cherished, to PURE AND BEAUTIFUL LOVE FOR A MOTHER. 581 all appearances in vain, for the departed one, takes a new direction ; and the love for such a mother as CHARLES SUMNER had, may grow dearer with each coming year. Each new silver hair, slowly stealing in among the tresses of fresher days, only clothes the head with the charm of a new consecration.* There is nothing strange that such men are passion ately admired by gifted and beautiful women. The native gallantry of a fine soul, however, may often be somewhat quenched by too constant a familiarity with something that falls far below the divine ideal, for this finds its best impersonation in the gentleness which makes each man s mother a Madonna something holier o than a mere woman something apart from the other million of women, gentle as may be the rustling of the wings of the common flock. And so, in a single life, where memory goes back fond ly to this ideal that has lived so long, it finds its most ex pressive limnings in the indefinable grace of a gentle and beautiful mother. This, in such a man, becomes a heroine-worship, which may be as sacred in the mascu line soul, and sublimer, than the dewy love of girlhood s morninor. o * A similar nearly a parallel case inspired these verses, addressed as a little Christmas carol, to a very venerable, but still radiantly beautiful lady, who did so much to brighten the life of the writer : So gently has Old Father Time His fingers now seem soft and warm ; Laid his cold fingers on thy head, The ice has melted from his frosty hand ; I fain would ring for him another chime, His touch passed gently o er thy faultless form, For he grows young in thee there are no dead. He must have breathed on thee from Summer Land. And so the years go harmless by thee, Leaving no sign but shining silver hair ; And this, thy beauty s touching coronal, Is the sole proof he has been there. 582 WHEN MARRIAGE IS A LEAP IN THE DARK. VI. When life has gone on so long in this way, and the brave, manly soul has preserved enshrined this worship of woman in a mother s form, and it has filled the tem ple of home with so much of the charm of the sunniest matrimony, without its fretting cares, and its vulgar and corroding passions to marry then is a leap in the dark : the more so, when, through disparity of age, the gid diness and absorption of early selfishness graze rather harshly on the soberer serenity of the quiet afternoon of life, and set the sensitive nerves trembling. The hazard is still greater if it be a widow and above all, a young one that becomes the new wife. If just one million of such marriages were to pass before me in judgment, I should exempt that million of brides from all blame in the inevitable consequences that must follow this unna tural wedding of Winter and Spring ; or better still, of Spring and Autumn, for they are still further asunder than the two other seasons. All this I believe to be literally true : but in saying it, I feel very much as boys do when they know they are skating over thin ice ; and so the quicker the safer. VII. It would be difficult to conceive of circumstances more auspicious for intellectual culture, than those which sur rounded the life of CHARLES SUMNER. I have else where spoken of some of them ; but the enumeration would be far from complete if I omitted the most im portant one, perhaps, of all personal social freedom : MARRIAGE NOT ALWAYS BEST. 583 for, with a brief interval, all through life he was master of his own time, and of his own mind. However much we may praise marriage, however sacred it maybe as a divine institution. however beau tiful the fruits which so often grow in the garden of wed ded love, however indispensable the institution of fam ily to the fair superstructure of civilization, and however great the blessings that flow from married life, yet it is not so unmixed a blessing necessarily, as not to preclude in some instances, the acquisition of higher possessions than ordinarily consist with the married state. This is especially so, in those cases where an early disappointment, for a long time, if not forever afterwards, diverts the mind from social pleasure to the cultivation of such pursuits as find their best realization only where they engross all the powers of the being. It is not only possible, but we constantly witness instances, where the highest powers for achievement in learning, in explora tion, and discovery and in many other fields of unself ish effort, are brought into play for the good of mankind, that we never should have heard of, if such capacities and endowments had been engrossed in the endearments of love, and the sweet charities of home. It is altogether out of the question for any man to do full justice to the absorbing cares of married life, filling all its duties com pletely, and generously, to find time for doing his best through a lifetime at anything else. Love is exacting ; and the instances are very rare in which women have been willing to waive devotion to themselves, that their husbands might accomplish some great purpose. And therefore the mystery all vanishes, which has been supposed to hang over the infelicities of married life, among men of genius. It ought to be a matter of 584 ADVANTAGES OF PERSONAL FREEDOM. no surprise that SOCRATES had his Xantippe ; that MIL TON had no sympathizer in his own family with Paradise Lost; that COLUMBUS should have had a discontented wife ; or that the thousand and one great men who have done the hardest and the best work yet accomplished on the earth, should have found their home-gardens pretty much overrun with weeds. This implies nothing in derogation of the charms of woman, for such marriages might be expected to be unhappy. It is well for men gifted in so extraordinary a degree, not to marry. Lord COKE said, " Law is a jealous mistress ; " and for that matter, so is every other science, art, or pursuit which will not yield up its choicest fruits to anything but abso lute dedication.* * The whole story is well told by a friend of ours who favored us with a glance at that chapter of his autobiography devoted to an account of \i\$ first year of enforced ^reedom from the engrossing cares of married life. Marrying very young a most beautiful and charming girl, who became the mother of his children, and the presiding divinity of the temple of home, where he worshipped, his heart never strayed, nor was hers ever alienated. Encountering trials enough, it is true, in the strife of life, but that life filled always with the sunshine of love ; with far more than an average share of good fortune ; thirty-seven years of such happiness as are seldom witnessed in succession, marked and rounded out a beautiful existence. All his affection was in his home ; his heart was bound up in his wife and children. All that intellectual and social culture could do, had been done for them all. In every land where they traveled, and in every circle where they moved, they presented an exceptional instance of domestic happiness. With a fondness for literature and science, and rare opportunities for their culture, they never impaired, in the faintest degree, his love as a father or a husband he was an idolater of wife and children. But some very strange and unfortunate occur rences took place, reflecting no dishonor, or even discredit, but being simply a sheer misfortune. A visit to a distant relation was prolonged through the malign influence of other parties, into temporary abandonment at least, and it were a long, sad tale to tell. His love had not been impaired, and in the utter desolation of his spirit, he was driven to the verge of madness. But summoning all the strength of his character, and all the pride of his manhood, he betook himself to his studies, and buried, as far as he could, every thought of the past, in exclusive devotion to his beloved pursuits. After a long time the storm passed the victory was achieved ; and becoming once more master of his own mind and of his own time, the amount of work he performed, SUMNER S ONE ALL-ENGROSSING LOVE. 585 It may be urged that celibacy fosters egotism and selfishness and in many cases it does. It need not be so, nor will it if the person, be it man or woman, is dedi cated to the service of humanity. Women like FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, and a myriad of bright names that have adorned the single life of convent, and the active duties of charity, have not made hard-hearted women. Such lives as HOWARD and LIVINGSTONE led, did not make hard-hearted men. In the prosecution of such pursuits, very little food is found for nurturing egotism and self ishness. It was fortunate for humanity, and fortunate beyond estimate for the colored race, that CHARLES SUMNER had but one all-engrossing love, and that this love was for his brother man. and its superb quality, became absolutely incredible. Having passed through sorrow without bringing any of the bitterness of it away with him, and having recovered his primitive health and strength, which had drooped for a while, he thus describes the position in which he found himself : " Personal Freedom. No more annihilation of time in what I have at last discov ered were but the harassing cares and frivolous occupations of married life. The sweet charities of domestic bliss have indeed fled ; but in the large space they once filled, I find ample verge and room enough for sturdier, healthier and fresher plants to grow ; plants which will return with the infallibility of eternal law, the fruit earned by diligence and generosity of culture." He was master of his own time, and of his own mind ; and for the first time since his college days he says, " I had not thought of this, till E. s last letter, in which I was told that I had been unqualifiedly discarded forever. Free ? It was a new idea so new that I did not altogether take it in : nor have I, yet. But it will gradually unfold itself, I think. Why ! only fancy how free I shall be every one of the twenty-four hours of each day all my own : with none of the old calls to duty ; no unwelcome people to meet ; no little thing to * get ; no ungrateful gossip to hear ; no irritating, hard, cold, or bitter remarks, lightly dropped, but sharper than needles ! No forebodings about what may happen ; no apprehensions of future poverty ; above all, the conscious ness that no whole day, nor hour, was absolutely at my own control ! But to go to bed only when I feel like it, to get up only when I am ready : to go out, and come in, to read when, where, and what I please ; and walk or ride, or talk, or be silent ; above all, perhaps, to have my own hours for communion with my own soul, as everybody should have : all this ! it seemed too much ; more than I had deserved, more than I have even yet learned how to use. Oh ! is it possible that I can feel far enough away from the sight of the cruel coast where my lifeboat went to 586 SETTLEMENT WITH ENGLAND BY ARBITRATION. VIII. During this year, 1872, Mr. SUMNER witnessed what he justly deemed one of the most important events that had occurred in the history of the intercourse of nations the settlement of the long-pending" and constantly me nacing difficulties between Great Britain and the United States, BY ARBITRATION. It will be remembered that pieces ? Will those rocks fade away clean out of view, as I take my staff, and swing my little bundle over my shoulder, for the new, solitary journey ? I thank God this shipwreck need not prove an unmixed disaster. In the future, I may find it was all for the best. * My regime of living now works easy in all things. Physically and intellectually I am master of my own mind, as well as of my own time. The amount of work, of all kinds, I have done during the last few months, is amazing, as I review it. Since my college days, I have had no such unrestricted freedom ; nor was I ever conscious of acquiring or feeling so steadily increasing a momentum, moral and intellectual. I feel it on starting from a short halt ; every interruption, voluntary or accidental, seems to invest the machine with added power. My soul, too, is fully at peace. I am conscious of a prevailing desire to act man fully, and lojally, and filially towards God; honestly with myself, and with jus tice and charity towards my fellow-men. I know how imperfectly I am doing all this, no : I cannot know this : let me say I feel something of it. But I hear the dying thunders, still rolling in the distance dark clouds still hang around the horizon, and the red lightning flashes out angrily from their rifted masses. If an unhappy dream wakes me in the deep night, a cold chill steals over me, and I lie for hours in the paralysis of a deathly prostration : but these periods occur less often, and now and then some of the loveliest visions come in my sleep. A few nights since, I dreamed of the young days of our forest love, with all its rapt embraces, and she was in all the dewy freshness of her beauty. We wandered for hours along the lake, and strolled under the wide branches of the old trees. Nor did I wake till the sun came through the window. How thankful I was ! What gentle spirit painted that divine scene, and held the curtain with such steady and patient hands? I shall know the artist, some day : I can more than half guess, now." " Yes ; now I can work. The few lares penates left, are all gathered around me ; my tools are all laid out on my work-bench, and I have dedicated myself afresh to the sole object of existence a higher life. Had it not been for a lifetime of intel lectual culture, such a loss as I have gone through, would have driven me to madness." " Such power to work, such breadth of comprehension of things possible to be done, such acquisition of strength in geometrical ratio, by unbroken continuity, of dedication to a grand thought this is not often coincident with the distracting cares of married life." PEACE THE BEGINNING AND END OF HIS LIFE. 587 Mr. SUMNER began his political life, as we have men tioned in an early part of this volume, in 1844, when he pronounced the oration on THE TRUE GRANDEUR OF NA TIONS ; the burden of which was PEACE, and which COB- DEN, its most eloquent advocate in Europe, had pronounc ed the noblest contribution ever made by any modern writer to the cause of peace. In that oration the memor able words were uttered which resounded through the world ; which were quoted at every subsequent Peace Convention on the globe, and which were received with cheers when his health was drank at Geneva "In our age, there can be no peace that is not honorable ; there can be no war that is not dishonorable." He was now to see the two foremost nations of the earth practically adopt that sentiment, and come for ward, setting an example for the first time, on so broad a scale, of yielding up all their claims and disputes to the awards of a peaceful arbitration. How far his re peated and noble efforts in behalf of this cause, had been influential in bringing about this grand result, can, of course, never be known. But in conversation with some of the ablest men who assisted in that arbitration, I was left without a doubt that not one of them had escaped the influence of the mind of CHARLES SUMNER during the last quarter of a century. Nor could he consider that he had led his life in vain, had he had no other re ward than the consciousness of having contributed so largely to so great an event. It was the first triumph the Peace Party of the world had ever won. It rendered subsequent victories easier ; it inspired the lovers of Peace and Humanity everywhere with new hope. The dawn of a better day was approaching; its first gray lines were fretting the east ; the lark was singing at 588 THE OLIVE BRANCH TO ALL NATIONS. heaven s gate ; and the Dove of Peace was on its flight, with the olive-branch in her mouth,, to all the nations. SENATOR SUMNER S WILL. Mr. Francis V. Balch, the executor of Senator Sumner s will, entered it for probate in Boston. It is written by the Senator s own hand : 1. I bequeath to Henry W. Longfellow, Francis V. Balch and Edward L. Pierce, as trustees, all my papers, manuscripts and letter-books, to do with them what they think best, with power to destroy them, to distribute them in some public library, or to make extracts from them for publication. 2. I bequeath to the trustees above mentioned $3,000, or so much as may be needed to complete the edition of my speeches and papers, should the same be unfinished at my death. It is hoped that no part of this sum will be needed. 3. I bequeath to the library of Harvard College my books and autographs, whether in Washington or Boston, with the understanding that duplicates of works already belonging to the college library may be sold or exchanged for its benefit. 4. I bequeath to the City of Boston, for the Art Museum, my pictures and engravings, except the picture known as the "Miracle of the Slave," with the injunction that the trustees shall do with them what they think best, disposing of all for the benefit of the museum. 5. I bequeath to my friends of many years, Henry W. Longfellow and Samuel G. Howe, my bronzes, to be divided between them ; also to Henry W. Longfellow the Psyche and that bust of the young Augustus, in marble ; to my friend Joshua B. Smith, the picture known as the " Miracle of the Slave," and to the City of Boston, for the Art Museum, the bust of myself, by Crawford, taken during my visit to Rome in 1839. 6. I bequeath to the daughters of Henry W. Longfellow $2,000, also to the daughters of Samuel G. Howe $2,000, and to the daughters of James T. Furniss of Philadelphia $2,000, which I ask them to accept in token of my gratitude for the friendship their parents have shown me. 7. I bequeath to Hannah Richmond Jacobs, only surviving sister of my mother, an annuity of $500, to be paid by my executor for the remainder of her life. 8. I direct my executor to make all provision for perpetual care of my mother s lot at Mount Auburn. 9. I bequeath to the President and Fellows of Harvard College $1,000, in trust for an annual prize for the best dissertation by any student of the College or any of its schools, undergraduate or graduate, on universal peace and the methods by which war may be permanently suspended. I do this in the hope of drawing the attention of students to the practicability of organizing peace among nations, which I sincerely believe may be done. I cannot doubt that the same modes of decision which now prevail between individuals, between towns and between smaller communities, may be extended to nations. SENATOR SUMNER S WILL. 589 10. All the residue of my estate, real and personal, I bequeath and devise to my executor in trust, to be sold at such time and in such way as he shall think best, the proceeds to be distributed in two equal moieties, as follows : One moiety to be paid my sister, Julia Hastings, wife of John Hastings of San Francisco, Cal., for her sole and exclusive use ; or, should she die before me, then in equal portions to her three daughters or the survivor, each portion to be for the sole and exclusive use of such daughter. The other moiety to be paid to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, in trust, for the benefit of the College library, my desire being that the in come should be applied to the purchasing of books relating to politics and fine arts. This bequest is made in filial regard for the College. In selecting especially the library, I am governed by the consideration that all my life I have been a user of books, and having few of my own, I have relied on the libraries of friends and on public libraries ; so that what I now do is only a return for what I have freely re ceived. 11. I appoint Francis V. Balch executor of this will, and desire that the trustees of my papers may be exempt from giving bonds. In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand this second day of September, 1873, at Boston. CHARLES SUMNER. THE END. LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF CHARLES SUMNER. SECTION FIRST. Parentage and Education* PAGE The Author s Tribute to Sumner The Three Great Funerals of our time Lin coln, Greeley, Sumner 2 Parentage and Auspicious Birth 3 Academic and University Course 4 Study and Practice of Law. He delivers Law Lectures. Edits Dunlap s Treatise 5 SECTION SECOND. European Studies and Travels. Sails for Europe 6 Travels and Studies in France, Germany, Italy 7 SECTION THIRD. Professional Life, 1840. Lectures at the Law School. Edits Vesey s Reports. Continues legal studies and practice until 1846 8-9 SECTION FOURTH. Orations and Political SfeecJies. Enters on Public Life, 1844. Commences war upon American Slavery 10 Speech on the True Grandeur of Nations n Indications of Political Principles 12 Sumner s Trials of Character 13 He joins the Anti-Slavery Society 14 Constitutional Hostility to Slavery 15 Admission of Texas opposed 16 Opposition to Admission of Missouri 17 Slavery made our own original sin 18 " Let us try" 19 Massachusetts foremost. . . .20 Anti-Slavery duties of Whigs 21 Conservatism of Everett and Webster 22 Whigs should be for Freedom , . . . 23 Duty of the Whig Party 24 Webster in 1820 25 Franklin s Abolition Society 26 John Quincy Adams 27 Appeal to Webster 28 War with Mexico , 29 Mr. Sumner to represent himself. 30 Sumner s Rebuke of Winthrop 31 Opposition to the Mexican War 32 Winthrop s Subterfuges 33 Winthrop s Subserviency to Slave Power 34 Final Appeal to Winthrop 35 Advocacy of Dr. Howe s Election 36 Instantly cease wrong-doing 37 Friends of America in Parliament 38 Liberty defended in Parliament 39 Fox Barre Burke 40 Lord Chatham Duke of Richmond 41 Wilkes Fox Sheridan 42 The Free-Soil Party coming 43 Charles Francis Adams Noble Course 44 Sumner s great speech at Worcester. : 45 Audacity of the Slave Power 46 The Spirit of the Fathers , 47 Freedom Power vs. Slave Power 48 Continuance of the American Revolution 49 Liberty Equality Fraternity 50 Presidential Nominations at Buffalo 51 Sumner s Ratification Speech 52 Protection to man the American System 53 The Candidates Van Buren and Adams. ... 54 Washington Lafayette Otis Henry 55 Some Practical Plan for Action 56 592 INDEX. PAGE Speech at the Worcester Convention 57 A Permanent National Party 58 Old Party Issues Obsolete 59 The Founders of the Republic 60 Jefferson an Abolitionist 61 Franklin s Abolition Petition 62 The Country becomes Pro-Slavery 63 Catalogue of Slavery Aggressions 64 Usurpations of Slavery 65 Degrading Influence of Slavery 66 The Remedy Slavery Prohibition 67 The Wilmot Proviso 68 Government must favor Freedom 69 Taylor s Administration condemned 70 Its Pro-Slavery Character 71 A National Party necessary 72 Free-Soilism not Sectionalism 73 Same Principles in State Elections 74 Rights of Colored People to Education 75 His Democratic Christian Soul 76 Ostracism of the Colored Race 77 Trial before the Supreme Court 78 All Men Equal before the Law 79 The Encyclopedic D Alembert Diderot 80 Origin of Equality among Alen 81 Condorcet s Declaration 82 Declarations of Rights in France 83 Rights of all to Schools * 84 Courts of Massachusetts 85 Exclusion of the Colored from Schools 86 Color Race Caste 87 Barbarism and Cruelty of Caste 88 Change in the Times 89 The grand Revelation of Christianity 90 Benefits of Acquaintance 91 Equality before the Law 92 The Christian Spirit Invoked 93 Webster s only Successor. 94 Webster s Statesmanship 95 California Admitted as a Free State 96 Slavery not Prohibited Elsewhere.. . 97 Balance of Power Overturned 98 Denial of Trial by Jury 99 A worse Tyranny than the Stamp Act 100 His Feelings towards the Law 101 Duties of Massachusetts Men 102 Sumner s Election to the Senate 103 Vote of the Legislature 104 The Press on his Election. 105 The Boston Journals 106 The Post Commonwealth Transcript . . . . 107 Serenity under Vituperation 108 The Free-Soilers of the Senate 109 SECTION FIFTH. Senatorial Career. His Senatorial Career begins no Mrs. Stowe Condition of the Country in PA OH Sumner s Senatorial Oath 112 He gets the Floor at last 113 Petition of Society of Friends 114 Freedom National Slavery Sectional 115 He Disclaims Violence and Discourtesy 116 No Compromise Final 117 Freedom of Speech above all 1 18 Relations of the Government to Slavery 119 Slavery and the National Government 120 Slavery not in the Preamble 121 It Speaks for Freedom 122 Slavery Excluded from the Constitution 123 The Rights of Human Nature 124 Freedom is National 135 Washington Inaugurated, April 30, 1789 126 Not a Slave under the National Flag 127 Jefferson always Denounced Slavery 128 All the Churches Opposed to Slavery 129 Literature the Foe of Slavery ... 130 Franklin s Abolition Society 131 Franklin s Prayer to Congress 132 Prerogatives of the Constitution 133 Persons are not Property 134 The Constitution cannot Support Slavery 135 Surrender of Fugitive Slaves 136 The First Hateful Compromise 137 First National Convention 138 No Proposition for Property in Slaves 139 At Last the Fugitive Stave Bill 140 The Writ of Habeas Corpus Overthrown 141 Congressional Usurpation 142 Madison Morse Franklin Sherman 143 Trial by Jury Denied 144 Elbridge Gerry s Suggestion adopted 145 Judicial Decisions for Freedom 146 Under the Common Law 147 Unconstitutionally of the Slave Act 148 The Inflexible Samuel Adams 149 Boston s Opposition to the Stamp Act 150 Virginia Responds to Boston 151 The Stamp Act is Repealed 152 Washington Opposed to Forcible Rendition. . 153 Washington Leaves his Slaves Free 154 Who Could Sing for Slavery 155 Arago Redeemed from Slavery 156 Review of the Argument 157 Slave that Litany of Wrong and Woe 158 The Final Conclusion 159 Injustice cannot Command Obedience 160 Duty of Disobeying the Slave Law 161 Senator Kale s Praises 162 Senator Chase s Eulogium 163 Seward, Wilson, and the Phillips unite 164 European Opinions of the Speech 165 Downing, the Landscape Gardener 166 Addresses the Free-Soil Convention 167 Old Parties Pro-Slavery 168 New Parties always Triumph 169 INDEX. 593 PAGE The Rising Party of Freedom 170 Courses of Free-Soil Lectures. 171 Sumner at the Metropolitan Theatre 172 Change Wrought in Twenty Years 173 Special Duties of the North 174 Necessity of the Anti-Slavery Enterprise 175 The Law of Slavery 176 An Outrage on Man and God 177 Alleged Distinction of Race 178 One Great Human Family 179 A Human Being not Property 180 Practicability of Anti-Slavery Enterprise 181 The Question to be openly Confronted 182 Right Cannot be Founded on Wrong 183 Emancipation not Dangerous 184 Instant Freedom safe for the Slave 185 Good of the Enterprise Already 186 Inherent Dignity of the Enterprise 187 Freedom the Darling of History 188 Hard Words Personal Disparagement 189 At Last there is a North 190 The God Thor, and his Cup 191 Why Slavery Concerns the North 192 Masterdom of Slave Oligarchy 193 Giant Strength used Heartlessly 194 The Great Duty of the North 195 Mr. Hayes Noble Resignation 196 This Enterprise must go on 197 Inscriptions on Achilles Shield 198 The Press on the Lecture 199 Count Gurowski Mr. Seward 200 Reasons against Secrecy in the Senate 201 Speech in Faneuil Hall 202 He addresses only Republicans 203 The Question National and Local 204 Old Abolitionism in Massachusetts 205 The Constitution Ordained for.Freedom 206 Horace Mann in Congress 207 What the Slave Oligarchy Appropriates 208 Inferiority of Slave States" 209 Usurpations of Slavery 210 Every Demand of Slavery Conceded 211 The Missouri Compromise Abolished 212 Outrages in Kansas 213 To Build another Slave State 214 Prostration of the Slave Oligarchy 215 Wedded to Freedom 216 The Rip Van Winkle Whigs 217 The Great Phalanx now Rallying 218 No Check on Emigration 219 W T hat Foreigners have done for us 220 Franklin the Apostle of Freedom 221 Principles of the New Party 222 Adams Otis Patrick Henry 223 Corner-stone of the New Party 224 Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act asked 225 Sumner Enforces the Petition 2?6 Boston Stamp Act Tea Act 227 PAGE Boston led the Column of Freedom 228 Pitt Demanded Repeal 229 Reply to Assailants 230 Answers Mason and Butler 231 Jackson s Words in 1832 232 Duties under the Oath 233 Far-famed Resolutions of 1798 234 A Tribute to Massachusetts 235 No Slave born in Massachusetts 236 Massachusetts Exterminates Slavery 237 No Injustice to South Carolina 238 Quota of Revolutionary Troops 239 The South Always Behind 240 General Greene s Testimony 241 Ramsay s History of the Revolution 243 Military Weakness of Southern States 243 The Rights of Human Nature 244 The Crime Against Kansas 245 Vice-President Wilson s Account 246 Analysis of the Speech 247 Assault on Sumner 248 Meeting at Seward s House 249 A Committee of Inquiry 250 Behavior of Senators 251 Toombs Justifies Brooks 252 Brooks Challenges Wilson 253 Brooks Expelled Keitt Resigns 254 The South Endorses Brooks 255 Buchanan Approves the Assault 256 Burlingame Denounces the Assault 257 Brooks Challenge Accepted 258 Voice of Faneuil Hall 259 Fate of Keitt and Brooks 260 Europe with the Union 261 The Approaching Conflict . 262 The Crime Against Kansas 263 A Tyrannical Usurpation 264 Fratricidal, Patricidal War 265 The Woe and Shame of the Crime 266 Its Origin and Extent 267 Forced on a Reluctant North 268 How the Crime was Engendered 269 The Nebraska Act a Swindle 270 Its Offensive Provisions. . . . is 271 It Cleared the Way for Slavery 272 A Picture of Direful Truth 273 How the Territory was Overrun 274 Grand Invasion of the Territory 275 The Bursting of the Storm 276 The Governor s Servility to Slavery 277 Five Invasions of Kansas 278 Civilization Averts her Face 279 Bowie-knives and Revolvers 280 How the Crime was done 281 Foreigners Impose a Constitution 282 Squatter Sovereignty 283 Irrefragable Testimony 284 Slavery Erected in Kansas 258 594 INDEX. Apologies for the Crime 286 The Apology Tyrannical 287 Apology Imbecile 288 Apology Absurd 289 Remedies Proposed 290 Remedy of Tyranny of Folly 291 Remedy of Civil War 292 Usurpation must be Overthrown 293 Reaching the Goal 294 The American President Guilty 295 SECTION SIXTH. The Interval of Illness and Repose. His Health when Assaulted 296 The Seaside and the Mountains 297 Welcome of Massachusetts 298 His Reception Speech ._ 299 His Portrait of his Mother State 300 Some of Her False Children 301 Tribute to Josiah Quinoy 302 Re-election to the Senate 303 His Sojourn in Europe 304 Dr. Brown-Sequard 305 Return to the Senate 306 SECTION SEVENTH. Return to the Senate. Again in the Front of Battle 307 Speech on the Barbarism of Slavery 308 Responses to His Great Speech 309 The Gathering Storm 3 to The Barbarism of Slavery Portrayed 311 No Personal Griefs to Utter 312 Slavery must be Discussed 313 Arrogant Assumptions of Slavery 314 Satan always Satan 315 Slavery s First Assumption 316 Two Civilizations Impossible 317 He lets Slavery Paint Itself 318 The Slave for the Master s Use 319 The Abrogation of Marriage 320 Abrogation of the Parental Relation 321 Appropriation of the Slave s Toil 322 Jean Jacques Rousseau Dr. Channing 323 Degradation of a Whole Race 324 Origin of Slavery in Africa 325 Home of the Slave Code 326 Practical Result of Slavery 327 The Harpy defies the Banquet 328 Slave and Free States Contrasted 329 Agriculture Mining Mechanics 330 Domestic and Foreign Commerce 331 Railroads Post-offices Charity 332 Educational Establishments 333 In Systems of Common Schools 334 Public Libraries 335 The Press Printers Publishers 336 Authors Patents Emigration 337 Life-giving Power of Freedom 338 The Barbary of the Union 339 Mr. Chestnut, of South Carolina 340 His Uncontrollable Rage 341 Madness Precedes Destruction. 342 Campaign Speech at Cooper Institute 343 Lincoln s Administration Ratified 344 SECTION EIGHTH. The War of the Rebellion. First Shot into Fort S umter 345 Dead Nations never Return 346 Vision of Liberty in the New World 347 Our Progress till 1860 348 Arrested at our Belshazzar Feast 349 Sumner s Mighty Influence 350 Another Speech at Worcester 351 He Invokes Emancipation 352 He Exults in View of the Past 353 Emancipation would end the War 354 The Author s Intercourse with Mr. Sumner. . . 355 Sumner Urges Lincoln in Vain 356 Pro-Slavery Policy of the Cabinet 357 Gen. Butler s Contrabands 358 Reasons why Lincoln Hung Back 359 Sumner Firmly for Emancipation 360 Sumner again at Cooper Institute 361 One Step towards Emancipation 362 Death of Col. Baker at Ball s Bluff 363 Washington during the War 364 A Secession Capital 365 A Den of the She-vipers Broken up 366 The News at Willard s 367 Who Owns the Mississippi ? 368 Baker s Grave in California 369 Baker s Last Speech in the Senate 370 Sumner s Eulogy on Baker 371 Who Killed Baker? 372 Codifying the National Statutes 373 No Patents for Colored Inventors 374 On the Seizure of Mason and Slidell 375 Circumstances of the Seizure 376 Rash Proposals in Congress 377 England Bent on War 378 British Conduct Severely Criticised 379 Why the Commissioners were Surrendered . . . 380 Sumner s Speech on the Trent Affair 381 Condition of Mexico in 1862 382 Minister Corwin s Opinion 383 End of an Insane Expedition 384 A Prophetic Letter 385 Slavery Abolished in the District of Columbia. 386 Sumner s Bright and Dark Hours 387 Recognition of Liberia and Hayti 388 INDEX. 595 PAGE Violent Opposition from the South 389 An Evening with the Haytian Minister 390 A Description of Him 391 Treaty for Suppressing the Slave Trade 392 Sumner Milestones 393 Speech against Rendition of Fugitives 394 The Battle-Flag Resolution 395 Sumner Endorsed by Gen. Scott 396 Answer to " How will all this End ? " 397 An American Slave Empire 398 Gov. Stanley Closes Colored Schools 399 Sumner Calls for Information 400 Sumner s Confidence in Lincoln 401 Mr. Lincoln s Character Drawn 402 Mr. Lincoln s Written Opinion 403 Sumner on Our Foreign Relations 404 How Europe Felt Toward Us 405 Friendship of Russia 406 Bayard Taylor s Ode to Russia 407 England s Feeling in Contrast 408 Insincerity of English Professions 409 Hatred of England s Ruling Classes 410 Dr. Beattie s Address to Our Poets 411 Starvation in England 412 England Owed Us no Good-will 413 Plain Letter to Lord John Russell 414 His Unworthy Conduct 415 England Our Step-mother 416 Sumner for Colored Troops 417 Author s Historic Statement 418 Negro Troops in Washington s Army 419 Colored Heroes at Red Bank 420 Commodore Chauncey s Black Sailors 421 Gen. Jackson s Proclamation in 1814 422 Jackson s Address to Colored Troops 423 Advantages of Colored Soldiers 424 180,000 Colored Troops in the Union Army.. . 425 Senator Arnold on Public Defence 426 Improvement in the Colored Race 427 An Evening s Reading to Sumner 428 Heroism in the Hospital 429 Dying Away from Home 430 Scenes in the Washington Hospitals 431 A Brave Oneida County Boy 432 The Two Loadstones Love, Country 433 Coming Back to Life 434 Is Bella Well? 435 Liberty Cheap at Any Price 436 Sumner again at Cooper Institute 437 The Morning Star of London 438 Once More in Faneuil Hall 439 Elected for the Third Term 440 Horace Greeley on Charles Sumner 441 Effect of Lincoln s Proclamation 442 Colored Suffrage in District of Columbia 443 Sympathy with Emperor Alexander 444 The Emperor of Russia 445 How to Treat the Rebel States 446 PAGE Military Rule in the South 447 Possible Abuse of the Power 448 Carpet-bagism in the South 449 The Southern States Vacated 450 Three Sources of Congressional Power 451 Meaning of Republican Reform 452 Sumner s Constitutional Argument 453 The Proclamation of Emancipation 454 Death-Knell of American Slavery 455 Slavery Dead Never Lives Again 456 SECTION NINTH. Emancipation of the African Race. Slavery Dies Hard 457 Bureau of Freedmen s Affairs 458 Speech on the Freedmen s Bureau 459 Helplessness of the Emancipated 460 First Commission on Freedmen 461 Letter of Counsel to Africano-Americans 462 Resolutions Offered for Retaliation 463 Barbarity Proposed for Barbarity 464 Sumner s Civilized Substitute 465 New Pledges for Ending the Rebellion 466 Speech Sustaining the Substitute 467 On Building the Pacific Railroad 468 Union of Mississippi and Lakes 469 j Amendment Abolishing Slavery 470, I The Constitution Opposed to Slavery 471 The Constitution Analyzed 472 Constitutional Slavery an Outlaw 473 Wilson s Anti-Slavery Measures 474 The Dark in the White House 475 j Hints for Union Speeches 476 I How Slavery has Destroyed Nations 477 | Debt of America to Africa 478 j Thirteen Million Africans Immolated 479 I Counts in our Terrible Indictment 480 What Africa has Suffered 481 All Hail ! Niobe of the Nations 482 Duty to Fallen Soldiers 483 Plea for National Cemeteries 484 Congress Adopts the Plan 485 SECTION TENTH. Downfall of the Rebellion. Gen. Lee s Parting with His Soldiers 486 Lincoln s Visit to Richmond 487 Lincoln s Assassination 488 Sumner s Eulogy of Lincoln 489 Anti-Slavery Measures of Congress 490 \Vhat Slavery had been 491 How Slavery Died 492 Final Extinction of Slavery 493 Availability a Fatal Policy 494 Andrew Johnson becomes President 495 59 6 INDEX. Andrew Johnson s Character 496 The Augean Stables Cleansed 497 The Three Great Amendments 498 The Johnson-Clarendon Treaty. 499 Sumner s Speech on the Treaty 500 Civil Rights Supplement Bill 501 Justice to the Colored Race Everywhere 502 The Presidency as a Trust 503 Sumner s Letter to Colored Citizens 504 The Wonderful Year 1870 505 Joy in Washington over the Ratification 506 Sumner s Response to the Serenade 507 The San Domingo Scheme 508 Colored Convention in South Carolina 509 Address to the American People 510 Sumner s Letter to the Colored Convention. . . 511 His Advice to the Convention 512 Colored National Convention, New Orleans.. 513 A Friend s Last Evening with Sumner 514 Sumner at Home 515 Last Speech in the Senate 516 SECTION ELEVENTH. His Death, and Public Honors to His Memory. Descriptions of the Closing Scenes 517 His Friends at His Last Dinner 518 Feeling in Washington. Mr. Dana s Sun. . . . 519 Sumner s Last Hours 520 Friends around his Death-bed 521 He Dies at 2:50 P.M., March n, 1874 522 Public Obsequies at the Capitol 523 The Funeral Train to Boston 524 Demonstrations of Respect and Grief 525 Public Meeting in Faneuil Hall 526 Hon. James B. Smith s Speech 527 Feeling in the Assembly 528 Charles Francis Adams Letter 529 Senator Anthony Delivers the Body 530 Saturday Night of Silence and Gloom 531 Decorations of Doric Hall 532 Chaste Simplicity of Boston s Tributes 533 Ceremonies at King s Chapel 534 | The Procession to Mount Vernon 535 Last Scenes at the Grave 536 Tributes from the Boston Pulpit 537 j James Freeman Clarke s Discourse 538 \ The Bloody Coat Capt. John Brown 539 The Republic in Mourning 540 ! His Work was Complete 541 | Charles Sumner and Edmund Burke 542 ; Tributes by Chapin and Frothingham 543 The Miracle of the Slave Picture 544 His Character by Beecher 545 Tributes by Putnam and Talmage 546 Discourses by Hazen and MacArthur 547 The Louisville Courier-Journal. 548 The Chicago and Cincinnati Press 549 Indiana, Michigan and Ohio 550 Pittsburg, Richmond Dr. Garnet 551 Sumner s Letter about Battle-Flags 552 Spirit of the English Journals 553 Daily News The Globe The Echo 554 The Examiner a.nA Anglo-American Times. 555 Worthy Tribute to Sumner s Character 556 His Portrait by the Boston Journal 557 Chaplet Woven by Grace Greenwood 558 The Silent House and Vacant Chair 559 SECTION TWELFTH. His Character and Fame. The Stern Duty of the Historian 560 Sumner s Rupture with the Administration. . . 561 The Judgment of the New York Tribune 562 Justice from the Muse of History 563 Sumner s Suppressed Speech 564 Why Sumner opposed the President s Scheme. 565 He feels Forced to the Revelation 566 Sumner in Conference with Secretary Fish . . . 567 Removal of Mr. Motley 568 The Secretary s Reply to Mr. Motley 569 Official Insults to the Senator 570 The Secretary s Conduct set forth 571 Official Misrepresentations 572 The True Reasons for Motley s Removal 573 A Full Revelation of the Facts 574 Sumner s Relations with Secretary Fish 575 Motley s Official Conduct 576 Our Insulted Minister 577 Sacrifice of Senator and Minister 578 Senator Wilson s Wise Counsels 579 Sumner s Brief Married Life 580 Pure and Beautiful Love of a Mother 581 When Marriage is a Leap in the Dark 582 Marriage not Always Best 583 Advantages of Personal Freedom 584 Sumner s One All-engrossing Love 585 Settlement with England by Arbitration 586 Peace the Beginning and End of His Life. . . . 587 The Olive Branch to All Nations 588 Senator Sumner s Will 589 AGENTS WANTED FOR THE GREAT WORK ENTITLED "JESUS." Pastor " Church of the Strangers" New York. THIS undertaking, in spite of the numerous Lives of Christ that have al ready appeared, is both a bold and unique one. It is an acceptance by a Christian Warrior of the Infidel Rationalist s gage of battle, and is a scholarly, patient, and exhaustive analysis of the life, words, and character of Jesus, at least rationally, if not rationalistically considered bestowing, in fact, the same treatment, the same laws of evidence and methods of deduction adopt ed by Strauss and Renan, but widely differing from those writers in the con clusions arrived at. It is bold, for the reason that Infidelity in all ages has relied and boasted its reliance upon the application of pure reason for con troverting the truths held most sacred by Christians ; and unique, because no Christian writer has ever before attempted to establish the divinity of Jesus with the very weapons chosen to disprove it. It is in no sense a theologic or dogmatic work, and is not to be confounded with "Lives of Christ" It is simply a "Life of Jesus" and if the author succeeds in establishing the fact that Jesus was the Christ, it must be considered as the product of his reason ing, and not an assumption ignoring the very pith of the controversy between Infidelity and Christianity. It is a work the want of which has been sorely felt since the books of Renan and Strauss, to complete the bulwark of Chris tian defence from its new and most dangerous foe, insidiously clothed in the garb of philosophy, and seductively disguised in the language of reason. No Christian can afford to be without a copy, as a perusal of its pages will not only increase and confirm his own faith, but supply him the means of success ful resistance to the sceptical objections of unbelievers. The style is simple and unpretending, and well adapted to a thorough and practical understand, ing of the whole matter, while nothing material to the establishment of his conclusions has been sacrificed to an ostentatious or affected simplicity avoiding, on the one hand the pedantry of the schools, and on the other, the charlatanry of the demagogue. Buy it, read it, and judge for yourselves. Cdp 33 Clergymen, Students, and others, with a little spare time, can do a great work for Christianity, and at the same time make good financial returns to themselves by taking an Agency. JFor Circulars, Terms, and Press Notices, address U. S. PUBLISHING CO., jy. Y. AGENTS WANTED FOB TUB WONDERS OF THE WORLD; COMPBISINO Startling Incidents, Interesting Scenes, ani f cnierfnl Events In All Countries, All Ages, and Among All People. BY C. G. ROSENBERG. OVER ONE THOUSAND ILLUSTRATIONS, By the most distinguished Artists in Europe and America. 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