Part 13

The _National Era_, edited by Dr. Bailey, and the organ of the Free-Soil party at Washington, after speaking of Mr. Sumner in most flattering terms, proceeded as follows: "When it is considered that he is the exponent and advocate of opinions and measures which Mr. Webster has renounced and is seeking to put down, that the whole weight of the influence of this gentleman, with that of the cotton interest, the Administration, and Hunker Democracy, has been brought to bear against him, that at no time has he consented to qualify any word he has ever written or spoken on the questions at issue between him and his opponents, or to give a single pledge, direct or indirect, respecting his course, his election must be regarded as one of the most brilliant, honorable, and decisive triumphs yet achieved by the opponents of Slavery and Conservatism."[69]

[69] National Era, May 1, 1851.

The _Tribune_ in New York, though closely allied with the Whig party, rendered justice to Mr. Sumner. "We do not know the man who has entered the Senate under auspices so favorable to personal independence as Mr. Sumner. He has not sought the office, has not made an effort for its acquisition. No pledge has he given to any party or any person upon any question or measure. When asked as to the course he should pursue as Senator, his answer has been a reference to his past acts and published writings; in them were the only promises he had to offer. Though it would have been easy for him to secure the election three months ago by the slightest shadow of a concession to some of the Hunker members of the Legislature, he has steadily refused to say or do anything that could be construed in that manner. To every overture he has replied, that, if chosen, it must be on the footing of absolute independence,--that the Senatorship must come to him, and not he pursue the Senatorship. Such stern adherence to what he considered the path of duty and manliness has thus delayed his election. But it has not prevented it, and now Mr. Sumner enters the Senate free of all trammels whatever. This it is especially which makes us rejoice at the event. It is a new thing in our recent politics, and the loftiest success we can wish him in his Congressional career is an unflinching preservation of the same spirit and conduct."[70]

[70] New York Tribune, April 25, 1851.

The London _Times_ had a leader on the election, where, among other things, it said: "He was opposed by the Protectionists of Massachusetts as a partisan of greater freedom of trade, and by the adherents of the Government as an opponent of the Fugitive Slave Act. Yet such was the strength of feeling in Massachusetts on that point alone, that the Free-Soil party have succeeded in sending to the Senate the most active and able representative of their cause, and Mr. Sumner enters upon his ostensible political career under these remarkable and flattering circumstances.... The election of Mr. Sumner to the Senate is everywhere regarded as an emphatic declaration, on the part of his own State, that the law is at least not to remain in its present form unassailed. The South responds to such an election by louder declarations of its resistance to all infractions on its local institutions, even at the sacrifice of the integrity of the Union."[71]

[71] London Times, May 24, 1851.

Congratulations came from every quarter. They are alluded to here only because they belong to the history of this election. Some of them are given. One of the earliest was from Richard H. Dana, the scholar, and father of the eminent lawyer, who wrote: "I am thankful that Massachusetts is to speak through you in Washington,--through one whom neither West nor South will be able to win over or to browbeat." John G. Whittier wrote: "I rejoice, that, unpledged, free, and without a single concession or compromise, thou art enabled to take thy place in the Senate. I never knew such a general feeling of real heart pleasure and satisfaction as is manifested by all except inveterate Hunkers in view of thy election. The whole country is electrified by it. Sick abed, I heard the guns, Quaker as I am, with real satisfaction." William C. Bryant wrote: "I am glad that my native State is once more worthily represented in the United States Senate." John Bigelow, who was at the time associated with Mr. Bryant in the _Evening Post_, wrote: "I was quite overcome when I read the despatch which announced your election; and when the news was communicated through the building, it gave everybody else, including printers and clerks, almost as much pleasure as to me." Epes Sargent, who edited a Whig paper, wrote: "My private acquaintance is a sufficient assurance that your public course will be honorable and patriotic." Neal Dow wrote: "I thank God Massachusetts has at last done something effectual to redeem her character. I am sure that upon the floor of the Senate you will not forget to assert the rights of your State, and maintain with firmness and dignity the great principles upon which a free government _should be_ based." Mr. Chase wrote: "_Laus Deo!_ From the bottom of my heart I congratulate you--no, not you, but all friends of Freedom everywhere--upon your election to the Senate." Mr. Giddings wrote from Ohio: "A most intense interest was felt in this whole region, and I have seen no event which has given greater joy to the population generally." Judge Jay wrote: "May God enable you to leave the public service with a conscience and a reputation as unsullied as those you carry with you!" John Jay telegraphed: "Your election has made us most happy and thankful." Elihu Burritt, who was then in England, wrote: "My soul is gladdened to great and exceeding joy at the news of your election to fill the place of the late Daniel Webster. It has been hailed by the friends of human freedom and progress in this country with exultation. There are more eyes and hearts fixed upon your course than upon that of any man in America." Nobody expressed himself more cordially than John Van Buren, who wrote at once: "You will need no assurance of how delighted I was to hear that you were in fact a Senator from Massachusetts for six years"; and in another letter he said: "I was as much pleased with seeing your frank as I was with the inside of your note. Independent of the fact that it proves your election to the United States Senate, the inscription, '_Free_ Charles Sumner,' seems to me mighty pretty reading."

This history brings us to the Letter of Acceptance addressed to the Legislature, which was read in the two Houses,--in the Senate by Hon. Henry Wilson, President, and in the House of Representatives by Hon. N.P. Banks, Speaker. In addressing the Legislature directly Mr. Sumner follows the precedent of John Quincy Adams, in 1808, resigning his seat in the Senate.

FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:--

By the hands of the Secretary of the Commonwealth I have received a certificate, that by concurrent votes of the two branches of the Legislature, namely, by the Senate on the 22d day of January, and the House of Representatives on the 24th day of April, in conformity to the provisions of the Constitution and Laws of the United States, I was duly elected a Senator to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Senate of the United States for the term of six years, commencing on the 4th day of March, 1851.

If I were to follow the customary course, I should receive this in silence. But the protracted and unprecedented contest which ended in my election, the interest it awakened, the importance universally conceded to it, the ardor of opposition and the constancy of support which it aroused, also the principles which more than ever among us it brought into discussion, seem to justify, what my own feelings irresistibly prompt, a departure from this rule. If, beyond these considerations, any apology is needed for thus directly addressing the Legislature, I may find it in the example of an illustrious predecessor, whose clear and venerable name will be a sufficient authority.

The trust conferred on me is one of the most weighty which a citizen can receive. It concerns the grandest interests of our own Commonwealth, and also of the Union in which we are an indissoluble link. Like every post of eminent duty, it is a post of eminent honor. A personal ambition, such as I cannot confess, might be satisfied to possess it. But when I think what it requires, I am obliged to say that its honors are all eclipsed by its duties.

Your appointment finds me in a private station, with which I am entirely content. For the first time in my life I am called to political office. With none of the experience possessed by others to smooth the way of labor, I might well hesitate. But I am cheered by the generous confidence which throughout a lengthened contest persevered in sustaining me, and by the conviction, that, amidst all seeming differences of party, the sentiments of which I am the known advocate, and which led to my original selection as candidate, are dear to the hearts of the people throughout this Commonwealth. I derive, also, a most grateful consciousness of personal independence from the circumstance, which I deem it frank and proper thus publicly to declare and place on record, that this office comes to me unsought and undesired.

Acknowledging the right of my country to the service of her sons wherever she chooses to place them, and with a heart full of gratitude that a sacred cause is permitted to triumph through me, I now accept the post of Senator.

I accept it 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 example to her sister States. In such a service, the way, though new to my footsteps, is illumined by lights which cannot be missed.

I accept it as the servant of the Union, bound to study and maintain the interests of all parts of our country with equal patriotic care, to discountenance every effort to loosen any of those ties by which our fellowship of States is held in fraternal company, and to oppose all _sectionalism_, in whatsoever form, whether in unconstitutional efforts by the North to carry so great a boon as Freedom into the Slave States, in unconstitutional efforts by the South, aided by Northern allies, to carry the _sectional_ evil of Slavery into the Free States, or in any efforts whatsoever to extend the _sectional_ domination of Slavery over the National Government. With me the Union is twice blessed: first, as powerful guardian of the repose and happiness of thirty-one States, clasped by the endearing name of country; and next, as model and beginning of that all-embracing Federation of States, by which unity, peace, and concord will finally be organized among the Nations. Nor do I believe it possible, whatever the delusion of the hour, that any part can be permanently lost from its well-compacted bulk. _E Pluribus Unum_ is stamped upon the national coin, the national territory, and the national heart. Though composed of many parts united into one, the Union is separable only by a crash which shall destroy the whole.

Entering now upon the public service, I venture to bespeak for what I do or say that candid judgment which I trust always to have for others, but which I am well aware the prejudices of party too rarely concede. I may fail in ability, but not in sincere effort, to promote the general weal. In the conflict of opinion, natural to the atmosphere of liberal institutions, I may err; but I trust never to forget the prudence which should temper firmness, or the modesty which becomes the consciousness of right. If I decline to recognize as my guides the leading men of to-day, I shall feel safe while I follow the master principles which the Union was established to secure, leaning for support on the great Triumvirate of American Freedom,--Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson. And since true politics are simply morals applied to public affairs, I shall find constant assistance from those everlasting rules of right and wrong which are a law alike to individuals and communities.

Let me borrow, in conclusion, the language of another: "I see my duty,--that of standing up for the liberties of my country; and 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, whilst I conscientiously discharge mine, I shall not finally lose my reward." These are words attributed to Washington, in the early darkness of the American Revolution. The rule of duty is the same for the lowly and the great; and I hope it may not seem presumptuous in one so humble as myself to adopt his determination, and to avow his confidence.

I have the honor to be, fellow-citizens,

With sincere regard,

Your faithful friend and servant,

CHARLES SUMNER.

BOSTON, May 14, 1851.

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THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OUR TWO TITLE-DEEDS.

LETTER TO THE MAYOR OF BOSTON, FOR JULY 4, 1851.

From the beginning, Mr. Sumner never missed an opportunity, in speech or letter, of invoking the Declaration of Independence as a rule of action. The following letter is an example.

BOSTON, July 3, 1851.

Dear Sir,--I have been honored by an official invitation to unite in the celebration by our City Council of the approaching anniversary of American Independence.

Though it will not be in my power to partake of this celebration, I wish not to seem indifferent to the kind attentions of your Committee or to the hospitality of Boston.

I venture to inclose a sentiment, suggested particularly by the occasion, and in harmony, I trust, with the convictions of all sincere lovers of the Union.

I have the honor to be, dear Sir,

Your faithful servant,

CHARLES SUMNER.

_The Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States,--the two immortal title-deeds of American liberties._ Defenders of the Constitution, let us not forget the principles of the Declaration, but, for the equal support of both, in the spirit of our fathers, without compromise, and with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

HON. JOHN P. BIGELOW, &c., &c.

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POSITION OF THE AMERICAN LAWYER.

LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE STORY ASSOCIATION, JULY 15, 1851.

BOSTON, July 15, 1851.

DEAR SIR,--As a faithful pupil of the Law School, and an attached friend, during life, of the founder, whose illustrious name your Association bears, I feel a thrill at every act or word which does them honor. And since I may not be able to be present at your festival, I venture to send congratulations on the happy auspices of the day, and--mindful that I address a professional assembly--to inclose a sentiment commemorating the dignity and the duties of the American Lawyer.

A brief personal experience will properly introduce it. Some years ago, while at Heidelberg, in Germany, it was my fortune to see much of Thibaut and Mittermaier, both jurists of eminent fame: the first--now dead--renowned for learning in the Roman Law, and for early and constant support of a just scheme for the reduction of the unwritten law to the certainty of a written text; and the other, who is still spared, the greatest living master of Criminal Law, and of the various systems of Foreign Jurisprudence. Next after the aristocracy of birth, they were unquestionably at that moment among the most conspicuous men of Germany.

In the course of a long conversation, chiefly on matters of juridical interest, in the freedom of social intercourse at dinner, one of them asked with regard to the position of the American Lawyer, and both seemed earnest for my answer. I promptly replied: "No person is his superior. His position, Gentlemen, if you will pardon me for saying it, is what yours would be in Germany, if there were no aristocracy of birth." Both seemed penetrated by this allusion, and, looking each other in the face, exclaimed at once, in apparent consciousness of their true rank: "That is very high indeed!"

The sentiment which I now submit was suggested by this incident.

I have the honor to be, dear Sir,

Very faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE STORY ASSOCIATION.

_The American Lawyer_: Distinguished by the lofty sphere of his influence, may he find in it new motive to the cultivation of those moral excellences, and those generous virtues of the heart, which give the truest elevation to the character! _Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus._

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SYMPATHY WITH THE RIGHTS OF MAN EVERYWHERE.

LETTER TO A MEETING AT FANEUIL HALL, OCTOBER 27, 1851.

This meeting was held to consider the case of Smith O'Brien and his fellow-exiles in Australia, and to ask the intercession of our Government in their behalf. Governor Boutwell presided and addressed the meeting.

BOSTON, October 27, 1851.

DEAR SIR,--It will not be in my power to be present at Faneuil Hall this evening; nor am I entirely satisfied that it would be proper for me, holding the official position I now do, to take part in the proceeding which you propose to institute.

But though not present with you, and not undertaking to express any opinion on the precise question of national duty, I wish it to be understood that I can never fail to unite in every earnest, manly word by which the sympathies of our country are extended to all, in whatever land, who are defending the Rights of Man. To this cause we are pledged as a nation by the Declaration of Independence; and my heart warmly responds to the vow.

Nor can I forbear to add, that the clemency which you entreat from a powerful government towards those whom it classes as political offenders is in harmony with the Spirit of the Age and with the lessons of Christianity. It is a grace never otherwise than honorable to ask and honorable to bestow:--

"And 'tis in crowns a nobler gem To grant a pardon than condemn."

A recent instance enforces the appeal. Kossuth has at last passed from the house of bondage. His emancipation, promoted by the aspirations, the prayers, and the express intervention of our Republic, is an example to all nations,--while the brightness of his fame shows how vain it is for any earthly edict to stigmatize as crime a sincere and generous effort for Human Freedom. Austria brands the great Hungarian as traitor; but an enlightened Public Opinion, the predestined queen of the civilized world, already re-judges the justice of the tyrant government. To the judgments of this exalted authority mankind must bow. No people, for the sake of any seeming temporary expediency, can afford to sacrifice a principle of justice or a sentiment of humanity, and thus to peril the everlasting verdict of History.

In reaching across the sea as far as distant Turkey, to plead for the freedom of the fugitive Kossuth, our Republic has done well; and the Mahometan Sultan, in consenting to his liberation, at extraordinary hazards, has taught a lesson of magnanimity to Christian nations.

The step we have thus taken cannot be the last. With increasing power are increasing duties. The influence we now wield is a sacred trust, to be exercised firmly and discreetly, in conformity with the Laws of Nations, and with an anxious eye to the peace of the world, but always so as most to promote Human Rights. Our example can do much. The magnetism of our national flag will be felt wherever it floats; individual citizens may labor faithfully; but all these will be quickened incalculably by a system of conduct, on the part of our Government, at home and abroad, which, while avoiding all improper interference with other countries, and teaching the beauty of honesty, shall show a prompt and benevolent sympathy with those vital principles without which our Republic is but a name.

In this work, Irishmen, and the children and grandchildren of Irishmen, scattered in millions throughout the land, can help. Their native love of Liberty and hatred of Oppression will here find opportunity for action.

Believe me, dear Sir,

Very faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

TO THE COMMITTEE.

* * * * *

WELCOME TO KOSSUTH.

SPEECH IN THE SENATE, DECEMBER 10, 1851.

Mr. Sumner's credentials as Senator were presented at the opening of the 32d Congress, December 1, 1851, when he took the oath of office. Among those who took the oath on the same day were Hon. Benjamin F. Wade, of Ohio, Hon. Hamilton Fish, of New York, and Hon. Stephen R. Mallory, of Florida, afterward Secretary of the Navy in the Rebel Government. The seat of the last was contested, and the question on his reception drew forth Mr. Clay, who was present for the last time in the Senate. Though living till June, he never again appeared in the Chamber. On the arrangement of the Committees, Mr. Sumner found himself at the bottom of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims and the Committee on Roads and Canals.

On the first day of the session a joint resolution was announced by Mr. Foote, of Mississippi, providing for the reception and entertainment of Louis Kossuth, the recent head of the revolutionary government in Hungary. Governor Kossuth, having escaped from Hungary, had found refuge in Turkey, where he was received on board one of our ships of war. After an interesting visit in England, where he addressed large public audiences with singular power and eloquence, he arrived in New York. Interest in the cause which he so ably represented, and personal sympathy with the exile, quickened by his genius, found universal expression in the country; but there was a protracted debate in the Senate before the vote was taken.

The debate proceeded on a resolution introduced by Mr. Seward, December 8th, as follows:--

"_Resolved, &c._, That the Congress of the United States, in the name and behalf of the people of the United States, give to Louis Kossuth a cordial welcome to the capital and to the country, and that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to him by the President of the United States."

On the same day, Mr. Shields, of Illinois, introduced a resolution in the following terms:--

"_Resolved_, That a committee of three be appointed by the Chair to wait on Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary, and introduce him to the Senate."

December 9th, Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, addressed the Senate at length in opposition to action by Congress, and, in closing his speech, moved the following amendment:--