Part 4

DEAR SIR,--I am sorry to renounce any opportunity of doing honor to Mr. Burlingame; but my careful physician does not allow me yet to take part in the excitement of a public meeting, and I yield to his prescription.

My best wishes attend your distinguished guest to-night and always. His recent triumph is the occasion of special joy, not only in Massachusetts, but everywhere throughout the free North. Many who voted against him must, in their better moments, condemn themselves,--as much as they have been condemned by others. If not entirely dead to generous impulses, they must be glad that they failed. If not entirely insensible to appearances, they must look with regret at the means employed to accomplish the end proposed. If not entirely indifferent to principles, they must look with amazement at the unprecedented, incongruous, and eccentric political conglomerate of which they constituted a part.

It was natural that the propagandists of Slavery, acting under dictation from Washington, should vote against Mr. Burlingame. It was natural that others, who allow themselves to be controlled by the rancors and jealousies of party, should do likewise. But it was hard that this blow at Freedom should be attempted in the name of Trade, and that merchants of Boston should be rallied against a candidate who had done so much to make Boston respectable. And yet this extraordinary conduct is not without parallel in history. The earliest antislavery effort of England was against the Barbary corsairs, and this, it is well known, was opposed by “the mercantile interest.” And this same “mercantile interest,” as you also know, set itself against the great antislavery enterprise of Clarkson and Wilberforce, when they demanded the suppression of the slave-trade. Such examples teach us not to be disappointed, when this interest is invoked against our efforts. But I rejoice to know that in Boston there are honorable exceptions, and, if anything be expected from me to-night, let it be a tribute to one of these. I propose the following toast.

_The Merchants of Boston._--May they all appreciate the spirit of him among their number, who, when pressed to vote against Mr. Burlingame on mercantile grounds, nobly replied at once, “I am a merchant, but at the polls I mean to be a patriot.”

Accept my thanks for the honor of your invitation, and believe me, dear Sir,

Faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

JOSEPH STORY, Esq.

THE LATE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OUR BUNKER HILL.

LETTER TO A COMMITTEE AT WORCESTER, NOVEMBER 24, 1856.

BOSTON, November 24, 1856.

MY DEAR SIR,--Not willingly do I give up the opportunity of uniting with the gallant Republicans of Worcester in celebrating our recent victories; but my health, though vastly improved, has limitations which I cannot with prudence neglect, and these forbid the indulgence to which you kindly invite me. Please tender to the Republicans my cordial congratulations. Clearly do I see the beginning of the end. All New England, with New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, constitute an irresistible phalanx for Freedom, while our seeming reverse in the Presidential election is only another Bunker Hill. If toasts are in order at your festival, let me propose the following.

_The late Presidential Election._--Like Bunker Hill, it teaches us our strength, and gives assurance of speedy triumph.

Believe me, my dear Sir, faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

LET MASSACHUSETTS HELP KANSAS.

LETTER TO JAMES REDPATH, ESQ., JANUARY 10, 1857.

HANCOCK STREET, January 10, 1857.

MY DEAR SIR,--I am happy that you are still active for Kansas. Much remains to be done. Indeed, I think that no effort can be safely relaxed, until the Territory is admitted into the Union as a Free State.

The Slave Oligarchy has not yet abandoned its darling idea of a new Slave State, and this can be defeated only by vigilance. The lull which seems now to prevail does not persuade me to repose. Too much is at stake. Besides, I have read the fable of the cat in the meal.

Of course, emigrants who love Freedom, and, if need be, are willing to die in her cause, must be encouraged to plant themselves in the Territory. But we who stay at home must contribute to their comfort and protection, and, since this can be done most effectively through State Legislatures, these must be enlisted. The name of a State Legislature will be a tower of strength.

Massachusetts, which, throughout our history, has led in every liberal movement, must lead now by a generous appropriation, which, if not needed, may not be used, but which, in any alternative, will be an irresistible token of her sincerity, an example to other States, and a fountain of encouragement to distant fellow-citizens. I cannot believe that Massachusetts will hesitate. Her people have already opened their hearts to Kansas, and the public treasury should be opened as wide as their hearts.

Accept my thanks for the good you have done and the good you are still doing, and believe me, my dear Sir, with much regard,

Faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

JAMES REDPATH, Esq.

ACCEPTANCE OF SENATORSHIP, ON REËLECTION.

LETTER TO THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS, JANUARY 22, 1857.

In the winter of 1856, the American party having the control of the Legislature of Massachusetts, members of this party were reported as entering into a plan to choose a Senator in place of Mr. Sumner at the expiration of his term, March 4, 1857, thus anticipating the action of the Legislature to be chosen in the autumn following. The plan was discussed in newspapers and in contemporary letters. It excited the anxiety of Mr. Sumner’s political friends so far, that, at their request, he was induced to obtain from the Secretary of the Senate the adverse precedents, which were published at the time in the newspapers. The discussion of the question was arrested by the event which soon followed, turning all eyes to him, and making him more than ever the representative of Massachusetts.

The new Legislature seemed to have been constituted for the reëlection of Mr. Sumner. It came together January 7, 1857, when, even before the message of the Governor, it was insisted that the election should be proceeded with, and January 9th was fixed upon for this purpose. On that day, in pursuance of an order of the House, the Clerk called the roll of members, when each responded _viva voce_ with the name of the person for whom he voted, as follows.

Charles Sumner, of Boston, 333 Robert C. Winthrop, of Boston, 3 Nathaniel J. Lord, of Salem, 2 George W. Gordon, of Boston, 1 Erasmus D. Beach, of Springfield, 1 Charles B. Goodrich, of Boston, 1 Otis P. Lord, of Salem, 1 Edward Everett, of Boston, 1 William Appleton, of Boston, 1 Rufus Choate, of Boston, 1 ---- Total vote, 345 Members absent or not voting, 10 ---- Whole number of members, 355

The announcement of the vote was received with applause.

In the Senate the vote was taken in the same way, January 13th, and every member responded with the name of “Charles Sumner, of Boston,” the vote being unanimous, when the President announced that “Hon. CHARLES SUMNER, of Boston, having received the entire vote of the Senate, in concurrence with the House, is elected United States Senator from this State for the term of six years from the fourth of March next.”

The _Boston Daily Advertiser_ noticed this event as follows.

“It is impossible to refrain from comparing the election of yesterday with Mr. Sumner’s previous election in the same place six years ago. _Now_ he receives nearly all the votes, on the first ballot, taken on the third day of the session, every member speaking aloud his vote. _Then_ he received only the exact number necessary for a choice,--one more than half the whole number; and the election was not effected until the twenty-sixth ballot, taken on the one hundred and fourteenth day of the session (April 24, 1851), and the votes were thrown in sealed envelopes. _Then_ he was the candidate of a party which threw 27,636 votes in the State, at the preceding popular election, or about one fifth of the whole number. _Now_ he is the candidate of a party which threw 108,190 votes in the State, at the last popular election, or about two thirds of the whole number. _Then_ he was chosen to a body where he could expect to find but two or three associates sympathizing with his sentiments. _Now_ he is a member of a party which has a majority in the lower House of Congress, and numbers a quarter of the members even of the Senate of the United States. Truly, _tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis_.”

The _New York Tribune_ had the following comment.

“We need not, in view of recent events, point out the change which has taken place in the public sentiment of Massachusetts. It is not too much to say that Mr. Sumner is at this moment the most popular man in the State, the opinions of which he so truly represents. Nor will it do to attribute this general love, honor, and sympathy entirely to the felonious assault made upon Mr. Sumner. Had he been less true to the cause committed to his keeping, had he trimmed and temporized, and spoken softly when he should have spoken sharply, he would have been safe from the bludgeon of the bully, and might have won the smiles instead of the expectorations of a certain servile Senator. The people of Massachusetts have estimated Mr. Sumner’s service in all its length and breadth; they have duly weighed all its incidents and indignities,--what he has suffered, what he has accomplished, and what he has failed to accomplish; and their verdict, expressed in yesterday’s almost unanimous vote in the House of Representatives, bestows upon him a crown of honor which may well assuage the hope deferred of a tardy convalescence. Few public men have had such large opportunities, few public men have so nobly improved them.”

On the 23d of January, 1857, Hon. Charles A. Phelps, Speaker of the House of Representatives, laid before the House the following letter, which was read, and, on motion of Hon. Charles Hale, of Boston, entered at large upon the Journal.

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

I have been officially notified that the people of Massachusetts, by concurrent votes of both branches of the Legislature, have charged me with the duty of representing them in the Senate of the United States for another term of six years, on the expiration of that which I now have the honor to hold. This renewed trust I accept with gratitude enhanced by the peculiar circumstances under which it is bestowed. But far beyond every personal gratification is the delight of knowing, by this sign, that the people of Massachusetts, forgetting ancient party hates, have at last come together in fraternal support of a sacred cause, compared with which the fate of any public servant is of small account.

When first selected for this eminent trust, I was a stranger to all official life. Untried in public affairs, I was taken up, and placed, without effort of my own, and even without antecedent aspiration, in the station where, after an experience of nearly six years, you now, with spontaneous unanimity, bid me remain. About to commence a fresh term of service, I turn with honest pride to that which is about to close, while I greet anew the duties and responsibilities of my position,--hoping, that, by conscientious endeavor, I may do something in the future better than in the past, and mindful that “he that girdeth on his harness should not boast himself as he that putteth it off.”

The duties of a public servant are not always conspicuous. Much of his time is absorbed in cares which, if not obscure, are little calculated to attract public attention. Massachusetts justly expects that no such interests shall be neglected. But, by solemn resolutions of her Legislature, by the votes of her people, and by the voice of her history, Massachusetts especially enjoins upon her representatives to see, that, at all hazards, and whatever else may suffer, Freedom shall prevail. I cannot neglect this injunction.

Alike by sympathy with the slave and by determination to save ourselves from wretched thraldom, we are all summoned to the effort now organized for _the emancipation of the National Government_ from a degrading influence, hostile to civilization, which, wherever it shows itself, even at a distance, is brutal, vulgar, and mean, constituting an unnatural tyranny, calculated to arouse the generous indignation of good men. Of course, no person, unless ready to say in his heart that there is no God, can doubt the certain result. But this result, like every great good, can be accomplished only by well-directed effort. I know something of the labor and trial which such service imposes; I also know something of the satisfaction it affords, giving to all who truly espouse it a better joy than anything in office or honor. In the weary prostration of months, from which I have now happily risen, the sharpest pang came out of my enforced separation from the cause which was so dear to me; and now my content is in the assurance that to this service I may dedicate the vigorous health which, through medical care and the kindly ministrations of Nature, I am permitted to expect. In this well-founded assurance, I welcome the trust which has been again conferred upon me, while I once more bespeak the candid judgment of my fellow-citizens, and once more invoke the guardianship of a benignant Providence.

I have the honor to be, fellow-citizens, with grateful regard,

Your faithful servant and Senator,

CHARLES SUMNER.

BOSTON, January 22, 1857.

The following tribute, taken from contemporary newspapers, attests a feeling much above that of ordinary politics, and therefore illustrates this record.

“‘CHARLES SUMNER, OF BOSTON.’

“‘Three hundred and thirty-three members answered to their names, with the words, “CHARLES SUMNER, of Boston”; and as the Clerk responded with the same words to each vote, they rang upon the ears of the large assembly more than six hundred times during the hour occupied with calling the roll.’

“‘It is said, no sound is ever lost,--that every word uttered upon earth is echoed and reëchoed through space forever.’

“Old Massachusetts! nobly thou This day thy work hast done; Proudly thou speakest for the Right, And for thy honored son:

“Three hundred voices on the air, Ringing the loved name forth; Three hundred voices echoing back, ‘CHARLES SUMNER, of the North!’

“Throughout the land, beyond the sea, The voices will be heard; His name shall stand for Liberty, The freeman’s rallying word.

“Throughout the land, beyond the sea, Above, in arches high, Voices are ever echoing A name that ne’er will die.

“Unfurl the banners! even now The stars more brightly shine: Is one more glorious than the rest? Old Bay State, it is thine!

“Gather fresh laurels, twine two wreaths, Wreaths for a victory won,-- Loved Massachusetts, one for thee, One for thy chosen son!”

GRATITUDE FOR SYMPATHY OF THE PEOPLE OF VERMONT.

LETTER TO HON. RYLAND FLETCHER, GOVERNOR OF VERMONT, MARCH 7, 1857.

The Legislature of Vermont, at its recent session, passed a series of joint resolutions, highly complimentary, and indorsing Mr. Sumner’s last speech in the Senate. On receiving a copy, Mr. Sumner wrote the following reply.

NEW YORK, Saturday, March 7, 1857.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY, RYLAND FLETCHER, GOVERNOR OF VERMONT.

SIR,--At the last moment before leaving for foreign lands in quest of that vigorous health which for nearly ten months has been taken from me, I have received notice of the resolutions adopted by the Legislature of Vermont, and approved by your Excellency, which give the official sanction of a generous, virtuous, and intelligent State to my speech in the Senate on the 19th and 20th of May last, exposing the Crime against Kansas. Such a token is precious to me in every respect,--not only because it assures me of the personal sympathy of the people of Vermont, declared through their representatives, but because it attests their interest in that cause which is more important than any person.

I cannot accept this public approval of my speech without seizing the occasion to express a heartfelt joy that I was permitted to make it, and also my humble determination, with returning strength, to do something that shall still further unmask the portentous _Barbarism_ which has fastened on our Republic, and installed itself in all the high places of power.

I have the honor to be, Sir, with much respect,

Your faithful servant,

CHARLES SUMNER.

A LAST WORD FOR KANSAS, ON SAILING FOR EUROPE.

LETTER TO JAMES REDPATH, ESQ., MARCH 7, 1857.

ON BOARD STEAMSHIP FULTON, March 7, 1857.

MY DEAR SIR,--I trust that you and our friends will not be disheartened in efforts for Kansas. Much must still be done, or the night of Slavery will settle down on that beautiful Territory.

Surely the Legislature of Massachusetts will feel the inspiration of a great cause, and pledge itself by a generous appropriation to its support. I hear of constitutional impediments, but I believe that all such will be found to have bottom in the lukewarm hearts of objectors rather than in the Constitution.

There are some who think that anything for Slavery is constitutional, but nothing for Freedom. With me the opposite rule prevails, and I venture to say that any other rule must bring discredit upon a country calling itself a Commonwealth.

I trust, also, that the people of Kansas will stand firm, and that, if need be, they will know how to die for Freedom. Do any sigh for a Thermopylæ? They have it in Kansas, for there is to be fought the great battle between Freedom and Slavery,--by the _ballot-box_, I trust; but I do not forget that all who destroy the ballot-box madly invoke the _cartridge-box_.

With a farewell to my country, as I seek a foreign land, hoping for health long deferred, I give my last thoughts to suffering Kansas, with devout prayers that the ruffian Usurpation which now treads her down may be peaceably overthrown, and that she may be lifted into the enjoyment of freedom and repose.

Ever faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

P. S. I entrust this to the pilot, and hope it may reach you.

JAMES REDPATH, Esq.

INVITATION TO DINNER BY AMERICAN MERCHANTS IN PARIS.

LETTER TO THE AMERICAN MERCHANTS AT PARIS, APRIL 20, 1857.

The following correspondence, with its brief introduction, is copied from _Galignani’s Messenger_ at Paris.

“SENATOR SUMNER, OF MASSACHUSETTS.--This distinguished American statesman and orator has been tendered a public dinner by the American merchants residing at Paris, in the following complimentary terms.

“PARIS, April 28, 1857.

“DEAR SIR,--The American merchants residing in Paris, desirous of expressing their high regard and admiration for your noble independence and distinguished services as a Senator of the United States, respectfully invite you to meet them at a public dinner, to be given at such a time during your sojourn in Paris as may be most convenient to yourself.

“Though well aware that you are habitually accustomed to decline all similar requests, we earnestly hope you will yield to our wishes.

“As citizens of the great Republic, representing many States, and all actively engaged in commercial life, we tender you this tribute, as an evidence of our appreciation of your elevated patriotism, unbending integrity, and spotless honor.

“With the highest esteem, we have the honor to be your friends and fellow-citizens.

“JOHN MUNROE, B. G. WAINWRIGHT, ELLIOT C. COWDIN, SAMUEL P. HOLMES, A. P. MONTANT, THOMAS N. DALE, G. F. T. REED, JAMES W. TUCKER, GEORGE T. RICHARDS, A. K. P. COOPER, GEORGE MILNE, C. L. SHARPSTEEN, HENRY WOODS, W. ENDICOTT, JR., JOHN C. MARTIN, WALTER H. LEWIS, GEORGE L. TODD, DAVID LANE, V. MUMFORD MOORE, J. H. DEMING, JOS. D. B. CURTIS.”

To this invitation Mr. Sumner returned the following reply.

HÔTEL DE LA PAIX, RUE DE LA PAIX, April 30, 1857.

GENTLEMEN,--I have been honored by your communication of the 28th April, where, after referring to my services as Senator of the United States, in language generous beyond the ordinary experience of political life, you are pleased to invite me, in the name of the American merchants residing in Paris, to a public dinner, at such time as may be most convenient to myself.

The voice of hospitality is pleasant in a strange land. But the hospitality which you offer is enhanced by the character and number of those who unite in it, among whom I recognize well-known names, intimately associated with the commerce of my country in one of its most important outposts.

There is one aspect in which your invitation is especially grateful. It is this. If I have been able to do anything not unworthy of your approbation, it is because I never failed, whether in majorities or minorities, against all obloquy, and at every hazard, to uphold those principles of Liberty which, just in proportion as they prevail under our Constitution, make us an example to the nations. And since my public course cannot be unknown to you, I am permitted to infer that the public testimony with which you now honor me is offered in some measure to those principles,--dearer to me than any personal distinction,--with which I am proud to know that my name is associated.