Part 22

Such a vengeance will be a kiss of reconciliation; for it will remove every obstacle to peace and harmony. The people where Slavery once ruled will bless the blow that destroyed it. The people where the kindred tyranny of Caste once prevailed will rejoice that this fell under the same blow. They will yet confess that it was dealt in no harshness, in no unkindness, in no desire to humiliate, but simply and solemnly, in the name of the Republic and of Human Nature, for their good as well as ours,--ay, for their good more than ours.

By ideas, more than by armies, we have conquered. The sword of the Archangel was less mighty than the mission he bore from the Lord. But if the ideas giving us the victory are now neglected, if the pledges of the Declaration, which the Rebellion openly assailed, are left unredeemed, then have blood and treasure been lavished for nought. Alas for the dead who gave themselves so bravely to their country, alas for the living left to mourn the dead, if any relic of Slavery is allowed to continue!--especially if this bloody imposture, defeated in the pretension of property in man, is allowed to perpetuate an oligarchy of the skin!

How shall these ideas be saved? How shall the war waged by Abraham Lincoln be brought to an end, so as to assure peace, tranquillity, and reconciliation? All turns on the colored suffrage. This is the centre and pivot of national safety. A mistake now is worse than the loss of a battle. And yet here again we encounter the Rebellion in its odious pretensions, hardly less audacious than when it took up arms. Amidst its expiring camp-fires, the men who have trimmed them--with fresh oaths of allegiance on the lips--renew their early activity in plotting how to preserve an oligarchical power. The demon of Caste follows the demon of Slavery. In setting ourselves against this accursed succession, we follow the solemn behests of the Great Declaration, so constantly championed by the martyred President. And now, as I close this humble tribute, let me ask you to adopt that championship, which was his first title to national gratitude, and is now his best. Let each be standard-bearer of the Declaration. I cannot err, if, speaking at his funeral, I detain you to insist upon this absorbing duty, where for the moment all other duties are swallowed up.

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The argument for colored suffrage is overwhelming. It springs from the necessity of the case, as well as from the Rights of Man. This suffrage is needed for the security of the colored people, for the stability of the local government, and for the strength of the Union. Without it there is nothing but insecurity for the colored people, instability for the local government, and weakness for the Union, involving of course the national credit. Without it the Rebellion will break forth under a new _alias_, unarmed it may be, but with white votes to take possession of the local government and wield it at will, whether at home or in the national councils. If it be said that the colored people are unfit, then do I show that they are more fit than their recent masters, or than the “poor whites.” They have been loyal always; and who is he, that, under any pretence, exalts the prejudices of the disloyal above the rights of the loyal? Their suffrage is now needed,--more even than you ever needed their muskets or sabres. An English statesman, after the acknowledgment of the Spanish Colonies as Independent States, boasted that he had called a new world into existence to redress the balance of the old. In similar spirit, we, too, must call a new ballot into existence to redress the tyranny that refuses justice to the colored race.

The same national authority that destroyed Slavery must see that this other pretension is not permitted to survive; nor is there any doubt that the authority which destroyed Slavery is competent to the kindred duty. Each belongs to that great policy of justice through which alone can peace become permanent and immutable. Nor may the Republic shirk this remaining service, without leaving Emancipation unfinished and the early promises of the Fathers unfulfilled. Vain the gift of Liberty, if you surrender the rights of the freedman to be judged by recent assertors of property in man. Burke, in his day, saw the flagrant inconsistency, and denounced it, saying that whatever such people did on this subject was “arrant trifling,” and, notwithstanding its plausible form, always wanted what he aptly called “the executory principle.”[237] These words of warning were adopted and repeated by two later statesmen, George Canning and Henry Brougham; but they are so clear as not to need support of names. The infant must not be handed over to be suckled by the wolf; it must be carefully nursed by its parent; and since the Republic is parent of Emancipation, the Republic must nurse the immortal infant into maturity and strength. The Republic at the beginning took up this great work: the Republic must finish what it began; and it cannot err, if, in anxious care, it holds nothing done so long as anything remains undone. The Republic, with matchless energy, hurled forward victorious armies: the Republic must exact that “security for the future” without which this unparalleled war will have been waged in vain. The Republic to-day, with one consenting voice, commemorates the martyred victim: the same Republic, prompt in this service, must require that his promises to an oppressed race be maintained in all their integrity and completeness, in letter and in spirit, so that the cause for which he became a sacrifice shall not fail; his martyrdom was a new pledge, beyond any even in life.

The colored suffrage is an overwhelming necessity. In making it an essential condition of restoration, we follow, first, the law of reason and of Nature, and, secondly, the Constitution, not only in its text, but in the light of the Declaration. By reason and Nature there can be no denial of rights on account of color; and we can do nothing thus irrational and unnatural. By the Constitution it is stipulated that “the United States shall guaranty to every State _a republican form of government_”; but the meaning of this guaranty must be found in the birthday Declaration of the Republic, which is the controlling preamble of the Constitution. Beyond all question, the United States, when called to enforce the guaranty, must insist on _the equality of all before the law_, and _the consent of the governed_. Such is the true idea of republican government according to American institutions.

The Slave-Masters, driven from their first intrenchments, occupy inner defences. Property in man is abandoned; but they now insist that the freedman shall not enjoy political rights. Liberty has been won. The battle for Equality is still pending. And now a new compromise is proposed, in the name of State Rights. Sad that it should be so. But I do not despair. The victory may be delayed, but not lost. All who set themselves against Equality will be overborne; for it is the cause of Humanity. Not the rich and proud, but the poor and lowly, will be the favorites of an enfranchised Republic. The words of the Prophet must be fulfilled: “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I WILL MAKE A MAN MORE PRECIOUS THAN FINE GOLD, EVEN A MAN, THAN THE GOLDEN WEDGE OF OPHIR.”[238] I accept these sublime promises, and echo them back as assurance of triumph. Then will the Republic be all that heart can desire or imagination paint,--“_supremely lovely and serenely great, majestic mother_” of a free, happy, and united people, with Slavery and all its tyranny beaten down under foot, so that no man shall call another master, and all shall be equal before the law.

In this great victory death is swallowed up, and before us is the vision of the Republic performing all that was promised. How easy, then, the passage from sorrow to exultation!

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Fellow-citizens, be happy in what you have. Mourn not the dead, but rejoice in his life and example. Rejoice, as you point to this child of the people, who was lifted so high that Republican Institutions became manifest in him. Rejoice that through him Emancipation was proclaimed. Rejoice that under him “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” obtained a final verdict never to be set aside or questioned. Above all, see to it that his constant vows are performed, and the promises of the Fathers maintained, so that no person in the upright form of man is shut out from their protection. Do this, and the Unity of the Republic will be fixed on a foundation that cannot fail. The corner-stone of National Independence is already in its place, and on it is inscribed the name of GEORGE WASHINGTON. Another stone must also have place at the corner. It is the great Declaration itself, once a promise, at last a reality. On this adamantine block we will gratefully inscribe the name of ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

IDEAS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

LETTER TO THE MAYOR OF BOSTON, ON THE CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE, JULY 4, 1865.

BOSTON, July 4, 1865.

MY DEAR SIR,--It will not be in my power to unite with my fellow-citizens of Boston in celebrating the anniversary of our National Independence; but I rejoice that we can celebrate it so happily, with Victory as the master of ceremonies.

Do not, I pray you, Mr. Mayor, let the great day pass without reminding our fellow-citizens that victory on the field of battle is not enough. There must be the further victory found in the recognition, everywhere throughout the country, of the ideas of the Declaration of Independence.

It must be confessed, that, according to these ideas, republican government can be founded only on “the consent of the governed” and the equality of all before the law. And why not dedicate ourselves to the work of establishing these ideas?

Then will our fathers be vindicated, and our country be glorified. God save the Republic!

Accept my thanks for the invitation with which you have honored me,

And believe me, dear Sir, faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED NECESSARY IN THE NEW GOVERNMENTS: ADVICE TO COLORED CITIZENS.

LETTER TO A COMMITTEE OF COLORED CITIZENS AT SAVANNAH, JULY 8, 1865.

SAVANNAH, June 15, 1865.

HON. CHARLES SUMNER:--

SIR,--We, the undersigned, Committee of the Union League of Savannah, Ga., have the honor to present to you these our petitions to his Excellency Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, signed personally by the hands of some three hundred and fifty loyal citizens. We respectfully ask that you will present them to his Excellency the President, and we beg that your Honor will use all of your influence in our behalf, and oblige,

Very respectfully, your humble servants,

JOS. C. JACKSON, _Chairman_, GEORGE R. J. DOLLY, _Cor. Sec._, BENJ. W. ROBERTS, PETER DUNCAN, JOSEPH S. TISON.

BOSTON, 8th July, 1865.

GENTLEMEN,--Your petition asking for the right to vote has been forwarded to me here, with the request that I would present it to the President. I regret much that my absence from Washington has prevented me from doing this in person; but I have lost no time in forwarding the petition to the President, with my most earnest recommendation.

You need not beg me to use influence in your behalf. I cannot help doing so to the extent of my ability.

Allow me to add, that you must not be impatient. You have borne the heavier burdens of Slavery; and as these are now removed, believe the others surely will be also. This enfranchised Republic, setting an example to mankind, cannot continue to sanction an odious Oligarchy, whose single distinctive element is color. I have no doubt that you will be admitted to the privileges of citizens.

It is impossible to suppose that Congress will sanction governments in the Rebel States which are not founded on “the consent of the governed.” This is the corner-stone of republican institutions. Of course, by the “governed” is meant all the loyal citizens, without distinction of color. Anything else is mockery.

Never neglect your work; but meanwhile prepare yourselves for the privileges of citizens. They are yours of right, and I do not doubt that they will be yours soon in reality. The prejudice of caste and a false interpretation of the Constitution cannot prevail against justice and common sense, both of which are on your side; and I may add the Constitution also, which, when properly interpreted, is clearly on your side.

Accept my best wishes, and believe me, fellow-citizens,

Faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

MESSRS. JOSEPH C. JACKSON, GEORGE R. J. DOLLY, PETER DUNCAN, BENJAMIN W. ROBERTS, JOSEPH S. TISON.

JUSTICE TO THE COLORED RACE.

LETTER TO A TRUSTEE FOR COLORED SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AUGUST 16, 1865.

In reply to a representation that there was a little scheme in Washington to deprive the colored schools of their proportion of the school funds arising from taxation, Mr. Sumner wrote the following letter, which was published in Washington.

BOSTON, August 16, 1865.

DEAR SIR,--I had already noticed the article on the Washington “Ostrich” before I received the paper you kindly sent me.

The Lord reigns, and I am sure the diabolism at Washington cannot continue to prevail. You will not weary in counteracting it.

Work on. Fight on. When Congress meets, we shall insist upon JUSTICE. This is the talisman by which our country is to be saved.

Accept my best wishes, and believe me, dear Sir, faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

THE LATE GEORGE LIVERMORE, ESQ.

ARTICLE IN THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER, SEPTEMBER 2, 1865.

In the death of Mr. Livermore we have all lost a friend. He was naturally and essentially kind. He was also most conscientious and sincere. He was exquisite in simplicity. He was pure in heart. Though retiring and modest, he was outspoken and courageous for the Right. His instinctive earnestness was always on the side of virtue. These qualities marked him in all the walks of life. To these must be added a general intelligence, much acquired information, business talents of no common order, and an immense love of books.

He was a merchant always, and his name will hereafter be inscribed proudly among those who have done honor to the commercial life of Boston. Men are remembered most by what they do outside their profession. Although not unsuccessful in business, Mr. Livermore will be commemorated as a merchant who excelled in refined tastes, in generous sympathies, and in literary studies. He was an example of what a merchant may be, not only at his counting-house, but at home, in association with men, in the Sunday school, in counsel to the young, and especially in his library.

Among his schoolmates was one whose reputation in the medical profession is enhanced by acknowledged fame as writer and as poet, who cheered him during his late illness.[239] I had not the advantage of acquaintance with Mr. Livermore at that early day. I knew him first as he was about to visit Europe, and I cannot forget his absorbing interest at that time in the family of William Roscoe. He admired the accomplished author of the history of Lorenzo de’ Medici and of Leo the Tenth, because he was a merchant who cultivated letters, and while in England one of his peculiar pleasures was to study on the spot the life and character of this merchant author. His interest in bibliography was recognized by Dibdin, the great professor of the science, who conceived a friendship for his American disciple.

On his return, our merchant, while engaged in all the activities of business, renewed his devotion to those other pursuits which made him so dear to a large and growing circle. His library increased. His specialty was Bibles, of which he formed a precious collection. Among these is one which once belonged to Melancthon, with notes in the autograph of this mild and scholarly Reformer. There is also a very rare copy of “The Soldier’s Pocket Bible,” in antique print and spelling, as published for the God-fearing Ironsides of Oliver Cromwell. In other departments the library is rich and interesting. Mr. Livermore read his books, but he had a true pleasure in looking at them. He was choice in editions, and careful in bindings. Anything in vellum or large paper had a fascination for him, showing that he had not conversed with Dibdin in vain. This library, after overflowing the rooms of his house, was gathered into a beautiful apartment, built expressly for it. There, at the close of the day, after the cares of business were over, he found a pleasant retreat, interrupted only by the welcome visit of friends. His moderate desires were amply gratified, and he was happy. The library of Prospero was not more to him, when he “prized it above his dukedom.”

As a member of learned societies and of charitable associations, Mr. Livermore was indefatigable. Perhaps nobody in our community was more felt in these quiet and unobtrusive labors. His interest in public affairs was constant also, and this became intense as the great issue presented by the Rebellion loomed into sight. He busied himself to raise troops. More important still, at a critical moment, before the Government had determined to enlist colored soldiers, he prepared and printed at his own expense a most instructive elucidation of this question, founded on our Revolutionary history, which he entitled “An Historical Research respecting the Opinions of the Founders of the Republic on Negroes, as Slaves, as Citizens, and as Soldiers.” This was read to the Massachusetts Historical Society, 14th August, 1862, two months before the first Proclamation of Emancipation, and nine months before the famous Fifty-fourth Regiment, of Massachusetts, commanded by Colonel Shaw, sailed from Boston. Among the agencies which swayed the public mind at that time, this work is conspicuous, and it is within my own knowledge that it much interested President Lincoln. While preparing the final Proclamation of Emancipation, the President expressed a desire to consult it, and, as his own copy was mislaid, he requested me to send him mine, which I did. But while performing this patriotic service, our merchant did not forget his bibliographical tastes. The many editions were all remarkable for faultless paper and type, and one of them, now before me, is on large paper.

At the time of his death Mr. Livermore was fifty-six years of age, which was also the age of President Lincoln, for whom he entertained unbounded regard, deepening into affectionate reverence. By the bedside, in his last illness, hung a copy of the immortal Proclamation, signed by its author in his own autograph. There also within reach were good books, which he enjoyed as long as he could enjoy anything, and even after he began to lose hold of life.

The death of such a man must make many sad. To family, friends, and neighbors it will be irreparable. To the whole community it is a calamity. There is more than one mourner who will repeat, from the bottom of his heart, the words of the great poet:--

“Farewell, too little and too lately known, Whom I began to think and call my own!”[240]

THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE NATIONAL FAITH: GUARANTIES FOR THE NATIONAL FREEDMAN AND THE NATIONAL CREDITOR.

SPEECH AT THE REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION, IN WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, SEPTEMBER 14, 1865. WITH APPENDIX.

Nor was civil society established merely for the sake of living, but rather for the sake of living well.--ARISTOTLE, _Politics_, tr. Taylor, Book III. Ch. 9.

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This, Sir, is a cause that would be dishonored and betrayed, if I contented myself with appealing only to the understanding. It is too cold, and its processes are too slow for the occasion. I desire to thank God, that, since He has given me an intellect so fallible, He has impressed upon me an instinct that is sure. On a question of shame and honor reasoning is sometimes useless, and worse. I feel the decision in my pulse: if it throws no light upon the brain, it kindles a fire at the heart.--FISHER AMES, _Speech in Congress on the Treaty with Great Britain, April 28, 1796_: Works, Vol. II. p. 56.

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A spider in his natural size is only a spider, ugly and loathsome, and his flimsy net is only fit for catching flies. But, good God! suppose a spider as large as an ox, and that he spread cables about us; all the wilds of Africa would not produce anything so dreadful.--EDMUND BURKE, _Speech on the Petition of the Unitarians, May 11, 1792_: Works (London, 1801-27), Vol. X. p. 53.

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The Convention was organized with the following officers.

_President_, Hon. Charles Sumner, Boston.

_Vice-Presidents_, Hon. F. W. Lincoln, Jr., Boston; Gen. B. F. Butler, Lowell. At large, Caleb Swan, Easton; E. F. Stone, Newburyport; R. L. Pease, Edgartown; W. P. Phillips, Salem; Eliphalet Trask, Springfield; Tully Crosby, Brewster; W. B. Spooner, Boston; Alvah Crocker, Fitchburg; Rev. L. A. Grimes, Boston; G. L. Davis, North Andover; E. L. Pierce, Milton; S. E. Sewall, Melrose; C. O. Rogers, Boston; W. S. Clark, Amherst. District 1, F. Hooper, Fall River; E. L. Barney, New Bedford. 2, F. M. Johnson, Quincy; G. B. Weston, Duxbury. 3, Ginery Twichell, Brookline; A. J. Wright, Boston. 4, Charles Beck, Cambridge; E. C. Fitz, Chelsea. 5, B. H. Smith, Gloucester; William Howland, Lynn. 6, O. R. Clark, Winchester; Milton Bonney, Lawrence. 7, C. R. Train, Framingham; John Nesmith, Lowell. 8, A. M. Bigelow, Grafton; Caleb Thayer, Blackstone. 9, Henry Smith, Templeton; Joseph Hartwell, Ware. 10, Joseph Tucker, Great Barrington; G. M. Fisk, Palmer.

_Secretaries_, C. W. Slack, Boston; S. N. Stockwell, Boston; Thomas White, Randolph; G. F. Stetson, Hanson; H. S. Gere, Northampton; G. S. Sullivan, Boston; Samuel Chism, Newton; James Pierce, Malden.

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Hon. Tappan Wentworth, of Lowell, and Hon. William Brigham, of Boston, were appointed to conduct Mr. Sumner to the chair. Enthusiastic applause greeted his appearance on the platform. He then made the speech which follows.

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The report of the Boston _Daily Advertiser_ says: “Mr. Sumner’s Address, which we give on our second page, was heard with the most profound attention, and was at many points greeted with the most enthusiastic expressions of approval. The argument for the exclusion of Rebels from political power was especially applauded, and there could be no doubt of the sentiments of the Republican party of Massachusetts on this question. When Mr. Sumner concluded, the manifestations of applause were vehemently renewed.”

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After the speech, Hon. Amasa Walker offered resolutions in tribute to Richard Cobden, recently deceased, in whom “our country has lost one of its most earnest and devoted friends, and England one of her ablest statesmen,” and tendering to his family sincere and heartfelt sympathy in their bereavement, which were adopted unanimously, and afterwards communicated by Mr. Sumner to Mrs. Cobden.