Part 14

This scene, so brilliant in character, illustrates Mr. Fessenden’s long career in the Senate. All present were moved, while those at a distance were less affected. His speech, which was argumentative, direct, and pungent, exerted more influence on those who heard it than on those who only read it, vindicating his place as debater rather than orator. This place he held to the end, without a superior,--without a peer. Nobody could match him in immediate and incisive reply. His words were swift, and sharp as a cimeter,--or, borrowing an illustration from an opposite quarter, he “shot flying” and with unerring aim. But while this great talent secured for him always the first honors of debate, it was less important with the country, which, except in rare instances, is more impressed by ideas and by those forms in which truth is manifest.

The Senate has changed much from its original character, when, shortly after the formation of the National Government, a Nova Scotia paper, in a passage copied by one of our own journals, while declaring that “the habits of the people here are very favorable to oratory,” could say, “There is but one assembly in the whole range of the Federal Union in which eloquence is deemed unnecessary, and, I believe, even absurd and obtrusive,--to wit, the Senate, or upper house of Congress. They are merely a deliberative meeting, in which every man delivers his concise opinion, one leg over the other, as they did in the first Congress, where an harangue was a great rarity.”[186] Speech was then for business and immediate effect in the Chamber. Since then the transformation has proceeded, speech becoming constantly more important, until now, without neglect of business, the Senate has become a centre from which to address the country. A seat here is a lofty pulpit with a mighty sounding-board, and the whole wide-spread people is the congregation.

As Mr. Fessenden rarely spoke except for business, what he said was restricted in its influence, but it was most effective in this Chamber. Here was his empire, and his undisputed throne. Of perfect integrity and austerest virtue, he was inaccessible to those temptations which in various forms beset the avenues of public life. Most faithfully and constantly did he watch the interests intrusted to him. Here he was a model. Holding the position of Chairman of the Finance Committee, while it yet had those double duties which are now divided between two important committees, he became the guardian of the National Treasury, both in its receipts and its expenditures, so that nothing was added to it or taken from it without his knowledge; and how truly he discharged this immense trust all will attest. Nothing could leave the Treasury without showing a passport. This service was the more momentous from the magnitude of the transactions involved; for it was during the whole period of the war, when appropriations responded to loans and taxes,--all being on a scale beyond precedent in the world’s history. On these questions, sometimes so sensitive and difficult and always so grave, his influence was beyond that of any other Senator and constantly swayed the Senate. All that our best generals were in arms he was in the financial field.

Absorbed in his great duties, and confined too much by the training of a profession which too often makes its follower slave where he is not master, he forgot sometimes that championship which shone so brightly when he first entered the Senate. Ill-health came with its disturbing influence, and, without any of the nature of Hamlet, his conduct at times suggested those words by which Hamlet pictures the short-comings of life. Too often, in his case, “the native hue of resolution was sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought”; and perhaps I might follow the words of Shakespeare further, and picture “enterprises of great pith and moment,” which, “with this regard, their currents turned awry and lost the name of action.”

Men are tempted by the talent which they possess; and he could not resist the impulse to employ, sometimes out of place, those extraordinary powers which he commanded so easily. More penetrating than grasping, he easily pierced the argument of his opponent, and, once engaged, he yielded to the excitement of the moment and the joy of conflict. His words warmed, as the Olympic wheel caught fire in the swiftness of the race. If on these occasions there were sparkles which fell where they should not have fallen, they cannot be remembered now. Were he still among us, face to face, it were better to say, in the words of that earliest recorded reconciliation,--

“Let us no more contend nor blame Each other, blamed enough elsewhere, but strive In offices of love how we may lighten Each other’s burden in our share of woe.”[187]

Error and frailty checker the life of man. If this were not so, earth would be heaven; for what could add to the happiness of life free from error and frailty? The Senator we mourn was human; but the error and frailty which belonged to him often took their color from virtue itself. On these he needs no silence, even if the grave which is now closing over him did not refuse its echoes except to what is good.

CUBAN BELLIGERENCY.

REMARKS IN THE SENATE, DECEMBER 15, 1869.

Mr. Carpenter, of Wisconsin, having moved to proceed to the consideration of a resolution previously introduced by him, setting forth,--

“That in the opinion of the Senate the thirty gun-boats purchased or contracted for in the United States by or on behalf of the Government of Spain, to be employed against the revolted district of Cuba, should not be allowed to depart from the United States during the continuance of that rebellion,”--

Mr. Sumner said:--

I shall interpose no objection to that; but I feel it my duty to suggest that it does seem to me that a discussion of that question is premature, and for this reason: there is no information with regard to those gun-boats now before the Senate, except what we derive from the newspapers. I understand that the Department of State will in a few days, as soon as the documents can be copied, communicate to the Senate all that it has with reference to our relations with Cuba, which will probably cover the question of the gun-boats. There is a question of fact and of law, and I for one am indisposed to approach its discussion until I have all the information now in the possession of the Government. At the same time my friend from Wisconsin will understand that I have no disposition to interfere with any desires he may have. If he wishes, therefore, to go on, I shall content myself with the suggestions that I have made.

Mr. Carpenter’s motion prevailing, he proceeded with an argument in support of the resolution in question, to which Mr. Sumner replied as follows:--

MR. PRESIDENT,--The Senator from Wisconsin closed by saying that he understood that eighteen of the gun-boats would leave to-morrow. I have had put into my hands a telegram received last night from New York, which I will read, as it relates to that subject:--

“The vessels delivered by Delamater to the representatives of the Spanish Navy have their officers and crews on board and fly the flag of Spain. They are now as completely the property of that Government as is the Pizarro. Unless something not foreseen occurs, they will be at sea to-morrow morning, if not already gone.”

“To-morrow morning” is this morning.

But there are eight other boats, that are still unfinished, on the stocks, to which the resolution of the Senator from Wisconsin is applicable.

* * * * *

I have no disposition now to discuss the great question involved in the speech of the Senator from Wisconsin; but the Senator will pardon me, if I venture to suggest that he has misapprehended the meaning of the statute on which he relies. Certainly he has misapprehended it or I have. He has misapprehended it or the Administration has. I do not conceive that the question which he has presented can arise under the statute. The language on which he relies is as follows:--

“If any person shall within the limits of the United States fit out and arm, or attempt to fit out and arm, or procure to be fitted out and armed, or shall knowingly be concerned in the furnishing, fitting out, or arming of any ship or vessel, with intent that such ship or vessel shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people, to cruise or commit hostilities against the subjects, citizens, or property of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people, with whom the United States are at peace,” &c.[188]

The operative words on which the Senator relies being “any colony, district, or people,” I understand the Senator to insist that under these words Spain cannot purchase ships in the United States to cruise against her Cuban subjects now in revolt. That is the position of the Senator. He states it frankly. To that I specifically reply, that the language of the statute is entirely inapplicable. Those words, if the Senator will consult their history, were introduced for a specific purpose. It was to meet the case of the revolted Spanish colonies already for eight years in arms against the parent Government, having ships in every sea, largely possessing the territories on the Spanish main, and with independence nearly achieved.

There was no question of belligerence. It was admitted by all the civilized world. Nation after nation practically recognized it. Our Government, our courts, every department of the Government, recognized the belligerence of those Spanish colonies. Their independence was recognized more tardily, after ample discussion in these two Chambers as late as 1820; but their belligerence was a fact perfectly established and recognized by every branch of the Government. To meet their case, and for no other object, as I understand it, Mr. Miller, a Representative of South Carolina, on the 30th day of December, 1817, introduced the following resolution:--

“_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of so amending the fourth section of the Act passed on the 3d of March, 1817, entitled ‘An Act more effectually to preserve the neutral relations of the United States,’ as to embrace within the provisions thereof the armed vessels of a Government at peace with the United States and at war with any colony, district, or people with whom the United States are or may be at peace.”[189]

The important words “any colony, district, or people” were introduced to cover the precise case of the revolted Spanish colonies and their precise condition at that moment, there being no question of belligerence. Now the practical question is, whether these words, introduced originally for a specific purpose, having an historic character beyond question, can be extended so as to be applied to insurgents who have not yet achieved a corporate existence,--who have no provinces, no cities, no towns, no ports, no prize courts. Such is the fact. I cannot supply the fact, if it does not exist; nor can the Senator, with his eloquence and with his ardor enlisted in this cause. We must seek the truth. The truth is found in the actual facts. Now do those facts justify the concession which the Senator requires?

The Cuban insurgents, whatever the inspiration of their action, have not reached the condition of belligerents. Such, I repeat, is the fact, and we cannot alter the fact. Here we must rely upon the evidence, which, according to all the information within my reach, is adverse. They do not come within any of the prerequisites. They have no provinces, no towns, no ports, no prize courts. Without these I am at a loss to see how they can be treated as belligerents by foreign powers. Before this great concession there must be assurance of their capacity to administer justice. Above all, there must be a Prize Court. But nobody pretends that there is any such thing.

MR. CARPENTER. Will the Senator now allow me to ask him one question?

MR. SUMNER. Certainly.

MR. CARPENTER. My question is, if it be not the most favorable opportunity to obtain the facts to libel those boats and get proof on the question?

MR. SUMNER. The Senator will pardon me, if I say I do not think it is. I think that the better way of ascertaining the facts is to send to our authorized agents in Cuba,--we have consuls at every considerable place,--and direct them to report on the facts. I understand such reports have been received by the Department of State. They will be communicated to the Senate. They are expected day by day, and they are explicit, unless I have been misinformed, on this single point,--that, whatever may be the inspiration of that insurrection, it has not yet reached that condition of maturity, that corporate character, which in point of fact makes it belligerent in character.

MR. HOWARD. I do not wish to interrupt the Senator, but I should like to ask a question at this point.

MR. SUMNER. Certainly.

MR. HOWARD. I wish for information on this subject, and I think we all stand in need of it; and I should be very much obliged to the Senator from Massachusetts, if he is able to do so, if he would give us a statement of the amount of military force actually in the field in Cuba, or the amount of force that is available; and whether the insurgents have established a civil government for themselves,--whether it be or be not in operation as a government. On these subjects I confess my ignorance.

MR. SUMNER. The Senator confesses we are in the dark, and on this account I consider the debate premature. We all need information, and I understand it will be supplied by the Department of State. There is information on the precise point to which the Senator calls attention, and that is as to the number of the forces on both sides. I understand on the side of the insurgents it has latterly very much diminished; and I have been told that they are now little more than _guerrilleros_, and that the war they are carrying on is little more than a guerrilla contest,--that they are not in possession of any town or considerable place. Such is my information.

MR. HOWARD. Have they any government?

MR. SUMNER. I understand they have the government that is in a camp. With regard to that the Senator knows as well as I; but that brings us back again to the necessity of information.

MR. HOWARD. Any civil government, any legislative power for the actual exercise of legislative functions?

MR. SUMNER. I think there is no evidence that there is a legislative body; and I must say I await with great anxiety the evidence of their action on the subject of Slavery itself. What assurance have we that slavery will be terminated by these insurgents? Have they the will? Have they the power? I know the report that they have abolished slavery, but this report leaves much to be desired. I wish it to be authenticated and relieved from all doubt. It is said that there are two decrees,--one to be read at home, and another to be read abroad. Is this true? And even if not true, is there any assurance that the insurrectionists are able to make this decree good? But while I require the surrender of slavery from the insurrectionists, I make the same requirement of Spain. Why has this power delayed?

MR. MORTON. I ask the Senator if Spain has not recently affirmed the existence of slavery in Cuba and Porto Rico, especially in Porto Rico, by publishing a new constitution guarantying the existence of slavery?

MR. SUMNER. I am not able to inform the Senator precisely on that point. I do know enough, however, to satisfy me that Spain is a laggard on this question; and if my voice could reach her now, it would plead with her to be quick, to make haste to abolish slavery, not only in Cuba, but in Porto Rico. Its continued existence is a shame, and it should cease.

* * * * *

I have no disposition to go into this subject at length. There is, however, one other remark that the Senator from Wisconsin made to which I shall be justified in replying. He alludes to the case of the Hornet, and the proceedings against that vessel.[190] It is not for me now to vindicate those proceedings. They may have been proper under the statute, or may not; but it is very clear to me that the cases of the Hornet and the Spanish gun-boats are plainly distinguishable, and, if the Senate will pardon me one moment, I will make the distinction, I think, perfectly apparent. We all know that two or three or four or a dozen persons may levy war against the Government, may levy war against the king. A traitor levies war against the king. The king, when he proceeds against the traitor, does not levy war. He simply proceeds in the exercise of his executive functions in order to establish his authority. And in the spirit of this illustration I am disposed to believe that the United States were perfectly justifiable, even under this statute, in arresting the Hornet; but they would not be justifiable in arresting the Spanish gun-boats. The Hornet was levying war against Spain, and therefore subject to arrest. The gun-boats are levying no war, simply because the insurrection against which they are to be used has not reached the condition of war.

MR. CARPENTER. Will the Senator allow me to ask one other question?

MR. SUMNER. Certainly.

MR. CARPENTER. What I want to know is this: whether the condition of neutrality does not necessarily depend upon the fact that war is progressing between two parties? Can there be any neutrality, unless there is a contest of arms going on between two somebodies? Now, if it be a violation of our Neutrality Act for one of those bodies to come in and fit out vessels in the United States, is it not equally so for the other?--or is our pretence of neutrality a falsehood, a cheat, and a delusion?

MR. SUMNER. Mr. President, I do not regard it as a question of neutrality. Until the belligerence of these people is recognized, they are not of themselves a power, they are not a people. Therefore there can be no neutrality on the part of our Government between Spain and her revolted subjects, until they come up to the condition of a people. They have not reached that point; and therefore I submit that there is at this moment no question of neutrality, and that the argument of the Senator in that respect was inapplicable. When the belligerence of the insurgents is recognized there will be a case for neutrality, and not before.

ADMISSION OF VIRGINIA TO REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS.

SPEECHES IN THE SENATE, JANUARY 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 21, 1870.

January 10, 1870, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of a Joint Resolution reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, declaring, “That the State of Virginia is entitled to representation in the Congress of the United States,”--she having, as was said, “complied in all respects with the Reconstruction Acts.”

Mr. Sumner, apprehending that this compliance had been merely formal, and that the Rebel spirit was still the dominant influence in Virginia, urged postponement of the measure for a few days, to afford opportunity for information, remarking:--

I am assured that there are resolutions of public meetings in different parts of Virginia, that there are papers, letters, communications, all tending to throw light on the actual condition of things in that State, which in the course of a short time, of a few days at furthest, will be presented to the Senate. Under these circumstances, I submit most respectfully, and without preferring any request with reference to myself, that the measure should be allowed to go over for a few days, perhaps for a week, till Monday next, and that it then should be taken up and proceeded with to the end. My object is, that, when the Senate acts on this important measure, it may act wisely, with adequate knowledge, and so that hereafter it may have no occasion to regret its conclusion. How many are there now, Sir, who, on the information in our papers to-day, would not recall the vote by which Tennessee was declared entitled to her place as a State! You, Sir, have read that report signed by the Representatives of Tennessee, and by her honored Senator here on my right [Mr. BROWNLOW]. From that you will see the condition of things in that State at this moment. Is there not a lesson, Sir, in that condition of things? Does it not teach us to be cautious before we commit this great State of Virginia back to the hands of the people that have swayed it in war against the National Government? Sir, this is a great responsibility. I am anxious that the Senate should exercise it only after adequate knowledge and inquiry. I do not believe that they have the means at this moment of coming to a proper determination.

After extended debate, Mr. Sumner’s proposition finally took shape in a motion by his colleague [Mr. WILSON] to postpone the further consideration of the resolution for three days. In response to Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, who had charge of the measure, and who insisted that “no one had been able to find a reason worthy of consideration why they should not proceed and act affirmatively at once,” Mr. Sumner said:--

MR. PRESIDENT,--It seems to me that this discussion to-day tends irresistibly to one conclusion,--that the Senate is not now prepared to act. I do not say that it will not be prepared in one, two, or three days, or in a week; but it is not now prepared to act. Not a Senator has spoken, either on one side or the other, who has not made points of law, some of them presented for the first time in this Chamber. Hardly a Senator has spoken who has not presented questions of fact. How are we to determine these? Time is essential. We must be able to look into the papers, to examine the evidence, and, if my friend will pardon me, to examine also the law, to see whether the conclusion on which he stands so firmly is one on which the Senate can plant itself forevermore. The Senator must bear in mind that what we do now with reference to Virginia we do permanently and irrepealably, and that we affect the interests of that great State, and I submit also the safety of a large portion of its population. Sir, I am not willing to go forward in haste and in ignorance to deal with so great a question. Let us consider it, let us approach it carefully, and give to it something of that attention which the grandeur of the interest involved requires.