Chapter I: Front Matter (1)

Statesman Edition VOL. VI

Charles Sumner

HIS COMPLETE WORKS

With Introduction
BY
HON. GEORGE FRISBIE HOAR

BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD
MCM

COPYRIGHT, 1872,
BY
CHARLES SUMNER.

COPYRIGHT, 1900,
BY
LEE AND SHEPARD.

Statesman Edition.
LIMITED TO ONE THOUSAND COPIES.
OF WHICH THIS IS
No. 565

Norwood Press:
NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME VI.

PAGE

APPEAL FOR THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Letter to the Republican
Committee at Boston, June 21, 1856 1

LONGING FOR RESTORATION TO ACTIVE DUTIES, WITH APPEAL TO THE
YOUNG MEN OF MASSACHUSETTS. Letter to the Committee of a Young
Men’s Convention at Fitchburg, August 5, 1856 6

APPEAL TO THE REPUBLICANS OF RHODE ISLAND. Letter to a
Committee, September 4, 1856 9

CONTRIBUTION FOR KANSAS. Letter to Messrs. Greeley and
McElrath, of the New York Tribune, September 23, 1856 10

REGRET FOR CONTINUED DISABILITY. Letter to Hon. Lewis D.
Campbell, of Ohio, September 24, 1856 11

EFFECT OF A VOTE FOR BUCHANAN: APPEAL TO THE REPUBLICANS OF
ILLINOIS. Letter to a Committee of Republicans at Joliet,
October 2, 1856 13

APPEAL FOR THE REPUBLICAN CAUSE. Letter to a Committee of
Hudson River Counties, Poughkeepsie, New York, October 3, 1856 15

RELIEF FOR KANSAS. Letter to a Committee of the Kansas Aid
Society at Boston, October 3, 1856 18

DUTY TO VOTE FOR KANSAS AND FOR BURLINGAME. Letter to a Meeting
at Faneuil Hall, October 29, 1856 20

PUBLIC RECEPTION OF MR. SUMNER, ON HIS RETURN TO BOSTON: WITH
THE SPEECHES: November 3, 1856 22

AID FOR KANSAS. Letter to Hon. M. F. Conway, November 17, 1856 40

CONGRATULATION ON REËLECTION OF ANSON BURLINGAME AS
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. Letter to a Banquet at Faneuil
Hall, November 24, 1856 41

THE LATE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OUR BUNKER HILL. Letter to a
Committee at Worcester, November 24, 1856 43

LET MASSACHUSETTS HELP KANSAS. Letter to James Redpath, Esq.,
January 10, 1857 44

ACCEPTANCE OF SENATORSHIP, ON REËLECTION. Letter to the
Legislature of Massachusetts, January 22, 1857 46

GRATITUDE FOR SYMPATHY OF THE PEOPLE OF VERMONT. Letter to Hon.
Ryland Fletcher, Governor of Vermont, March 7, 1857 52

A LAST WORD FOR KANSAS, ON SAILING FOR EUROPE. Letter to James
Redpath, Esq., March 7, 1857 54

INVITATION TO DINNER BY AMERICAN MERCHANTS IN PARIS. Letter to
the American Merchants at Paris, April 20, 1857 56

OUR POLITICS SEEN FROM A DISTANCE. Letter to a Friend, dated
Heidelberg, September 11, 1857 60

FAREWELL ON SAILING FOR EUROPE A SECOND TIME IN QUEST OF
HEALTH. Letter to the People of Massachusetts, on Board Steamer
Vanderbilt, New York Harbor, May 22, 1858 62

HONOR TO THE INVENTOR OF THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. Letter to
Professor Morse, in excusing himself from a Dinner at Paris,
August 17, 1858 64

LONGING FOR DUTIES OF POSITION. From a Letter to a Friend,
dated at Aix, Savoy, September 11, 1858 65

INDEPENDENCE AND UNITY OF ITALY. Letter to a Public Meeting at
New York, February 17, 1860 67

TWO LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF WASHINGTON. Letter to the
Washington Monument Association of the First School District of
Philadelphia, February 21, 1860 70

MACAULAY ON SLAVERY. Communication to the New York Tribune,
March 3, 1860 71

STATUE OF HORACE MANN. Letter to Dr. Samuel G. Howe, March 5,
1860 78

USURPATION OF THE SENATE IN IMPRISONING A CITIZEN. Two
Speeches, on the Imprisonment of Thaddeus Hyatt for refusing
to testify in the Harper’s Ferry Investigation, in the Senate,
March 12, and June 15, 1860 80

ABOLITION OF CUSTOM-HOUSE OATHS. Resolution in the Senate,
March 15, 1860 95

BOSTON COMMON, AND ITS EXTENSION. Letter to George H. Snelling,
Esq., of Boston, March 26, 1860 96

ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP A CITIZEN UNDER ORDER OF THE SENATE. The Case
of Frank B. Sanborn, of Concord, Massachusetts, with Speeches
in the Senate, April 10, 13, and 16, 1860 99

PETITIONS AGAINST SLAVERY. Speech in the Senate, April 18,
1860 106

SAFETY OF PASSENGERS IN STEAMSHIPS FOR CALIFORNIA. Resolution
and Remarks in the Senate, May 21, 1860 109

CANDIDATES WHO ARE A PLATFORM. Letter to a Ratification Meeting
at Buffalo, New York, May 30, 1860 111

THE BARBARISM OF SLAVERY. Speech in the Senate, on Bill for
Admission of Kansas as a Free State, June 4, 1860 113

A VICTORY OF PRINCIPLE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Letter to
a Public Meeting at Middleborough, Massachusetts, June 11,
1860 287

REFUSAL TO COLORED PERSONS OF RIGHT OF PETITION. Notes of
Undelivered Speech in the Senate, on Resolution refusing to
receive Petition from Citizens of Massachusetts of African
Descent, June 15, 1860 288

THE LATE HONORABLE JOHN SCHWARTZ, OF PENNSYLVANIA. Speech in
the Senate, on Resolutions in Tribute to him, June 21, 1860 300

UNHESITATING ASSERTION OF OUR PRINCIPLES. Letter to the
Republicans of New York City, June 27, 1860 302

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: ITS ORIGIN, NECESSITY, AND PERMANENCE.
Speech before the Young Men’s Republican Union of New York, at
Cooper Institute, July 11, 1860 303

OUR CANDIDATES WILL BE ELECTED. Letter to the Lincoln and
Hamlin Club of Owego, New York, July 30, 1860 342

EMANCIPATION IN THE BRITISH WEST INDIES A BLESSING, AND
NOT A FAILURE. Letter to a Public Meeting at Framingham,
Massachusetts, July 30, 1860 343

SLAVERY A BARBAROUS DISEASE TO BE STAYED. Letter to a
Republican Meeting at the Dedication of the Republican Wigwam
in New York, August 6, 1860 346

TRIBUTE TO A COLLEGE CLASSMATE. Remarks on the Late John W.
Browne, August 20, 1860 348

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND THE ISSUES. Speech at the State
Convention of the Republican Party at Worcester, August 29,
1860 352

APPEAL FOR THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES.

LETTER TO THE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE AT BOSTON, JUNE 21, 1856.

The selection of a Republican candidate for the Presidency gave
rise to the customary discussion in the newspapers, in the
course of which the _New York Tribune_, under date of June 6,
1856, expressed itself as follows.

“The People’s Convention, which assembles at Philadelphia
on the 17th instant, will be called first to decide this
question: _Can the opponents of Slavery Extension elect
whomsoever they may choose to nominate?_ If, on a careful
comparison of views, this question can be confidently
answered in the affirmative, we have next to consider who,
by early, earnest, faithful, protracted, unswerving service
to the cause, has done most for the triumph of Humanity
and Impartial Freedom; and in that view but three names
can be seriously considered, namely, those of WILLIAM H.
SEWARD, of New York, SALMON P. CHASE, of Ohio, and CHARLES
SUMNER, of Massachusetts. They are all capable, reliable,
and deserving, and either of them would worthily fill the
highest office in the Republic. We will not weigh their
respective claims, but we shall support to the utmost
of our ability whichever (if either) of them shall be
nominated.”

The Republican National Convention assembled at Philadelphia,
June 17, 1856, and chose Henry S. Lane, of Indiana, as
presiding officer. At an informal ballot for President there
were 359 votes for John C. Fremont and 196 for John McLean; New
York also gave two votes for Mr. Sumner and one for Mr. Seward.
Mr. Fremont was thereupon nominated unanimously. At an informal
ballot for Vice-President there were 259 votes for William L.
Dayton, 110 for Abraham Lincoln, 46 for N. P. Banks, 43 for
David Wilmot, 35 for Charles Sumner, 15 for Jacob Collamer, 9
for John A. King, 8 for S. C. Pomeroy, 7 for Thomas Ford, 5
for Henry Wilson, 4 for Cassius M. Clay, 3 for Henry C. Carey,
2 for J. R. Giddings, 2 for W. F. Johnston, and 1 for A. C.
M. Pennington. On a formal ballot, Mr. Dayton was nominated
unanimously.

Mr. Sumner, who was at the time a guest of Francis P. Blair, at
his place near Washington, addressed the following letter to a
meeting at Faneuil Hall, in Boston, for the ratification of the
nominations.

SILVER SPRING (near WASHINGTON), June 21, 1856.

MY DEAR SIR,--I am not strong enough for public speaking, even if
I were strong enough for a journey to Boston. Besides, my duties
in the Senate have the first claim upon me, and to them I must
give my first returning strength. Therefore am I constrained to
decline the invitation with which you have honored me.

But I am strong enough to send from my present retreat a brief
expression of cordial concurrence in the nominations made by the
People’s Convention at Philadelphia, and also of the gladness
with which I shall support them, by voice and vote, with mind and
heart.

I have long honored Colonel Fremont for his genius in
geographical enterprise, his eminent intelligence, his manly
fortitude, his perfect integrity, and his easy command of
men,--swaying to his own beneficent purpose even the savages of
the forest, while Nature herself, in her winter fastnesses, bowed
before his march. It is well, at this moment, when a Great Crime
is instigated and sustained by the National Government, that
such a man, with courage which will not be questioned, and with
sensitiveness to right which will not rest, should be summoned to
grapple with the wrong-doers. And permit me to say that I find no
force in the objection that he has never been a _politician_.

Your candidate for Vice-President is worthy to enjoy the same
enthusiastic support. As lawyer, as judge, and as Senator, Mr.
Dayton has been conspicuous for character and ability; and I
rejoice to believe that he will soon have a larger field of
activity, where these can be employed for the good of our common
country, while the Senate, which is the stronghold of Human
Slavery, will be compelled to receive as its presiding officer a
representative of Human Freedom.

But better even than the candidates is the Declaration of
Principles, under which we now go forth to conquer. Such a
Declaration, promulgated by such a Convention, is in itself the
beginning of victory. Strong in simplicity and truthfulness, it
must prevail just so soon as it is comprehended. It expresses
objects which should enlist the Conservative, while they enlist
the Reformer,--which should rally all who turn with respect to
the example of the Fathers, while they rally all who are filled
with aspirations for a brighter future on earth. It proposes to
save Kansas from the revolting usurpation established in that
fair Territory, and in this good work it joins issue with the
Slave Oligarchy, now swaying our whole country; so that, in
saving Kansas, we shall necessarily overthrow this Despotism,
and save ourselves. For support, it appeals to all, without
distinction of party, who love their country. It appeals to the
true Democrat, whose democracy is founded on the recognition of
Human Rights; it appeals to the true Whig, who is animated by
that hatred of despotic power which inspired those who earliest
wore the name; it appeals to the true American, who is ready to
forget all other questions for the sake of union to save Liberty
endangered; and it appeals to the foreign-born, who, rejoicing in
the privileges of American citizens, will not hesitate to join in
this holy endeavor to vindicate them against the aggressions of
an Oligarchy worse than any tyranny from which they have fled. In
this appeal all former differences are forgotten, while men,

“Erewhile that stood aloof, as shy to meet,
Familiar mingle here, like sister streams
That some rude interposing rock has split.”

In this contest there is every motive to union, and also every
motive to exertion. _Now or never! now and forever!_--such was
the ancient war-cry, which, embroidered on the Irish flag,
streamed from the Castle of Dublin, and resounded through the
whole island, arousing a generous people to new struggle for
ancient rights; and this war-cry may be fitly inscribed on our
standard now. _Arise now, or an inexorable slave-driving Tyranny
will be fastened upon you. Arise now, and Liberty will be secured
forever._

Present my regards to your associates in the good cause, and
believe me, my dear Sir,

Always faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

SETH WEBB, JR., Esq.

LONGING FOR RESTORATION TO ACTIVE DUTIES,

WITH APPEAL TO THE YOUNG MEN OF MASSACHUSETTS.

LETTER TO THE COMMITTEE OF A YOUNG MEN’S CONVENTION AT FITCHBURG, AUGUST 5, 1856.

CRESSON, ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS, PA.,
August 5, 1856.

DEAR SIR,--I wish that I could be with the young men of
Massachusetts at their proposed Convention, but I am so feeble
still that I am constrained to turn away from all temptations and
opportunities of labor. In writing this letter I infringe a rule
prescribed by my physician.

We have been told that “the duties of life are more than life”;
and I assure you that the hardest part of my present lot is the
enforced absence from public duties, and especially from that
seat where, as a Senator from Massachusetts, it is my right,
and also my strong desire at this moment, to be heard. But in
the coolness of the mountain retreat where I now am, I begin
to gather hope of returning strength,--if too tardily for the
performance of any public duties during the session of Congress
now about to close, yet in season to take part in the rally of
the people for the protection of Liberty in Kansas, and for the
overthrow of the oligarchical Tyranny which now degrades our
Republic.

Meanwhile I commit the cause which we have at heart to the
generous sympathies of the people, who will surely rise to
smite the oppressor. Especially do I invoke the young. They are
the natural guardians of Liberty. Thus has it been throughout
all history; and never before in history did Liberty stand in
greater need of their irresistible aid. It is the young who
give spontaneous welcome to Truth, when she first appears an
unattended stranger. It is the young who open the soul with
instinctive hospitality to the noble cause. The young men of
Massachusetts act under natural impulses, when they step forward
as body-guard of the Republican party.

The great discoverer Harvey, on announcing the circulation of the
blood, was astonished to find that no person _upward of forty_
received this important truth. The young only embraced it. More
fortunate than this discovery, our cause rallies in its support
alike the experience of age and the ardor of youth; but it is
in the glowing embrace of the young that it finds assurance of
victory.

Were I able to make myself heard throughout the land, I would
say to the young men everywhere who truly love Liberty: “Your
candidate has been the renowned pioneer of civilization in
unsettled wastes: associate yourselves with him now as pioneers
of Liberty in the National Government; help him unfurl at
Washington the flag which he first unfurled on the peaks of the
Rocky Mountains; and be copartners with him in the glory of
redeeming our beloved country.”

Present to the young men of Massachusetts, whom you represent,
the assurance of my sincere interest in their happiness and
welfare, and believe me, my dear Sir, with much regard,

Faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

GEORGE H. HOYT, Esq., of the Committee, &c.

APPEAL TO THE REPUBLICANS OF RHODE ISLAND.

LETTER TO A COMMITTEE, SEPTEMBER 4, 1856.

CRESSON, ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS, PA.,
September 4, 1856.

DEAR SIR,--Were I well, I should regard your letter as a summons.
But I am still in the hands of physicians, by whom I am carefully
warned against all public effort. Most reluctantly, at this
period of our country’s trial, do I submit.

Accept for the Convention which will assemble at Providence my
best wishes. Let it apply itself with earnestness, diligence,
and singleness of purpose to the rescue of our fair land from
the tyranny which now degrades it. Here is room for all,--the
aged and the young, the Conservative and the Reformer. Surely,
Rhode Island, if not utterly disloyal to herself, if not utterly
disloyal to New England civilization, if not utterly disloyal to
the Republic of which she constitutes a part, will rise up as one
man and insist that Kansas shall be secured to Liberty, and that
the Slave Oligarchy shall be driven from its usurped foothold in
the National Government. At all events, this State, first planted
by the Author of Religious Freedom, will see that Human Rights do
not suffer through the votes of her children.

Believe me, my dear Sir, faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

CONTRIBUTION FOR KANSAS.

LETTER TO MESSRS. GREELEY AND MCELRATH, OF THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 23, 1856.

MESSRS. GREELEY AND MCELRATH:--

I have watched with interest your generous fund for the relief
and liberation of Kansas, now insulted, trodden down, torn, and
enslaved by the President of the United States, acting as the
tool of the tyrannical Slave Oligarchy. To other funds for this
important charity I have already given according to my small
means; but, as a constant reader of the “Tribune,” I cannot miss
the opportunity which you afford to protest anew against an
unparalleled Crime, and to contribute anew to its mitigation.
Please to accept the check which I enclose for one hundred
dollars. I wish it were more, when so much is needed.

Believe me, Gentlemen, your faithful servant,

CHARLES SUMNER.

PHILADELPHIA, September 23, 1856.

REGRET FOR CONTINUED DISABILITY.

LETTER TO HON. LEWIS D. CAMPBELL, OF OHIO, SEPTEMBER 24, 1856.

HAMILTON, Monday, September 29, 1856.

EDITORS OF THE CINCINNATI GAZETTE:--

Tens of thousands of the Friends of Freedom were anxious to meet
Senator Sumner at this place on Friday last. Many went away
disappointed. I had assured the Committee of Arrangements, that,
if the state of his health permitted, he would attend the meeting.

I have just received the enclosed private letter, which I venture
to hand for publication, that those who were disappointed may
understand and appreciate the cause of his non-attendance. It
is in answer to a letter in which I urged Mr. Sumner to spend a
fortnight in the Miami Valley for recreation, and to appear at
the Hamilton meeting, even if his health should not permit him to
speak.

Very truly yours, &c.

LEWIS D. CAMPBELL.

* * * * *

PHILADELPHIA, Wednesday, September 24, 1856.

MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter of the 9th of September, after
travelling to Boston, at last found me here, where I am still
detained under medical treatment, away from my home, which I have
not visited since I left it at the beginning of the late session
of Congress, now ten months ago.

With sorrow inexpressible, I am still constrained to all the
care and reserve of an invalid. More than four months have
passed since you clasped my hand as I lay bleeding at the Senate
Chamber, and my system is even now so far from the firmness of
health that any departure from the prescribed rule is sure to
occasion a relapse. I could not reach Ohio except by slow stages;
and were I there, I should not have the sanction of my physician
in exposing myself to the excitements of a public meeting, even
if I said nothing. This is hard, very hard, for me to bear; for I
long to do something at this critical moment for the cause. What
is life without action?

For a while, at least, I must leave to others the precious
satisfaction of laboring for Liberty and the redemption of our
country. But I have the comfort of knowing that never before was
I so little needed.

God bless Ohio for her glorious testimony already, and her more
glorious promises!

Believe me, my dear Sir, very faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

HON. LEWIS D. CAMPBELL, Hamilton, Ohio.

EFFECT OF A VOTE FOR BUCHANAN:

APPEAL TO THE REPUBLICANS OF ILLINOIS.

LETTER TO A COMMITTEE OF REPUBLICANS AT JOLIET, OCTOBER 2, 1856.

The local paper reports that this letter “was received with
tremendous applause.”

PHILADELPHIA, October 2, 1856.

DEAR SIR,--I am sorry that I cannot be with the Republicans
of Illinois at Joliet on the 8th of October, according to the
invitation with which they have honored me; but inexorable,
long-continued disability and the admonitions of medical skill
keep me back still from all public effort, and even from return
to my home, which I have not visited for more than ten months.

It is hard to renounce the opportunity which you offer me; for
I have constantly hoped to visit Illinois during the present
contest, and in plain language put to her people the questions
which they are to decide by their votes. These are all involved
in the Freedom of Kansas, but they are manifold in form.

Are you _against_ the extension of Slavery? If _yea_, then vote
for Fremont.

Are you especially _against_ the extension of Slavery BY FORCE?
If _yea_, then vote for Fremont.

Are you _against_ the erection of the Slave Oligarchy as the
dominant power in our Republic? If _yea_, then vote for Fremont.

Are you _against_ the violation of the constitutional rights of
American citizens? If _yea_, then vote for Fremont.

Audacious sophistry, often exposed, but still flaunting abroad,
may seek to deceive you. It may foam with abuse and bristle with
perversion of fact; but it cannot obscure the unquestionable
truth, which now stares everybody in the face, that a vote for
Buchanan is a vote for all these bad things. _It is a vote not
simply for the extension of Slavery, but also for the extension
of Slavery_ BY FORCE, involving, besides, the erection of the
Slave Oligarchy as the dominant power in our Republic, and the
violation of the constitutional rights of American citizens.
Surely, Illinois will not be led to sanction such enormities.
Hers will be the path of Liberty, which is, of course, the path
of true patriotism. Through her agency incalculable harm has
already come to the Republic; but I cannot forget that she has
begun a glorious reparation, by introducing to the National
Councils a Senator of rare skill in debate, of sweetest purity of
character, and of perfect loyalty to those principles by which
Liberty will be secured, and our good name extended in history.
I refer to Mr. Trumbull, who now belongs to the whole country,
which is justly grateful for his eminent services. With his
example before her, Illinois cannot wander again into the support
of Slavery.

Give to the Republicans of Illinois my hearty God-speed, and let
my absence speak to them.

Ever faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

TO HON. J. O. NORTON.

APPEAL FOR THE REPUBLICAN CAUSE.

LETTER TO A COMMITTEE OF HUDSON RIVER COUNTIES, POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 3, 1856.

PHILADELPHIA, October 3, 1856.

DEAR SIR,--Among valued opportunities, which, by the dictation of
my physician and the admonitions of continued ill-health, I am
constrained to forego, is that afforded by the invitation, with
which I have been honored, to meet the Republicans of the Hudson
River Counties at Poughkeepsie. They will, I trust, believe me
not indifferent to their kindness, or to the cause in whose name
they are to assemble.

Nothing but necessity could keep me thus aloof, a mere looker-on,
while the great battle of Freedom is waged. The pleasure of the
sight to a spectator secure in the distance has been declared
by an ancient poet in a much admired passage, reproduced by a
greater modern:--

“’Tis pleasant also to behold from far
The moving legions mingled in the war.”

Yet the impulse and ardor of my convictions do not allow me to
be content in any such retirement. I wish to enter the strife,
and give such powers as I can to the righteous cause. But I am
forbidden.

It only remains that from my retreat I should send all that for
the present I can give, the prayers and benedictions of one yet
too feeble for any exertion.

While thus sitting apart, I am permitted to survey the field and
to recognize the ensigns of triumph now streaming in the fresh
northern breeze. Everywhere the people are aroused, at least
away from the pavement of great cities, where, too often, human
perversity is such as to suggest that “God made the country and
man made the town.”

Iowa, at the extreme West, and Maine, at the extreme East,
testify to a sentiment which must prevail also in the
intermediate States. In proper season New York and Pennsylvania
will confess it. And this is natural; for the whole broad country
has been shocked by the enormities of which Mr. Buchanan, in
the pending contest, is the unflinching representative, and Mr.
Fillmore the cautious, but effective, partisan.

In this contest I discern the masses of the people, under the
name of the Republican party, together with good men regardless
of ancient party ties, arrayed on the one side, while on the
other side is the oligarchical combination of slave-masters, with
the few Northern retainers they are yet able to keep, composed
chiefly of sophists whose lives are involved in a spider’s web of
fine-spun excuses, hirelings whose personal convictions are all
lost in salary, present or prospective, and trimmers whose eyes
fail to discern present changes of opinion only because they are
fastened too greedily upon ancient chances of preferment. Such
are the parties.

And I discern clearly the precise question on which these parties
are divided. In stating it I answer it.

The Territory of Kansas has been made the victim of countless
atrocities, in order to force Slavery upon its beautiful,
uncontaminated soil. By lawless violence a Government has been
established there, which, after despoiling the citizen of all
his dearest rights, has surrounded Slavery with the protection
of pretended statutes. And the question is distinctly submitted
to the American people, “Are you ready to sanction these
enormities?” This is the simple question. The orators of Slavery,
freely visiting Poughkeepsie, could not answer it, and therefore
they have kept it out of sight. But there the question stands.

Refusing to become partakers of such wrong, you will contribute
not only to the freedom of Kansas, but also to the overthrow
of the brutal and domineering Oligarchy which seeks to enslave
Kansas, simply as a stepping-stone to the enslavement of the
whole country. Surely, no man can hesitate, when Freedom requires
his vote. Nay, more, is not this cause worth living for? is not
this cause worth dying for?

* * * * *

Accept my thanks for the special kindness of your communication,
and my regrets that I can answer it only by this imperfect letter.

Believe me, dear Sir, ever faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

STEPHEN BAKER, Esq.

RELIEF FOR KANSAS.

LETTER TO A COMMITTEE OF THE KANSAS AID SOCIETY AT BOSTON, OCTOBER 3, 1856.

PHILADELPHIA, October 3, 1856.

MY DEAR SIR,--There is inspiration in a good cause, which is
shown at once in the improved character of all who embrace it.
Especially is this apparent in the young. Never is youth so
radiant as under its influence. The young men of Boston have done
wisely for themselves in associating together for the relief of
Kansas. All that they can do will be twice blessed,--blessing
them in their lives, and blessing distant despoiled
fellow-citizens.

With pleasure I learn that the Governor will preside at your
earliest public meeting. But this is only according to the just
rule of life. Kindred to honors are duties; and the head of a
Christian Commonwealth should be the head of this Christian
charity, while every citizen should range in place, and our
beloved Massachusetts, by the contributions, voices, and votes
of her unanimous children, should become one united, compact,
all-embracing _Kansas Relief Society_, at once an overflowing
fountain of beneficence and an irresistible example to the
country. For myself, I would rather a thousand times serve
this cause, even in the humblest capacity, than be a Governor
indifferent to its appeals.

All that can be given is needed; and whoso gives bestows upon
a missionary enterprise, which, in the footsteps of Liberty,
will carry peace, civilization, Christianity, the Bible, and all
blessings of earth and heaven. To such a charity every person
must give; if in no other way, the man who has two coats must
sell one, and let Kansas have the other. But, while encouraging
this effort, candor compels the confession that all your
contributions will be of small account, unless a President and
Congress are chosen who shall give their sympathies to Freedom
rather than to Slavery. Only in this way can the rod of the
oppressor be broken. A vote for such men will be a contribution
to Kansas.

Present my thanks to your associates, and accept for yourself the
assurance of my special gratitude for that constant devotion to
human freedom by which you have been distinguished.

Ever faithfully yours,

CHARLES SUMNER.

DR. W. F. CHANNING.

DUTY TO VOTE FOR KANSAS AND FOR BURLINGAME.

LETTER TO A MEETING AT FANEUIL HALL, OCTOBER 29, 1856.

PHILADELPHIA, October 29, 1856.

SIR,--I cannot be at Faneuil Hall on Saturday evening, according
to the invitation with which I have been honored. But, though
feeble still, I hope to be in Boston on the succeeding Tuesday,
to vote. If not strong enough to speak, I trust at least to be
able to perform this duty of the citizen.

My vote will not be needed; but I am unwilling that the
opportunity should pass of uttering my determined NO against
the efforts now making to subjugate Kansas and to install the
Slave Oligarchy in permanent control of the National Government.
Against this dreadful conspiracy I protest, with all the ardor
of my soul; and I know no way in which I can hope to make
this protest immediately effective, except by casting my vote
for those candidates openly and unequivocally hostile to the
consummation of the crime.

Especially shall I vote for Burlingame; and I shall do this, not
only because I think him worthy of honor, and admire his generous
nature, intrepidity, and eloquence, but because I have at heart
the good name of Boston, and the welfare of my country. Boston
should sustain Burlingame, not merely for his sake, but for her
own sake,--not merely to do him honor, but to save herself from
dishonor,--not merely from local pride, but to strengthen Liberty
and to serve the whole Republic, now endangered alike from
criminal audacity and from subservient timidity.

I have the honor to be, Sir,

Your faithful servant,

CHARLES SUMNER.

TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MEETING AT FANEUIL HALL.

PUBLIC RECEPTION OF MR. SUMNER, ON HIS RETURN TO BOSTON:

WITH THE SPEECHES:

NOVEMBER 3, 1856.

As it became known that Mr. Sumner would return home to vote,
a Boston committee visited Philadelphia to urge his acceptance
of a banquet, with the understanding that he should simply show
himself there without speaking. Acting under medical advice, he
declined this invitation. The sympathy of the community found
vent in a public reception.

The reception of Senator Sumner, on his return to Boston, was
an imposing popular demonstration.[1] It was purely a peaceful
and spontaneous celebration. There was no organization of
enthusiasm; there were no military, no fire companies, no
associated bodies, to swell the ranks of the procession or
attract attention. Those of his fellow-citizens, simply, who
wished to testify respect and sympathy, went forth to meet
him; through the mouth of one, the most venerable and honored
of their number, they welcomed him on his entrance within the
limits of the city, and the chief executive magistrate of the
Commonwealth greeted him on his arrival beneath the shadow of
the State capitol. In both places, and also before Mr. Sumner’s
residence in Hancock Street, there were vast concourses of
citizens, assembled to do honor to their Senator.

The weather was favorable; the atmosphere was clear and warm
for the season; and although the appearance of the sky at times
boded rain, none fell until late in the evening, long after the
exercises of the day were concluded.

Mr. Sumner arrived in this vicinity on Sunday morning,
November 2d. On Monday he drove from Professor Longfellow’s,
in Cambridge, where he had been staying, to the house of Amos
A. Lawrence, Esq., at Longwood, in Brookline. Soon after one
o’clock, the invited guests, who had assembled at the State
House, proceeded in open carriages to Longwood, where they were
joined by Mr. Sumner, who passed along the line of carriages,
and was silently greeted by the gentlemen rising and removing
their hats. The carriages then proceeded across to Roxbury, and
thence along Washington Street to the Boston line, which was
reached at three o’clock. Here the cavalcade was assembled,
together with a vast concourse of citizens.

The chief marshal was General John S. Tyler, assisted by the
following gentlemen as aids: Major John C. Park, Colonel
R. I. Burbank, Major Moses G. Cobb, E. Webster Pike, Esq.,
Adjutant-General E. W. Stone, Colonel A. J. Wright, Colonel W.
W. Bullock, and Carlos Pierce, Esq.

The following were the assistant marshals: Captain I. F.
Shepard, Charles H. Hawes, W. E. Webster, F. L. Chapin, O.
H. Dutton, Major F. A. Heath, F. B. Fay, Julian O. Mason, A.
A. Dunnels, Stephen Rhoades, H. D. Child, Leister M. Clark,
Charles W. Pierce, R. F. Martin, Rufus Frost, F. A. Fuller,
J. W. Wolcott, William B. Spooner, Henry D. Williams, Colonel
Robert Cowdin, of Boston, and Eugene Batchelder, Charles D.
Hills, D. P. Ripley, of Cambridge.

As it went up Washington Street, the cavalcade numbered, by
actual count, about eight hundred horsemen; but its numbers
were subsequently increased by fresh arrivals, in couples and
in groups, to over a thousand.

On the head of the cavalcade reaching the borders of Roxbury,
it halted, and the whole was drawn up in a long line at the
upper side of Washington Street, facing the centre. For over
half an hour it waited for the cortege from Brookline which was
to escort Mr. Sumner, and when at last the latter appeared,
it was received with hearty cheers and music from the Brigade
Band. It consisted of some sixteen or eighteen barouches or
carriages, containing the Committee of Arrangements and other
gentlemen.

The barouche which contained Mr. Sumner was drawn by
magnificent horses. With Mr. Sumner was the Rev. Professor F.
D. Huntington, of Harvard University, and Dr. Perry, of this
city, Mr. Sumner’s physician. Among those in the succeeding
barouches were Messrs. Abbott and James Lawrence, George and
Isaac Livermore, Edwin P. Whipple, George R. Russell, Charles
G. Loring, J. Huntington Wolcott, Hon. E. C. Baker, President
of the Senate, Dr. Beck and Rev. Dr. Francis, of Cambridge,
Professor Lovering, and James Russell Lowell, the poet,--that
which followed Mr. Sumner’s barouche containing Professor
Longfellow, and George Sumner, the brother of the Senator.

As the carriage with Mr. Sumner touched the line between
Roxbury and Boston, there was a general cheer, which was
continued along far into the distance,--the Brigade Band
playing “Hail Columbia.” The first division of the cavalcade
wheeled to the left, and formed into an escort. The carriages
of Mr. Sumner and the Committee came next in succession, and
then the two remaining divisions fell into column.

A few rods north of the Roxbury line the cavalcade came to a
halt, when Mr. Sumner’s carriage was driven alongside of that
containing Hon. Josiah Quincy, and Hon. Alexander H. Rice,
mayor of Boston. After greetings between the parties, Professor
Huntington introduced Mr. Sumner to Mr. Quincy in the following
brief address.

“MR. QUINCY,--The Committee of Arrangements for welcoming
the Hon. Charles Sumner to his home present him here to
you, Sir, a venerated representative of the city of his
birth. He comes back from his public post, where he has
bravely advocated the cause of all freemen, to enjoy a
freeman’s privilege and discharge a freeman’s duty. He
comes, a cheerful and victorious sufferer, out of great
conflicts of humanity with oppression, of ideas with
ignorance, of scholarship and refinement with barbarian
vulgarity, of intellectual power with desperate and brutal
violence, of conscience with selfish expediency, of right
with wrong. Boston does well in coming out to greet him.
For that ample and lofty manhood, trained under her
education and consolidated in her climate, has added new
dignity to her old renown. It has joined her name more
inseparably than ever with the aspirations of Christian
liberty, and the honors of disinterested patriotism,
throughout the earth, and through all time.”

MR. QUINCY then addressed Mr. Sumner as follows.

“MR. SUMNER,--It is with inexpressible pleasure that I
address you this day as the voice of the great multitude
of your fellow-citizens. In their name, and by their
authority, I welcome you to your home in Massachusetts,
expressing their honor and thanks for the power and
fidelity with which you have fulfilled your duties as
their representative in the Senate of the United States,
where, ‘unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,’ you kept your
love, your zeal, your loyalty to Liberty,--where neither
number nor example, threat nor sneer, ‘within you wrought
to swerve from truth, or change your constant mind.’
[_Applause._]

“You return to your country, Sir, after having given
glorious evidences of intellectual power, which touched,
as with the spear of Ithuriel, the evil spirit of our
Union, causing it at once to develop in full proportions
its gigantic deformity, compelling it to unveil to the Free
States its malign design to make this land of the free a
land of slaves. [_Voices, ‘Never! never!’_]

“You have suffered, and are still suffering, for your
intrepid faithfulness. But suffering in the cause of Truth
and Liberty is the heaven-laid path to win ‘the crown
which Virtue gives after this mortal change to her true
servants.’ [_Hearty cheers._]

“I rejoice that my life has been prolonged to this
day,--that I am permitted to behold the dawnings of
ancient Liberty through the broken openings of the clouds,
which for more than fifty years the spirit of Slavery has
extended over this Union. I thank Heaven that now, at
last, the Free States are beginning to awaken to a sense
of their dangers and their duties,--that, at length, they
begin to realize that the Slave States have overleaped
the bounds of the Constitution. The apathy of half a
century may delay for a time the triumphs of Freedom, but
come they will. Final success is certain. Never again
will the Free States in silence acquiesce in the farther
extension of slave domain. [_Loud applause, and cries of
‘Never! never!’_] Henceforth they will hear and attend to
the warning voice of Washington, solemnly uttered in his
Farewell Address,--‘SUBMIT NOT TO USURPATION,’--‘RESIST,
WITH CARE, THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION UPON THE PRINCIPLES OF
THE CONSTITUTION.’ [_Cheers._]

“We welcome you, Sir, as the champion of Freedom [_loud
cheers_], and as one to whom the deliverance which we hope
may yet be destined for our country will be greatly due.”

MR. SUMNER, who had been standing in his carriage, uncovered,
then spoke, in a subdued voice, and evidently under the
influence of deep feeling, as follows.

MR. QUINCY,--A year has nearly run since I left Boston in the discharge of public duties. During this period, amidst important events, I have been able to do something which my fellow-citizens and neighbors, speaking by your authoritative voice, are pleased to approve. I am happy in this approbation. Especially am I happy that it is conveyed by the eloquent words of one who from my childhood has been with me an object of unaffected reverence, who was the municipal head of my native city while I was a pupil at its public schools, and who was the head of the University while I was a pupil in that ancient seat.

Boston, early in her history, set her face against Slavery. By a vote, entered upon her Town Records, as long ago as 1701, she called upon her Representatives “to put a period to negroes being slaves.” If I have done anything to deserve the greeting you now lavish, it is because I have striven to maintain those principles here declared, and to extend them to other places,--stretching the venerable shelter of Faneuil Hall even over distant Kansas. [_Loud applause._]

You have made allusion to the suffering which I have undergone. This is not small. But it has been incurred in the performance of duty; and how little is it, Sir, compared with the suffering of fellow-citizens in Kansas! How small is it, compared with that tale of woe which is perpetually coming to us from the house of bondage!

With you I hail the omens of final triumph. I ask no prophet to confirm this assurance. The future is not less secure than the past.

You are pleased to quote injunctions of Washington. If ever there was occasion to bear these, not only in memory, but in heart, the time is now, when Usurpation is the order of the day, and the Constitution is set at defiance. Beyond these precepts is also his great example, which, from first to last, teaches the constant lesson of fidelity, in standing up for the liberties of our country, in undoubting faith that the good cause cannot fail.

The rule of duty is the same for the lowly and the great; and, in the communication which I addressed to the Legislature of Massachusetts, accepting the trust which I now hold, I ventured to adopt the determination of Washington, and to avow his confidence. In both I hope to hold fast unto the end. [_Loud cheers._]

Mr. Sumner then passed from the carriage in which he had been
riding into that of Mr. Quincy and Mayor Rice. Professor
Huntington also took a seat in the same carriage, which was
drawn by six splendid gray horses. A body-guard of marshals
mounted, and of police, formed on each side of the barouche, in
order to keep the multitudes in the streets from pressing up to
shake hands with Mr. Sumner.

The cavalcade then proceeded onwards, amid repeated cheers of
the multitudes lining the streets on both sides. In accordance
with directions from his physician, Mr. Sumner acknowledged
these demonstrations only by a wave of the hand.

On reaching Newton Street, on Blackstone Square, a long line
of beautiful young ladies was ranged upon the pavement on the
south side, each holding a bouquet, to present to Senator
Sumner. Previously, however, a very interesting scene took
place. Mrs. C. W. Pierce, Mrs. G. L. Goodwin, Mrs. Henry Keyes,
and Miss Mary Pierce--each dressed in white, with wreaths on
their heads, and wearing elegant sashes--came forward, and
presented Mr. Sumner splendid bouquets, which action seemed
to give him much gratification. But the receipt of another
from the hands of a lovely child, carried up to the Senator in
the arms of a gentleman, and a similar act in Shawmut Avenue,
were peculiarly grateful to him. No previous or subsequent
circumstances during the day seemed to give Mr. Sumner such
true delight as these kindnesses. On proceeding forward, the
ladies showered their bouquets upon him from sidewalks and
windows along the street, until the carriage was pretty nigh
full. As the floral burden accumulated, he laughed the more
heartily, and spoke his gratitude to every one of the fair
donors his voice could reach. All along Newton Street, and the
west side of Blackstone Square, the procession was cheered
in the most enthusiastic manner. Ladies crowded almost every
window, and the scene was the most brilliant along the route.

As the procession reached the Boston Female Orphan Asylum on
Washington Street, the inmates of that institution were seen
ranged in front of the building, waving their handkerchiefs,
and displaying on a white banner a beautiful wreath of
evergreen intermingled with flowers, with the motto,--

“We weave a wreath for Charles Sumner.”

This was the only point on the route of the procession where
Mr. Sumner rose to his feet. Here the kindness of these
orphaned ones so touched his feelings, that he could not help
acknowledging it in this way.

Attached to several of the bouquets thrown to Mr. Sumner were
appropriate and expressive mottoes. The principal of them were
as follows.

“No bludgeon can dim the lustre of our champion of Freedom.”

“Massachusetts’s most honored son. If the ladies could
vote, he would be the next President.”

“A warm welcome from warm hearts to the noblest man America
has ever borne in her bosom! 78 Shawmut Avenue, Nov. 3,
1856.”

“Welcome home! The sons and daughters of Massachusetts
greet her noblest defender.”

“Infants welcome him whose name lives immortal in the
hearts of his countrymen.”

“Welcome, dear friend of justice!”

All along the line of procession, namely, down Washington
Street, Newton Street, Shawmut Avenue, Dover Street, Washington
Street, West Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, Charles
Street, and Beacon Street to the State House, the crowds which
greeted the honored Senator at every point were great.

At the corner of Washington and Newton Streets, over
Washington, there was a fine display of flags and streamers.
From the house of Mr. Nickerson, fronting on Franklin Square,
was a splendid triumphal arch, between two elm-trees, flags and
streamers surrounding the word--

“Welcome!”

Newton Street had a large number of flags, the union jack
displayed alternately with the national ensign on staffs
projecting from Franklin Square. The entire street was strewed
with evergreens. It was a beautiful display.

At the junction of Newton Street and Shawmut Avenue, the
houses of Benjamin Smith and Alfred A. Andrews were splendidly
decorated with festoons and flags. Between them, floating above
Newton Street, was the following:--

“Massachusetts loves, honors, will sustain and defend her
noble Sumner!”

The house of E. G. Dudley, at the corner of Shawmut Avenue
and Waltham Street, made a fine appearance. Besides flags and
festoons, was the following, wreathed in black:--

“May 22, 1856.”

Beneath this was the following:--

“Welcome, thrice welcome!”

At the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Dover Street, on the house
of Rev. Mr. Sargent, was the following significant motto:--

“To the _Right_!”

pointing the route of the procession.

The house of Dr. Parks, No. 88 Dover Street, was beautifully
decorated,--an eagle above the upper-story windows, holding a
number of streamers, which were gathered below. The following
was inscribed upon the building:--

“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”

The piano-rooms of T. Gilbert were decorated, with the words in
front,--

“Welcome, Freedom’s Defender!”

There were many other similar decorations. If longer time had
been given, the demonstration would have been other than it
was.[2] But it was not in decorations that the citizens of
Boston welcomed home the beloved son of Massachusetts; it was
rather with emotion too deep for utterance that they received
him.

The scene at the State House was beyond description. The area
in front, the long range of steps leading to the Capitol, the
Capitol itself, the streets in the vicinity, the houses even
to the roofs, were packed with human beings. The assembled
thousands greeted him with long continued cheering.

Mr. Sumner arrived in front of the Capitol, where a platform
had been erected. His Excellency Governor Gardner, the
Executive Council, and the Governor’s Staff were escorted by
the Sergeant-at-Arms, Benjamin Stevens, Esq. Mr. Sumner was
then introduced by Professor Huntington in an eloquent speech,
as follows.

“MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,--In behalf of the
Committee of Reception, I present to your Excellency the
Hon. Charles Sumner, Senator of Massachusetts in the
Congress of the United States. It is needless to recount
here his services to our Commonwealth, to the whole
Republic, to the principles of a pure and just nationality,
to elegant learning, to Christian statesmanship, to the
liberties and the rights of man. These are all safely
recorded in the imperishable history of the country and
the race. How deeply they are written in the hearts
of his fellow-citizens let this vast and enthusiastic
concourse bear witness. He returns to his friends; but
his friends are wherever justice is revered. He returns
to his neighbors; but he has a neighbor in every victim
of wrong throughout the world. He returns to the State
that entrusted her interests to his charge, having
proclaimed--according to the spirit of her own institutions
and her people--the doctrine of the Brotherhood of all
States, in the bonds of universal Peace. He stands at the
door of her Capitol, and in the presence of her Chief
Magistrate,--stands here her faithful steward, her eloquent
and fearless advocate, her honored guest, her beloved son!”

His Excellency replied briefly as follows.

“SIR,--I am admonished by the Committee of Arrangements
that my words must be few and brief.

“This is no political ovation. The Chief Marshal of the
procession announces that no political mottoes will be
admitted into the ranks. By the same sense of propriety I
am admonished that no political phrases are appropriate
here.

“This is the spontaneous outpouring of your friends and
neighbors and fellow-citizens to welcome you from your
field of intellectual victory,--and to welcome you also
from your bed of pain and suffering. I cordially add my
tribute, humble, save what my official station imparts to
it, to crown the just and welcome offering.

“We hail you with warm hearts, not only as the eloquent
orator, the accomplished scholar, and the acknowledged
statesman,--not only as the earnest friend of suffering
humanity and of every good cause,--not only as one
who, educated in the institutions and by the altars
and firesides of Massachusetts, has won for himself
imperishable laurels on the arena of the nation’s
conflicts,--but especially now do we welcome you as the
successful defender of her integrity and her honor.
[_Cheers._]

“In her name I declare that the base and cowardly blows
which fell on you struck through you into her. Within the
circuit of the sun’s flight after I heard of that assault,
before such an assemblage as rarely gathers in Faneuil
Hall, I pledged Massachusetts to stand by you. [_Loud
applause._]

“And she does stand by you to-day. She will stand by you
to-morrow [_enthusiastic cheers_]; and she will stand by
you in her defence forever. [_Loud cheering._]

“I welcome you, then, most cordially and warmly, in her
name, again to her borders. Every thrilling breast and
kindling countenance around you in this immense throng
welcomes you,--Boston welcomes you,--Massachusetts welcomes
you.

“In her name I trust that the quiet of your home may
speedily restore you to perfect health, so you can again go
forward to your sphere of duty, to new achievements, and
new victories.

“And now, Gentlemen, fellow-citizens, one word to you.
The duty of the day over, let us, one and all, leave our
distinguished friend to the undisturbed quiet of his own
home, to the fond caress of one whose ear is at this moment
bent in anxious watching for the earliest warning of his
approach, that he may there recover, not only from his past
illness, but from the present excitement and the fatigues
of travel. At present our kindest attentions will consist
in scrupulously avoiding exacting intrusions.

“To you, Sir, again, in the name of our glorious old
Commonwealth, I extend a cordial welcome. [_Loud cheers._]”

Three times three cheers were then given for Mr. Sumner, who
attempted to reply; but his voice was more feeble than in
replying to Mr. Quincy. He spoke, with great difficulty, as
follows.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,--

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 beloved 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 sympathies; 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 shattered 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. Sumner’s
manuscript.]