“The recent speech of Mr. Sumner meets with the warmest
expressions of commendation from all quarters, excepting,
of course, the journals which are wedded to the interests
of Slavery.… The speech was, in fact, timely, and, while it
was designed primarily to communicate facts of the gravest
interest to the people of the loyal States, it will have
the secondary and not less important effect of making an
impression upon the Cabinets of England and France. The
fairness, candor, earnestness, and ability with which
great questions of international rights are discussed by a
statesman so well known abroad and so much respected as Mr.
Sumner must secure for the speech an attentive perusal by
those who shape public opinion in the Old World.”
A correspondent of the _Boston Journal_, calling himself “An
European Democrat,” wrote:--
“The speech of Senator Sumner at the Cooper Institute
will produce a startling effect in Europe. It may safely
be asserted that the opinions of that gentleman upon
international politics are received with greater favor in
England and France than those of perhaps any other American
statesman. He is regarded as most liberal and cosmopolitan
in his views; his acquaintance with leading public men in
both countries is known to be alike extended and intimate;
and such declarations, therefore, as those to which he
gave utterance last Thursday evening will necessarily have
extraordinary weight in political and commercial circles.”