The reception of this speech revealed the interest of the
question, which was not inferior to that of Slavery. The
auditory at its delivery, the expressions of the public press,
the sensation in England, and letters from all quarters were
as instructive as complimentary. Among our own countrymen at
home and abroad the satisfaction was general. The people were
against war with England, and they were glad to learn that
by surrender of the Rebels Maritime Rights had obtained new
safeguard, while the British pretext for war was removed.
* * * * *
The scene at the delivery was described by the leading journals.
The correspondent of the _New York Tribune_ telegraphed
briefly, but emphatically.
“Senator Sumner’s speech was felt to be exhaustive of the
Law of Nations which governed the case of the Trent, and
is already ranked in Washington as a state paper upon the
question of seizure and search worthy to be placed side by
side with the despatches of Madison and Jefferson. It was
delivered to a thronged and charmed Senate.”
The correspondent of the _New York Herald_ telegraphed more at
length.
“The speech was impressively delivered. The galleries
of the Senate were densely crowded. Notwithstanding the
inclemency of the weather, the ladies’ gallery was filled
to overflowing. Mrs. Vice-President Hamlin and a party
of her friends occupied seats in the diplomatic gallery,
which was also filled. Secretaries Chase and Cameron
occupied seats on the floor of the Chamber, where were
also the French, Russian, Austrian, Prussian, Danish, and
Swedish ministers. Lord Lyons was not present, as etiquette
required that he should not be there on such an occasion.
The speech was listened to with fixed attention by Senators
Bright and Powell and ex-Senator Green. M. Mercier, the
French minister, occupied a seat next to Mr. Bright, and
exchanged salutations with Mr. Sumner at the conclusion
of the speech, as did also most of the other foreign
dignitaries.
“Mr. Sumner’s speech has created a marked impression on
the public in regard to himself. It has removed much
prejudice that existed against him, and added greatly to
his reputation as a profound statesman. The impression
prevailed, that, with all his learning, his extraordinary
acquirements, and splendid talents, he could not avoid the
introduction of his peculiar views in reference to Slavery;
and on account of the strong Antislavery proclivities of
England hitherto, and the sympathy heretofore from this
cause existing between leading English politicians and
our own Antislavery men of Mr. Sumner’s class, it was
apprehended by many that he would be inclined to lean
towards Great Britain in this controversy. His course
to-day was, therefore, an agreeable surprise. The absence
of any allusion in his speech to the Negro Question
demonstrated his ability and willingness to rise superior
to the one idea attributed to him, and the scathing
exposition of British inconsistency in regard to the right
of search, and the dignified rebuke he administered to
England, exhibited his capacity to regard public affairs
with the eye of a genuine statesman.
“The applause accorded to this really great production is
universal and unqualified.”
The correspondent of the _New York Evening Post_ gives the
following sketch of the scene in a letter.
“In spite of the fog, rain, and mud of this morning, the
galleries of the Senate Chamber began to fill at an early
hour. In addition to the lounging _habitués_ of the daily
sessions, came a crowd which left them no room to lounge.
You have only to advertise a speech, and how the life-tide
sets towards the Capitol! Mr. Sumner’s splendid oratory
always attracts immense audiences, even when his speeches
bear upon the unpopular subject of Slavery.
“Most people seemed to think that he was the slave of
this one idea, and could only be great when mounted on
his hobby. But in his master speech on the Trent affair
and its relation to Maritime and International Law he has
proved himself to be something more than the accomplished
scholar, the eloquent speech-maker, forcing the recognition
of his statesmanship from the very mouths of his enemies.
This exposition of the triumph of American principles,
necessarily less ornate than his more literary productions,
is marked by all his usual fastidious strength of style.
Vibrating through his voice, every word seemed a live nerve
quivering with electric meaning.
“A speech so kind and calm in rebuke, so elaborate in
research, so bountiful in proof, so conclusive in argument,
coming from the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, and an acknowledged favorite of England, will
appeal with strong conviction to her people. Here in
Washington its praise is on every tongue. In the dense
crowd of the gallery General Fremont was conspicuous, and
among the Abolitionists of the audience were the Rev. John
Pierpont and Rev. Dr. Channing of the new Antislavery
church. The French, Danish, Prussian, Austrian, Russian,
and Spanish ministers, with Secretaries Chase and Cameron,
sat in groups in the Senate Chamber, amid the eagerly
listening Senators. The last is a special item; for I
observe, as an every-day habit, that these distinguished
gentlemen do not pay very marked attention to each other’s
speeches. In the crimson diplomatic gallery sat the
daughter and wife of Vice-President Hamlin.”
The editorial judgments were in harmony with the reports of
correspondents.
The _National Intelligencer_, at Washington, which had not
inclined to Mr. Sumner on Slavery, said:--
“We give to-day, in consideration of the current interest
attaching to its subject, and, we may add, because of its
great ability, the speech delivered yesterday by Mr. Sumner
in the Senate of the United States on the question of
International Law raised by the arrest of Messrs. Mason and
Slidell.
“Singularly qualified for this discussion by his erudition
as a jurist and as a student of history, besides being
called by his position as Chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Relations in the Senate to give to the subject that
mature consideration it deserves, Mr. Sumner has brought to
its treatment an affluence of illustration and authority,
derived from the most cherished traditions of American
diplomacy, for the purpose of showing that the decision to
which our Government has come in the premises may be rested
on a broader foundation than that which was sufficient to
cover the ground of the British reclamation against the act
of Captain Wilkes.”
_L’Eco d’Italia_, an Italian paper in New York, took this
occasion to pay a warm tribute to Mr. Sumner, and his
moderation of conduct.
“Nobody had better right to speak with knowledge and
authority than the Chairman of the Committee of Foreign
Relations, and as a man rather extreme in his ideas of
personal independence.”
Then complimenting him on his knowledge of French and Italian,
his admiration of Italian literature, and his ardent love of
Italy, this journal says:--
“Sumner, from the beginning of his political career, showed
himself the decided enemy of Slavery, and was marked by the
opposite party as an Abolitionist, which was equivalent
to subverter of public order, robber, and worse. In the
midst of the greatest difficulties he kept himself constant
always.… Now that the movement has commenced, Sumner,
instead of throwing wood on the fire, which already burns
too much, shows all the prudence and sagacity of a true
statesman.”