Such, Sir, is the personal testimony with regard to the importance, I would say the necessity, of this measure. Here are Africans in our country shut out from rights which justly belong to them, simply because Congress continues the word “white” in the Naturalization Laws. These men are humble, but they are none the less worthy of protection. Ay, Sir, it is your duty to protect them. Even if few, you cannot afford to let them suffer wrong; but they are numerous,—in Florida counted by the hundred, and even the thousand.

Strong as this measure is, as an act of justice, whether to many or few, it has another title. Its highest importance is found in its conformity to the requirement of the Declaration of Independence. Sir, this is the Fourth of July, when our fathers together solemnly declared as follows:—

The great, the mighty words of this clause are, that these self-evident, unalienable rights belong to “all men.” It is “all men,” and not a race or color, that are placed under protection of the Declaration; and such was the voice of our fathers on the fourth day of July, 1776. Sir, such was the baptismal vow of this nation. According to this vow, all men are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights. But the statutes of the land assert the contrary,—they declaring that only all white men are created equal.

Now, Sir, what better thing can you do on this anniversary than to expunge from the statutes that unworthy limitation which dishonors and defiles the original Declaration? It is in your power to make the day more than ever sacred.

How can you hesitate? There are the words. Does any one question the text? Will any one move to amend the text? Will any one insist that hereafter, as these great words are read on our great anniversary, the word “white” shall be inserted to qualify this sublime Declaration? No one will venture such a suggestion. There they are; there they will remain as long as this Republic endures. But if you are not ready to change the original text, you must then change your statutes and bring them into harmony with the text. The word “white,” wherever it occurs as a limitation of rights, must disappear. Only in this way can you be consistent with the Declaration.

Senators undertake to disturb us in this judgment by reminding us of the possibility of large numbers swarming from China; but the answer to all this is very obvious and very simple. If the Chinese come here, they will come for citizenship or merely for labor. If they come for citizenship, then in this desire do they give a pledge of loyalty to our institutions; and where is the peril in such vows? They are peaceful and industrious; how can their citizenship be the occasion of solicitude?

We are told that they are Imperialists; but before they can be citizens they must renounce Imperialism. We are told that they are foreigners in heart; but before they can take part with us they must renounce their foreign character. Therefore do I say, if they come for citizenship, there is no peril,—while, if they come merely for labor, then is all this discussion and all this anxiety superfluous.

Why introduce the topic into debate? Is there a Senator on this floor who will say that from anything done or said by Chinese at this moment there is any reason to fear peril to this Republic? Sir, the greatest peril to this Republic is from disloyalty to its great ideas. Only in this way can peril come. Let us surrender ourselves freely and fearlessly to the principles originally declared. Such is the way of safety. How grand, how beautiful, how sublime is that road to travel! How mean, how dark, how muddy is that other road which has found counsellors to-day! Listening to the speech of the Senator from Nevada [Mr. Stewart], more than once, nay, thrice over, denying the Declaration of Independence, I was reminded of an incident in the Gospels. I have the book from the desk of the Secretary, and now read the pertinent passage: it is in Matthew, chapter twenty-six:—

Sir, thrice has a Senator on this floor denied these great principles of the Declaration of Independence. The time may come when he will weep bitterly.

The Senator from Oregon [Mr. Williams], who spoke with earnestness and with argumentative force this morning, before the motion to reconsider was made, has given us reasons why we should not admit the Chinese into the promised fellowship of the Declaration of Independence. I took down some of his precious words,—not many.

He says that my proposition gives to millions of heathens and pagans power to control our institutions. How and when have I made any such proposition? I wish the Senator were here, that I might ask him to explain this unjustifiable exaggeration. How and when? I make no proposition that I do not find in the institutions of my country. I simply ask you to stand by the Declaration of your fathers. I say nothing about millions of heathens and pagans. I do not ask to give them power or control. Full well do I know that there are no millions of heathens or pagans, and no other millions on this earth, that can control the institutions of this Republic. I know that we stand too firm to suffer from any such contact. Fearlessly we may go forward and welcome all comers, for there can be no harm here; the heathens and pagans do not exist whose coming can disturb our Republic. Worse than any heathen or pagan abroad are those in our midst who are false to our institutions. Millions of heathens and pagans! Whence are they to come? From China? But if they come for citizenship, then, as I said this morning, do they give the pledge of loyalty to the Republic; and how can you fear them, if they enter your courts and with oaths and witnesses ask to be incorporated with our citizenship?

Mr. Sumner. Precisely as an Englishman, a Scotchman, an Irishman, a Frenchman, a German, a Swede, a Dane, a Russian, or an African may give a pledge; precisely as the Senator may give a pledge. I have seen the Senator go up to that table and take the oath. The Senator is able. He knows that I know that; but does the Senator suppose that he surpasses in ability many of the Chinese who might come here? Does the Senator suppose that he feels more keenly the oath which he took at that desk than a Chinese might feel it? I am not speaking of those who may come over here in enforced labor: I join with the Senator in effort to stop that. But I am speaking of the intelligent Chinese, so well and satisfactorily described by the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Schurz] this morning, who come voluntarily to join their fortunes with ours. Suppose they come, where is the peril? Sir, it is against common sense to imagine peril from such a source.

The Senator from Missouri has shown you how slowly they must come, according to the natural order of things,—how many decades of years it must take before there will be a million of them, while meantime our population is swelling by unknown millions, so that when we have a solitary million of Chinese we shall have one hundred millions of intelligent Americans treading this continent. And yet the Senator from Nevada is afraid. “What! a soldier, and afraid!” What! a Senator of the United States anxious about a million of Chinese twenty-five or thirty years from now absorbed in that mighty one hundred millions which will then compose our population! The Senator is not in earnest; he cannot be. He was certainly excited in speech, if I may judge from manner; but I really believe, that, in quiet thought reviewing this whole question, he will see that he has hastily taken counsel of fear rather than of reason. Let the Senator put trust in the Republic, and those ideas which are its strength and glory.

The Senator from Oregon wound up another passage by charging me and those who voted with me, particularly myself, with an intention, or with conduct calculated,—I quote now his own words,—“to put the destinies of this nation into the hands of Joss-worshippers.” Sir, that is a strong, pungent phrase; but is it true? Who here proposes any such thing? How can Joss-worshippers obtain control of the destinies of this nation? Will any Senator be good enough to tell me? By what hocus-pocus, by what necromancy, by what heathen magic will these Joss-worshippers obtain the great ascendency? Why, Sir, it is to disparage this Republic of ours, it is to belittle it, when you imagine any such thing. The peril exists only in imagination; it is an illusion, not a reality.

Then the Senator proceeded to denounce the Chinese as Imperialists and Pagans. Pagans perhaps,—though Senators who have ever looked into those books which have done so much for the Chinese mind will hesitate before they use harsh language in speaking of their belief. Has any Senator read the system of Confucius, uttered before that of the Saviour, and yet containing truths marvellously in harmony with those which fell from his lips? Throughout this great, populous empire the truths of Confucius have been ever regarded as we regard our Scriptures. They are the lesson for the young and the old, and the rule for government and for rulers; they are full of teachings of virtue. And yet the Chinese are called Pagans! Imperialists they may be while they remain in China, for their ruler is an Emperor. But what are Frenchmen? Are they not Imperialists? What are Russians? Are they not Imperialists? And yet will any Senator rise here and say that a Frenchman, that a Russian, shall not be admitted to naturalization? I take it not. Of course the Frenchman, the Russian, and the Chinese will begin by renouncing Imperialism. Therefore it is perfectly idle to say that he is an Imperialist.

The Senator then blazed forth with a fulmination: “Let the people of Massachusetts know that her Senator is willing that Chinese should come to Massachusetts.” Those were his words. Well, Sir, I think the people of Massachusetts know their Senator well enough to be assured that he is willing to have justice on this earth. Let the gates of Massachusetts be open always. God forbid that any system of exclusion should find place there, such as I have heard vindicated by the Senator from Oregon to-day! Be just to all men, and all will be safe. The people of Massachusetts are intelligent, generous, truthful; and they long to see the great ideas of the Republic established beyond change. They desire to see the Declaration of Independence no longer a promise, but a living letter. Therefore it is perfectly vain for the Senator to flash to Massachusetts that her Senator here is in favor of justice to the Chinese.

The Senator says again that I am inviting their competition. I make no invitation. That is not my office. What am I, Sir? I have no power, as I have no disposition, to speak any such invitation. My office is entirely different. I stand here on the ancient ways,—those ways that were laid down by the Fathers of the Republic, and where I wish forevermore to keep the Republic sure. I stand by the Declaration of Independence. Sir, these are no ideas of mine; I am speaking nothing from myself; I am only speaking from the history of my country, and from the great Declaration of the Fathers. That is all. I insist that at this day, at this stage of our history, the statutes of the land shall be brought into harmony with the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence.

Now, Sir, I say that in those two great title-deeds of the Republic,—and that is the term by which I shall always designate them,—one interpreting the other, there is no single word which can sanction any exclusion on account of race or color.

Here allow me to mention an incident. You may remember, some of you, that during the Rebellion the question occurred, whether a colored officer of the Army was entitled to pay. The question came before President Lincoln, and, at my suggestion, was by him referred to the Attorney-General, at that time Mr. Bates, of Missouri. At the request of President Lincoln, I called on Mr. Bates, to confer with him on his opinion. I did not know then how strongly he inclined to what I will call the side of justice. So I began my conversation interrogatively, when he turned upon me, saying, “Will you allow me to ask you a question?” “Certainly,” said I. Said he, “Mr. Senator, is there anything in the Constitution of the United States to prevent a negro from being President?” The question took me by surprise, coming from the Attorney-General. I replied, promptly, “Of course, Mr. Attorney, there is nothing.” “Well, you are right; of course there is nothing in the Constitution to prevent a negro from being President; how, then, can there be anything to prevent a negro from being an officer, and receiving his pay as such?” I replied at once to the Attorney-General, that I thought he needed no suggestion from me on that question. I left him; and you may remember the opinion which followed shortly after, in which he affirmed that colored officers were entitled to pay in the Army of the United States.[150]

Sir, there is nothing in the Constitution of the United States to prevent a negro from being President. On the contrary, that Constitution, interpreted as it must be by the Declaration of Independence, opens the way to all men without distinction of race or color. No, Sir, I am not the author of that doctrine. I had nothing to do with it. I find it, and now simply present it to the Senate. But, presenting it to the Senate, I insist that you shall see to it that the existing statutes are brought into conformity with the text of the Constitution, and with the Declaration of Independence: that is all. Strike out the word “white,” which nowhere appears in the Constitution, and which is positively prohibited by the Declaration of Independence. That is what you are to do. So doing, you will complete the work of harmony.

The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Pomeroy], in that speech, this evening, which to my mind was in many respects exquisite with most beautiful thought and with unanswerable argument, has taught the Senate, what I have said again and again in debates in this Chamber and in other places, that nothing can be settled which is not right. And so this question will never be settled until it is settled according to the great principles of justice. Vainly you try, you cannot succeed. And now, Sir, I do entreat Senators,—I hope they will pardon me; I mean to say only what it belongs to a Senator to say,—I do entreat Senators not to lose this precious opportunity of completing the harmony of the statutes of the land with the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence. Only in this way can you have peace. Let us have peace. Sir, I tell you how you may have it. Adopt the amendment which I have proposed, strike out the word “white,” and the harmony will begin. The country will straightway accept the result. But reject that amendment, and you open at once the floodgates of controversy. From this time the debate will proceed, and what is said here will find its echoes and reverberations throughout the whole land and be returned to us from the Pacific coast, never to die out until the good cause prevails and all the promises of the Fathers are fulfilled.

Why, Sir, the words of the Declaration of Independence were not uttered in vain. Do you suppose them idle? Do you suppose them mere phrase or generality? No such thing. They are living words, by which this country is solemnly bound, and from which it can never escape until they are all fulfilled. Your statutes cannot contain any limitation which inflicts an indignity upon any portion of the human family.

Therefore do I entreat you, Senators, do not lose this precious opportunity. It comes to you now unexpectedly, perhaps; but what is there in life more golden than opportunity, whether to country, to community, or to individuals? It is what each of us covets, as he treads along the highway of the world. It is what we covet for our country. Here, Sir, you have golden opportunity. Use it. Use it wisely; use it bravely; use it so that you will secure peace, harmony, and reconciliation. Beautiful words! All these are within your power, if you now let it be known that you will stand by the Declaration to the end. You cannot suffer, there can be no peril, no harm from any such dedication,—nothing but gain. All our institutions will be assured in proportion as you respect these great principles. Reconstruction will have new strength, when you show this homage to human nature.

And yet in the face of all this we are now asked to retreat,—to retrace the steps already taken,—to reconsider the vote that has been adopted,—and to confirm in the statutes those words which are there without any sanction in the Constitution, and in defiance of the Declaration of Independence. Sir, I will not believe that the Senate will do any such thing until the vote is recorded. But whatever may be the result, I give notice that I shall not cease my effort,—I shall continue it to the end. I am a soldier for the war; and until I see this great Declaration a living letter, I shall never intermit my endeavors. I shall go forward, and on every possible occasion I shall press the Senate to another vote. But I trust the Senate will not reconsider what they have done, but that they will settle this great question so that it shall never again disturb our debates.

Something I might say here on the “practical.” Some Senator to-day has said something about being practical, taking to himself great credit on this account. Of course I who make this effort am not practical! I simply strive to bring the statutes into harmony with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; but that is not practical! Our fathers were not practical, when they put forth the great Declaration! Our fathers were not practical, when they established the Constitution without the word “white”! Of course I am not practical, because I humbly strive to imitate the Fathers! Now, Sir, which is the more practical,—to allow this word to remain, breeding debate, controversy, strife, or at once to strike it out and complete our great work of Reconstruction? This is something to do. Tell me not that it is not practical. Is there anything in the bill that is equally practical? There are provisions, as I said this morning, for the safeguard of naturalization, which I value much; but how small in value, compared with the establishment of that great principle which fixes forevermore the fundamental idea of the Republic! Is not that practical? Why, Sir, the two cannot be compared. Both are important; but the first belongs to the class of policies or expedients, and not of principles. Adopt it, and you will help the machinery of naturalization, which I desire to do. But strike out the word “white” from your statutes, and you will do an act of justice whose influence will be immeasurable. The Republic will be exalted, and all our institutions will have new strength and security.

The appeal is withdrawn; but I believe I have the floor on the question. We have pending before us the Tax Bill, and during a day perhaps a dozen or twenty propositions are moved on that bill. According to the suggestion of the Senator from New York [Mr. Conkling], one who had spoken on two of those propositions would be debarred from speaking on any of the others during that day. As a Senator suggests to me, if a Senator had spoken about salt or tea, then he could not speak on sugar, or the income question, or anything else. I believe the rule of the Senate will not compel us to any such absurdity.

I do not like to take up the time of the Senate; and I should not speak now, except for my desire to bring home to the Senate once more the gravity of the question, and to introduce a new authority, which I had on my table, but which I forgot to use, when I was up before,—I mean the late Abraham Lincoln. He, too, had a great controversy in Illinois with a distinguished representative of the Democratic party (Mr. Douglas) on the Declaration of Independence. Let Mr. Douglas state his position in his own words. He said:—

Then, again, in another place, Mr. Douglas said:—

How like what we have heard in this Chamber on Saturday and to-day! Senators have been unconsciously repeating these exploded arguments of the late Mr. Douglas.

How did Abraham Lincoln answer? In a speech at Springfield, while admitting that negroes are “not our equals in color,” this eminent citizen, afterward President, thus spoke for the comprehensive humanity of the Declaration:—

Then, again, in another speech, made at Alton, the future President renewed his testimony as follows:—

That is not my language; it is the language of Abraham Lincoln—

Lifted by the great cause in which he was engaged, he appealed to his fellow-countrymen in tones of pathetic eloquence:—

said he, afterward martyr,—

How apt are these words now! “Do not destroy that immortal emblem of humanity, the Declaration of American Independence.”

Then, again, as he was on his way to Washington, stopping at Philadelphia to raise the flag of his country over the Hall of Independence, he uttered these pathetic, though unpremeditated words:—

And yet that is the principle which the Senate is now about to give up,—that principle which Abraham Lincoln said, rather than give up he would be assassinated on the spot.

Then, after adding that he had not expected to say a word, he repeated the consecration of his life, exclaiming,—

Sir, that is enough.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: ITS PAST AND FUTURE WORK.

And here let me say that I know no way in which Republican principles can be adequately supported, without supporting the Republican party. [Applause.] There is no local issue justifying opposition to the Republican party, which, if it fails to do all that good men desire, yet does more than can be accomplished through any other political organization. Therefore do I say, Stand by the Republican party. Make it united and vigorous. There must be no hesitation, or listlessness, or desertion. [Applause.]

Our majorities in Massachusetts are large, but so are our responsibilities. From the historic character of the Commonwealth, from the position it has occupied in the warfare with Slavery, and from its fame as the home of ideas, we cannot afford to be sluggish or indifferent; nor can we break up into disjointed squads. It is not enough, if we give a majority sufficient to elect our candidates; we must make the majority commanding, controlling, so as to be an example and a power in the land. Massachusetts ideas and interests are to be maintained and advanced, not merely here at home, but in the nation. Besides State officers, we choose at this election members of Congress, and a Legislature which will elect a Senator of the United States. Therefore must we regard our duties to the nation, the first of which is to make Massachusetts the bulwark of the national cause.

I know no good reason why Governor Claflin [cheers] should not be reëlected unanimously, or at least without opposition outside the Democratic party, which is against him more from force of habit, I take it, than anything else. As for others, who do not assume the name of Democrats, they can find no excuse of habit in voting against him. Then come the Republican candidates for Congress, who, like the Governor, are entitled to your best support. Faneuil Hall is now thronged with the constituents of Mr. Hooper and Mr. Twichell, [renewed cheers,] who know their services, so that my testimony is not needed. I will only say, Fortunate the districts with Representatives having the character, ability, and business capacity of these gentlemen. In choosing a Legislature you will not forget my colleague, [Mr. Wilson,] with his lifelong devotion to the slave, his hard work against the Rebellion, and his practical labors everywhere. [Loud and prolonged applause.]

I would add one further word in reply to those who insist that the Republican party has done its work, and therefore may die. Nothing more absurd. It has done a great and ever-memorable work; but much remains to be done. It has put down a terrible Rebellion waged by Slavery; it has secured equal rights at the ballot-box and in courts without distinction of color; and it has reconstructed the Rebel States on the solid foundation of the Declaration of Independence. [Applause.] Besides these heroic achievements, which cannot be forgotten so long as men throb in sympathy with human rights, the Republican party has provided homesteads for the needy; it has built a Pacific Railroad, binding two oceans together; it has by honest payment reduced the enormous national debt entailed by the Rebellion, and at the same time it has reduced taxation. [Applause.] If a political party is to be judged by what it has done, then may the Republican party fearlessly ask your votes.

But there is another reason for your continued support. The whole work of Reconstruction and the establishment of Equal Rights is still disputed and assailed by the Democratic party. I might quote resolutions and words of orators showing how they still hold out. Repudiators of the National Debt, they would repudiate all that has been done for the National Union, and for that Equality before the Law which is one of our greatest triumphs and safeguards. [Cheers.] This is enough. Until this new form of Repudiation is extinguished, there is need of the Republican party. So long as anybody assails the Declaration of Independence, the Republican party cannot cease its patriotic labors.

It is foolish to imagine that this great party, consecrated to Human Rights, can die. It will live as long as people cherish those sublime truths declared by our fathers, of which it is the representative and guardian. Its special work will be always to stand by the nation in its unity, and by the people in their rights. [Applause.] For such a party there can be no decay. Men whom I now address may grow old, but the Republican party will be ever young. [Applause.]

Let me introduce to your notice at this time General Hawley, (or Governor Hawley, if you would rather, for both titles belong to him,) of Connecticut, who has stood by his principles both at home and on the battle-field. [Applause.] And now, in introducing him, I am going to ask him to pardon me for a revelation which I believe will not be painful to the audience. I want to give you a passage from a letter addressed to myself by Mr. Hawley, at a time when he was much younger than he is now, bearing date Hartford, May, 1854. It was written on receipt of intelligence by telegraph that the life of a Senator was threatened at Washington by mobs. Mr. Hawley addressed a letter to that Senator, in which, after setting forth the telegram, he said: “Please write to me at once, and say if you need any defenders; if you do, I will be on the spot early.”[158] [Tremendous applause.] This was written, Fellow-Citizens, so long ago as 1854; it was seven years before the war; yet General Hawley was then ready to meet the foe. [Applause.] Gentlemen, I have the honor of introducing him to you.

THE DUEL BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY,
WITH ITS LESSON TO CIVILIZATION.

LECTURE.

MR. PRESIDENT,—I am to speak of the Duel between France and Germany, with its Lesson to Civilization. In calling the terrible war now waging a Duel, I might content myself with classical authority, Duellum being a well-known Latin word for War. The historian Livy makes a Roman declare that affairs are to be settled “by a pure and pious duel”;[159] the dramatist Plautus has a character in one of his plays who obtains great riches “by the duelling art,”[160] meaning the art of war; and Horace, the exquisite master of language, hails the age of Augustus with the Temple of Janus closed and “free from duels,”[161] meaning at peace,—for then only was that famous temple shut.

WAR UNDER THE LAW OF NATIONS A DUEL.

But no classical authority is needed for this designation. War, as conducted under International Law, between two organized nations, is in all respects a duel, according to the just signification of this word,—differing from that between two individuals only in the number of combatants. The variance is of proportion merely, each nation being an individual who appeals to the sword as Arbiter; and in each case the combat is subject to rules constituting a code by which the two parties are bound. For long years before civilization prevailed, the code governing the duel between individuals was as fixed and minute as that which governs the larger duel between nations, and the duel itself was simply a mode of deciding questions between individuals. In presenting this comparison I expose myself to criticism only from those who have not considered this interesting subject in the light of history and of reason. The parallel is complete. Modern war is the duel of the Dark Ages, magnified, amplified, extended so as to embrace nations; nor is it any less a duel because the combat is quickened and sustained by the energies of self-defence, or because, when a champion falls and lies on the ground, he is brutally treated. An authentic instance illustrates such a duel; and I bring before you the very pink of chivalry, the Chevalier Bayard, “the knight without fear and without reproach,” who, after combat in a chosen field, succeeded by a feint in driving his weapon four fingers deep into the throat of his adversary, and then, rolling with him, gasping and struggling, on the ground, thrust his dagger into the nostrils of the fallen victim, exclaiming, “Surrender, or you are a dead man!”—a speech which seemed superfluous; for the second cried out, “He is dead already; you have conquered.” Then did Bayard, brightest among the Sons of War, drag his dead enemy from the field, crying, “Have I done enough?”[162] Now, because the brave knight saw fit to do these things, the combat was not changed in original character. It was a duel at the beginning and at the end. Indeed, the brutality with which it closed was the natural incident of a duel. A combat once begun opens the way to violence, and the conqueror too often surrenders to the Evil Spirit, as Bayard in his unworthy barbarism.

In likening war between nations to the duel, I follow not only reason, but authority also. No better lawyer can be named in the long history of the English bar than John Selden, whose learning was equalled only by his large intelligence. In those conversations which under the name of “Table-Talk” continue still to instruct, the wise counsellor, after saying that the Church allowed the duel anciently, and that in the public liturgies there were prayers appointed for duellists to say, keenly inquires, “But whether is this lawful?” And then he answers, “If you grant any war lawful, I make no doubt but to convince it.”[163] Selden regarded the simple duel and the larger war as governed by the same rule. Of course the exercise of force in the suppression of rebellion, or in the maintenance of laws, stands on a different principle, being in its nature a constabulary proceeding, which cannot be confounded with the duel. But my object is not to question the lawfulness of war; I would simply present an image, enabling you to see the existing war in its true character.

The duel in its simplest form is between two individuals. In early ages it was known sometimes as the Judicial Combat, and sometimes as Trial by Battle. Not only points of honor, but titles to land, grave questions of law, and even the subtilties of theology, were referred to this arbitrament,[164]—just as now kindred issues between nations are referred to Trial by Battle; and the early rules governing the duel are reproduced in the Laws of War established by nations to govern the great Trial by Battle. Ascending from the individual to corporations, guilds, villages, towns, counties, provinces, we find that for a long period each of these bodies exercised what was called “the Right of War.” The history of France and Germany shows how reluctantly this mode of trial yielded to the forms of reason and order. France, earlier than Germany, ordained “Trial by Proofs,” and eliminated the duel from judicial proceedings, this important step being followed by the gradual amalgamation of discordant provinces in the powerful unity of the Nation,—so that Brittany and Normandy, Franche-Comté and Burgundy, Provence and Dauphiny, Gascony and Languedoc, with the rest, became the United States of France, or, if you please, France. In Germany the change was slower; and here the duel exhibits its most curious instances. Not only feudal chiefs, but associations of tradesmen and of domestics sent defiance to each other, and sometimes to whole cities, on pretences trivial as those which have been the occasion of defiance from nation to nation. There still remain to us Declarations of War by a Lord of Frauenstein against the free city of Frankfort, because a young lady of the city refused to dance with his uncle,—by the baker and domestics of the Margrave of Baden against Esslingen, Reutlingen, and other imperial cities,—by the baker of the Count Palatine Louis against the cities of Augsburg, Ulm, and Rottweil,—by the shoe-blacks of the University of Leipsic against the provost and other members,—and by the cook of Eppstein, with his scullions, dairy-maids, and dish-washers, against Otho, Count of Solms.[165] This prevalence of the duel aroused the Emperor Maximilian, who at the Diet of Worms put forth an ordinance abolishing the right or liberty of Private War, and instituting a Supreme Tribunal for the determination of controversies without appeal to the duel, and the whole long list of duellists, whether corporate or individual, including nobles, bakers, shoe-blacks, and cooks, was brought under its pacific rule. Unhappily the beneficent reform stopped half-way, and here Germany was less fortunate than France. The great provinces were left in the enjoyment of a barbarous independence, with the “right” to fight each other. The duel continued their established arbiter, until at last, in 1815, by the Act of Union constituting the Confederation or United States of Germany, each sovereignty gave up the right of war with its confederates, setting an example to the larger nations. The terms of this important stipulation, marking a stage in German unity, were as follows:—