“They feel deeply convinced, that, whatever turn the impending horrid war may take, the alliance of the working classes of all countries will ultimately kill war.”[234]
At the same time the Paris branch of the International Association put forth a manifesto addressed “To the Working-Men of all Countries,” from which I take these passages:—
“Once more, under the pretext of European equilibrium, of national honor, political ambitions menace the peace of the world.
“French, German, Spanish working-men! let our voices unite in a cry of reprobation against war!
…
“War for a question of preponderance, or of dynasty, can, in the eyes of working-men, be nothing but a criminal absurdity.
“In response to the warlike acclamations of those who exonerate themselves from the impost of blood, or who find in public misfortunes a source of new speculations, we protest,—we who wish for peace, work, and liberty.
…
“Brothers of Germany!… our divisions would only bring about the complete triumph of despotism on both sides of the Rhine.
…
“Working-men of all countries! whatever may be the result of our common efforts, we, members of the International Association of Working-Men, who know no frontiers, we send you, as a pledge of indissoluble solidarity, the good wishes and the salutations of the working-men of France.”[235]
To this appeal, so full of truth, touching to the quick the pretence of balance of power and questions of dynasty as excuses for war, and then rising to “a cry of reprobation against war,” the Berlin branch of the International Association replied:—
“We join with heart and hand in your protestation.… Solemnly we promise you that neither the noise of drums nor the thunder of cannon, neither victory nor defeat, shall turn us aside from our work for the union of the proletaries of all countries.”[236]
Then came a meeting of delegates at Chemnitz, in Saxony, representing fifty thousand Saxon working-men, which put forth the following hardy words:—
“We are happy to grasp the fraternal hand stretched out to us by the working-men of France.… Mindful of the watchword of the International Working-Men’s Association, Proletarians of all countries, unite! we shall never forget that the working-men of all countries are our friends, and the despots of all countries our enemies.”[237]
Next followed, at Brunswick, in Germany, on the 16th of July,—the very day after the reading of the war document at the French tribune, and the “light heart” of the Prime-Minister,—a mass meeting of the working-men there, which declared its full concurrence with the manifesto of the Paris branch, spurned the idea of national antagonism to France, and wound up with these solid words:—
“We are enemies of all wars, but above all of dynastic wars.”[238]
The whole subject is presented with admirable power in an address from the Workmen’s Peace Committee to the Working-Men of Great Britain and Ireland, duly signed by their officers. Here are some of its sentences:—
“Without us war must cease; for without us standing armies could not exist. It is out of our class chiefly that they are formed.”
“We would call upon and implore the peoples of France and Germany, in order to enable their own rulers to realize these their peace-loving professions, to insist upon the abolition of standing armies, as both the source and means of war, nurseries of vice, and locust-consumers of the fruits of useful industry.”
“What we claim and demand—what we would implore the peoples of Europe to do, without regard to Courts, Cabinets, or Dynasties—is to insist upon Arbitration as a substitute for war, with peace and its blessings for them, for us, for the whole civilized world.”[239]
The working-men of England responded to this appeal, in a crowded meeting at St. James’s Hall, London, where all the speakers were working-men and representatives of the various handicrafts, except the Chairman, whose strong words found echo in the intense convictions of the large assemblage:—
“One object of this meeting is to make the horror universally inspired by the enormous and cruel carnage of this terrible war the groundwork for appealing to the working classes and the people of all other European countries to join in protesting against war altogether, [prolonged cheers,] as the shame of Christendom, and direst curse and scourge of the human race. Let the will of the people sweep away war, which cannot be waged without them. [‘Hear!’] Away with enormous standing armies, [‘Hear!’] the nurseries and instruments of war,—nurseries, too, of vice, and crushing burdens upon national wealth and prosperity! Let there go forth from the people of this and other lands one universal and all-overpowering cry and demand for the blessings of peace!”[240]
At this meeting the Honorary Secretary of the Workmen’s Peace Committee, after announcing that the working-men of upwards of three hundred towns had given their adhesion to the platform of the Committee, thus showing a determination to abolish war altogether, moved the following resolution, which was adopted:—
“That war, especially with the present many fearful contrivances for wholesale carnage and destruction, is repugnant to every principle of reason, humanity, and religion; and this meeting earnestly invites all civilized and Christian peoples to insist upon the abolition of standing armies, and the settlement by arbitration of all international disputes.”[241]
Thus clearly is the case stated by the Working-Men, now beginning to be heard; and the testimony is reverberated from nation to nation. They cannot be silent hereafter. I confidently look to them for important coöperation in this great work of redemption. Could my voice reach them now, wherever they may be, in that honest toil which is the appointed lot of man, it would be with words of cheer and encouragement. Let them proceed until civilization is no longer darkened by war. In this way will they become not only saviours to their own households, but benefactors of the whole Human Family.
Such is the statement, with its many proofs, by which war is exhibited as the Duel of Nations, being the Trial by Battle of the Dark Ages. You have seen how nations, under existing International Law, to which all are parties, refer their differences to this insensate arbitrament,—and then how, in our day and before our own eyes, two nations eminent in civilization have furnished an instance of this incredible folly, waging together a world-convulsing, soul-harrowing, and most barbarous contest. All ask how long the direful duel will be continued. Better ask, How long will be continued that War System by which such a duel is authorized and regulated among nations? When will this legalized, organized crime be abolished? When at last will it be confessed that the Law of Right is the same for nations as for individuals, so that, if Trial by Battle be impious for individuals, it is so for nations likewise? Against it are Reason and Humanity, pleading as never before,—Economy, asking for mighty help,—Peace, with softest voice praying for safeguard,—and then the authority of Philosophy, speaking by some of its greatest masters,—all reinforced by the irrepressible, irresistible protest of working-men in different nations.
Precedents exist for the abolition of this duel, so completely in point, that, according to the lawyer’s phrase, they “go on all fours” with the new case. Two of these have been already mentioned: first, when, at the Diet of Worms, in 1495, the Emperor Maximilian proclaimed a permanent peace throughout Germany, and abolished the “liberty” of Private War; and, secondly, when, in 1815, the German Principalities stipulated “under no pretext to make war upon one another, or to pursue their differences by force of arms.”[242] But first in time, and perhaps in importance, was the great Ordinance of St. Louis, King of France, promulgated at a Parliament in 1260, where he says: “We forbid battles [i. e. Trials by Battle] to all persons throughout our dominions, … and in place of battles we put proofs by witnesses.… And these Battles we abolish in our Dominions forever.”[243] These at the time were great words, and they continue great as an example. Their acceptance by any two nations would begin the work of abolition, which would be completed on their adoption by a Congress of Nations, taking from war its existing sanction.
The growing tendencies of mankind have been quickened by the character of the present war, and the unexampled publicity with which it has been waged. Never before were all nations, even those separated by great spaces, whether of land or ocean, the daily and excited spectators of the combat. The vast amphitheatre within which the battle is fought, with the whole heavens for its roof, is coextensive with civilization itself. The scene in that great Flavian Amphitheatre, the famous Colosseum, is a faint type of what we are witnessing; but that is not without its lesson. Bloody games, where human beings contended with lions and tigers, imported for the purpose, or with each other, constituted an institution of ancient Rome, only mildly rebuked by Cicero,[244] and adopted even by Titus, in that short reign so much praised as unspotted by the blood of the citizen.[245] One hundred thousand spectators looked on, while gladiators from Germany and Gaul joined in ferocious combat; and then, as blood began to flow, and victim after victim sank upon the sand, the people caught the fierce contagion. A common ferocity ruled the scene. As Christianity prevailed, the incongruity of such an institution was widely felt; but still it continued. At last an Eastern monk, moved only by report, journeyed a long way to protest against the impiety. With noble enthusiasm he leaped into the arena, where the battle raged, in order to separate the combatants. He was unsuccessful, and paid with life the penalty of his humanity.[246] But the martyr triumphed where the monk had failed. Shortly afterwards, the Emperor Honorius, by solemn decree, put an end to this horrid custom. “The first Christian Emperor,” says Gibbon, “may claim the honor of the first edict which condemned the art and amusement of shedding human blood.”[247] Our amphitheatre is larger than that of Rome; but it witnesses scenes not less revolting; nor need any monk journey a long way to protest against the impiety. That protest can be uttered by every one here at home. We are all spectators; and since by human craft the civilized world has become one mighty Colosseum, with place for everybody, may we not insist that the bloody games by which it is yet polluted shall cease, and that, instead of mutual-murdering gladiators filling the near-brought scene with death, there shall be a harmonious people, of different nations, but one fellowship, vying together only in works of industry and art, inspired and exalted by a divine beneficence?
In presenting this picture I exaggerate nothing. How feeble is language to depict the stupendous barbarism! How small by its side the bloody games which degraded ancient Rome! How pygmy the one, how colossal the other! Would you know how the combat is conducted? Here is the briefest picture of the arena by a looker-on:—
“Let your readers fancy masses of colored rags glued together with blood and brains, and pinned into strange shapes by fragments of bones,—let them conceive men’s bodies without heads, legs without bodies, heaps of human entrails attached to red and blue cloth, and disembowelled corpses in uniform, bodies lying about in all attitudes, with skulls shattered, faces blown off, hips smashed, bones, flesh, and gay clothing all pounded together as if brayed in a mortar extending for miles, not very thick in any one place, but recurring perpetually for weary hours,—and then they cannot, with the most vivid imagination, come up to the sickening reality of that butchery.”[248]
Such a sight would have shocked the Heathen of Rome. They could not have looked on while the brave gladiator was thus changed into a bloody hash; least of all could they have seen the work of slaughter done by machinery. Nor could any German gladiator have written the letter I proceed to quote from a German soldier:—
“I do not know how it is, but one wholly forgets the danger one is in, and thinks only of the effect of one’s own bullets, rejoicing like a child at the sight of the enemy falling like skittles, and having scarcely a compassionate glance to spare for the comrade falling at one’s side. One ceases to be a human being, and turns into a brute, a complete brute.”
Plain confession! And yet the duel continues. Nor is there death for the armed man only. Fire mingles with slaughter, as at Bazeilles. Women and children are roasted alive, filling the air with suffocating odor, while the maddened combatants rage against each other. All this is but part of the prolonged and various spectacle, where the scene shifts only for some other horror. Meanwhile the sovereigns of the world sit in their boxes, and the people everywhere occupy the benches.
The duel now pending teaches the peril from continuance of the present system. If France and Germany can be brought so suddenly into collision on a mere pretext, what two nations are entirely safe? Where is the talisman for their protection? None, surely, except Disarmament, which, therefore, for the interest of all nations, should be commenced. Prussia is now an acknowledged military power, armed “in complete steel,”—but at what cost to her people, if not to mankind! Military citizenship, according to Prussian rule, is military serfdom, and on this is elevated a military despotism of singular grasp and power, operating throughout the whole nation, like martial law or a state of siege. In Prussia the law tyrannically seizes every youth of twenty, and, no matter what his calling or profession, compels him to military service for seven years. Three years he spends in active service in the regular army, where his life is surrendered to the trade of blood; then for four years he passes to the reserve, where he is subject to periodic military drills; then for five years longer to the Landwehr, or militia, with liability to service in the Landsturm, in case of war, until sixty. Wherever he may be in foreign lands, his military duty is paramount.
But if this system be good for Prussia, then must it be equally good for other nations. If this economical government, with education for all, subordinates the business of life to the military drill, other nations will find too much reason for doing the same. Unless the War System is abandoned, all must follow the successful example, while the civilized world becomes a busy camp, with every citizen a soldier, and with all sounds swallowed up in the tocsin of war. Where, then, are the people? Where are popular rights? Montesquieu has not hesitated to declare that the peril to free governments proceeds from armies, and that this peril is not corrected even by making them depend directly on the legislative power. This is not enough. The armies must be reduced in number and force.[249] Among his papers, found since his death, is the prediction, “France will be ruined by the military.”[250] It is the privilege of genius like that of Montesquieu to lift the curtain of the future; but even he did not see the vastness of suffering in store for his country through those armies against which he warned. For years the engine of despotism at home, they became the sudden instrument of war abroad. Without them Louis Napoleon could not have made himself Emperor, nor could he have hurried France into the present duel. If needed in other days, they are not needed now. The War System, always barbarous, is an anachronism, full of peril both to peace and liberal institutions.
An army is a despotism; military service is a bondage; nor can the passion for arms be reconciled with a true civilization. The present failure to acknowledge this incompatibility is only another illustration how the clear light of truth is discolored and refracted by an atmosphere where the cloud of war still lingers. Soon must this cloud be dispersed. From war to peace is a change indeed; but Nature herself testifies to change. Sirius, brightest of all the fixed stars, was noted by Ptolemy as of reddish hue,[251] and by Seneca as redder than Mars;[252] but since then it has changed to white. To the morose remark, whether in the philosophy of Hobbes or the apology of the soldier, that man is a fighting animal and that war is natural, I reply,—Natural for savages rejoicing in the tattoo, natural for barbarians rejoicing in violence, but not natural for man in a true civilization, which I insist is the natural state to which he tends by a sure progression. The true state of Nature is not war, but peace. Not only every war, but every recognition of war as the mode of determining international differences, is evidence that we are yet barbarians,—and so also is every ambition for empire founded on force, and not on the consent of the people. A ghastly, bleeding, human head was discovered by the early Romans, as they dug the foundations of that Capitol which finally swayed the world.[253] That ghastly, bleeding, human head is the fit symbol of military power.
Let the War System be abolished, and, in the glory of this consummation, how vulgar all that comes from battle! By the side of this serene, beneficent civilization, how petty in its pretensions is military power! how vain its triumphs! At this moment the great general who has organized victory for Germany is veiled, and his name does not appear even in the military bulletins. Thus is the glory of arms passing from sight, and battle losing its ancient renown. Peace does not arrest the mind like war. It does not glare like battle. Its operations, like those of Nature, are gentle, yet sure. It is not the tumbling, sounding cataract, but the tranquil, fruitful river. Even the majestic Niagara, with thunder like war, cannot compare with the peaceful plains of water which it divides. How easy to see that the repose of nations, like the repose of Nature, is the great parent of the most precious bounties vouchsafed by Providence! Add Peace to Liberty,—
As peace is assured, the traditional sensibilities of nations will disappear. Their frontiers will no longer frown with hostile cannon, nor will their people be nursed to hate each other. By ties of constant fellowship will they be interwoven together, no sudden trumpet waking to arms, no sharp summons disturbing the uniform repose. By steam, by telegraph, by the press, have they already conquered time, subdued space,—thus breaking down old walls of partition by which they have been separated. Ancient example loses its influence. The prejudices of another generation are removed, and the old geography gives place to a new. The heavens are divided into constellations, with names from beasts, or from some form of brute force,—as Leo, Taurus, Sagittarius, and Orion with his club; but this is human device. By similar scheme is the earth divided. But in the sight of God there is one Human Family without division, where all are equal in rights; and the attempt to set up distinctions, keeping men asunder, or in barbarous groups, is a practical denial of that great truth, religious and political, the Brotherhood of Man. The Christian’s Fatherland is not merely the nation in which he was born, but the whole earth appointed by the Heavenly Father for his home. In this Fatherland there can be no place for unfriendly boundaries set up by any,—least of all, place for the War System, making nations as hostile camps.
At Lassa, in Thibet, there is a venerable stone in memory of the treaty between the courts of Thibet and China, as long ago as 821, bearing an inscription worthy of a true civilization. From Eastern story learn now the beauty of peace. After the titles of the two august sovereigns, the monument proceeds: “These two wise, holy, spiritual, and accomplished princes, foreseeing the changes hidden in the most distant futurity, touched with sentiments of compassion towards their people, and not knowing, in their beneficent protection, any difference between their subjects and strangers, have, after mature reflection and by mutual consent, resolved to give peace to their people.… In perfect harmony with each other, they will henceforth be good neighbors, and will do their utmost to draw still closer the bonds of union and friendship. Henceforward the two empires of Han (China) and Pho (Thibet) shall have fixed boundaries.… In preserving these limits, the respective parties shall not endeavor to injure each other; they shall not attack each other in arms, or make any more incursions beyond the frontiers now determined.” Then declaring that the two “must reciprocally exalt their virtues and banish forever all mistrust between them, that travellers may be without uneasiness, that the inhabitants of the villages and fields may live at peace, and that nothing may happen to cause a misunderstanding,” the inscription announces, in terms doubtless Oriental: “This benefit will be extended to future generations, and the voice of love (towards its authors) will be heard wherever the splendor of the sun and the moon is seen. The Pho will be tranquil in their kingdom, and the Han will be joyful in their empire.”[254] Such is the benediction which from early times has spoken from one of the monuments erected by the god Terminus. Call it Oriental; would it were universal! While recognizing a frontier, there is equal recognition of peace as the rule of international life.
In the abolition of the War System the will of the people must become all-powerful, exalting the Republic to its just place as the natural expression of citizenship. Napoleon has been credited with the utterance at St. Helena of the prophecy, that “in fifty years Europe would be Republican or Cossack.”[255] Evidently Europe will not be Cossack, unless the Cossack is already changed to Republican,—as well may be, when it is known, that, since the great act of Enfranchisement, in February, 1861, by which twenty-three millions of serfs were raised to citizenship, with the right to vote, fifteen thousand three hundred and fifty public schools have been opened in Russia. A better than Napoleon, who saw mankind with truer insight, Lafayette, has recorded a clearer prophecy. At the foundation of the monument on Bunker Hill, on the semi-centennial anniversary of the battle, 17th June, 1825, our much-honored national guest gave this toast: “Bunker Hill, and the holy resistance to oppression, which has already enfranchised the American hemisphere. The next half-century Jubilee’s toast shall be,—To Enfranchised Europe.”[256] The close of that half-century, already so prolific, is at hand. Shall it behold the great Jubilee with all its vastness of promise accomplished? Enfranchised Europe, foretold by Lafayette, means not only the Republic for all, but Peace for all; it means the United States of Europe, with the War System abolished. Against that little faith through which so much fails in life, I declare my unalterable conviction, that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”—thus simply described by Abraham Lincoln[257]—is a necessity of civilization, not only because of that republican equality without distinction of birth which it establishes, but for its assurance of permanent peace. All privilege is usurpation, and, like Slavery, a state of war, relieved only by truce, to be broken by the people in their might. To the people alone can mankind look for the repose of nations; but the Republic is the embodied people. All hail to the Republic, equal guardian of all, and angel of peace!
Our own part is simple. It is, first, to keep out of war,—and, next, to stand firm in those ideas which are the life of the Republic. Peace is our supreme vocation. To this we are called. By this we succeed. Our example is more than an army. But not on this account can we be indifferent, when Human Rights are assailed or republican institutions are in question. Garibaldi asks for a “word,”[258] that easiest expression of power. Strange will it be, when that is not given. To the Republic, and to all struggling for Human Rights, I give word, with heart on the lips. Word and heart I give. Nor would I have my country forget at any time, in the discharge of its transcendent duties, that, since the rule of conduct and of honor is the same for nations as for individuals, the greatest nation is that which does most for Humanity.
Speech in the Senate, on a Joint Resolution to remove their Remains, December 13, 1870.
Mr. McCreery, of Kentucky, asked leave to introduce a Joint Resolution, providing for the return of the ground at Arlington to the family of General Robert E. Lee, “and if graveyards have been established on the land, then the Committee shall ascertain and report the number of interments, on what terms a suitable spot for a cemetery can be purchased in the neighborhood, and the probable cost of removing the bodies to the new place of sepulture.”
On the question, “Will the Senate grant leave to introduce the Joint Resolution?” Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, demanded the yeas and nays, when a debate ensued, in which Mr. Sumner spoke as follows:—
MR. PRESIDENT,—Being called to vote on the pending motion, I make haste to say that I wish on this occasion to apply the Parliamentary Law in its strongest form. Whatever rigors it may have against propositions inopportune or offensive in character must be applied now, or never be invoked again; for never before in this Chamber was there similar occasion for these rigors. Therefore shall I vote for the most summary disposition of this joint resolution.
Beyond this, perhaps, there is no occasion for remark, especially when I consider how eloquent Senators have already characterized the proposition and the traitor it seeks to commemorate. I am not disposed to speak of General Lee. It is enough to say that he stands high on the catalogue of those who have imbrued their hands in their country’s blood. I hand him over to the avenging pen of History.
But there is one practical remark that I would make. I would call the attention of the Senate to this proposition in another aspect. We all know the political associations of the honorable Senator who introduces it. Must we not regard this joint resolution as revealing the sentiments of his associates? Does it not prefigure the policy they would establish, should they obtain power, as threatened by the Senator from Delaware, [Mr. Saulsbury,] as threatened by other Senators and by other associates of these Senators? Do we not see here the policy that would be established,—a policy which would take the old Rebellion by the hand and install it in the high places of power,—in the Executive Mansion,—in these Halls of Congress?
Now, Sir, could I make my voice heard from one end of this country to the other, from Massachusetts to Louisiana, it would be to warn against that political combination which shows itself now in the proposition of the Senator from Kentucky. Take warning, I would say to my fellow-countrymen everywhere, not only at the South, but at the North, but especially at the South, that the political party with which the Senator is associated, should it obtain power in this nation, will establish the policy of which his joint resolution is the expression. That is the practical remark I have to make.
There is a fact which I think I ought to contribute to this debate. It so happened that I was with the late Mr. Stanton when he made the order for the burial of our patriot dead on the grounds of Arlington. He mentioned it, and disclosed to me his reason. He meant to bury those dead in perpetual guard over that ground, so that no person of the family of Lee should ever dare to come upon it, unless to encounter patriot ghosts counted by the thousand. In such spirit the ground was set apart. And now we are asked to dig up these dead and give over their resting-place to the traitor family.
My friend by my side [Mr. Nye] has already used an expression which I think a happy inspiration, when he said that those dead lying there are as sacred as the Constitution itself. He was right. We may as well disturb our sacred text as disturb them. Over every grave are written words of warning. Do you remember, Sir, that most memorable epitaph over the remains of William Shakespeare?—
For two centuries and a half these words have guarded the immortal dust of England’s greatest poet. I write them now over the graves of our patriot dead, one and all. May they continue for centuries to guard their repose!
On the question of giving leave, the vote stood 4 yeas to 54 nays. The yeas were Messrs. Fowler of Tennessee, Hamilton and Vickers of Maryland, and McCreery of Kentucky.
Speech in the Senate on the Proposed Annexion of San Domingo to the United States, December 21, 1870.
“And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth, the Jezreëlite, had a vineyard, which was in Jezreël, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
“And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
“And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.”—1 Kings, xxi. 1-3.
In his Message at the opening of Congress, December 5, 1870, President Grant, adverting to the failure of the treaty for the annexion of San Domingo to the United States at the previous session, for want of the requisite two-thirds vote of the Senate, proceeded to remark:—
“I was thoroughly convinced then that the best interests of this country, commercially and materially, demanded its ratification. Time has only confirmed me in this view. I now firmly believe that the moment it is known that the United States have entirely abandoned the project of accepting as a part of its territory the island of San Domingo a free port will be negotiated for by European nations in the Bay of Samana. A large commercial city will spring up to which we will be tributary without receiving corresponding benefits, and then will be seen the folly of our rejecting so great a prize.”
After setting forth at much length the great value of this prize, the President concluded as follows:—
“In view of the importance of this question, I earnestly urge upon Congress early action, expressive of its views as to the best means of acquiring San Domingo. My suggestion is, that by joint resolution of the two Houses of Congress the Executive be authorized to appoint a commission to negotiate a treaty with the authorities of San Domingo for the acquisition of that island, and that an appropriation be made to defray the expenses of such commission. The question may then be determined, either by the action of the Senate upon the treaty, or the joint action of the two Houses of Congress upon a resolution of annexation, as in the case of the acquisition of Texas. So convinced am I of the advantages to flow from the acquisition of San Domingo, and of the great disadvantages, I might almost say calamities, to flow from non-acquisition, that I believe the subject has only to be investigated to be approved.”
As preliminary to action upon this recommendation of the President, Mr. Sumner, December 9th, offered the following resolution:—
“Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to communicate to the Senate, if in his opinion not incompatible with the public interest, copies of all papers and correspondence relating to the proposed annexion of the Dominican portion of the island of San Domingo or the purchase of any part thereof, including the original and all subsequent instructions to any agent or consul of the United States, with the correspondence of such agent or consul; also, any protocol or convention signed by such agent or consul; also, an account of the debt and liabilities of the Dominican Government, especially its obligations to the neighboring Republic of Hayti; also, the provisions of the existing Constitution of Dominica, so far as the same relate to the sale or transfer of the national domain; also, any treaty with Hayti or France by which Dominica is bound or affected; also, any communication from the neighboring Republic of Hayti, or from our Minister there, relating to the proposed annexion; also, instructions to the commander of our naval squadron in the waters of the island since the commencement of the late negotiations, with the reports and correspondence of such commander; also, any information tending to show what European power, if any, proposes to acquire jurisdiction of any part of the island, and if so, of what part; also, any information with regard to the position of President Baez, under whom the treaty of annexion was negotiated, and the extent to which he has been maintained in power by the presence of United States vessels of war; also, any information with regard to the sentiments of the people in Dominica and the reported pendency there of civil war; also, any information with regard to any claim of jurisdiction by the Republic of Hayti over the territory of Dominica.”
December 12th, in pursuance of the President’s recommendation, Mr. Morton, of Indiana, asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce “a Joint Resolution authorizing the appointment of commissioners in relation to the Republic of Dominica,” as follows:—
“Resolved, &c., That the President of the United States be authorized to appoint three commissioners, and also a secretary, (the latter to be versed in the English and Spanish languages,) to proceed to the island of San Domingo, and to inquire into, ascertain, and report:—
“1. The political state and condition of the Republic of Dominica.
“2. The desire and disposition of the people of the said Republic to become annexed to and to form part of the people of the United States.
“3. The physical, mental, and moral condition of the said people, and their general condition as to material wealth and industrial capacity.
“4. The resources of the country; its mineral and agricultural products; the products of its waters and forests; the general character of the soil; the extent and proportion thereof capable of cultivation; the climate and health of the country; its bays, harbors, and rivers; its general meteorological character, and the existence and frequency of remarkable meteorological phenomena.
“5. The debt of the Government, and its obligations, whether funded and ascertained and admitted, or unadjusted and under discussion.
“6. Treaties or engagements with other powers.
“7. Extent of boundaries and territory; what proportion is covered by grants or concessions, and generally what concessions or franchises have been granted.
“8. The terms and conditions on which the Dominican Government may desire to be annexed to and become part of the United States as one of the Territories thereof.
“9. Such other information with respect to the said Government or its territories as to the said commissioners shall seem desirable or important with reference to the future incorporation of the said Dominican Republic into the United States as one of its Territories.
“Sec. 2. And be it further resolved, That the said commissioners shall, as soon as conveniently may be, report to the President of the United States, who shall lay their report before Congress.
“Sec. 3. And be it further resolved, That the said commissioners shall serve without compensation, (except the payment of expenses,) and the compensation of the secretary shall be determined by the Secretary of State, with the approval of the President.”
December 21st, the latter resolution, to which the precedence had been given, being under consideration in the Senate, Mr. Sumner spoke as follows:—
MR. PRESIDENT,—The resolution before the Senate commits Congress to a dance of blood. It is a new step in a measure of violence. Already several steps have been taken, and Congress is now summoned to another.
Before I proceed with the merits of this question, so far as such language can be used with reference to it, and as I see the Senator from Ohio [Mr. Sherman] in his seat, I wish to answer an argument of his yesterday. He said that the resolution was simply one of inquiry, and that therefore there could be no objection to it. I was astonished when I heard one of his experience in this Chamber and his familiarity with legislation characterize the pending proposition simply as a resolution of inquiry. The Senator is mistaken. It is a joint resolution creating three offices under the Constitution of the United States, offices contemplated in the Constitution itself, and specially mentioned by name in the Act of 1856 to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United States.[259] I read the first section of that Act, as follows:—
“That ambassadors, envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, ministers resident, commissioners, chargés d’affaires, and secretaries of legation, appointed to the countries hereinafter named in Schedule A, shall be entitled to compensation for their services, respectively, at the rates per annum hereinafter specified: that is to say, ambassadors and envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, the full amounts specified therefor in said Schedule A; ministers resident and commissioners, seventy-five per centum.”
Now, Sir, by this joint resolution the President is authorized to appoint three “commissioners,” and also a “secretary,” the latter to be versed in the English and Spanish languages, to proceed to the island of San Domingo, and to inquire into, ascertain, and report certain things. I say this is a legislative act creating three new offices; but the Senator says that it is simply a resolution of inquiry. Even suppose the offices are not diplomatic, they are none the less offices. Let me put a question to the Senator. Suppose a joint resolution were brought forward authorizing the appointment of three commissioners to proceed to England in order to ascertain the condition of United States securities and the possibility of finding a market there; according to his assumption it would be a resolution of inquiry only. Would he allow it to pass without reference to the Committee on Finance? Would he not insist that it was a legislative act opening a most important question, which should be considered by the appropriate committee?
The Senator is too experienced to be put aside by the suggestion that the commissioners shall serve without compensation except the payment of expenses. Does this alter the case? Without those words in this joint resolution the general diplomatic law would take effect, and it would at least be a question if they would not be entitled to the salary of $7,500 per annum. And yet a joint resolution creating three new offices is called simply a resolution of inquiry! Sir, the Senator is mistaken; and his mistake in this matter illustrates other mistakes with reference to the important subject now before the Senate.
Is it right that these commissioners shall serve without compensation? Is not the laborer worthy of his hire? If they are proper men, if among them is that illustrious Professor, my much-honored friend, who has been referred to already, Mr. Agassiz, is it right to expect him to give his invaluable services without compensation? The requirement that the service shall be of this kind will necessarily limit it either to the rich or to the partisan. It does not open a free field to talent, to fitness, to those various qualities so important on the commission.
I hope that the Senator will reconsider his judgment, that he will see that we cannot treat the pending proposition with the levity—he will pardon me—with which he treated it. Sir, it is something more than a resolution of inquiry. It is a serious measure, and it begins on its face by an affront to the Constitution of the United States, which expressly declares that the President “shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls”; but by this resolution he is to appoint commissioners without the advice and consent of the Senate; and yet this resolution is accepted by my honorable friend, the Senator from Ohio.
The Senator, it seems to me, has not comprehended the object of this resolution. To my mind it is plain. It is simply to commit Congress to the policy of annexion. I insist upon this point: the object of the resolution, and I will demonstrate it, is to commit Congress to the policy of annexion. Otherwise, why is the resolution introduced? The President does not need it. Under existing powers he is authorized to appoint agents, if he pleases, to visit foreign countries, and he is supplied with a secret-service fund by which their expenses may be defrayed. The President does not need this resolution. It is an act of supererogation, so far as he is concerned; and it is also contrary, so far as I am informed, to the precedents of our history.
Agents of an informal character, informally called Commissioners, and not acting under any statute, have been appointed in times past by the Executive. I have a memorandum before me of several occasions. In 1811-12 the President dispatched Mr. Poinsett and Mr. Scott to Buenos Ayres and Caracas to ascertain the condition of those two countries, with a view to the recognition of their independence. In 1817 he dispatched Mr. Bland, Mr. Rodney, and Mr. Graham to Buenos Ayres again, and also to Chili; and in 1820 he dispatched Mr. Prevost and Mr. Forbes: all for the same object. The reports of those gentlemen will be found spread out at length in the State Papers of our country, printed by the authority of Congress; but you will search in vain through your statute-book for any act or joint resolution creating the Commission. It was constituted by the President himself, with the assistance of the Secretary of State; and it was to the Secretary of State that the Commission reported, and the President communicated their report to Congress.
Therefore do I say, this joint resolution, as it now stands, is entirely unnecessary. The President has all the power it pretends to give. He may, if he sees fit, appoint agents,—calling them by any name that he pleases, calling them commissioners or anything else,—he may appoint agents to any extent, of any number, to visit this island and report with regard to its condition. He may give in charge to his envoys all the matters named in this joint resolution. All these he may write in their commission; and when they return, he may, as was done in other days, communicate their report to Congress.
Therefore do I say, the joint resolution is absolutely unnecessary; and I call the attention of my honored friend, the Senator from Indiana, [Mr. Morton,] who champions it, to this special point. I ask him to show its necessity; I ask him to show any good purpose it can serve; I ask him to show why it is brought forward on this occasion, unless to commit Congress to the policy of annexion. Sir, I stand on this position; and I say, knowing the powers of the President under this Government, knowing the practice of this Government, that this resolution is completely superfluous, and that its single purpose, so far as one can see any purpose in its terms, is to commit Congress to what I shall show in a very few moments is a most unjustifiable policy.
Sir, others may do as they please; others may accept this policy; I will not. I have already set myself against it, and I continue now as firm against it as ever. The information which I have received since our discussions last year has confirmed me in the conclusions which I felt it my duty then to announce. In now presenting those conclusions I beg to say that I shall forbear considering whether the territory of Dominica is desirable or not; I shall forbear considering its resources, even its finances, even its debt,—menacing as I know it is to the Treasury of our country,—except so far as that debt brings Hayti into this debate. Some other time these other topics will be proper for consideration; for the present I shall confine myself to grounds on which there can be no just difference.
I object to this proposition because it is a new stage in a measure of violence, which, so far as it has been maintained, has been upheld by violence. I use strong language, but only what the occasion requires. As Senator, as patriot, I cannot see my country suffer in its good name without an earnest effort to save it.
The negotiation for annexion began with a person known as Buenaventura Baez. All the evidence, official and unofficial, shows him to be a political jockey. But he could do little alone; he had about him two other political jockeys, Cazneau and Fabens; and these three together, a precious copartnership, seduced into their firm a young officer of ours, who entitled himself “Aide-de-Camp to the President of the United States.” Together they got up what was called a protocol, in which the young officer entitling himself “Aide-de-Camp to the President” proceeds to make certain promises for the President. Before I read from this document, I desire to say that there is not one word showing that at the time this “Aide-de-Camp” had any title or any instruction to take this step. If he had, that title and that instruction have been withheld; no inquiry has been able to penetrate it. At least the committee[260] which brought out the protocol did not bring out any such authority. The document is called “a protocol,” which I need not remind you, Sir, is in diplomatic terms the first draught of a treaty, or the memorandum between two powers in which are written down the heads of some subsequent convention; but at the time it is hardly less binding than a treaty itself, except, as you are well aware, that under the Constitution of the United States it can receive no final obligation without the consent of the Senate. This document begins as follows:—