Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and letters of Charles Sumner: volume 4

Sumner had refrained for six years-since his address in September, 1863—from the public discussion of the ‘Alabama’ question, and he had hoped not to be obliged to enter on it again. While at the outset, before a rebel cruiser was upon the sea, he gave repeated warnings in his correspondence with English friends, high in public position, against the acts of their government which brought on the controversy, and had set forth the dangers of keeping the controversy open, he had meanwhile been most assiduous in the Senate in maintaining pacific relations with Great Britain, and preventing measures likely to produce irritation,—as in his speech in 1862 on the ‘Trent’ case; his opposition in 1863 to letters of marque and reprisal; his resistance in 1864 to the attempt to embroil us with that country on account of the St. Albans raid; his defeat of the attempt in 1866 to scale down the neutrality acts; his opposition in 1868 to the retaliation bill; and his constant suppression of Mr. Chandler's bills and resolutions aimed against Great Britain.¹

It became now his duty, as chairman of the committee on foreign relations, in reporting adversely upon the convention, to state the reasons for its rejection when it was under consideration at the special session of the Senate, April 13. This he did in a speech somewhat brief for him,—occupying, perhaps, an hour in delivery.² He avoided matters of aggravation, like the ‘Trent’ case and the St. Albans raid, and maintained a tone as conciliatory as his statement admitted. He showed the inadequacy of the convention; how it belittled the work to be done by its very form, in taking for a model the claims-convention of 1853, which was for the settlement of purely individual claims, and in choosing in a certain event an arbitrator by lot; how it ignored the greater national grievance; and how it settled no rule of international duty as to the past, and what was of most concern, none as to the future; and expressed not a word of regret for the injuries we had suffered,—an expression which the senator greatly desired. The speech then developed generally our case against Great Britain,—laying stress on the swift concession of ocean belligerency, which was proclaimed the day of Mr. Adams's arrival in England, when as yet the