The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-07 00:00:00

A Talk with Mr, Charles Sumner,

The Scotsman gives the following from the diary
of a Scottish gentleman who has recently visited the
Northern States :

Newport, Rhode Island, Monday, August 22, 1864.---
Met Mr. Charles Sumner at dinner. He spoke of Lord
Russell's speethes ; said that on the whole he preferred their
style to that of most speeches which are now delivered
in Parliament ; that there was something very terse and
~i.,,,,at -about trui --Olctimr3-- Qua-- that ,he preferred
Lord Russell's speeches even to Mr. Gladstone. Of
)
Mr. Canning's despatches, ho said that he thought
their sarcastic tone had had some share in exasperat-
ing the disputes between England and America,
which culminated in the war of 1812. In point of style,
however, he considered them the finest specimens extant of
this kind of writing. When he adverted to the Trent affair
I asked him how it happened that Mr. Welles, a member
of the-Cabinet, in his report, which was appended to the
President's Message, had thanked Capt. Wilkes for seizing
Mason and Slidell. He said it was in consequence of the
unfortunate manner in which the Government is con-

ducted under Mr. Lincoln ; that each member of the Admi-
nistration considers himself responsible solely for the
affairs of his own department, and acts without concert
with the others. He thought Wilkes's seizure of Mason
and Slidell might be justified by British, but not by
American, precedents ; nor by American interpretations
of international law. He has evidently a great contempt
for Seward says that he knew nothing of international
law when he came into office, and that when an awkward
case arises he never thinks of inquiring into it till a
formal demand is made for reparation. Mr. Sumner said
he had objected strongly to Cassius Clay's appointment to
Russia, but that Lincoln and Seward had urged him so
strongly about it that at last he had agreed not to take
an active part in opposing the nomination. He says
Gortchakoff complains bitterly because Clay will write
to him in French. Gortchakoff understands English
perfectly, but can make nothing of Cassius Clay's French.
He said there was one of Lord Russell's despatches which
would give rise to trouble hereafter. I asked him which ;
he said that despatch in which he replies to some demand
for compensation for damage done by the Alabama, by re-
questing that no more demands of the kind may be sent in.
I said that as Lord Russell had, before that despatch was
written, gone fully into the case of the Alabama, including
the question of the liability of the British Government for
damage done by her, it could not be expected that he
should re-open the matter on every occasion on which a claim-
for compensation might be put forward. He admitted that
was so, but still objected to the curtness of the despatch.
He complained of the recognition by the British Govern-
ment of the Confederates as belligerents. I asked him
how we could refuse to recognise the Confederates as bel-
ligerents when the United States had done so ? From the
very first the United States authorities had treated Con-
federate prisoners, not as malefactors, but as prisoners
of war. He said the United States had done this for

fear the Confederates might retaliate on Federal pri-
soners. I said the very fact that the United Staten
authorities were afraid of retaliation by the Confederates,
went far to show that the latter ought to be recog-
nised as a belligerent power, and that, looking to the
actual state of things, considering that there were
6,000,000 of people in insurrection, that they had
placed large armies in the field, and that there wag it
regularly organised Government firmly established at
Richmond, the British Government would have beers
acting in contravention of the principles which had
always guided them if they had refused to recognise the
Confederates as belligerents. He said that the recogni-.
tion of the Confederatei as belligerents was a step toward
recognising the Confederacy as an independent power—n
course which the British Government ought not to take
under any circumstances ; that at the beginning of the
war the British Government ought to have declared that
they never would recognise a State whose existence was
based on slavery. I said—Suppose, for the sake of argu-
ment, that the United States were to give up their attempt
to bring back the Confederates by force into the Union,
that the war was to come to an end, and the United States
were to acknowledge the independence of the Confederate
States, would it then be reasonable to expect that the British
Government should refuse to recognise the Confederate
Government ?—for that is the course to which we should be
committed if the British Government had taken the step which
you say they ought to have done. Yes, said Mr Sumner,
whatever the United States may do the British Government
ought to refuse to recognise the Confederate States. Mr.
Sumner said that the war now going on was a war against
slavery, and that we ought to have recognised it.as such.
I quoted the declaration of the President, that the war was

being carried on to restore the Union ; that if doing away
with slavery would restore the Union, he would do away
with slavery ; and if maintaining slavery would save the
Union, he would maintain slavery. Mr. Sumner said that

if I looked to the action of the United States Government
I might no doubt make out a case, but that I ought rather
to look to those anti-slavery principles by which, England
had hitherto been actuated.

RESIGNATION OF AN IRISH JUDGE.—DUBLINI
Friday.—Mr. Justice Ball has announced his intention of
resigning. It is said that the Attorney-General, Mr.
O'Hagan, M.P., will succeed him.