The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-07-17
THE ASSAULT UPON SENATOR SUMNER, A
CRIME AGAINST THE PEOPLE
SPEECH OF HON. JOHN A. BINGHAM.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
july ., 1856.

! Mr.. BINGHAM. | cannot express my sur.
prise at the remarks that have fallen from the
! gentleman from North Carolina. He seems to
labor under the impression that the case before
the House is but simple case of assault and
| battery, within the Jurisdiction of a Justices
court, and involving at most a fve-dollar pen
| altyl
The gentleman, sir, by the temper and Ian
guage of his remarks, seems to count the guar
antees of the Constitution as but dust in the
balance, when brought in conflict with his over
bearing sectional preiudices
| Mr.. CLINGMAN. Will the gentleman allow
me to speak a single sentence? wish to say
that what have said, if true, is what would be
said OF 1t at home. That Is ali.
Mr.. BINGHAM. trust, sir, that hereafter
the gentleman may exemplify by his practice
that rule of conduct which he prescrbes to
others, and which he thinks should be especially
observed by the distinguished Senator from
Massachusetts, Mr.. SUMNER. l submit to the
House, that it i'll becomes the gentleman TO read
lectures of propriety here to Others and straight
way himself indulge in the grossest and most
wanton abuse OF an absent man. / should like
to know, sir, who constituted the gentleman
censor upon the personal appearance, bearing,
and courage, of the accomplished Senator from
Massachusetts?
! The gentleman seems equally at fault in his
estimate of the great character of the Senator,
| Mr.. SUMNER, and OF the issues arising out of
that assault upon him which is now the subject
of inquiry before the House. lie very broadly
assumes that the peoples representatives have
no distinctive privileges as representatives of
| the people, except during the dctt,0t session of
the House. Until the exigency of this case
| demanded it, who ever advanced such an opin.
ion as that? The freedom of speech and the
security of person are upon trial to day. These
| great rights underlie and are essential to all
| representative government. Upon their main.
| tenance depends the life Of the State, and with
out their observance there can be no free Con.
stitution and no free people. That the repre-
sentative shall not lie questioned elsewhere
than IN and by the body Of which he is a mem
Der, for any speech or debate made in his off.
cial character, is principle coeval with the
English constitution, and recognised wherever
the common law obtains as a rule of civil con.
duct
The gentleman from North Carolina tells us
that this privilege, as stated in our Constitution,
| Is borrowed Literally from English statute"
and that the statute was only intended to pro-
tect members of Parliament from civil liability
in courts of justice for words spoken in debate.
Sir, the gentleman is somewhat at fault in his
reading, touching the history Of this great
privilege
blackstone tells US that the privilege of the
English Parliament was principally established
in order to protect its members, not only from
being molested by their fellow.subiects, but also
from being oppressed by the power of the Crown
He enumerates the privilege of speech and of
person as of the more notorious OF these privi-
leges.-( Vol. !, p. lG4.l
by the statute of William and Mary, st. 2,
chap. 2, the privilege of speech is declared to
be zone of the liberties of the people +" and
it is further provided, "that the freedom of
speech, and debates, and proceedings in Par.
lament, ought not to be impeached or ques-
toned in any court or place out Of Parliament"
And, sir, we are further told that this freedom
Of speech, as also the privilege of the person
from arrest, are particularly demanded Of tho
King in person by the Speaker of the House of
Commons at the opening os every new Parlia-
ment, end taat THESE IMMUNITIEs are as ancient
as Edward the Confessor. Sir, venture the
opinion, that to THESE MMUNITIES of the Eng
lish Commons, more than to any or all other
causes combined, is attributable the proud fact
in England's history, that her House of Com
nous, through centuries of conflict and trial,
has stood forth the asylum of constitutional
liberty, and firmly and deiiantly maintained the
rights OF the people against the encroachments
of tyranny, whether attempted under the rule
of the Plantagenets, the Tudors, or the Stuarts
This great privilege of the people, sir-the
freedom of speech and debate in their legisla.
tive assemblies, and the absolute immunity OF
their representatives from outrage, or insult, or
menace, in the exercise thereof-is privilege
as sacred and as clearly and solemnly estab.
lished here IN our own country as in England,
Sir, it is this statute of LIST William aud Mary
that is Incorporated in on; Constitution, which
provides that the Senators and Representatives
shall, 10 all eases except treason, felony, and
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest
during their attendance at the session of their
respective Houses, and in going to and return.
ing from the same and for any speech or
debate in either House they shall not be gues.
TONED 10 any other place. Constitution Of TIE
gnited States, art l, sec. 81 Although our
Constitution does not, in the words Of the Eng