St. Mary's beacon., 1858-05-27
From The National hs'aHige',eer.
Edward Everett on the Summer Outrage.

1
friend, in reference t. certain structures upon
his course 10 regarl to the unfortunate Brock,
and Sumner difficulty. sufficiently rcfutes the
charge insinuate'i in that paper am sure
you will crafty large humber Of your resg-
ders' by lis publication. H
MEDFORD. Mass. Oct. a.
DEAR Sfa: | have received your friendly
letter of tho 0tlI of September. enclosing n cut
ting from the Knoxville Register of the 7th
and another from the Knoxville Wing" con-
tanning the carl Of Mr. Snced. The subject
revivcs painful recollcctions, but it remains &c
me a duty. in cnInplilnce with your request
to acgHGiIt you with the facts of the case.
Immediately on tie receipt of the intelli-
gence an Indignation meeting was called in
Fancuil Hall, whis-h was invited to attend
Not disposed to quit the retirement from pa-
Iiti,al life caused by iIl-heal:h year before
believing also that additional excitement
was to he deprccatc,l-I declined to attend the
meeting. II was. however. attended and adj
dressed by very sound, conservative men. In
the course of the following week, having occa-
sion to repeat my address ION the character of
Washington, prcfaccd it with a few remarks
on the recent occurrences the object Of which
was to impart more chasteued and sober tenn
per to the fiery indignation which pcrvaded
the community. These remarks were cxteu-
siveIy quoted and approved in conservative
journals, both North and South. Thcy arc
the same which are alluded TO in the closing
paragraph Of Mr.. Sncc,li card. | encl,sc yoll
IL copy Of them.
When the intelligence Of the assault on Mr..
Sumner, III the Senate Of the United States.
reached Boston. it produced an excitement in
the public mind deeper and morc dangerous
than ! have ever seen Witnessed 1t WAS the
opinion Of some persons that if a leader daring
and reckless enough mad presented himself he
might have raised any number of men tO march
on Washington. Bv rejecting men the de-
plorabIe act was regarded as the beginning Of
the end :" the spark which was too likely t.
kindlc the train whose explosion would rcnd
the Union. Letters from Washington inform
ed us that the members had generally armed
themselves, AMI if the predictions received by
me from an i'm i.artiaI source had been fulfilled,
and the crack Of the revolver been heard nj!
would have been inevitable"
\ day or two after the appearance of these
remarks in the public papers. a Young friend.
after expressing his cordial appreciation Of
them, requested me to subscribe IL a tcStimo-
NAL proposed to he rendered to Mr.. Sumner.
lie did not show me the paper nor mention in
whole or i'll part the terms III which it was t"
I've expressed. SupposinG that it would accord
in spirit with my own remarks Just alluded
to, felt it duty, in order to avoid misconccp-
ton. in the existing state Of the public mind,
to comply with his request, which according
ly agreed To do. The paper was sent up to
me at a very carly hour the next morning in
my bedroom, where, from ill-hcalth, | had
passed bad night, and was still under the ia
huence of ether repeatedly inhaled as an ano-
dvne. 1t was en9rnsScd on 4 Very stiff sheet
rolled up, the lower end outward unrnllel
it up to the names already subscribed those
which struck my eye we're Of i,.t!iclOlS and re-
ilccting persons; without reading or seeing
the caption | signed my name. This ofcourSc
was 4 great mdisCretun, but Df u kind pcrha rs
not unnatural under the circumstances Of my
illness. This Is the paper g ven at length in
Mr.. Snced's card.
As soon as | saw it the next day, in the
public prints, informed the Young gentleman
who had procured my signature that ] could
not have signed the paper had been aware Of
the spirit in which it was drafted and the
terms i'll which it was expressed. | made the
same statement to numerous friends and cor
respondents in different parts Of the country.
furnished a memorandum to the above effect
to the editor Of the Boston Daily Advertiser >
&c he published when he should think it pro-
per- ] authorized two friends in the Senate ol
the United States to make the necessary eX-
PLANTATION should the subject be alluded to in
that body, as thought it possibly might be
and as soon as Mr.. Summers health was suifi-
ciently restored to make it proper to do so,
wrote to him to the same effect
Others who subscribed the paper did it. as
am informed, either without reading it ut all
or So hastily rs not to be we'll aware of its
character. When n meeting Of the subscribers
was called it was agreed, partly, as | under
stood, for this reason, and in accordance with
the expressed wishes of Mr.. Sumner to take
no further steps in the premises and to apply
the sums subscribed to the relief Of the suffer-
ers in Kansas, which was accordingly done
This meeting was held at Il time when | was
absent at Newport, but | fully approved Its
doingS ought to add that IS well known
that condemned, from the outset. and still
most decidedly condemn, the policy of the
late Administration towards Kansas. OPP
posed the Kansas-Nebra bill in the Terrific
rial Committee, of which | was a member
voted against the amendment to the bill by
which the Missouri Compromise was repealed
I.opposed the bill, to the best of my ability, in
a speech delivered in the Senate on the Sth OF
February, 1854, Of which send YOU a copy
and ] should have voted against it on its pas
sage las | stated in my place at the next meet
ing of the Senatc} had not severe illness COM
PEELED me. at half-past three o'clock in the
morning, to leave the Senate chamber before
the vote was taken. informed my Southern
political friends, when the hill was brought in
that it ought to bc entitled bill to "annihi-
late all conservative feeling in the nonslavc-
holding States
With these views of the subject. though, as
trust. for reasons higher than any effect on
party politics, fully concur in the main argH-
guments Of Mr.. Summers speech. Abstaining
however, habitually myself from all personali-
ties in debate, and believing that they always
irritate, and never persuade nor convince,
could not, Of course, bestOw my unqualified
Appreciation on the manner in which he treat
ed the subject, nor Intentionally give my sane
ton to the violent and offensive language o
the subscription paper alluded to, inadvertent-
ly signed by me.
In conclusion. think it would be sadly
improbable task to endeavor to trace the sue.
cesSive steps Of that miSchievous action anC
reaction Of North and South upon each other
n L Al.