Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1860-04-20
PORTRAIT OF SUMNER.

The followingis life-like portrait of
Charles Sumner, of Mass, drawn BY
Hon. G. G. Clay, of Alabama, in 1854,
when Sumner tried to back out of his
statement that he would not return fu-
gitive slave" in accordance with his
oath to support the Constitution:
Now, Mr.. President, have few
more words to say, which | utter with
great diffidence, and with the profound
est Difference to older Senators on this
floor. We have no means of preventing
these violations of the dignity and pro
prieties of the Senate. There is no
penal statute which can reach man who
avows his willingness to commit crime.
But, let me ask, suppose private citi-
zen, however wealthy and well born,
however highly cultivated his mind,
however great his talent or rich his ac-
quirement, should openly avow readi-
ness to commit moral erjury--should
day by day eyincc disposition to insti-
gate other men to crime, which from
want of personal courage, he did not
dare to perpetrate himself-should daily
encourage other men to violate the rights
Of his neighbors, TO steal their property,
70 kidnap their slaves, and refuse to re-
turn them-should daily assail the feel
ings of his neighbors by wanton, rude,
and uncalled for assault upon their char
acters- and when rebuked for it in the
harshest, most offensive and approbious
language, like the spaniel should quietly
submit or beg for quarter, but never re-
pair the wrong or resent the insult--a
sneaking sinuous, snake like poltroon,
who would violate all the rights of asso-
ciates or friends and never make repara-
ton or acknowledge his error, aud who
held himself irresponsible to all law, feel
ing the obligation neither Of tho Divine
law nor Of the law Of the land nor the
law Of honor-I ask you, how you'd
such miscreant be treated? Why, if
you could not reach him with the arm of
the municipal law--if you could not send
him to the penitentiary, you would send
him 10 Coventry. You would exclude
him from the pale of society; you would
neither extend to him the courteses that
are shown gentlemen, nor permit them
to offer such to you. You would make
him feel that he was Stunned like leper,
and loathed like filthy reptile ;and you
would soon render him as impotent for
evil as he was disincl;ned for good. Such
characters, though rare, may be found,
and have been known. ] can give from
memory the general outlines Of one por-
trayed by Dickens, in his novel, David
Coppericld-that Of Uriah Heap. Uriah
was mean, yet affected honor; was ma
lignant, yet feigned bepevolence; pre-
sumptuous, yet pretended humility; in
stigated others to violence he dared not
commit, yet assumed an air Of meekness;
suggested crimes and melted others to
their commission, yet he bore himself
with studied amenity Of manner, and
choice expressions Of benignity. We
have such character on this floor. !
have suggested our means of rebuking,
if we cannot silence him; of disabling, if
we cannot disarm him.
eff we cannot check individual
abuses, we may preserve the dignity Of
this body. If we cannot restrain or pre-
vent this eternal warfare upon the feel
ings and rights Of southern gentlemen,
we may rob tho serpent Of his fangs. We
can pdralyze his influence by placing him
in that naeir of social degradation which
he merits. am Surprised repeat, |
am surprised, that honorable men, but
especially southern men, should so far
forget their rights and those Of their con-
stitucnts and their duties to them, as
well as to themselves, as to lend any
countcnance to such character as !
have portrayed"