Evening star., 1869-04-15
EVENING STAR.
OUR CLAIMS ON ENGLAND.
speech of Hon. Charles Sumner

speech oil Hon. CharIeS sumner
The speech of Hon. Charles Sumner, of Mas
sachusetts, in executive session OF the Senate
on Tuesday, on the John son. Clarendon treaty
for the settlement of our claims on England. is
given to the public. the Injunction Of secrecy
having been removed by order of the Senate.
The speech is of great length, and opens As
follows
Mr.. President, a report recommending that
ths Senate do not advise and consent to a treaty
with a foreign power, duly signed by tn
Plenipotentiary of the nation, is of rare occur.
men,s, and sometimes without any recomms u
datlon, but 1 do not recall AN instance, since
Came into the senate. where such a trelty has
h en- repo rted with the recommendation which
Is now under consider ration. The character OF
the iIeaiy seemed 10 Justify the exceptional re-
port. no not disguise the importance of this
act; hut believe that In the interest OF peace,
which everyone should have Al heart, the
uelty must be rejected. A treaty which, in
stesd OF r. moving an existing grievance, leaves
1t for heartburning and rancor, cannot be con-
sldered b settlement of pending questions be-
tween two nations. Ii may seem To settle them,
but does not. Ii is nothing but a snare And
such is the character OF the treaty now before
US. The massive grievance under which our
county suffered for years is left untouched
the painful sense OF wrong planted III the na.
tienal heart is allowed to remain. For all tn is
there is not one word of regret or even of rec
ognlfion; nor Is there any semDlance of COM
pensation. 1t cannot be tor the interest OF
either party that such a treaty should be rati
fled.
II csnnot promote the interest of the United
Sta'es,i s,ivr we naturally seek Justice as the foun-
dation OF goo0 understanding with Great
Britain: nor promote the interest of u rea
Britain, which must also seek a real settlement
Of III pending questions. Surely do not err
when say that a wise craftsmanship, whether
Oh our side or on the other side, must apply
itself to find the real root of evil. and, then,
with courage tempered by candor and modera-
tion, Sc that IL Is sextripated. This is for the
interest OF both parties, and any thing short of
il Is failure.
the treaty and says:-W hile doing SO little for
us the treaty makes ample provisions for all
known claims on the British side. As these
are exclusively ''individual'' they are com.
pletely covered by the text, which has no
limitations or exceptions. Already it Is an.
nounct in England that those Of Confederate
bcndhoidCrs are included. i nave before me
al English journal which de escribes the latter
claims as founded on "lmmense quantities of
cotton. worth at the time of their seizure nearly
TWO shlllings pound, which were in the legal
posses len OF these bond olders;" and the same
authority adds s.Tbese claims will be brought,
indiferently with others before the designed
joint commission whenever IL shall sit" From
another quarter learn that these bondholders
are "very sanguine OF success sdsr the redty
as a. as erordsd, and certain II is that the oan
went mp from to L. as soon as it was ascer-
tained that the treaty was signed" l doubt if
the American people are READY Just now to
riss N IT the market is an argument against the
treaty.
Close upon the outbreak OF our troubles, Just
one month after the bombardment of Fort
Sumter. when the rebellion was still undevel-
oped, wheE the national government was be-
ginning those gigantic efforts which ended so
triumpnantiy. the country was startled by the
news that the British government had inter.
vened by proclamation which accorded
belIigerent rights to the rebels. At the early
date when this was done the rebels. were, as
hau IN ha xryith hin
the ocean, without prize courts or other tribu-
mails for the administration of Justice on the
ocean-vithoat any Of those conditieas ,chich are
the essential prerequisites to such c0aceSsiOR and
yet The concession was general, beng applica-
ole TO the ocean and the land SO that by British
hat they became ocean belligerents as well as
land beuigerents. In the swiftnsss OF this
bestowal there was very little cons liberation
for a friendly Power; nor does 1t appear that
there was any inquiry into those conditions
precedent on which II must depend. Ocean
belligerency Deing a "fact." and not .sprinci-
pie" can be recognized only on evidence
showing its actual eristsnce according to the
rule. first stated by MIR. Cam ming and after ward
recognized by Earl Russell. But no such evil
dence was adduced; for IL did not exist and
never has existed.
Had not the concession Of belligerencv been
made, no rebel ship could have been built IN
England. Every step in her building would
have been piracy. Nor could any munitions
OF war have been furnished. The direct con-
sequence OF this concession was 10 place the
Britis markets whether of ships or m IA lions
Of war. A these were open 20 the national
government, so were they open TO the rebels.
The asserted neutrality be. w cen the two began
by this tremendous concession, when reoeis at
one stroke, were transformed Not only into bel
ligerents, but into customers. The only lusti.
ication that l have heard for this -xtraordi-
nary concession rs that President Llucoln I'M
dertook to proclaim biockdde of the RI bel ports
BY the use OF TINS word s.b!oC kade'' tue conces.
sion is vindicated. Had President Lhcoln
proclaimed a CLOSING OF the rebel ports. there
could have been no such concession. This is a
mere technicalIty. Bot we must look at the
su distance and find reason in nothing short of
overI ulIng necessity. War cannot be justified
merely Oh a techniCality; nor can the conces-
SION of ocean bellgerancy to rebels without a
port or prize court Such q concession, like
war itself, must he AT the peril of the nation
making II The British assumption, besides
being offensive from mere tecnniealIty, Us in
consistent with the proclamation of the Presi.
dsnt, taken as whole, which while appoint
ing bloc kade, is careful to reserve the rights
OF sovereignty, thus putting foreign powers
on their guard against any premature conces.
sion.
Mr.. Sumner considers this branch OF the sub.
ject at length. The s'matter OF reparation' and
the s'extent Of our losses are entered into
minutely also He then says:
Perhaps i ought to anticipate an objection
from the other side to the effect thar these
national losses, whether from the destruction
Of our commerce or the Irolongation OF the
war, are indirect and remote, so as not TO be a
luSt cause OF claim. TniS Is expressed at the
common law by the rule that .sdamages must
be for the natural and proximate consequence
OF an Act" q (2Greenleaf. Ev,p 2lO.) To this
excuse the answer is explicit. The damages
suffered by the United States are twofold,
individual and national, being in each case
direct and proXimate, althou gh IN the one case
Individuals suffered, and in the other case the
nation. Ii Is easy 10 see that there may be oc-
casions where, overtOppIng all individual
damages, are damages suffered by the nation.
so thai reparation TO individuals would be in
spfficient, nor can the claim of the nation be
questioned simply because IL is large, or be-
from that In the case Of an indi vidual In each
case the damage must be proved by the best
possible evidence, and this Is all that law or
reason can require. In the case of the nation
the evidence Is historic, and this is enough.
Impartial history will record the national
losses from British intervention. and IL is only
reasonable that the evidence of these losses
should not be excluded from judgment. Be.
cause the case 10 without precedent, because NO
friendly power, this can be no reason why the
case should not be considered on the eviden CO
Mr.. President, In concluding these remarks,
desire 10 say that j am NO volunteer. For
seyeraI years have carefully avoiued saying
an thing on this most irritating question, be-
ing anxious that negotiations should be left un.
disturbed TO secure a settlement, which could
be accepted by a deeply injured nation. The
spbmission OF the pending treaty to the judg.
became my duty to consider IL carefully in
connirtea, and 10 review the whole subject.
II IA, led TO find what we ha.- right 10 eN.
ptct. and, If the Just claims OF our country AS
ams unexpe ctsd proportions, It was not be-
cause would bear hard on England, but be-