Elias Nason, The Life and Times of Charles Sumner: His Boyhood, Education and Public Career.

In the course of his remarks Mr. Sumner reviewed the condition of the freedmen in the several States, and in closing said,--

I bring this plain story to a close. I regret that I have been constrained to present it. I wish it were otherwise. But I should have failed in duty had I failed to speak. Not in anger, not in vengeance, not in harshness, have I spoken; but solemnly, carefully, and for the sake of my country and humanity, that peace and reconciliation may again prevail. I have spoken especially for the loyal citizens who are now trodden down by rebel power, and who are without representation on this floor. Would that my voice could help them to security and justice! I can only state the case: it is for you to decide. It is for you to determine how long these things shall continue to shock mankind. You have before you the actual condition of the rebel region: you have heard the terrible testimony. The blood curdles at the thought of such enormities, and especially at the thought that the poor freedmen, to whom we owe protection, are left to the unrestrained will of such a people, smarting with defeat, and ready to wreak vengeance upon these representatives of a true loyalty. In the name of God, let us protect them! Insist upon guaranties. Pass the bill now under consideration; pass any bill: but do not let this crying injustice rage any longer. An avenging God cannot sleep while such things find countenance. If you are not ready to be the Moses of an oppressed people, do not become its Pharaoh.

To the urgent and eloquent utterances of Mr. Sumner is mainly due the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment without the obnoxious reference to a