“It is a very important subject, treated by him with great ability and knowledge, and in a manner which must leave little to be added by the diligence of others. It was listened to with profound attention and frequent expressions of interest and approbation by one of the most closely packed audiences which the hall at Cooper Institute ever contained.”
Horace Greeley, in a contribution to the Independent, said:—
“Mr. Sumner’s speech is not, therefore, a mere rehearsal and arraignment of national wrongs already endured. It is a protest and a warning against those which are imminently threatened. In showing how deeply, flagrantly, France and England have already sinned against us, he admonishes them against persistence in the evil course on which they have entered, against aggravating beyond endurance the indignities and outrages they have already heaped upon us.… Mr. Sumner’s is the authentic voice, not of the mob, but of the people. He utters the sentiments of the conscientious, the intelligent, the peace-loving. His inoffensive protest against the wrongs to which we have been subjected is utterly devoid of swagger or menace. It is a simple, but most cogent demonstration, by the application thereto of the established principles of International Law, of the systematic injustice to which we as a people have been subjected. A miracle of historical and statesmanlike erudition, his address is severe without being harsh,—an indictment judicial in its calmness, its candor, its resistless cogency.”
The Boston Journal said:—
“We trust no one will be deterred by its length from reading Mr. Sumner’s speech on our Foreign Relations; and we are sure that no one will be, who fairly enters upon the subject.… The speech is the most able and elaborate ever delivered by Mr. Sumner, and will be read with great interest abroad as well as in this country. Let us hope that it will help to open the eyes of the people of England and France to the treachery of their rulers to the progress of civilization and the spirit of the age.”
Then, in another article, the same journal said:—
“The recent speech of Mr. Sumner meets with the warmest expressions of commendation from all quarters, excepting, of course, the journals which are wedded to the interests of Slavery.… The speech was, in fact, timely, and, while it was designed primarily to communicate facts of the gravest interest to the people of the loyal States, it will have the secondary and not less important effect of making an impression upon the Cabinets of England and France. The fairness, candor, earnestness, and ability with which great questions of international rights are discussed by a statesman so well known abroad and so much respected as Mr. Sumner must secure for the speech an attentive perusal by those who shape public opinion in the Old World.”
A correspondent of the Boston Journal, calling himself “An European Democrat,” wrote:—
“The speech of Senator Sumner at the Cooper Institute will produce a startling effect in Europe. It may safely be asserted that the opinions of that gentleman upon international politics are received with greater favor in England and France than those of perhaps any other American statesman. He is regarded as most liberal and cosmopolitan in his views; his acquaintance with leading public men in both countries is known to be alike extended and intimate; and such declarations, therefore, as those to which he gave utterance last Thursday evening will necessarily have extraordinary weight in political and commercial circles.”
The Transcript, of Boston, said:—