On the assault on Senator Sumner, June 6, 1856

The Northern papers are all condemning and denouncing Mr. Brooks for his assault on Senator Sumner, in the severest terms. We do not justify or excuse the mode and manner in which redress was taken for a supposed wrong. But, in censuring the attack, let not the cause be forgotten -- and let the whole affair be a reason which should induce the Senate hereafter to prevent the kind of debate which has recently prevailed in that body. The Senate chamber is, certainly, we admit, no place for brawls and fights, and every American citizen must lament the recent occurrence. But the Senate chamber, also, is no place for foul language, abuse, taunts, and opprobrious epithets. One evil leads necessarily to another. The Senate must preserve its own dignity, in order to command the respect of the public.