Charles Sumner: “An oath in public, at your chair, Sir, being at once of record and sealing the acceptance of an office, is very…”

“An oath in public, at your chair, Sir, being at once of record and sealing the acceptance of an office, is very different from the informal oath taken in private, at a distance, before a local magistrate, which is in the nature of an escrow, until recorded in the proper department.”