On the record
That is a question of form, and not of substance,--of words only, and not of facts; for the substance is clear, and the facts are unanswerable.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Sumner distinguishes between the formal and substantive aspects of states' status in the Union.
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More from Charles Sumner
Tendencies of nations, as revealed in history, teach that our aims are in harmony with prevailing laws, which God, in his benevolence, has ordained for mankind.
Controlled by such a code, employing such representatives, sustained by such agencies, animated by such Furies, and producing such fruits of tears and bitterness, it must be open to question.
It is a cause which, though long kept in check throughout our country, as also in Europe, now confronts the people and their rulers, demanding to be heard.
Their existence is a disgrace to civilization; for it implies the common consent of nations to the Arbitrament of War, as regulated by these laws.
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