MY DEAR SIR,--I wish that I could take part in the interesting ceremonies to which you invite me; but my duties will keep me here. On the anniversary of the birth of our Nation you will commemorate the death of patriots who gave their lives that the Nation might live. Grateful to our fathers, who at the beginning did so much, we owe an equal debt to those who saved the original work. The monument which you rear will be national in its character. Dedicated on the anniversary of Independence, it will have for its special object to guard forever the memory of those through whom the first fruits of Independence have been secured. Our fathers established the National Independence; our recent heroes have made it perpetual through those vital principles which can never die. Honor to the fathers! Honor also to the sons, worthy of the fathers! Accept my best wishes; believe me, my dear Sir, very faithfully yours, CHARLES SUMNER. GEN. B. F. PRATT. COLORED SENATORS,--THEIR IMPORTANCE IN SETTLING THE QUESTION OF EQUAL RIGHTS. LETTER TO AN INQUIRER IN SOUTH CAROLINA, JULY 3, 1868. The following letter, from a South Carolina paper, is one of many in the same sense which found its way to the public. SENATE CHAMBER, July 3, 1868. DEAR SIR,--I have never given any opinion in regard to the Senatorial question in your State, except to express regret that the golden opportunity should be lost of making a colored citizen Senator from South Carolina. Such a Senator, if competent, would be a powerful support to the cause of Equal Rights. His presence alone would be a constant testimony and argument. Nothing could do so much to settle the question of Equal Rights forever in the United States. The howl against the negro, which is sometimes heard in the Senate, would cease. A colored Senator would be as good as a Constitutional Amendment, making all backward steps impossible. I write now frankly, in reply to your inquiry, and without any purpose of interfering in your election. You will pardon my anxiety for the cause I have so much at heart. Accept my best wishes, and believe me, dear Sir, faithfully yours, CHARLES SUMNER. To THADDEUS K. SASPORTAS, Esq., Columbia, S. C. FINANCIAL RECONSTRUCTION THROUGH PUBLIC FAITH AND SPECIE PAYMENTS. SPEECH IN THE SENATE, ON THE BILL TO FUND THE NATIONAL DEBT, JULY 11, 1868. We denounce all forms of Repudiation as a national crime [_prolonged cheers_]; and the national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness, _in the utmost good faith_, to all creditors, at home and abroad, _not only according to the letter, but to the spirit of the laws under which it was contracted_. [_Applause._]--CHICAGO PLATFORM, May, 1868. * * * * *