Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-05-03
NELSON ON BUTLER.
Language With Hostile Ring in H.

Language With "A Hostile Ring ia H..
The Chief Justice, interrupting
counsel can proceed by unanimous consent.
Mr.. Nelson-l beg pardon Of the Chief
| Justice, | inferred from the silence that the
Senators were willing to hear me. The
honorable gentleman speaks az to what he
supposed to be the knowledge and duty of
trio in the law" and animadverts with
some severity upon the introduction of this
foreign subject by me in the course of the
| investigation. | beg leave to remind the
| honorable Senators that so far as | am
concerned, did not introduce that copy
without having, as | believe, canse and
reason to do it; and whatever may be the
gentleman's views in regard TO "a trio" in
the legal profession, | beg leave TO say 10
him and this Senate that have never seen
the day in my life, not from the earliest
moment when my license was signed, down
to the present time, when a client was as
sailed and, as believe, unjustly, | did not
feel my very highest professional duty on
the face of the earth to yindicaie and de-
fend him against the assassin. My views
may be, and probably are, different from
the views of the honorable Managers and
others, and il, without casting any reelection
upon nv associates, the duty had dey0lYed
upon me to condnct the investigation of
this case, if it had not devolved upon those
of higher standing in the profession than
myself, would have met the gentleman
in every case when he has made his as
saults upon the President of the United
States, and l would have answered him
from time to time az those charges were
made, and l would not have permitted one
of them to go unanswered so far as an
answer could be made on our side, and
when the honorable gentleman who closed
the argument, so far as it had progressed
(Boutwell) at the time he addressed the
Senate on the other side, saw fit TO draw,
in dark and gloomy colors, the picture of
the President of the United States and the
influence which he had over his Cabinet,
and when he saw fit to represent them as
" serfs obedient to the control of their mas
ter" and to make allusion TO the with
drawal of Judge Black, deemed that fit
and proper occasion, and 80 considering it,
upon the most calm and mature reflection,
We, az one (the counsel for the President)
having the information in our possession
to meet and answer it and nail it to the
counter, have done so, and think we have
done it successfully. You all know land
If need be | can hunt up the newspapers
and furnish the testimony that when Judge
Black retired from the Presidents case, it
was published in the newspapers hostile to
the President, that Judge Black, seeing that
the Presidents case was desperate, had
withdrawn from it in disgust and the very
highest professional duty devolved upon
me, when this imputation was contained in
the address Of the honorable manager and |
alluded 10 in the connection in which it |
was, to vindicate the President of the |
United States from the aspersions which |
had been made upon him, and it was for |
that reason, and for no other, not with any |
desire to make any assault upon the man
ayers; and while treated them with civil |
ity, with kindness, and, | think, with great |
forbearance, the honorable gentleman has |
made imputatlOns upon me to-day which | !
hurl back with scorn. Understand me- |
gentlemen, l treated him with courtesy |
and Kindness he has rewarded me with |
outrage In the presence of the American |
Senate, and it will be for you to Judge, |
Senators, whose demeanor has been most |
proper, that of the honorable manager, |
who toully and falsely makes insinuations |
against me for my course in indicating |
the President of the United States 10 the |
discharge of my professional duty here, or
my own. So far as any question which the |
gentleman desires to make of personal |
character is concerned this is not the place |
to make 1t. Let him make it elsewhere if |
he desires to make it.