The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1868-05-23
From the National Intelligencer, May )
CoLrAx's PARTISAN RULINGS.

between Messrs. Brooks and Butler, has
been the subject of much and deserved COM
plant and censure by all fair-mindcd men,
without respect to party. 1t was evident
from the outset that the ruling of Mr.. Colfax
had been conceived in the interest of the IN.
calpated managers, with the express inten-
ton of preventing any inquiry, aad 10 favor
Butler and Logan as far as he possibly
could, by the abuse of a position which is or
dinarily supposed to be guided By reasonable
fairness, whatever may be the political bias
of the incumbent. On that occasion, how
ever, the Speaker exhibited the partisanship
of which he is peculiarly capable, notwith-
standing smiling exterior and affected ur-
banity, which have imposed upon passing
observation, and stood him in the place of
more substantial qualities.
II would be easy to cite numerous instan-
ces from this debate to establish the glaring
and offensive partiality to which we have re-
hibit this person in his true colors ::
sfNr logan The only defense that has
been made for the greatest criminal this country
has ever known has been just such defence as is
pretended TO be made by those gentiemen who
have taken the floor this evening, eittaiRoHsy at
lacking men who are as honest
'sThe Speaker. The Chair will state that the
REMARK III AEe geHkIeul&n tEOAH AhAhOhS l-1A- Ao-
can 10 net parliamentary.
. r"Mr. Logan. Well, withdraw the word.
1 sMr NibIack. The gentleman must keep with
in the rules. shall call him to order every time
he trsnsgresses them. ~. -ssr.esA
"Mr logan. lam much obliged to the gentle
man.
"Mr. Niblack. have the right to do it.
"Mr. Eldridge. l insist that the gentleman
from Illinois shall take his seat, and that the dis
orderly language shall be reduced to writing.
"Mr. Logan. / have Withdrawn the offensive
word.
"Mr. Eldridge. But understand the gentle
man g taunt.
'.TheS peaker. The gentlemen from WISCONSIN
makes hss point too late.
"Mr. Eldridge. No business has transpired
since the language was used.
"The Speaker, There has been discRssiOn be-
tween the gentleman from Illinois Mr.. Logan]
and the gentleman from Indiana, MFR. Niback.
The point must be made immediately"
This scene passed in few seconds, and
the point was made as Immediately" as
possible by Mr.. Eldridge, but was rejected
by the Speaker, under convenient pretext
which everybody knew to be unfounded, in
order to save Logan from censure.
A few minutes later, the offence was re-
peated, but more emphaticaliy, and with the
same result:
"Mr. Logan. When the gentleman
from New York says that it is claim for million
dollars, that Is not true, and he kno,1s IT.
''Mr. Eldridge. I object to the words of the
gentleman from Illinois, Mr.. Logan
1.-The Speaker. The words win be taken down.
and the Chair will rude upon them.
'Mr. Logan. Well, viii Withdraw them.
'FMr Eldridge. I submit that it is too late for
that to be done.
"Mr. Logan. will substitute the words, cor
ought to have known it..
rule upon the words objected to by me.
The Speaker. The words having been taken
down, viii now be read by the Clerk.
''The Clerk read follows:
"That is not true, and he knew it,
''The Speaker. The Chair rules that those
words not unpariiamentoyy. If the gentele-
man from Illinois Mr.. Logan had made use of
opprobrious words sometimes used, bu. which the
Chair will not repeat, he would have been out of
order. But any gentleman has the right 10 say
that proposition is not true, and that the one
making the proposition knew it was not true.
According to this enlightened decision
radical member may charge en- opponent
not only with direct falsehood, but with IN
tention and knowledge of such Justification,
and still his words are not unparlament
aryF' And in order to fortify his position
the Speaker had the assurance to tell the
House, that if the member from Illinois had
"made use of opprobrious words sometimes
used, be would have been ont of order.n
The force of this splendid logic is quite
worthy of the genius of the man who employ
ed il, and deserves a conspicuous page in
the comm on-plaee book of platitudes which
he is in the habit of retailing in Overland"
lectures and stump declarations. Accord
ing to the Colfaxian standard of parliamen-
tory propriety, "loyal' radical may stigma
tie the statement of his adversary as mot
true, and he knows it, and yet be perfectly
in order, and use no "opprobrious words ~
In the same debate Butler was allowed
to exhaust his vocabulary of vulgar abuse
against Mr.. Brooks. and to impute "rascali-
ty" in the broadcast terms, without one sylla-
BILE of dissent from this plant Speaker; but
the moment that the latter endeavored to re-
pei the imputations of his notorious accuser,
then Mr.. Colfax was oil ears and pretended
AProprlety. Here is an illustration in point
MI. Brooks. IS He [Butlerl first, in or
der to deter me, sent an aide-de-oarnp of his,
WIZ epauists, TO my private chamber with let
yer threatening we with something or other IL
olo not retraet "nat had then uttered; and be-
csuse choose to call the attention Of tbe House
to the subject of that letter, here, elsewhere. ey
erywhere be has pursued me with volumes of
abuse, with vituperation, with words and Ian
guage of a character which / cannot properly
here describe, but which would better heat New
gate or Billingsgate than the House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States, ana would bet
ter beft representative from Billingsgate than
representative from old Massachusetts,
The Speaker. The Chair viii state that that
remark as ,".parlidmary, and om Of order.
mir. Brooks. BilIingsgate out of order
why IT Is gate In the city of London.
The Speaker. 1t is unparliamentary as ap-
pfed6y the gentleman from New York"
1t viii be observed that the remark of Mr..
Brooks was general and descriptive, and to
that extent unlike the coarse personal cpl
thets of Logan and Butler, vet In the case of
these two worthless -arcddes ansbo--they
were permitted to charge deliberate untruth
and rascality, and were sustained by the.
speaker, who ruled that Mr. Brooks was
anparliamentary and out of order, for say
ing that such language would better benefit
q Representative from .Billingsgate than q
Representative from old Massachusetts,
And subsequently, when Mr.. Brooks
sought by analogy to illustrate the career of
Butler at New Orleans in decorens man.
Ter, the Speaker was quick to interrupt his
remarks, just as if he was acting as the at
torneY OF Butler, and following instructions
to arrest every form of exposure. Under
these circumstances, Mr. Brooks was COM
PEELED to stop for it was evident to every
spectator that it was The design of the Chair
to prevent anything like free discussion.