Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-06-23

4 he stated that II the rule WAS enforced IN
its utmost stlingency it would not prevent
the gentleman from Massachusetts debat
ing the question. The rule was limited
entirely TO the question of voting. 1t was
for the gentleman himself to decide upon
his honor or his oath as member. The
CHAIR could not be conscience keeper Of
the members,
ssMaIici0us, False and Enfam0us.''
Mr.. JenclKs having four minutes tins
left, SAID he would yield it TO MIR. Butler.
Mr.. Batter said he did not ask for the
half of it. He only wanted the record to
be read, which would brand the statement
OF the member from Illinois as malicious,
false and infamous Sensation. 4
1 Mr.. Farnsworth-Have it read.
Mr. Butler-The entry is one of 81, 900
for counsel fees, paid me in January,
1869, when | argued the case before the
Supreme Court, where my brief is fled
it was for counsel fees and nothing else.
Mr. Farnsworth said he would read the
record. sse8 $50 ls4
Mr. Butler desired it to be read at the
clerks desk. Fsg "a
The paper was sent to the clerks desk
and read, from which 1t appeared that But
Ter had written to the Commissioner of
Patents, suggesting that the patent not be
extended without examination, and that
he received consel fee Of $4,000 from the
applicant.
Mr.. Farnsworth sought the floor, but
Mr.. Jenckes insisted on the previous ques-
ton.
| Farnsworth Expatiafcs.
The House, however, being in humor
4 to enjoy and encourage the scene, refused
to second the previous question, and Mr..
Farnsworth obtained the floor. He said
there were two facts prominent in the mat
ter. The first was, that in 1867 there was
| pending an application from Rollip White
for an extension of his patent; that that
fact became known to the member
| from Massachusetts, and he volun-
teered to protest against it. Whether
| that was for the purpose of counting an
| offer of counsel fee, he did not know.
| The second fact was, that when White filed
| his schedule Of expenditures in 1869, in
| order to show that he had not made as
much out of the patent as he should, he
entered as one item of expenditure, that in
january, 1869, he paid the member from
Massachusetts,, $4,000 for counsel fees,
| He would further state that the member
did not utter word in the Supreme Court
in behalf of Mr.. White, though he did file
| q very small and insignificant brief, SO that
it might appear he did something in law
court toward earning his two thousand; but
he (Farnsworth) would leave it to the
House and country to determine what the
motive of Mr.. White in paying two thou
sand dollars was, and what it was, if not
| two thousand dollars, that induced the
member from MEssachusett to advocate on
this floor extention of the patent. He
had spoken of length of beard, and he,
Farnsworth, had told him then as he did
| now, that long or short, no member of
| Congress should with his knowledge, steal
under the shadow of his beard. No NOM
Der of Congress should, with his knowl-
edge, perpetrate a fraud ike this
on the people of the United
| States, whose interests were violated
| as Butler said in his letter to the
Commissioner of Patents, by re- issue of
that patent. 1t would be noticed that in a
letter written by the member in 1869, he
said reissue of this patent would be sub
versive Of the interest of the Government,
| but fee Of 81, 900 changed his views,
| and now the member, forgetting his oath
and forgetting his interest in the United
| States, advocates the reissue Of the
| patent, and advised the patentee
| to make an assignment of his
| interest to the Government, when the
evidence was that he had assigned it long
before to Smith & Wesson, and therefore
| had no right to assign it to the Govern
ment; and yet the plea of the member
! from Massachusetts, was that his advice
was worth $4,000, and while they gave
! him 81 600 for it, that was too thin a
| gauze, too thin veil, too shallow q pre-
! tence. The member would not thus ''com-
| pound for sins he was inclined to, by
| damning those he had no mind to- He be-
| heved, the House and country would ar
1aign the member from Massachusetts, for
being on both sides of the question-irst
on one side, then on the other, for a fee.
The Speaker called Mr.. Farnsworth to
order.
Mr.. Garfield remarked that such Ian
| guage ought not to be heard in these halls.
Mr.. FarnSworth said he had finished,
and moved the previous question.
A general murmur of disapproval showed
| that the House did not relish the idea Of
putting off further discussion.
The Speaker asked MIR. Farnsworth
whether he insisted on the demand,
Mr.. Farnsvorth withdrew it.
Buffers Defense.
Mr.. Butler replied to Mr.. Farnsworth,
and as he was speaking the members gath.
cred around so as to hear his remarks
which, at times, were very indistincuy
heard by the reporters. He denied having
manifested any interest in the bill before
the House in the way of procuring its pas
sage, and appealed to the Chairman of the
Committee on Patents and the members
generally to hear him in denial He ex-
planned that in 1867 he was applied
10 by certain gentleman in his town
| interested in the manufacture of arms, and
who thought that in a contract they were
about to enter into with the Government,
| they might interfere with Rollin Whites
patent, to watch any application that might
| be made for the extension of that patent,
| and he had therefore written letter to the
J Commissioner of Patents, stating three
reasons which rendered it for
the interest of the Government that
| the claim for extension should be
examined before the extension was made.
He had never heard of it, nor had any
thing to do with it, further than
thGt. But in 'GS while he was at home
in vacation Mr.. Rollins and White came to
| MIN ana Bdld lueTS was peAuLuA q hltlG II
the Supreme Court that had been once
argued before the Court and then stood
for reargument, that his counsel was sick
and he wished him to argue it. He had,
therefore, spent four weeks of solid time in
preparing 9 brief which he filed, and which
the member from Illinois called weak
and insignificant brief. The gentleman
who had originally argued the matter, had
got well and reargued it, he also attending
argument. For that service he had on
tns asth Of January, 1863, received two
thousand doiiara, tkeye being then no sp-
plication pending before Congress tqr the
extension of the patent to his knowledge,
and he had not known there ever would be.
He could assure the member from Illinois
that peFer would he argue a case
as that case wss GFgqed, and was
perfectly safe from ever receiFing fee of
81, 900. Laughter He further explain
ed that it vas after the bill had gone to the
President that Waite came to him and
said there was opposition TO il, because it
would interfere with the Government, and
then he told him he could obviate that by
filing in the Patent Office release to the
| United States. BE had heard this
thing was to be brought up against him in
the House; but he Lad felt that malice,
aided by weakness, was edntfmphble;
but there had been now presented before