Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-03-23
Mr.. Butler-Let not your conscience

t accuse you.
81 Mr.. Blaine-"Mr. Speaker In oil
times it was TIE ordinary habit of tn,
q speaker of the House of Representative
S to take part in the debates. That custom
has fallen into disuse. For one, I am very
: glad of it. For one, approve of the con
clusion that forbids it. The speake,
could, with consistent fidelity to his OWL
party, be an impartial administrator Of
:. the rules of the House and a constan,
participation in the discussions. If mem.
bers would take from him that appear.
: ance of impartiality which it is SO impor.
tant 10 maintain in the rulings of the
, chair. But at the same time I despise
and denounce the insolence of the gentle.
man from Massachusetts, when he at.
tempts to cay that the representative from
the Sd district of the State of Maine has
no right to seek that, under the rules, a
resolution be adopted, and has no right
to ask the judgment of the House upon
the resolution. Why even the insolence
of that gentleman himself never reached
that sublime hight before" (Applause.)
"And that is the whole extent of my Of
Tending, that l wrote the resolution, that
I took it to various gentlemen on this
side of the House; that said to gentle
men on the other side of the House, this
is resolution on which you cannot af-
ford to filibuster, resolution demanding
a fair, impartial investigation, and under
the rules desire that this resolution may
be offered and my colleague Mr.. Peters
will offer it; and then the gentlemen
from Massachusetts (Mr. Butler) tele.
graphs he knows to how many papers
through the whole Uuited States. for,
doubtless his letter will be found in e.
tense, wherever he could get it inserted in
this mornings journals, that this was q
legislative trick"
Mr.. Butler-"And [ repeat it now"
Mr.. Blaine-"There are certain repeti-
lions which do not amount to SANDER,
and the gentleman may repeat everything
in that connection as his colleague Mr..
Dawes very well says, except TRUTH"
Mr.. Butler, lin his seat)-M did not
hear my colleague say that"
Mr.. Blaine The gentleman from Mas
sachusetts uses this language in his re.
markable letter, "because the very resolu.
ton which authorized the committee was
so framed, and in my belief purposely, in
the interests of the democratic party, that
such committee cannot report under the
|
cratic opposition, and by their permission,
in more than year from this time, the
usual power not being inserted in it to
report at any time" The gentleman from
Massachusetts is a very astute lawyer, but
it has fallen under my observation that he
is extremely ignorant of the rules of this
House. Had the resolution contained
those words, it would have been tanta-
| m ansY,orIinrr ha
objection would have prevented it's COM
ing in.
Mr.. Blaine then proceeded to show that
the resolution was framed to allow the
committee to report at any time during
December next, abiding forcibly to the
fact that committee like that on recon-
struction, of which Mr. Butler had been
chairman, having power to report at any
time, had failed to report at all, and con.
clnded: II appeal to members on both
sides of the House, and they will bear me
witness that the circulation of this letter
in the morning prints, its distribution
throughout the land by telegraph, and the
laying of it upon the desks of members,
were intended TO be by the gentlemen from
Massachusetts, not offered boldly but GOV.
ertly. | will not use the stronger phrase,
hA1 w VIC cpodhSE Vi lnie lIOuSe
AS such / resent it; I denonnce the letter
in all its essential statements and
in all its misstatements, and in all its
mean differences and mean inuendoes. /
denounce the letter as groundless and
without justification, and the gentlema an
himself, trust, will live to see the day
when he will be ashamed of having writ
ten it."
Mr.. Butler, in reply, criticised severely
the action of the speaker in leav-
ing the chair to discuss, not a
question of great public policy, revenue
reform, reconstruction, or a measure of
national importance-but solely to mingle
in personal quarrel, and continued: 81
know the man, and for ways that are dark
and tricks that are vain, name the speak
er, and that | dare to maintain | felt all
that knew all that, and therefore | was
sorupulous not to use word in my letter
that was parliamentary or could give
Just cause of offense. | was aware of the
new fedged hopes of the highest place in
the future of the speaker, arising from the
quarrel which has been so unfortunately
forced upon the republican party at the
other end of the capitol, which he is want
ing to take advantage of. knew all that,
and therefore I was careful to say no word
that could properly give offense. did
not say that the speaker wrote the resolu-
ton [ did not know that he did, but l
knew that he suggested it. l appeal to
the speakers fairness. No, cannot ap-
peal to that. l will state what he said
when he came to my seat. yesterday,
and showed me the resolution, and
asked me to go for it, and said
that I should be chairman of the
ormmittee under it. I said I will be
damned if I will" Great laughter. 81
will have nothing to do with it. l am
sorry to be obliged to use the word here,
and I apologize for it, but when asked to
betray my ASSOCIATES, with whom l had
acted in caucus, it seemed a very good
one to meet the exigency." Laughter.
That was my answer, and, when he read
the clause containing the appropriation,
even with my ignorance of the rules, as
he claims, told him how, if determined
to put the resolution through, it would
escape an objection to it if differently
worded. I did this because 1 believed
then he suggested to the gentleman from
New York Mr.. Cox to make joint order
against the bill of the majority of the
House, which carried it over under the
Speakers ruling.
Mr.. Cox-Mr. Speaker, that is not true.
Mr.. Butler-I did not say that it was
true. I said that believed it at the time
Laughter. I believed it for the reason
that saw the Speaker go over there on
the democratic side of the House, getting
democrats to agree to support the resolu.
ton, after he had shown it to me, for he
did me the favor to show it to me first.
Then 7 90 W him tho owoar of rioh cnal
fields. as he was attempting to get demo-
Gratis to agree. a- So 81
After further remarks by Messrs. Blaine
Butler, Maynard of Tenn, Shellabarger
of O., Dawes and others, Messrs. She)la-
berger, Burdett of Mo, Kelley, Butler and
Coburn of Ind, were excused from serv.
ing on the committee.
Mr.. Butler then made an Intellectual
effort to introduce his anti-kuklux bill
and the House adjourned. I4A