Year: 1871

We were premature yesterday morning in
congratulating Gen. Butler on giving up his
personal explanation, and the House of Rep
resentatives on permanent relief from these
casual half-hours of vulgar wrangling. He
might very well have allowed the matter to
stand where the grasshOpper of the Blue
Grass left it. Mr.. Davis asserted that he had
acted like blackguard in his interview with
Butler. and there was no necessity for Butler to
gainsay it, lie might have left the foul
mouthcd Kentuckian, IA the Western boy
once proposed to leave specimen OF the
Virerra Mcphitis, to perish in his own fra
GRANGE. But Gen. Butler has no conception
of the virtues of reserve and silence. He has
gained great prominence by bullying quiet
people and naturally feels little con-
fused when tire same regimen is ap-
piled to him. He could not bear
to go home without striking blow
at his two enemies, Davis and Farnsworth,
and in so doing called up the most disgraceful
scene that any Congress has recently furnished.
If. when he reads the report this morning, he
does not think he has had enough of personal
ordinations to last lifetime, he must belong
TO an order of pachyderms hitherto unde-
scribcd.


1t would have been difficult to find in any
bar room of Water-st. yesterday three such
blackguards as Butler, Beck, and FarnswOrth.
All three of them spoke with equal coarseness,
venom, and discOurtesy. The House was to
blame for allowing Butler to begin. 1t
was still further to blaine for permit
ting FarnswOrth to repeat stale as
sault upon the member from Massachu-
setts. And the climax of the disgusting
farce was reached when Beck, equally reckless
of the honor of the House, the sacredness of
the Committee Room, and the dignity of human
nature, repeated before the world the loath-
some details of scene of ruffianly violence
between FarnswOrth and Butler, in which the
former acted the brute and the latter the
craven. The whole scene is singularly unique
and harmonious in its vileness. 1t is so intOl-
erable in it's SAVIOR that this closing hour tinges
unwholesomely the entire session.


Perhaps there is some compensation hidden
behind this disgrace. This business of per-
sonal explanations had grown such an abuse
that it needed to be made insufierable. This
has now been done. There is no lower deep
than that sounded by the three rowdy cham
piOns of yesterday. The House may yet de-
rive some advantage from tins throwing
of stench-pots. 1t is possible that the
men who engaged in that aromatic pastime
may gain lesson from it. Perhaps Mr. Beck's
Ku-Klux constituents will see no harm in his
dishonoIing the name of Congressman on the
floor of the House. But Mr.. FarnswOrth has a
district of decent men behind him, in which
he has already reduced to little or nothing the
greatest majority in the country, and yes
terday's proceedings ought to finish it or
finish him. As to Mr. Butler, If there
is anything remaining of him after
the sang,,nary row he provoked, we may safely
leave it to be dealt with by his Yankee fellow
citizens, who will certainly object to being
represented by man who has not discretion
'enough to keep out of quarrels nor pluck
enough to carry them through.