The Assault on Hon. W. T. Butler.Austin, Texas, Texas State Gazette [Democratic](14 June 1856)
The most serious offence committed in
the American Senate, and one which must
be promptly rebuked, is the slanderous and
dastardly attack upon the South and one of
her proudest patriots, by Sumner, the abolitionist
leader in the Senate. The mere application
of corporal chastisement inflicted by
an individual member, is liable to too much
annoyance and inconvenience. Brooks did
his work well, but then it is wrong that the
Senate should be made the place for whole-sale
denunciations against the South for
utterance of the grossest libel and vituperative
abuse against Southern men, without
other remedy for the evil than that dictated
in the breast of each member. If this is
liberty of speech, it is that licence which
immediately precedes the eloquence of an
antagonist's blow. It is a liberty unusual
in private life -- it is an abuse which will
call forth chastisement in any respectable
circle of American society. Deliberation
among equals can no longer go on. The
sessions of the American Senate must come
to a close.
The offence of Sumner ought to be visited
with expulsion. He is not merely an enthusiast --
he is a dirty dog. Either he or the
high-minded and chivalrous Butler, is not
in his proper position. Will the U. S.
Senate longer tolerate the conduct displayed
by Mr. Sumner? The consequences are
not equivocal.
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