Page:Life and Select Literary Remains of Sam Houston of Texas (1884).djvu/241

Rh from Massachusetts. In a speech which occupied two days of the session, Mr. Sumner had delivered his carefully prepared address entitled "The Crime against Kansas." Portions of its statements were regarded as personally offensive to Senator Butler, of South Carolina. The age of the venerable Senator led his young kinsman to assume his place, and to inflict an assault with a cane upon Senator Sumner while seated in his place after the close of the morning session of May 22d; which, as the blows fell on his head, left scalp-wounds which required weeks of healing, and left also a permanent spinal affection. It was not the province of the Senate, but of the House, to take action in the premises. All calm judges, both in and out of Congress, regretted the act of Mr. Brooks as a youthful indiscretion. Houston's silence was more impressive than words could be. He saw in the heat called forth on both sides another indication that his patriotic efforts could not stay the progress which hot words were making toward deadly blows. On the 15th July discussions again calling out contrasts between the army and navy came up, and for some weeks Houston's ripe and rare experience was called out. In a speech on the Naval Retiring Board he showed that there were more naval officers than could be employed, and that the army furnished in this regard no analogy, since there were so many ways in which army officers at home could be employed, while naval officers abroad could have no corresponding employ. On the 16th August, again, when there was a proposal to increase the officers of the army, he urged their employ as engineers, in place of civilians, on surveys, and also on public works, such as custom-houses; since this employ was required both for economy and efficiency. At the same time he opposed an increase of the rank and file of the army; since, in case of war, the better reliance was on volunteers, who had homes to protect and who only needed trained officers.

To the honor of the administration of Gen. Pierce, and of his Secretaries, Marcy of the State Department, Dobbin of the Navy, is to be mentioned the effective inauguration of plans for the suppression of the slave-trade, brought about by the employ of American cruisers in American waters, while British cruisers were accomplishing little on the African coasts. Houston supported this effort.