The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1808-01-09


ty of an individual
BY the letter OF the constitution, the power of
eSpclhng ameniber, is given to each of the two
houses ut Congress, without any limitation other
than that which requires a concurrence OF two
thirds of the votes, to give it effect.
The spirit Of the constitution is perhaps in no
respect more remarkable, than in the solicitude
winch 1t has manifested, to secure the purity of
tue legislature by that ofthe elements of its COM
| position. qualification of age, is made neces-
sary tor the members, to ensure the maturity of
Their Judgment-a qualification of long citizen
SNIP To ensure z community of interests and af-
tections between them and their country quail
| hcauon OF residence to provide sympathy be-
tween every member and the portion of the union,
| from which he is lelegated-and to guard as far
as guiation can guard against every bias of per-
| sonM interest, and every hazard of interfering
uuties, 1t has made every member of Congress
ineligible to Office which he contributed to create
| and every officer of the union incapable of hold
ing seat IN Congress. Yet in the midst of ali
tins anxious providence of Legislative virtue, ii
mas not authorised the constituent body TO recall
III any case its representative. 1t las not subject
ed hlm to removal by impeachment and when
the DARING OF the peoples choice has become their
ucadlcst foe--can it enter the imagination of a
reasonable man, that the sanctuary of their lcgis
iation must remain polluted with his presence, un.
I'll court of common law, with its pace of snail,
c:hasccltain whether his criiue was committee
C.
'her puncttlre OF difference can be found be-
| tween die words of the charge and the words of
the proof-whether the witnesses of his u,lt
should or should not be heard by his jury, and
whether he was punishable, because present a, an
overt act, or intangible to public justice because
ne only contrived and prepared it. Is it concciva
Die ulat traitor to that country which has load
ed hun with favors, guilty to the common UNDER
standing OF all mankind, should be suffered TO e.
turn unqucstioned to that post of honor and con-
hdence, where in the zenith of his good fame. he
mad been placed by the esteem of his countrymen
ana III defiance OF their wishes, III mockcrv of
Their fears, surrounded by the public Indignation
but inaccessible to itssbot pursue the purposes OF
| treason III the heart of the national councils
Must the assembled rulers OF the land listen with
callIness and Indifference, session after session,
to the voice OF notorious infanv, until the slug
gard step OF municipal Justice can overtake his
enoriniucs Must they taInely see the lives and
fortunes of millions, the safety of present and fin
tis ages depending upon iis vote recorded with
'helrs, merely because the abused bcnentv OF
general maxinis may have re United to him the for
teiture of his lie
such, IN Very supposeable cases, would be the
unavoidable consequences cf Z principle which
should offer the crutchcs of judicial tribunals, as
an apology Tor crlppiing the congressional power
OF expulsion Far different in the opinion of ysur
committee, is the spirit ofour constitution They
Delie'e that the very purpose for which this pow
or was gwen, was TO preserve the Legislature from
the first approaches of infcction-That 1t was
made discretionary because it could not exist I'M
der the Procrastination of general rules That its
process must be summary because it would be
rendered nugatory by delay.
Passing from the constitutional view of the
subject, TO that which is afforded by the authority
OF precedent, your committee find, that since the
establishment of our present national legislature,
there has been but one example of expulsion from
the Senate. In that case, the member implicated
was called upon III the first instance, TO answer
whether he was the author Of letter, the COPY of
which only was produced, and the writing of
which was the cause of his expulsion. He was
afterwards requested to declare whether he was
the author Of the letter itself, and declining in
both cases to answer, the fact of his having writ
ten it was established by Il comparison of his hand
writing, and BY the belief of persons who had seen
him write, upon inspection of the letter-In AL
these points the committee perceive the atlmissi-
on of species of evidence, which in courts of
criminal jurisdiction would be excluded, and in
the resolution OF expulsion the Senate declared
the person lnculPated guilty IF high nlisdenlea,,-
or, although no presentment indictment had
been found against him, and prosecution at
law was ever commenced upon the case.
This event occurred in July, 1877 About fit.
teen months before that time, upon application
from the Legislature of Kentucky, requesting
an investigation by the Senate, of Il charge, a.
tsainst one Of the members from that State, of
perjury, winch had been made III certain ne VS.
paper publications, but for which no prosecution
had been commenced, the Senate did adopt by
majority Of 10 votes to 8, the report of a com
mittee, purporting that the Senate had no jn-is-
dictiOn TO Try the charge, and that the memorial of
the kentucky Legislature should be dismissed
There were indeed very sufficient reasons of
different kind assigned in the same report for
not pursuing the investigation in that particular
any further, and your committee believe
that i'll the reasoning OF that report, some priaci-
pies were assumed and some differences drawn,
which were altogether unnecessary Tor the deter
mlnauon Of that case, which were adopted with
out full consideration Of ali their conseduences
and the inaccuracy OF which was clearly proved
by the departure from them Ill tie instance winch
was so soon afterwards 10 take place. Ii was the
ilrst time that a question of expulsion had ever
been agltated III Congress, since the adoption of
the constitution. And tao subject being thus en-
tIrcly new, was considered perhaps too much
with reference 10 the particular circumstances of
the moment, and not enough upon the numerous
contingencies to winch the general question IN gilt
apply. Your committee state this opinion with
some confidence, because OF the sixteen ssna.
tors, who Ill March 1896, voted for the report
Diminishing the memorial OF the Kentucky icgis-
laturc, eleven, ON the subsequent occasion in III
y, 1877, voted also for that report, which con-
cildod with resolution for the expulsion of MIR
BIOunt. The other five were no longer present
in the Senate. Yet it the principles advanced in
the FIRST report, had been assumed as the ground
pt at ne Latter Ia,