Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1808-01-12
[Four DoAars Per 4nnum-Paid in Adyancc.l

reason, the letter and spirit of the consti
! tuition, or presidents, domestic or foreign
and your committee heive that the resul
will be the same-rhat the power of ex
polling member must in its nature be dis
Icretionary, and in its exercise always NOR,
summary than the tardy process of judici
al tribunals. la, =,
The power of expelling a member fo
misconduct results on the principles o
common sense, from the interest of the ma
ton, that the high trust oflegislation shoult
be invested in pure hands. Where the
trust is elective it is not to be presumed
that the constituent body will Commit the
deposit TO the keeping Of worthless char.
acters. But when a man, whom his fellow
citizens have honored with their confidence
on the pledge Of spetless reputation, has
degraded himseifby the commission Of in
famous crimes, which Become suddenly and
unexpectedly revealed to the world, de-
fective indeed would be that institution
which should be impotent to discard from
its bosom the contagion of such member
which should have no remedy of alnputa-
ton to apply until the poison had reached
the heart
The question upon the trial of crim;-
nal cause, before the courts ofcommon law,
is not between guilt and innocence, but be-
tween guilt and the possibility Of innocence.
IL doubt can possibly be raised either by
the ingenuity of the party or Of his coansei
or by the operation of general rules in their
unforeseen application TO particular cases,
that doubt must be decisive for acuuittai,
and the verdict of not guilty, perhaps in
nine cases out often, means no more ihan
that the gnilt of The party has not been de-
monstrated in the precise specific and mar
row forms prescribed by law. The humane
spirit Of the laws multiplies the barriers
tor the protection of innocence, and freely
admits that these barriers may be abused
for the shelter of guilt 1t avows strong
partially favorable TO the person upon tri-
al, and acknowledges the preference that
ten guilty should escape rather than that
one innocent should suffer. The interest
of .he publicthat a particular crime should
be punished Is hnt as one 90 ten compared
with the interest of the party that inno-
cence should be spared. Acquittal only
restores The party to the common right.
oi every other citi7en--is restores him to
no Pnbic trust--it invests him with no pub
liz conference.-the substitutcs the sentence
~ ofercg FOR the doom of iuStiee. End tothe
eyes ofimpa,tial reason, in the greet r,'Iis-
rity o. cases, mist be considered rather as
a pardon thana Justification
Bur when a member of a Legislative bo-
dy lies under the imputation Of aggrava-
ted ofIencss, and the determination upoa
his cause can ooerate only 70 remove him
from a station of extensive powers, and i'm =
portant trust, ehis disproportiop, beteeen
the interest Of the public AMI the ints rest
of the individual, disappears If any dis
proportion exists it is of ar opposite Kind
II is nor better that zen traitors shoullbe
members of this Senate. than tnat one in
nocent man should suffer expulsion III
either case, 10 doubt, The evil would ne
great. But in the former it would strike
al rive Vilals Of the uation---in the latter Z,
might. though deeply to he ianented, only
be INC calamity ofan Individual.
By the letter Of tho constitution, tte
power Of eypeling member is eiven tc
"ach IF he two Hruscs Of CONGRESS. with
oil; any limitation other than that which
requires concurrence Of two thirds q
the votes to give 1t effect The spirit o
! the constitution is perhaps in no respeci
more remarkable, than in The solicitude
which il has manifested, 10 secure the pu
rity Of the legislature, by that Of the Gle
'nenis Of It's composition. A qualification
vi arc is made necessary for the member
10 cusure the maturity 90 heir Judgment
y qualification ne long citizcnship II en-
| sure community Of interests and affecti
( ois between them sind their country 4
| qualification Of residence to provide a SYM
lpathy between every member and shc por
ION Of The union from which hc Is delreat
led And 60 guard, as { r. as regulation cal
guard agaipst every bias Of personal inter
est. and every hazard ofinterferingdu.ies
! u has made every member of CONGRESS
ineligible to Office which re contributed L
/ create, and every officer Of the union irca
lpable Of holding seat in Compress. Ye
in The midst Of all this anxious prnvidenc
lof legislative virtue, II has rot authorisc,
the constituent body 10 recall IN anv cas-
ITS representative. II has rot subjected
him 10 removal BY impeachment--an,
when the darling Of The peoples choio
has become their deadlcst foe, can It en-
tier the imagination of a reasonable man
that the sanctuary of their legislation mus
ircmaiu polluted with his presence, until
court ofcommon Law, with its pace ofsnai
c>n ascertain, whether his crime was con-
United on the right or on nc left bank r
a river-whcther a punoture oe differenc
can be found between the words Of th
charge md the words of Tic rroof-whe
,hcr the Witnesses of his guilt should 0
should not be heard by his nry--and whc
lther he was punishable, because present 4
Ian overt act, or intangible to public jus
Itcc, because he only contrived and pre-
pared it. Is II conceivable, that traitr