The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-01-31
IMpEACANFNy

49,. -" osh
tcp and by the kAowl lge OF faces which I
nave IN possession. BY The ID section OF he
Isl articie OF the Constitution, this House
nave " the sole power or iinpS achmcnt."
ms duty, always painful, IL must perform,
II occasion calls Tor 1t. And every member,
VINO has reason TO believe that 4 high crime
or misdemcanor has been committed, is
bound to state that opinion to the House, and
to move such an enquiry as the nature Of the
supposed offence demands.
~ all the cuties of the Executive maris-
trate Qt'tiis nat'on, that IN relation 10 the nj
Ing on important pubic Offices is the must
c'itlc2l, the most likely to be abused, and the
one winch TINS house ought most ~scrupulous-
~ TO watch. Because these appointments
are avenues of corrupt Influence. and of fall
species, perhaps, that is the most dalgerou +,
wh'c.l keeps men. thcn acting in high Official
stations, subject to such AN i~ntfacnec. b. nor
only the actual perception OF the pront OF
the places which they mold but by the assn
rance OF further lucrative advancement, in
Case OF continued fidelity 10 MIN who holds
the disiributlon of Offices. Under this as.
poet, sir, ! DO not hesitate to declare my o.
p'nlol, THAT a high misdemcanur has been
against this nation, concerning
winch it is the bounden duty OF this Rousy
to enquire, and either to remove the ground
OF Suspicion, or establish the Fact, tefore the
world. This is the charge which l eXpcct
to sabStantiatc-1Nut the codcetoryHH at
FHefo'f IF 8oSton and Charleston, brine
" HI0re Of great trust and innortance, ard
also u anEfe ohnDiument, has been noqv far
more fAah too gears, KEPT an & mianner ra-
cd"t, "1td eOer since iTi IN the condition Of
a Stnecure, la TIE lands Gfihe the7. INC uai.
6ent, after Me E~.cecutive lad fri infor-
ofthe fact, far thr hurEo$e IT keea-
the said C1!ce ia reSer0e, tor kienrv
long Il member Of tie Present
aanHnSfrd!iOn, heN and noS0 Secreturv at
Ivur.
The facts, | expect, and am prepared to
prove are
Etrst--fhat i'll November, 1906, Benia
min Lincoln, esq. collector OF that port. did
write TO the President OF the United States
ana requesting leave to resign at the end of
that year.
. Second-That he did receive an answer
fPom the PRESIDENT, i'll December following.
expressing a high sense of his revuiuti, ..ary
and requesting him to give him a
lutte longer time to look out for a suitable
c'aracter, to Nil the said Office, and limiting
The time tt the last of March then followinsr
VIZ. March, 1907" beyond WHICH he as
sured INN he should not be detained.' That
gen. Lincoln, iii reply, consented to continue
until the last of the said March.
Ihtrd-Ihat nc appointment in March
was made, and that gen. Lincoln did ON the
SUN or September. 1907, write to the Prcsi-
aept stating his inirmiteis, and total iuabil-
ity to pertoral the duties ofhis Office, and a.
gam requested to be relieved from his Office,
fartnest by the end of that year. That to
this he never received any answer
%ourTh-That he has been continued
through another ear, without any reason as
Tor such Continuance, in Il situation TO-
tally unable to perform any of his duties /; SO
much so. that he has not been in the town OF
since June last.
90 TAR the facts are to be proved, as Ihave
reason to believe, In a Court OF law. The
next tact, lhave no doubt. will be made out
perfectly to the satisfaction OF the House and
nation,
FUth-That this Office ha. been thus kent
in effect. vacant for more than for
me purpose OF gratifying d ~fayorite Of the E.X-
ic"tlvc, Henry Dearborn, Secretary at War,
by that appointment, and that, Tor him, it
laH Deen, lh this manner reserved.
L need not use any arguments to show that
-hese facts, II they be proved, constitute, to
say the least, a high misdemeanor, into which
TINS House ought to enquire, and to take
such course thcrcupon as 10 it's wisdom, shall
leem eHpedient, under the high duties i'm
posed upon it by the constitution.
am instantly impeIled to this duty, by a
paragraph In a paper, the National Intelii-
OF this day, which l now hold i'm nv
haiid In this paper major general Benja-
min Lincoln, one of the chief glorics of our
revolution Il hero, thcbaiting victim of war;
hiSbody all canned and Scared, with wounds
gotten In tie cause Of his country now on
the brink Of the grave his i4ureis never
yet furnished (; and though the aged root is
descending into the tomb, vet their leaves
Iptum to the eve a youthful green, and shcd
around a celestial fragrance. This hero,
companion, the beloved friend OF Wash
ngton, is stigHtatized as A
lvhom the JorbeG'aHce IF ad1HniStraiton has
'ong retained in cBce, IN ofhoSitiDn ~ lhe-
wishes ofa rcshccta6ie class IF khe coniau-
7fty." Il have not language 10 express my
And I'm quickencd to a duty,
| had before made some preparation
% perform. ! therefore move the following
resolutions q
ResoiUed, That Inc President of the u. s
requested 10 lay before this House, all
correspondence touching the offers oresigu.
aud the resignation of his Office, by Benia.
min Lincoln esq late collector of the ports
Boston and Charleston.
ReSOI0ed, That a committee be appointed
to CHqu.re into the causes, which prevented
acceptance OF the resignation OF Bcpia-
min Lincoln, late collector Of the port of Bcs-
-nn aud Charleston, in the yca,' 1896. and
1907, and into the reasons which have occa-
toned u ocr.rpcr,n ,r az H.. .D, Z