The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-10-13
The Impenchment--Gen Butler
md Steetllnam on tho Subject.

An Item III the Phoni.r, of yester
day, announced that Butler, at Gin
cinnati, had read regularly drawn
up form of impeachment Of Presi-
dent Johnson. In q report of his
remarks on the occasion referred to,
we find no regularly drawn up
form" but the subjoined is the pro-
gr0'nnae for such proceeding which
he furnished for the enlightenment of
his hearers. The following is re1-
6atim report of what he said:
eve have been asked the question,
how can the President be impeached?
He is Commander-in-Chief of the
army and navy, and the Constitution
of the United States says nothing
whatever about who shall hold the
Office while he is being impeached.
Therefore, if you begin the impeach-
ment, he will order the army and
navy to disperse Congress, and he
will seize the reins of Government.
Where is the remedy? Here it is:
he House of Representatives. under
the Constitution, is the grand inquest
Of the nation-perhaps 1 might say,
for illustration, the grand jury of the
nation. 1t prepares the bill of i'm
parchment against the President if it
sees cause, and it presents the bill of
impeachment to the Senate of the
United States, which then becomes a
high court of impeachment, and the
| Chief Justice of the United States
sits III that court as its presiding
officer. 1t is thus no longer, for that
purpose, the Senate Of the United
States, but it is the court of impeach-
ment of the United States. What
shall they do? When the impeach-
ment is ready, the Senate sends out
its messenger or sergeant-at-arms to
bring in the criminal, be he high or
low. Applause. They set him at
the bar and read the bill to him. If
he plead guilty, they then proceed to
sentence him, which sentence is q
deposition and deprivation Of otfice
| When he is brought before the bar,
the Senate of the United States may
order him to be imprisoned, or to
find bail, or any other proper order
that court might adopt in crimi-
nal case; and when the Constitution
provided this mode of trial, did it's
| trainers mean that man who is be-
fore the court of impeachment as q
criminal shall be at the same time
chief executive officer of the Govern
ment? By no means. From that
moment, he ceases to be able to eXer-
else the duties of that office until he
| is acquitted. And then comes the
case OF the inability OF the President
of the United States to exercise the
Office of President, SO the Vice-Presi-
dent must take the office, and there
being no Vice-President, it must de-
for the time being"
From this point b. L. proceeded
to utter terrible threats against Pre-
sident Johnson, should he not recog-
nize the authority of such an i'm
peachment. He said that, if the
President called on the army and
navy to sustain him, it would only be
the regular forces that would answer,
and that, if this small body of men
should respond, they would be swept
from the earth as cobweb Is swept
away by the rising SUP. Mighty and
eloquent Butler
And now for General Steedman, on
the same topic. This officer, said to
be brave and gallant soldier, made
speech at Toledo, Ohio, on Monday
night, Of last week. After showing
that the President was carrying out
the policy of true restoration and
peace, he proceeded:
For doing that, they propose to
impeach Andrew Johnson and re-
move him from Office, and put one
oFtheir own men in his place. Well,
now, [ don't want to fight with any
body. 1 have had fighting enough
myself, and suppose you have. Still
1 have no objection to q little fight
ing, if the men who did not fight in
the last war choose to have a little
shindy among themselves. We will
hold their hats; but, If they suppose
that the American people will quietly
look on, while faction deposes the
President Of the United Safes and
takes possession of the Government
with an armed mob, [ say them,
here, that they are mistaken. APP
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