Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-11-27
THE 5. IlM,LPfEACHMENT.

We publshed'yesterday the charges against
the President made by the majority Of the In
peachment Committee Of the House of Repre-
seDtatiYes The minority report made by Messrs
Marshall and Eldridge strongly defends the
President from abuse by his political enemies
and asserts that his only faults consist in not
holding to the political views of the party
which elected him, in suhjugating the people
Of the South, The report is extremely caustlc,
and censured harshly some of the witnesses
who testified before the committee. Baker is
strongly accused of perjury, and they conclude as
follows: '''The President will be held in res
pect by the countrymen when his calumoiators
are pilloried in the undying scorn and indlgna.
ton of the American people. The points
made in the summing up of the majority re-
port against the President are not borne out by
the testimony First, as to the President hav-
ing usurped the powers Of Congress 10 organ
ling governments in the Southern States, it
will be found in Gen. Grants testimony that
the programme which was followed ont by Mr..
johnson had been laid down by Mr.. Lincoln.
1t also appears on Gen Grants testimony that
he was present by invitation at the Cabinet
counsels at which the reorganization of the
Southern States was considered, and that while
he assented to the planfollowed by the Admin
Iistration he did not offer any suggestion OF his
own but was silent listener. The only active
part he took was in Directing to the President
order to have prominent rebels like Lee
brought to punishment As to the pardon OIL
prominent rebels, it appears that many OF the
most prominent of them were pardoned on the
recommendations Of Grant, Speed. Stanton,
&c, As to the pardonng OF some hundred OF
deserters from a Western Virginia regiment,
which the report alleges was done in order that
they might vote for a democratic member OF
Congress, it appears from the evidence that
they were only technically descrters; that they
were not pardoned till some weeks after the
election, and that the President merely en-
dorsed the application, in the usual form, re.
ferring it to the Secretary Of War, who hiu-
self granted it,
I, The committee inquired into the possession
by the President of certain Tennessee bonds,
on the supposition that his possession of them
might have some connection with his release
of the property of Southern Railroad C0mpa-
mics, but it appears that Mr.. johnson had been
possessor of these bonds Tor the last twelve
(l2) years.
In reference to the trial Of Jefferson Davis,
Attorney General SPEED and the counsel for
the government shoulder all the responsibility
Of not trying him. the avowed sense being that
Chief Justice Chase would not preside and
that Attorney General Speed would not con-
sent, under any circumstances, to have the
trial conducted before Judge Underwood.
There was an attempt on the part OF Lafayette
C. Baker to get up story about an imaginary
letter from johnson, as Military Governor of
Tennessee, to Jefferson Davis, offering to turn
over The State to him, but the committee could
have had no trouble in deciding what degree of
credit was to be given to it. The tale fell still
born There is no allegation against the Pres
ident of his having personally given grounds OF
offence Mr.. Ashley, of Ohio, who presented
the articles of imp parchment, acknowled ges that
he has produced to the committee all the valid
evidence in his possession.