The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-12-07

gentleman from Ma~saehuse l. aad made
ou5 much ietter ctSe than the record
him to conclude that the judgment
OF the house would be passed on
the record, and that was all he
des red. The enfIeman had consumed his
time in a persis ent attack on the feature OF
the minority report, which so far as pro-
ceeding concerned might be stricken from
hereford without affecting the case in the
remOtest degree. No member of the mi
sllty of the Com nittee regarded the doc
tTIae that only CT. me. and misdemeanOrs
are IndIctabIe under the statute of the
United States, would justify impeaching
a ot the sllghtesl importance. SO far as
q correct deTed TnluatiOu OF the nation was
concerned, the minority affirmed the doc
trine was cOrrPcf. although II intro
daced inIo the report rather as a suggestion
than a declaration Of law. 1t was imma-
teriai what Opt Mons members might have
on IL, he would let il rest on the argument
Tor some person 10 ans We il when q case
should arse IN which II might be impOr-
Kant. Nevertheless, ne challenges the
gentleman from AaSsaGl 5isettS 10 give 10
the House single case wherein the Eng
llsh House OF Lords mad crossed the path
of the report Of minority. In this case 1he
position which the minority occupied was
that no civil officer OF tn United states
could be lawfully Impeached except for
law, and he would give the Gentleman
from Massachusetts the privilege of bring
ing in tie common law, tle statute law
and the parliamentary law.
Wilson said he reminded the gentleman
from Massachusetts that he lBOutwelD
had signed the report OF the RecOns rue
tion Committee, asserting that, in some
matter on which he now claimed the inn
peachment of the Pres dent, he mad not
been aetuated by wrong. motives. He
(WilSonl was not here to defend the Presi-
dent. He must be q bold man no would
DO that. AS for himself, he had not suffi-
clent bOIdneSs. he had the inclination,
but he was not prepared to say a commit
tee so able, so pertinacious as the Commit
tee on Reconstruction, was wrong,
when if declared that the President had
been actuated by no improper motives in
the very acts for which the House was
now asked to impeaeh him. As to the
surrender of property to southern Rail-
road Com panies, he (WilsOn) would dis
pose of all argument on that point, by
showing that it was not done by the Presi-
dent, but by Secretary Stanton, and from
motives OF great public poiicy. and to open
channels of trade and commerce, referring
to the intimation of Boutwell,, that the
soldiers would be used to prevent the
blacks from voting in the South.
Wilson remarked that the House was
asked to impeach the p esident of high
crimes and misdemeanors, because it was
feared he might do something wrong; he
thought, however, that the House would
determine whether the President had al
ready committed hIgn crimes and Inisde-
meanors, not whether he might do so at
some time in the future; that the case
should be tried on the records, and that he
was willing to take the vote of the
House on the question. In conclusion,
he said: believe the country desires to
nave the case disposed of now. They de-
sire to have it out of the way, either by
sending articles of Impeachment to the
Senate at once, or laying the whole sub
ject on the table. l believe the people of
the country desire that we shall have
done with this subject, in order that
we may give our undivided attention
to other matters; and therefore haKing
thus gone hastily, briefly, and imperfeetly
over the long argument of the gentleman
from MASSACHUSETTS,, and depending on the
strength of the case as preSente in the mi
norlty report. or rather depending on the
G.4l- ne IT "a a "A i'm FsGp
ords, move the subject be laid on the
table.