Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-08-03
THE IMPEACHMENT QUESTION.
Inside view of ahe Radical Camp.


! Special Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribune.
1 lRadeal)
WAsH1xGToY, d. c., July %, 1867
! The debate on Friday, close upon the
j reading of the message, was, on the whole,
not a success, so far as the impeachers in
! the House were concerned Governor
/ Boutwell, is man Of most intense conYie
tons, and a very Puritan of the Puritans in.
his devotion thereto. Other men are for
| Impeachment on party grounds, orto serve
| personal ends or TO close the great hight
! between the President and Congress by his
complete overthrow; but he, solely, be-
cause he believes the man to be corrupt,
because the cause Of liberty will be adj
vanced. The impeachers couldn't be con-
tent More of them wanted to speak, and
so the door Of debate was opened and ey-
cry moment Of the long hour that the gal
leries waited weakened the fever Of feeling
against the President. Gen. Schenck was
earnest enough, but he is dogmstie and
vindictive, and of angry blood. General
Butler was resoiute enough, but he can't
win the confidence of either floor or gal
leries Judge Williams was strong enough,
but he is fierce and extTavagant. They all
meant to tan the fame that Brownlow had
cold water upon il. Moreover, they gave
Judge Wilson right to demand hearing
the majority insisted that he should
have that right Standing as he did, out
ragged in his conscience as a jurist, outraged
in his personality az a man, there was a
| force not easily pictured in the strong and
impressive words with which be reminded
the House that this question Of impeach-
ment was one of law, and not of feeling,
and declared for the right of private iudg-
ment as against partisan dictation. The
reminder and the declaration were much
needed Just then. They turned the tide
and brought vacillating members back to
the reasonable view of the case.
Still, l am quite sure the impeachment
! party WAS stronger in power and numbers
on Saturday than on Thursday The
language Of the President will not, in my
! Judgment, bear the construction put upon
! il by Governor Boutwell, but it is unques-
! tionably ugly, and very much out Of place.
He does not 80 much threaten to obstruct
| the new law as suggest in a menacing
manner what he might do His private
| talk during the week was even more sug-
gestive than his public declarations, and
this unquesiionably has something to do
with the increased strength of the i'm
peachers.
The rally on Saturday was both a sue.
cess and a failure The anti-impeachment
men supposed the question Of printing the
| evidence to be settled By the action of a
week previous, ordering that il should be
| submitted in print on the first day of next
session and, therefore, when the veto was
( set aside on Friday, many of them at once
| left for their respective homes. A resolu-
| ton directing its immediate submission
could not, however, have been got before
the House as an independent proposition,
for the other side was strong enough to
| prevent two-thirds vote. 1t was, there
fore, rather an adroit piece Of strategy TO
| bring il in as a substitute for something
already before the House. Schenck and
Logan managed the thing very cleverly.
Getting the evidencesout, though, was but
half what the impeachers wanted to do
| the minority reports were what they were
after Indeed, believe they would have
! willingly allowed the evidence to lie in
committee if the report of Williams had
| accidentally found its way before the pub
lie a week ago. They were so nervous, in
! view of the entirely parliamentary, but
I
/ by which they meant 10 get the evidence
out, that none of them thought far enough
! to include reports and testimony both in
the language of the Schenck resolutions.
That went through 10y fourteen majority,
and then 1t became necessary to get in an
other resolution for the reports. Covode
undertook to manage this. The men who
didn't want their evidence printed saw their
chance, and at once set up game
Of good-natured flibustering, that not
only prevented the passage of Coyode's
resolution, but also prevented Wilson from
getting the floor TO present the evidence.
The Logan-Schenck attack was badly
planned; they achieved temporary success,
which was but half they really wanted, and
then, while plundering the camp they had
seized, left themselves so exposed, that the
enemy easily turned both hanks and com
pletely routed them from the field.
Ii will be a mistake, however to suppose
that the impeachment contest is at an end.
The great question will not go down at any
mans bidding. Tie matter will be dis
cussed at length next winter, aud the i'm
peachers are determined to have a square
vote whether articles shall or shall not be
presented. They profess great confidence
in the final issue | think il well-founded.
They claim that majority of those who
answered to their names at roll-call on the
first day Of this recent session would have
voted articles now. / think they are wild
in this calculation. There are now one
hundred and seyenty-One members. | don't
believe over sixty would so vote, and |
doubt if impeachment would carry even
that number in a full House. If the Pre-
sident obstructs the reconstruction law dur
ing the summer and fall, the case may pos
sibly 60 against him in the House next
winter but as | said before, it will be a
mistake to suppose that the contest of Sat
arday was the dying struggle of the i'm
/ peaChers. Whatever their numbers. they
are strong In purpose. Alr. Stevens, to be
sure. tells them that they fight in vain, and
they are turning great and grave matter
into a farce; but they are not yet ready TO
give up and own themselves beaten. Their
course seems to me extremely ill-adyised F;
but / can see well enough, that SO far as
the House is concerned the contest is only
Just begun.
They assume 10 speak the views of the
Republican party. Mr.. Stevens says that
ninety-nine ont OF every one hundred gen.
uine Republicans favor impeachment. /
should deem the man crazy If l supposed
he believed this assertion--unless, indeed
he should shelter himself behind that word
" genuine and denies that you and |
belong 10 the party. Yet the impeach.
ment men mean 10 make the declaration
good if they can. They mean, in so far as
with them lies, TO commit the party tc
this issue. They are bounding dOwn
prominent Republicans who stand in thti'
way. This is the secret Of MIR. Chandler
coarse aud malignant attack on Mr.. Fes
sender last Saturday. That is the secret
Of the sneers, every time the Impeachment
question comes up, against Messrs. Wilson,
Woodbridge and Churchill, OF the com
miltee their influence and standing are
to be broken down here and at home, il
possible. Such men as Gov. Boutwell, and
MIR Judd, strong as they are for impeacL'
| ment are abnve this Kind of work hul