Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-12-05

0OtOIlOuS tTditOr, anu all WIFI the lDle0t 10
deprive the loyal people of Louisiana ol
every opportunity. TO frame State Gov
ernment, republican in form, and with the
intent further TO continue in places oftrust
and emolument persons who had engaged
in an attempt TO overthrow the Govern
ment Of the United States, expecting thus
to cOnciliate such persons to himself, and
secure their aid ir support of his aforesaid
unconstitutional designs. All of which
omissions ofduty, usurpations of power,
violations of his oath of office. Of the laws
and of the Constitution OF the United
States. by the said Andrew Johnson,
President OF the United States, have
retarded the public prosperity, les
sened the public revenues, disordered
the business and finances of the country,
encouraged insubordnation in the people
of the States lalely in rebellion, loslered
sentiments of hostility between different
classes of citizens, revived and kept alive
the spirit of the rebellion, humiliated the
nation; hishonored republican institutions,
obstructed the restoration OF said States to
the Union. and delayed and postponed the
peaceful and lraternal reorganization OF the
Government of the United States. The
Committee, therefore, report the accom-
panying resolution and recommend its pas
! sage.
| @. ;. boutwell,, WILLIAM LAWRENCE,
THOMAS WILLIAMS, JOHN c. CHuIoHILL
FRANcrs THOMAS,
RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR TIE IMPEACH-
MENT OE THE PRESIDENT.
Rcsolued, That Andrew johnson, Pres
ident of the United States, be impeachcd
Of high crimes and misdcmeanors
[
VIEWS OF MEssRs. WILSON AND wooDBRIpGE
Representatives James F. Wilson and
| Frederick f. Woodbridge handed in re-
port dissenting from the conclusions arriv-
ed at by a majority of the Committee
They say on the Cd day of June, 1861, it
was declared by a solemn vote in the Com
mittee that from the testimony then before
! them it did not appear that the President
| ofthe Upitli States was guilty of such
high crimes and misdemcanOrs as called for
an exercise of the impeaching power of this
House. The vote stood, yeas, >: nays, 4.
On the 2lst instant, this action of the Com
mittee was reversed, and vote of five to
| four declared in favor of reconsidering TO
the House an impeachment of the Presi-
dent. FOrty-eight hours have not yet
elapsed since we were informed Of the
character of the report which represents
this changed attitude of the Committee
The recentness of this event cOmpels
general treatment of some features of the
case as it is presented by the majority
which otherwise would have been treated
OF moro in detail. The report of the ma
lority resolves all presumptions against the
President, closes the door against all
doubts, afiirms facts as established by the
testimony, in support of which there is not
particle OF evidence before us which
would be received by any court in the
land. We dissent from all of this, and
from The temper and spirit of the report.
The cool and unbiased judgment of the fu-
| ture, when the excitement in the midst of
which we live shall have passed away,
will not fail to discover that the political
bitterness OF the present time has in no
considerable degree given tone to the docu-
ment which we decline 10 approve. Dis
senting as we do from the repsrt of the
Committee, both as TO the law of the case
and the conclusions drawn from the facts
developed by the testimony, due regard
for the body which imposed on us the high
and transcendently important duty invo.y.
ed IN an investigation of the charges pre-
ferred against the President, impels US TO
present at length our views of the subject
/ a
solemn vote Of the House of Representa-
tives. In approaching this duty we feel
that the spirit of the partisan should be
laid aside, and that the interests of the Re
public; as they are measured by its Consti-
tuition and laws, alone shall guide US; and
we most deeply regret that in this regard
we cannot approve the report of the ma
jority of the committee While we would
! l.,n f.h with 10
part of partisans in this grave proceeding,
we nevertheless feel panied by the tone.
temper, and spirit of their report But re-
grets will not answer the demands of the
present grave and commanding occasion.
and we therefore respond to them by pre-
senting to the House the results Of care
ful. deliberate, and as we hope, a con-
| scientious investigation of the case before
us.
Messrs. Wilson and Woodbridge then
proceed to discuss the constitutional aues-
tion with regard to impeachment. etc,
showing by reference to legal authorities
that an impeachment cannot be supported
by any act which falls short of an indicta-
ble crime or misdemeanor. English pre-
cedents are referred to al length, and copi-
Gus extracts are made from the testimony
of the Committee, in order to refute the
reasoning and conclusion of the majority
They conclude as follows: ga great deal
of the matter contained in the volume of
testimony reported 10 the House is of no
value whatever. Much of II is mere here
say, spurious Of witnesses, and no little
amount of it is utterly Irrelevant to the
case. Comparatively n small amount of it
could be used on trial of the case before
the Senate. All Of the testimony relating
to the failure TO try and admission to bail
Of Jefferson Davis, the assassination of
: President Lincoln, the diary of J. Wilkes
Booth, his place of burial, the practice of
pardon brokerage, the alleged correspon-
dence of the President with Jefferson Da-
Wis, may be interesting 20 reader. but is
not of the slightest Importance so far as a
determination of this case is concerned.
Still, much of this irrelevant matter has
been interviewer into the majority and has
served TO highten its color and to deepen
its tone. Strike out the stage effect ofthis
Irrelevant matter, and the prominence Civ
en- to the Tudors. the Stuarts and Michael
Burns, and much of the play will disap-
pear, settle down upon the real evidence
in the case, that which will establish in
view of the attending circumstances, SUBJ
stantial crime by making plain the ele-
ments which constitute it, and the case in
many respects dwarfs into political con-
test. In approaching a conclusion we do
not fail to recognize the stand points from
which this case can be reviewed, the legal
and the political. Viewing it from the
latter, the case is a success. The Presi-
dent has disappointed the hopes and ex-
pectations of those who had placed him in
power; he has betrayed their confidence
and joined hands with their enemies; he
has proved false to the express and implied
conditions which underlie his elevation to
power, and in our view Of the case de-
serves the censure and condemnation of
every well disposed citizen ofthe republic.
While we acquit him of impcachable
crimes, we pronounce him guilty of many
wrongs. His contest with Congress has de-
layed reconstruction and inflicted vast in
Al. l. g ~ O.