New-York tribune., 1867-03-11

This man, q preacher who possessed NIUE Oh |
religion, virtue, learning, On good sense, was |
impeached in no on account OF Two sermons
in which he denounced tho act ,. or
liberation, and inculcated high and dry
Tory principles of passive obedience,
thus condcmning by implication the Revolution
of 1689 During the trial pubic passion pe-
came inflamed to an almost ludcr0ns extenc
the sermons were printed and sold IN lncIeul-
BILE numbers, and the pOpulace made the ac,
cused the hero of the hour He was suspended
from preaching for three years; but the mop
celebrated this mild sentence as popular VIC H,o.
tory, and received Sacheverell with oyasiOn1p .op
and bonfires On n change OF Ministry ne igod gos
rich living Lord L0vat, who was iinpc for
and beheaded in the reign OF GeOrge L Ua rUo
conspiracy TO restore the Stuarts w3el! w3u!iu n%aS
been remembered only Tor his rascas,eo, .s S,t of
not the dignity of his trial raised MN oue riu ~
| the mire in which he belonged. In ul9 ogar eaIay
wears of the reign of the House OF unV,Uo thn two
| impeachments were numerous, anu Ino :. w. %o
Houses of Parliament did not even fSe aSe;r nowcr
meath their dignity to put forth all tnelr powSh po
and magnificence for the punlshment OF SUN SUN
pettv crimes as smuggling. In seveim cases ye
the only result of the proceedings was .dlai uio m
Lords and the Commons got at eSeaned cd
| technicaI questions, and the prisoners escaped
The circumstances of the trial OF warren
I, Hastings are so well known that we need only
briefly refer to them. 1mpeached Tor !yraln;oa,
and corrupt practices during his administ[.,Un ,o
os GoyernOr-G eneral of British india, ne was
tried before one of the most distinguished as
semblages that ever gathered In Westniinsvsn nessn
IIall-Burke, Fox, and Sheridan making soino ro
of their most celebrated speeches as managers
ON behalf of the Commons. The articles OF ne Iil1
neachment were brought forward in Aprll,. IIoo.
! Two sessions were consumed IN prenliit,isaoSS tsoS
| measures The trial began In FEBRUARY, ZOO,
and lasted until April, 1875, one hundred anu
forty-eicht days having been actually consumed
| in the process. Hastings was acquitted py
| large maiorities on all the charges, ana pupilc
oninion. which was savagely hostile to him nj
| the beginning, was strongly IN his iavor peioIe
| tbe end: and in neither case was precisely just
Henry Dundas, ViscOunt Melville, the cele-
broted colleague and friend of Pitt, was i'm
peached in 1906 for misappllcation OF the puDno
money and completely with swindnng pay,
began in Westminster Hall, May 20, 1906, and
on the 18th of June he was acquitted ny ia,Ee .
| maiOrity-a result which satisfied nobody OF !Re
innocence of the accused, and tended TO 6rihg
into contempt both the House OF LORDS anu tho tii
practice of trial by impeachment; That was the
last notable trial of the kind which has taken
nlace i'm England. A Mr.. Paul made frequent
attempts in the House of Commons In 1910, 10
bring forward articles of impeachment against
Marquis Wellesley for misconduct IN the gov
ernmenf of India bat the abOrtiye proceedings
nroinst Hastings and Melville had dlsgusted
both Parliament and people with a form OF
trial which seemed to have become little better
than an expensive system or whitewasnlnS' anu
Tbere have been few cases of impeachment
in the United States Congress. William Blount
Senator from Tennessee was pssac lmpesacneNa No In
Orleans and the neighbOring districts TO Great
Britain, by means of q joint expedition OF
English and Indians. A long time was spent
sin the Hdhs hfs thS Senate haVns
passed q resolution of expulsion. The proceed
ings resulted in a great increase of Mr. Blount's
popularity, and he was Immediately aiterward
a 30 nd
President. The case of John Pickering,
Judge of the District Court of the District OF
New Hampshire, who was impeached In March,
1903, is a peculiar one, There were four
certain illegal proceedings taken in
the Judges court in reference to ship seized
! for violation of the revenue laws. The fourth
| alleged that he was man OF loose morals ana
| incorporate habits, and that on certain speci
fled occasions he had appeared on the bench in
state of total intOxication, and had been then
and there guilty of profanity and other dis
graceful misdemeanors. The trial began March
8, and closed the 12th, verdict of guilty
being rendered on all the charges, and Judge |
Pickering was removed from office. But II
was clearly shown on the trial that the accused
had been for several years totally deranged.
The impeachment of Samuel Chase, an AssO-
ciate Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, for official misconduct, was the
cause of great public excitement and party
cOmmOtiOn in 1S0a-5. Judge Chase was one of
the S1gnerS OF the DcclaratlOn OF independence,
a jealous and industrious patriot during the
Revolutionary War, and an able and upright
judge, though sometimes irascible and over
bearing. The prosecution was mstgated and
managed by John Randolph. The articles
embraced eight charges, and related chiefly to
alleged arbitrary, unjust, and tyrannlcal con- |
duct on certain political trials-those of John |
Fries for treason, and of Taylor and Calender
fitted up for the trial with appropriate elegance.
Benches covered with crimson, on each side |
and in line with the President were |
assigned to. the members of the Senate. |
On On the right land and ,d in front front Of the the
and on the left a similar box for the accused |
and his counsel. The rest of the floor was |
filled with chairs for the members of the House
listers and the civil and military officers of the
United States Spectators were admitted to |
the permanent gallery, and a second gallery |
was erected for ladies; but it was found impos- |
began February 4, 1906. Judge Chase APP
peared in person, together with his counsel, |
Messrs. Harper, Martin. and Hopkinson, and |
read long reply to the charges. The mana
Boyle, Campbell, Early, and Clark, put in q
replication. John Randolph opened the inn |
peachment in powerful speech, and the wit
nesses for the prosecution were then called |
Mr.. Harper next spoke, for the defense. After
days were occupied in arguments on both sides, |
and on the 1st of March the vote was taken on
each Of the charges separately. There was a
majority in favor of the accused on five of the |
eight charges, and a majority against him on
the Others, but not the two-thirds required by
the Constitution to convict. He was accordingly |
discharged, and retained his seat on the bench |
until his death.
James II. Peck, Judge of the United States |
District Court for the District of Missouri |
was impeaohed of high misdemeanOrs In
office in 1880: The ground of accus-
alton against him was that he had i'm
prisoned and suspended from practicing in his |
court an attorney named Lawless, for an al
legged contempt in commenting in q newsnaDer |