The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-04-17
THE TlIPEACHMENT TRI4L.
JUDGE CURTIS ARGUMENT f!
General Thomas Testimony


opened at noon on Thursday. Some
further testimony was introduced 10y
the managers on the part of the House
including the letter Of General Thomas
accepting the office of Secretary of Wal
al interim after which Judge Curt.
rose to argue in behalf of the President
After a few Introductory sentences, he
entered into g long and exhaustive argu-
ment upon the meaning and intent oil
the Tenure-Of- Office act, to show that
the case Of Secretary Stanton did not
come under It's provisions. He denied
the position which had been assumed
By the Managers, that Secretary Stan
ton is serving out Mr.. LincOln's term OF
Office. He then went Oh to show the
relations which should exist between
the President and the members of his
! Cabinet, who are his Constitutional adj
visers, his personal staff etc. They had
never been regarded, he said, as incum-
! bents Of Federal offices in the same sense
a. other persons. He gave q history Of
! the passage of the Tcnure-of-O Office law
/ through the two Houses Of Congress,
4 and quoted from the debates to show
1 that it, leading advocates disavowcd
any intention to make ii applicable to
+ Secretary StantOn's case. He added
/ that Senator sherman, i'm a speech IA
voring the bill, said that the Senate
would not sustain any Cabinet officer in
retaining his place after the simplest in
timation from the President that his
resignation was desired. But even if
the act were applicable to Secretary
Stanton's case, he held that the mere
act of removal did not constitute high
crime or misdemeanor, unless il could
ne shown that it was willfully and ma
liciously done. The accusation was that
the President knew Secretary stanton :
case TO come within The scope of The
law, but there was no proof of IT, On
the contrary the proof was AN the 9TH
or way
After rece of ten minutes. at 30
o clock Judge Curtis resumed his argu-
ment, and continued ituntil $3.50, when,
at ms request, the Court adjourned
ON Friday Judge Curtis resumed his
Arguments. He went into the question
Of what are Impeachment officers He
would not VeX the ear Of the Senate
with presidents from the middle ages.
but would refer 20 the provisions Of HE
Constitution Of the nited States. whose
Trainers knew quite as much as the men
who lived in the days of the Plantaoe-
nents, and had made the subject SO clear
rs TO require no research beyond them.
The language Of the Constitution was
TO allow impeachment for treason bri-
berry, and other high crimes and misde-
meanOrs, which other high crimes
and misdemeanors must be equally
grave offences against the United States.
for the President is elsewhere cmpoR-
cred TO pardon all offences against the
United States, except in eases OF inn
parchment.
He recited various provisions relating
10 the trial of Impeachment. and claimed
that il was fully shown that this trihu-
nal was constituted for such purposes.
court bound 10y law, and was not a law
unto itself II il were not so. there
would be no provision forbiddiue the
passage of bills of attainder, nor would
Senators, before assuming the character
of Judges, be required To take an oath to
obey the Constitution and laws The
complaint made ia the tenth article is,
that the President spoke di-respectfully
of Congress. 1t should have been said
of the.dominant majority, butthc charge .
i brought fOrWa q in an extraordinary
way, for the grand jury is one body of +
Congress the triers constitute the oth- .
er.
The spectacle Is, however. tina, OF
Congress resolving itself intoa school Of
Mr. Curtis then combatted the view
put forward by Mr.. Butter that it was
whether or not alleged indie
cOrOu- expression were true, quoting
from English statutes the sedilion law
passed during Mr.. Adams administra-
ton, and the writings or Madison. pas
sagcs in support of his position hat tell
ing the truth is not an offence against
the law Mr. Curtis then asked who
were TO be the judges of proprieties OF
speech Ii was an assumption of this
very authority which had caused thous-
inds of heads to fail in England under
he Iudor- and nearer our own time in
France. Freedom Of speech was or
iained by our Constitution and il made
Is peaceful and happy nation
He passed very briefly over the llth
lrtIcle, chaacterizing il as compound
# the ten preceding articles, and closed
With a reference 20 the unprecedented
magnitude and importance Of the case,
aging that there has not been and there
leyer could be- another occasion like
his IN the proceedings of this Govern
nent 10 prove the greatness of Ameri-
an justice or injustice; that justice
which Burk says is the crowning glory
f all civilization, orthat injustice which
S sure TO return TO its authors.
At the conclusion Of Judge Curtis ar
ument, Gen. Lorenzo Thomas was
allied. Wh0Wenl on to tell what passed !
etween him ana the President ON the
lst and 22d how the President told
i'm to sustain the Constitution and
he laws, and how he replied that he !
hOuld DO that very thing. +
On the examination Gen But q
r WAS very searching and exact, and :
he old Acknowledgement contradicted 4
imself ON several occasions He was .
sked whether he did not say to two /
ersons that he intended 10 use force to +
ct possession Of the War Office. He u
piled that he did, bat that he spoke in
st to one person, but that he quickly i
'pented of what he said to the other !
lie had abandoned all thought of coer- Ii
on before the morning of the 22d of r.
ebruaTy. He described his visit to the \
resident on the morning of his arrest,
I'D said that the President told him in n
he presence of the Marshal in whose n
lstody he was, that the arrest was n
BOD thing. as it would take the dispute h
the Courts, which was precisely what Il
2 wanted. Many of the questions ST
lat were put to General Thomas by
eneral Butler were suggested by other Ir
anagers. They were all busily at II
ork suggesting points and interrogato- h
es, while Butler was prosecuting them,
ld doing all that a very astute lawyer s
uld do to get important admissions tc
ON such an unimportant witness &C
is testimony was listened TO attentive O
and was made especially interesting re
: the manner in which General But
+ put the questions. W
The following is verbatim report of
eneral Thomas testimony in regard
his former interview with Secretary 10
anton at the War Department: gi
Gen. Thomas.-Mr. Stanton turned to d
e and got talking in familiar man. err
r. | said: The next time you have az
e arrested please do not do it before I w
t something to eat" said had had ia
thing to eat or drink that day. He
t his hand around my neck, as he th
metimes does, and ran his hand at
rough my hair, and turned around to
n. Schriver, and said: Schriver FL
u have got bottle here, bring TOUT
aughter.) Schriver unlocked his case kr
d brought it out, small vial contain ha
:, suppose, about spoonful ofwhis- tic
V, and stated at the same time that he
took a little for dyspepsia. wi
aughter.) tb,
Mr.. Stanton took that and poured it
q "A tuInhIor and III divided apnolIxr