The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-04-18

| III KINDS, ana the act 81 + 3D. ~. ioO~ appNeu 10
vacancies arising from sickness and temporary
inability, and only to that extent was repealed
| by the former, under which the president HAD
| full authority for The act referred TO. III
In reply to the charge made in the Sd article,
| that the resignation Of Gen. Thomas as secretary
! od interim was in Violation of the constitution,
Mr.. Curtis cited the act of 1899, and others,
which authorized the temporary filling of vacan-
cies during recess when the senate is in session.
and said the practice of tho government had
been uniform in filling vacancies as soon us
| they occurred. He alluded to the FREQ uent
| necessity of immediate action in such cases. by
| another reference TO the appointment by Buchan-
an of Holt in place Of Floyd.
The Sth article, Mr.. Curtis claimed, was met
by mis- answer to the Sd, and he proceeded to
consider the 4th. The charge made of appoint
ing Gen. Thomas without the advice and consent
OF the senate could not be sustained because no
appointment was mads. A simple commission
to act was not an appointment, aud could not, of
couse, be submitted to the senate. The allega-
ton that no vacancy then existed is begging of
the question. The vacancy was created as soon
Air. Stanton received the order removing him,
and the vacancy could properly be contemplated
by the president at the time of his writing Gen.
Thomas letter of authority:
Recapitulating his argument, Mr.. Curtis then
claimed he had shown that the managers could
-
and proceeded to consider the various charges of
conspiracy For this purpose, he said, he would
take up the fourth, sixth, fifth, and seventh
articles together. The fourth and sixth which
charged conspiracy Between the president and
Gen. Thomas, to obtain, by force and ntimida-
ton, possession of the war-ofiice and government
property, are based on the conspiracy act, which,
by its terms has no application to any person in
the District of Columbia, for it speaks only of
ctafac IS fl,a fT,,tt al
But it was not necessary to rest the answer upon
this technical ground in case of private right
nor would he deem the issue of authority to as
sert it sufficient basis for charge OF conspiracy,
still less coald it be alledged of public right.
The order was based cd the assumption of mill
tary subordination, and to charge the superior
and inferior officers with conspiracy, because the
latter obeyed the order directed to him by the
former, was foolish. 1t was also impossible to
show that the president ever did, directly or by
implication, give Gen. Thomas authority TO use
force or intimidation. The 9th and 7th articles
would be answered by his arguments against
the tenth. sfr -s
Mr.. Curtis then claimed that the charge made
in the 9th article not only failed of proof but
was absolutely disproved by the testimony of
Gen. Emery, who swore to having introduced the
subject to draw out the president. 1t would APP
pear in proof that the president sent for him for
entirely different purpose from that alleged in
the article referred to.
Advancing 10 the 10th article, Mr. Curtis went
into the question of what are impeschable Of
fences. He would not,vex the ear of the senate
with presidents from the middle ages, but would
refer to the provisions OF the constitution of the
United States, whose trainers knew quite as much
as men who lived in the time of Plantaganets and
had made the subject clear as to require no re-
search beyond them. The language of the con-
sttution was to allow impeachment for treason,
bribery, and other high crimes and misdem can
ors must be equally grave Offences and be often.
ces against the United States, for the president
is elsewhere empowered to pardon all offenders
against the United States except in case Of i'm
parchment. He recited various provisions
relating to the trial ofimpeachment, and claimed
it was fully shown that this tribunal was con-
stituted for such purposes, and as a court was
bound by law, and was not law unto itself. II
it.were not so, there would be no provision for
4 bidding the passage Of bills of attainder, nor
would the senators before assumingthe character
of judges be required to take cath to obey the
constitution and the laws The complaint made
in the tenth article is, that the president spoke
disrespectfully of congress, 1t should have been
said OF the dominant maiorityl But the
charge ~ brought forward in an extraordinary
way, for the grand jury is ono body of congress-
and the ltriers constitute the other The specta-
Gle Is however that OF congress resolving itself
into school of manners. 'ts gff
/, Mr.. Curtis combated the view put forward Nv
Butler, that it was immateria1 whether or not
The alleged INDIGENOUS expressions were true, by
quoting, from the English statutes the sedition
law passed during Adams administration and
the writings of Madison, passages in support of
the position that telling the truth about officers
OF the government is not an offence against the
law. Mr.. Curtis then, asked who were to be the
judges Of the propriety Of the speech? 1t was the
assumption Of this very authority which caused
thousands of heads to fall in England under the
Tudors, and nearer our own time in France 1t
was the freedom of speech, ordained by our con.
stitution, and it made as peaceful and happy
| nation. ~ '.'N 'a''d9f -'H ','h
He passed very briefly over the nth article,
| characterizing it as compound of the ten pre-
ceeding articles, and closed with reference to
the unprecedented magnitude and Importance Of
the case saying that there had not been and never
| could be another occasion like this in the pro-
ceedings of this government to prove the great
ness Of American justice rinjustlce-thatj justice
| which Burke says is the browning glory Of all
civilization, or that injustice which is sure to
| return to its authors
~ HcrOism. at,s.
:, An instance OF great heroism on the part Of
young man, Captain William ackman, is related