Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-04-09

Franklin and Madison, in a con
venGon with others Of like talents
would be so explicit in regard x
impeachment, if it was impossible
for impeachment to become neces
sary? Any one who has studieC
the debates of these great men who
framed the Constitution will agreC
with me, when l say that one great
object they had in view was the ac
countability CT the officers to the
people under that Constitution
The length of time of holding of
flee was made such as to give sta
bility to the officer, and vet such as
would hold them accountable fol
their actions. If this great princi.
pie had not been engrafted into the
Constitution, therewould have been
no lmpeachments; neither would
we have a republican form of gov
ernment. These two things are in
separable: namely, accountability
of officers, and a republic. If these
two things are inseparable, how
can the impeachment of Andrew
johnson affect the stability Of our
nationp
In common law the statute only
decides special cases, and all litiga-
tions of a general character are de-
cided, or the decision is influenced
at least by precedents; but in our
national laws we have no such de-
cisions to refer to-. This is the rea-
son why the impeachment of a Pres
ident has been considered such a
dangerous proceeding-beeaus it
is the first case of the kind on our
record. This is another good rea-
son why the impeachment should
be carried through, in order that
our future Presidents may have the
decision of the highest court in our
nation on the lawfulness or unlaw-
fulness of the course of a former
President. Can any one doubt that
the impeachmentw will be a fair trial
If they do, they doubt the integrity
of our United States Senators, who
should be men of talent and judg-
ment, and who should be above
party and political issues in this
great trial.
The organization Of the Senate
is in many respects peculiar, but it
is in consequence of these pecu-
liarities that it has been wisely de-
nominated the "sheet anchor" Of
the Constitution. 1t was intended
by its originators that the Senate
should be the balance of the fed
eral system, and it is filling that
station now, in the trial
of our Chief Executive, Andy
Johnson. n H"
Mr. Walker, in his treatise on
American law, puts the subject in
this wise; "The House of Repre-
sentatives, being constructed to
represent more directly the present
feelings Of the people, must neces-
sarily represent their changing pas
sions also. The President, whose
very unity gives him strength, and
who is intrusted with such vast au-
and power, without some
very efficient check would be more
than a match for the other depart
nents. But the Senate, by a term
Of service three times as long as
that of the Representatives, and
half as long again as that Of the
President, by the necessity Of their
concurrence in the acts of the one,
and by the supervision they exer-
else over the most important acts
Of the other, are thereby enabled
to constitute precisely the check
which both require" And it is
this balance Of power, or check,
which the Senate of the United
States is now exercising, which we
call impeachment. A, G.
JEFFERsoNyIILE, o., April 2.