The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-03-07

managers by four against .hree votes. MI
Stevens article, after some objections urged
= his colleagues, and alterations being made wa
= unanimously adopted.
F When the managers cane upon the floor @
about three O'Clock, some active canvassing in
| stantly took place to defeat tle Butler article
N which is substantially what vas voted down b.
R the House Yesterday. Two o:the managers in
;. dustriously moved among th' members to urg
opposition to the articles mined. The Demo
Gratis, who had been dividd yesterday upol
the policy of voting for ButlG's article, in ordc
q as they said to load the impeachment with alb
surdit1es, and increase the complications OF tn,
prosecution, this afternoon determined to vott
: with Butler, and some of item did so, thereby
securing the adoption of the ,rticle.
y Just before the vote WIS taken the purpose
Of the Democrats became Known to portion
of the Republicans, who became alarmed lest
3 there might be some deO scheme hidder
! under the syowed purpose, and because, in the
opinion Of some, the Butler article would givs
immense latitude to discussion and necessarily
involve the examination OF agreat number oi
witnesses. Such result wolld, to some ex.
tsnt, detent The plans Of the eaders in the i'm.
parchment project, which, t, be perfected ac-
cording to the design, must 10 consummated
} and MIR. johnson must be removed during the
present month.
The adoption Of the Butler article, therefore,
has disturbed the previous hirmony and COM
pact cooperation of the Republicans in the
House upon the impeachment prosecution, and
has, for the first time since it's Inauguration,
given partial satisfaction te the opponents OF
the measure.
There appears to be no doubt now that the
articles will be presented t, the Senate to-
morrow, and o summons viii be served upon
MIR. johnson tomorrow afternoon, requiring
him TO answer at an early dc, next week.
It is given out tonight TINT two additional
articles of Impeachment WILDE adopted by the
House tomorrow.
From members OF the Senate 1t is learned
that that body has not determined to take no
further action upon nominations until after
iupeachment is disposed Of The subject has
been informally discussed by the Senate, but
! no decision has beennagreed Upon.
The President has reported, in all, about
| thirty cases Of suspension OF officers under the
| tenure OF Office law. Only two OF these cases
have been acted upon finally by the Senate
viz: The Stanton suspension and the case OF a
postmaster in Virginia.
The President to-day directed General Grant
to order General Sickles to join his own regl-
ment, the 42d Infantry, at Mackinaw, Michigan.
THE MARBLE CASE IN THE SUPREME COURT
SPEECH OF JUDGE BLACK.
In the Supreme Court of the United States
on Monday last, the McArdlc test case, involv-
ing the constitutionality Of the Reconstruction
acts, was argued on its merits. Mr.. jeremiah
S. Black commenced the argument in behalf of
the petitioner who had been charged with and
arrested for an alleged violation Of the Recon-
struction acts, thus causing q disturbance Of
The public peace, disorder and violence, and Of
being gritty of libel in the publication of GER
tain articles in the VicksburgT Times calculated
aud intended to impede the reconstruction of
the Southern States. The case came up e1
pate from The circuit courtEor the Southern
district OF Mississippi.
MIR Black said that McANlle had been de-
nounced by certain public men for language
which no admitted was coarse, but not moro
50 than public writer's were IN tue habit OF
using. The presumption was that ho was in
nocent of crime. Nevertheless, General Ord
caused him to be arrested without warrant and
imprisoned, and after having been held in Gus
tody he was sent before board OF officers,
whcro he was tried, but ii was no more q trial
than stage play. Compared with the events
l4Ecc nas ion re sIcs sad calamity
10 TO-: inc peotion1r 1ed Consisted in publishing GER
ii:s articles ID his newspaper But it was
curious to observe il how many aspects In
was libel II certainly was no iniammatory
libel against tho laws OF Mississippi, for the
military officers were not engaged in vindlcat-
ing the dignity Of that Stale. They were there
to execute the laws OF the United States. They
denied the. very existence OF State govern:
mcnt in Mississippi, and the validity OF all
State laws. ~
Il was alleged that the petitioner, by his
publications. committeda breach of the peace.
There was certainly nobody, excepting those
Who had been trained IN tho bureau OF military
Justice, who would say that he was guilty OF
breach of the peace. Such proceedings might
sometimes tend to provoke Il breach or tho
peace, and they did so on this OCCASION Gen.
Ord committed q lawleSs act when he broke
into the petitioners house and dlrecteu thaVne
be carried to prison..
Tho publications, it is said wore intended to
intimldnlc voters. The State election was
going on. which was supcrintended entlrely by
The army, which, by means OF bayonets, drove
one set of voters to the polls and another away
from them. The whole thing was accomplish
ed by naked terrorism, and when an ullarmed
and pcacoa5le man expressed MS opposition 10
such proceedings through his own newspaper,
Lo was fold he should not do so, and was order
cd into custody. Which Of the two parties was
euiltv of iutimidation--tho accused or the ac-
cusers2
II wns said that McArdle hindered reconstruc-
ton. Conorcss desired that certain consul
ttlti1n or form of government should DO adopt-
cd and submitted to tho people for their DC
cision and il was submitted to portion only
of tho peopc OF Mississippi. Tho act OF Coil-
gress made show for the expression Q: ap-
probation or disapprobation. Mr. Mcardie
was not among those who were III iavor VI lasI
Constitution aud this was said to be hlndcrinE
reconstruction, tho commission OF CRIME
which thorc WAS right TO punish. - ~.
lhanGI
No indge who bsd O coIprencnsion: ,:lel, y. n,S %
duty would ask man to Pieaa 70 IisSue a. u
ui,,;,rilitins like that. Yet if the trial OF Nc
Ip@, IrdIa lad onnc ON before military board he
m',Eid "nI Invo had tho slightest chance OF
sscann Int wtnIld have been convicted. Mill
fnrv cnmn,;ssiops never disappoint The expec,
tnt;ons nj those who order them Ii he had
been convicted nobody could anucipate or COZ
;"ni,,,o ,rI,ot m,nisbment would have been in
}lictcd If thoy could convict HIM withous
nrGof they could punish him without measure.
iriey hid lust as good right 10 sentence MN
to tile eallows as to fine HIM.
If General Ord had desired the pioou Oh tlls
man and TO take his life to settle tho question
hetNeen them. he had several means III his
mower TO accomplish such purpose. ne could
have gone TO his cell and slranSleu MN Win
his own hands or sent half dozen mon to
shoot him. or procured The sentence OF MIL
itary commission 10 hang, MN. All these
things would unquestionably be consistent.
Daniel Webster said, years ago, tnag n'llla-
nv commissions were always or6aniZeu " Gull
vict. ,,,, o,,4;t,oa %
McArdle claimed that he was onutied 70
trial by jury The military culuinlSSlon @ ,,i; ila
given no reason for refusing II. ino ''pp,i-
cation had been treated with contempt. He
S.s.ion ii"I n,Icd 49, IN the court il a III