The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-03-16
Airhn,und Dispatth.
MONDAY. .................MAhCh 40
Wade's Impartiality-H His Eng sa New

A Washington correspondent %
York Herald details the following b. ~o
WIN .o"s himself and Ben WADE:
'".,o ~, Amt intend to resign, Sena-
"Tnen you r reports to the contrary
no. o.. ns no,rse I don't You might as well
sh ifthe State Of Ohio is going to resign.
Thot state sent me to the United States
Senate. and in the interest of that State
7 intend to cast my vote on impeach-
ment." -,
CHOW long will the trial last, Senator r
"Well, if these fellows in the House
confined themselves to the first articles
they preferred, I suppose the whole thing
would be over in less than four weeks;
but this spreading out of the net may be
the means of prolonging the case"
alt will all be over in five weeks sup
pose, Senator ?"
Yes; don't think it can take much
more than five weeks"
"And then you take possession OF the
White House Z" ;.
Here Mr.. Wade was overcome by ms
natural modesty, and half smiling ana
blushing, and apparently evolving in MS
own mind the prospect Of presiding at the
White House, answered:
"Well, suppose so, if the Senate oe-
eide against Andrew johnson. oon
want the position, but if become enti1ieu
to it, have no objection"
1t would be impossible to believe tha'
such q conversation ever took place II
WADE were not Radical. This CONVEX
sation clearly proves him to have been
guilty of perjury already; for although NE
does not say that he intends to vote for
conviction, but merely that he will vote
son impeachment" yet he Immediately
afterwards forgets his cautiousness, and
expresses the opinion that lit will all be
over" in FIVE weeks, and that he "sup
poses" he will take possession Of the
White House. To comment upon such
shamelessness would be to weaken the
force of the mere statement of the facts
We leave this point, therefore, and 60 on
to another. ...'..
WADE excuses himself for sitting upon
the trial of impeachment by saying that
he does SO "in the interest of Ohio" But
the fact is otherwise. The Legislature OF
Ohio is Democratic, and has already
chosen Judge THURMAN to succeed him IN
the Senate. He therefore does not repre-
sent his constituents. He misrepresents
them. He is no better than an interloper.
And the worst of it is, that he thus mis-
represents that State, not for the benefit OF
her people, but that he may get salary
of $4,000 and the patronage of the Execu-
tive office, and use this patronage to
smother her voice. There was never a
more disingenuous plea made by criminal
r, however, WADE is SO conscientious
that he cannot consent to allow Ohio to be
unrepresented for few weeks, he cannot
possibly allow her foreman unrepresented
for twelve months and so he will have to
STAY in the Senate and let some one else
be President of the United States. Will
he do so? To ask the question is to an
swer it negatively. Yet, if we are not
mistaken, Ohio aoM remain unrepresenteG
during his incumbency of the Presidency.
We hold that he is ineligible to the office;
vet, conceding that he will be put into it,
it is clear that he will hold it only in vlr
tue of his office as president pro te1npore
of the Senate and as he holds this latter
office only in virtue of his position as o
senator from Ohio, it follows that he must
continue to be q senator from Ohio or he
cannot continue to fill the presidential
chair. If he resigns his seat in the Senate,
he will no longer be senator, and there
fore no longer president pro tenpore, and
therefore, again, no longer President OF
the United States. The language of the
Constitution is that Congress may declare
what "obicer shall act" as President. This
language does not empower Congress to
elect President, nor to say that any per-
SON shall fill the office for any specified
term; but merely to designate an "otficer"
who, in virtue of his office, shall act as
President "uata the disability be REMOVED
or President shall be elected" If Go
vernon PEIRPoINT should resign, the Lieu
tenant Governor of Virginia would sue
coed to the office Of Governor in virtue OF
his Office as Lieutenant-G Governor; but if
the latter should then resign his office OF
Lieutenant Governor, he could no longer
act as Governor, for it is only from his
official position that he derives his right to
succeed to the governorship. So it is in
WADE's case. He cannot resign his otfic
as president of the Senate, nor as
senator, without invaldating his title to
the Presidency. His seat cannot DO
declared vacant without producing the
same result. And the Senate cannot elect
another presiding officer without producing
the same result. The language OF the Con
stitution is too plain to admit of doubt as
to its meaning. 1t is, we repeat, that Con-
gress may declare by law, not who shall be.
President, but "what officer" shall "Gct "
as President. He must be and must re-
main an "officer" as before his accession
to the Presidency. Otherwise he would
not be an officer acting as President, but
he would be President in fact.
The Constitution makes no provision for
a successor to WADE. We have heretofore
shown that CoLFAx could not succeed him
under the law. All that part of the law
which authorizes the Speaker of the House
of Representatives to succeed tc the Pre-
sidency in certain contingency is totally
o,noytbor bu the Constitution. Read its