Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-09-24

supreme power over ne 0ovcn
imcnt
The statement Of Mr. Morton that
he and hls party were educated 10
now doctrines hy tho war, aud that
they learned rapidly, is true, IN point
Of fact, and u can vouoh very re-.
epectable precedent II u like In
spirit, but more modest IN language,
than the boast Of Mr. D'lmacli, In
Parliament, last summer, that he had
educated his party into the acceptance
OF dootrincs ropugnant TO their most
cherished conviction. But this pro.
cess Of education, unluckily for the
precedent, threw the Premier and
his party at once into total ininori-
w. And such may, possibly, be The
case hero.
When the impeachment failed, tho
committee of the House appointed TO
conduct il was not discharged, but
continued TO sit under the guidance Of
Gen. Butler, who had been from the
first its actual though not its nominal
head. The continuance of the inves.
tigation was founded on nothing, and
tended to nothing except party spite
and party calumny. One point in
his report deserves hotice--not be-
cause il was his report, but because 1t
was adopted by tho committee, and
published by order of the House.
The fourth amendatory article Of
the Constitution provides that "tbc
right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers and eff
iects against unreasonable searches
aud seizures shall not he violated and
no warrants shall ISSUE but on proba-
Bile cause, supported by oath or afr
nation, aud particularly describing
the place to be searched and the per-
sons or things to be seized" Now
notice the construction of this clause
of the Constitution by General Butler,
speaking in the name Of o committee
Of Congress, If indeed II occurred 70
him or them that we had a Constitu-
tion. The impeachment has ended 10
a failure. There was no question
pending before the House, on which
that body had right TO call and ex-
anime witnesses under compulsory
process, but General Butler supposed"
that the Senators who voted for &C
quittal were bribed, and on this foun-
dation and no other, he in the name
of the committee and with the concur
renee of the House, proceeded TO in
vestigate the matter Of his supposition.
He says in his report, WHICH was
agreed to by the committee aud pub
lished by the House Q. III
Learning that many telegraphic messages rel
alive to impeachment had been sent and received
by the parties supposed 10 be implicated in fraud
ulent practices, your committee issued a subpoena
duees tecHm in the usual form to the managers OF
the several telegraphic companies IN this city and
Baltimore 10 produce telepraphic dispatches dur
ing certain PERIOD and then directed the witness
os, officers Of the telegraph companies to collect
such kilograms as we're supposed would throw
light on the investigation,
"This exercise Of an ordinary power oonhded 10
every justice Of the peace Of the country who has
a cause pending before him, was the only seizure
Of telegrams made by your committee, which has
been the subject Of much severity, and useless vi
tuperaton'"
Mr.. Butler and his committee as
sumo that if somebody is supposed to
be implicated in fraudulent practices,
the papers of everybody may be seizd
and searched To give that power to
the House Of Representatives, no pen
ding suit, according to him or them,
is necessary; no affidavit, no probable
cause against anybody or anything;
it is enough that somebody is "sup-
posed to be implicated in some fraud,
ulent practice, and the power Of a
committee of the House is complete
to seize and search the papers OF any
body-aye, and to seize and imprison
in the vaults of the capitol any per
son who refuses to explain his own
private business transactions to the
committee. The appeal to the Con.
stitution, which forbids unreasonable
searches and seizures, and provides
that "no warrants shall DO issued but
upon probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation" is characterized
as "senseless and useless clamor." A
private person, Colonel Wooley, whose
dispatches had been seized by the
committee, was summoned before
them, and denied, under oath. that
they related to the matter about which
the committee had assumed to inquire.
but refused to testify as to his own
private business, whercupon they i'm
prisoned him-first in wholesome
room, then, by order of the House,
transferred him to dungeon in the
vaults of the capitol.
There seems TO have been no mo-
tive on the part of the House for this
act of arbitrary individual oppression
but TO show their power over the Con-
stitution and their contempt Of its
guarantees. Or, perhaps, their object
was merely to sustain General Butler,
whom they had adopted as their lead
or, and to indorse his acts. As TO him,
he was so morally constituted that he
could not even transmit the truth
when he had il before him on paper.
1t changed its very nature under his
N1t NhAiN ut IOau, Ut uOQof MS hHnu
while he Transcribed il; and the coarse
ness of his perceptions disqualified him
from forming any just opinion on any
matter involving Constitution or law,
or the proprieties of official or profes,
sional action. Hence case as he
presents it is never the actual case
and the Constitution, after passing
through his rank mental digestion, is
no more the Constitution as il is writ.
ton than the guano of Alta Vela is the
fish that was swallowed by the sea
bird.
The Constitution declares that uno
bill of attaiuder or en- post fdcto laws
shall be passed" " whereppon, us if the
hint were taken from the clause, tho
last Congress, at their last session,
passed an er post fdcto law attaining
class of our citizens aud depriving
them OF citizenshp-an unworthy
class, tbs true-men who had violated
their oath 10 support the Constitution,
and with IL their oath 20 render mill.
tary service. These men were proba.
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