Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-05-21
THE RUTLAND HERALD
TUESDAY, MAY ~, 1865


The grca, question which has aplat'd
the country for the past few months has
in part been settled by the aequi'ta Of
the President on the eleventh arllel"
which, in our Judgment, virtually settles
the whole question; vet, perhaps changes
may ,ranspirc before the e6th, when the
vote on the remaining articles is 10 be
taken, which may secure conviction on
some one OF them The vote was lohv"
ON the eleventh article 10 test the sense OF
the court upon the strouges, counts also
that il might trau,pire how extensive the
detection nigh, prevail among Repohli'
can senator
The article upon which action wa' had
in the Senate ON saturday was the one
drawn by Thaddeus Stevens, after the
Others were fixed upon by the manager,
and adopted by the House, and which the
author considered "was worth more than
all the others put together" and the re-
sui, will undoubtedly justify his as,cr-
ton, When he presented his article to
the House Of Representative, Mr. Ste
yens said:
This charge is not here contained ia
the articles reported by the committee,
and unless il be inserted there can be- no
trial on it, II there be shrcwd lawyers,
as know there will, and cayiling judges,
and il without that article they do not ac.
-uuit hiE,, they ara keener than ever | was
when | commenced 10 practice AZ the
Court OF Quarter Sessions lfthat article
be inserted. il will show both the removal
and the attempt 10 defeat the rcinstatc-
ment and although the Senate should
decide the other charges in his favor, how
could he escape from this one
This article embraced all the essential
acts Of usurpation and contempt Of law
which have been contained in the other
charges. That Andrew johnson commit
ted the net charged in the first clause
that Of denouncing Congress A. an Illegal
body, and hence unqualified linn 10 lcgis-
late-and that the act constitutes high
misdemcanor cannot well be denied and
it is equally certain that the eleventh ar
ucle puts the scheme Of oustiug Stanton
fran the Var Department, and sub.titut-
ing for him an obcdient tool Of his. in
stronger light than any Of the other
counts. Senators may have mteligcntly
and perhaps eonScienciously doubted
where theeNprcSs letter of the constitution
has been violated. or whether the PreSi-
dents other acts constituted a conspiracy.
but il must have been different matter
far them TO say on their oaths, that An
drew johnson did not devise and contriye
means 10 prevent execution Of acts, Of
themselves constitutional, and it was
equally impossible for them to say that it
did not constitute high misdcmeanor in
Office, go fragrant as to call for his imme-
diate removal Therefore, the conviction
was expected ON this article, If upon no
other, and the hand of justice be laid
upon the despot who now ahiicts tho ma
zion, and he be removed from his high Of
flee. The fate of this article il deter
mined, and the result before the people,
by what causes ii was brought about, the
future must develop. While the nation
is respondent at the acquittal, it should
not be forgotten that constituents are
greater than Senators or Representatives,
and if Andrew johnson be acquitted, the
Grand Court Of Impeachment that of the
people in November give q Just and
righteous verdict.