The Portland daily press., 1868-04-02
Impeachment-Tues Proceedings

W hen the Senate retired for consultation on
the ruling of the Chief Justice, TUESDAY, the
following were the proceedings:
On motion of Mr. Henderson the penalng
question on appeal was postponed 10 TAKE up
the rules, by yeas 81, nays 10; ,....A
Mr. Henderson then moved an amendment
RI +ba 9Th rule, which motion was disagreed
To 10 strike out from the same the words which
nroyide that the rulings on questions of evil
dence and incidental questions shall stand as
as the Judgment Of the Senate.
Mr. Sumner offered an amendment to Mr.
HenderSon's proposition, as follows: That the
Chief Justice, presiding in the Senate in the
trial of the President of the United States, is
not member of the Senate, and has no author
ity, under the Constitution, to vote ON any
question during the trial This was rejected
by the following vote:
YeSs-Messrs Cameron, Gait ii, Chandler, Conk-
Ing, CONFESS Corbett, CIagn. Drake howard,
Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Upton. Tfumbull, VIII
lams and Wison-22
NaysaMcss!s. Bayard, Buckalew, Cole, Davis.
err. Frelinghuysen, Henderson, Hendricks, Howe,
johnson, McCreery, Morrill, Of Vermont: Norton,
Patterson OF New Hampshire, KOS sherman,
Sprague, Van Wrinkle, Vickers, aud Vile. 20.
Mr.. Drake moved an amendment to Mr..
Henderson's proposition as follows SIT ia
| the Judgment of the Senate, that under the
| Constitution the Chief Justice presiding over
| the Senate in the pending trial has no priv
| on, hut that all such questions should be sub
mitted to and be decided by the Senate"
This was disagreed to by 26 to 80.
Mr.. Sherman submitted the following, which
was rejected by vote of 25 against Is:
That under the rules, in accordance with
the precedents in the United States, in cases
OF Impeachment, all questions, other than
those OF order, should be submitted to the
Senate finally"
The Senators agreed to Mr.. Henderson's
6naar TO 1nC 10 oil
The presiding officer of the Senate shall di-
| rect all necessary preparations in the Senate
Chamber. The presiding officer, upon the tri-
| al, shall direct all the forms of proceedings,
while the Senate are sitting for the purpose of
trying an impeachment, and all forms during
| the trial not otherwise specially provided for,
and the presiding officer on the trial may rule
| on al questions of evidence and incidental
| questions, which ruling shall stand as the
| Judgment of the Senate, unless some member
| of the Senate shall ask that a formal vote be
| taken thereon, in which case it shall be SUBJ
| mitted to the Senate for decision; or he may
| at his option in the first instance submit any
| such question to vote of the members of the
| Senate.
Yeas-Messrs Anthony, Bayard, Buckalew, Con-
| ness Corbett, Cragn, DAVIS Dixon, Doottle Ed
munds, Fessenden, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Hender-
son, Hendricks, johnson, Mccreery, morrill, Of vi,
| PomeIoy, Ross, Salisbury, Sherman, Sprague,
TrumbnI, Van ~inckle vickers, Wiley and VIII
| Ndys-Messrs. Catten, Chandler Cole Conkliug,
Drake, Ferry, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Morr.n Of
| Maine, Morton, Nye, Ramsay, Stewart, Sumner,
Thayer Upton and Wilson lone name net reported)
-19.
| The Senators were absent in their confer
| ence about three hours.
The excitement among Senators, Represen-
| tatives and spectators seems to have been
greater on Tuesday than on any previous oc-
casion. The more interesting details we give
in the following paragraphs from special dis
patches to the Boston papers:
The scene at the opening of the session was
| much the same as that SO often described on
former occasions, except that the galleries
were not more than half full at the outset, the
holders of tickets coming late and gradually
filling the benches, during the first hour. As
before, the ladies were in a majority, and
among them were Miss Anna Dickinson Mrs
Ann S. Stephens, the novelist and Miss Olive
| Logan. @
Gen. Buffers thorough examination of the
| witnesses was interesting to the audience A
witness having stated that he found General
| Thomas at fancy ball. masked, Gen. Butler,
in asking another witness about the demand
| on Mr.. Stanton to surrender the War Depart
ment, asked. WAS General Thomas masked? %
He also was particular in asking whether Gen.
| Thomas said that he did not want any on
pleasantness or unpleasantness. The witness
was sure that the General said he didn't want
to have any 0Rpleasantness.
Mr.. Burlegh, delegate from Dacotah, q
friend of Gen. Thomas, was expected to prove
that the dd interim Secretary invited him to
come to the Department to see him take pos
session by force, As soon as the conversation
| was touched Mr. Stanbery objected to the tes-
timony. Gen. Butter explained its force and
purpose; then Mr.. Chase simply and quietly
said, 81 deem the testimony competent" The
remark was like bomhshell in magazine;
| Mr.. Drake was on his feet in an instant and
understand the scene that followed it should
be remembered that it is the misfortune of
| of Mr.. Drake to have peculiarly offensive
| manner, so that in every remark he seems to
be boiling over with passion, and filled with a
desire to insult those with whom he disagrees.
| The Chief Justice calmly stated that he con-
| sidered it his duty to decide in the first in
| stance all questions which might come up
concerning law or testimony. Mr.. Drake We
! hemently appealed from the decision. Mr..
Chase went on to state that he believed his po-
| sition was sustained by the uniform practice
| of the English House of Lords, and of the
| Senate in impeachment trials. Mr.. Drake
| again rose to protest; hut was called TO order
| by Reverdy Johnson and the Chair decided
| that the question was not debatable by the
| Senators.
At o'clock the gas in the Senate Chambe r
| was lighted and the Representatives remain
ing n the fonIbegan to speculate on the cause
| of delay in the Senators at arriving at con-
clusion. The Chief Justice was freely criti-
| cized by those known as impeachers, and also
by three or four Representatives of them
| from Massachuse tts-to whom he had sent a
| written notice that by rule Of the Senate
| conversation is not permitted. This the whis-
| perers regarded as an assumption of authority,
| and one expressed fears that if the school sys-
I tenn of discipline was TO be adopted meHsbers
who whispered or who read newspapers,
might have to go and stand in a corner.
AT quarter past six Senator, who is an
| advanced Republican, entered looking red in
| the face and not good natured. 1t was evil
! dent that the result of the consultation had
| not pleased him, and when the entire Senate
| soon afterwards came it was noticed that Sen
| ators Davis and johnson were evidently jubi-
| liant. The indications that conservatism had
| triumphed were soon confirmed by the an
| Douncement of the Chief Justice that the 18th
rule had been so amended as to give him pow
| er to rule a II questions of evidence in the first
! instance.