New-York tribune., 1868-05-15
TIE DUTY or THE SENATE.

Oi IitSlNtil JOUn~bu - Dt'duNt oO ihl ~ ~ III
norty of Congress, Of the press, and Of the
people have, by the persistent reitention OF
erroneous views of The object for which I'M
parchment was provided by the Constitution,
thc nature of the trial. and the reasons
and motives on which thel Senate are
10 act, succeeded in envelOping tho whole
subject in the clouds of their own ignorance.
They insist upon regarding it as Judicial
proceeding, held TO ascertain and punish guilt.
| It is not, any more than is a popular election
! for President. The guilt is merely an incident.
| The proceeding is purely political; its object is
| not necessarily to punish guilt but to exchange
q bad officer for q good one, and thereby OBJ
! tain good government. That the President IS
guilty of crimes and misdcmeanors is inquired
| into. not iudicially, in order to punish him,
! hut politically, in order to determine whether
! hc is a Gt man TO hc President of the United
| States, on whether he is dangerous to the
country.
Let us look at this question fully The Con
! sdtuton vest, all legislative powers" in Con-
! rIcss, "thc Executive power in the President,
| and the Judicial power" in the Supreme
| Court and such inferior Courts as Congress
/ " shall establish No judicial power is vested
1 lu Congress, and no power of removal from
! Office" is spoken of as pertaining to any de-
uartmcut except Congress. Impeachment Is
nowhere spoken OF as a judicial power, but
merely rs the mCdc in which Congress shall
/ exercise its political power OF removal from
oiioe Ant. H. See. 4, says: The President,
| "Yicc-Prcsidcut and all civil officers of the
! United states shall bc removed from Office
. on Impeachment Tor and conviction of trea-
" SON, bribery, og other high crimes and
"mi,dcmcanors' After being 50 removed,
| Lc Constitution declares that such Off
Gers shall still he liable 10 indictment
ald trial and punishment according to
| claw" A court can try any criminal for
hs ifc,' liberty, and property. Congress can
ty no man 20, q criminal, but only as an
/ officer. and 10 oust him from office; and the
/ buiug and vacating of Offices is purely po-
| iIical, not judicial function. "A court may
! indct convict. aud sentence, but cannot inn
peach on remove from Office. Congress can inn
! pcnch and remove FROM office, but cannot in
! dict convict. on sentence. a court may try an
| indictment, but not IN impeachment. The
| Senate may Try IN impeachment, but not an
/ indictment. a court can punish for crime, bat
| cannot remove from office The two Houses
| ol Congress can remove from Office, but cannot
! punish the criminal. The determination of the
question whether the President Is guilty or in
uoccnt of The matters charged, in a sense that
/ If sustained in hi' defense would be a source
OF danger TO the political welfare Of the coun-
| ty, j. the question before the Senate. Guilt,
Ia thc political sense, is an ambition to rule
without law, and in defiance of law. To de-
eide whether he is guilty of the acts charged
in the sense which would authorize Court of
Special Sessions 70 send him to the State
Prison if the case were trabc before it, is
not the duty OF The Senate. The blunder Of
Crimes F,sscndcn, and Trumbull consists in
tie fact that they imagine themselves sitting
as criminal Judges in sort of Tombs Court
to decide whether the liberty or life of an
offender shall he forfeited. Nr. Trumbull
showed his standpoint by declaring that the
ease would not stand in a Court of Justice
" Of ,hc Peace Perhaps not, there. But the
United States Senate is not Il Court OF JUS
ticc of lhe Peace Mr. Tnmbull erTs in look
ing at il as a Justice of the Peace instead of
as a Senator of the United States. Technical
quibbles, nice sOphistres, hair splitting 0bjec-
tons are safe defcnses for Justice of
the Peace But Senator Trumbull will
need to show that be has done his political
duty 10 the country and to the people in the
vote he casts OH the question of removing
Johnson from office. Impeachment is provided
by the Constitution as a political remedy for
political evils. That Andrew Johnson has vio-
lated every law that stands in his way, every
Senator knows. But Senators plead: "We do
g not think his intent in violating them was
" the same aS that of a hall-thief or an aSsas-
sin in committing his crime" The Constitu
tion docs not require that it shall be- Was
his intent the same rs that of Napoleon when
he overthrow the liberties Of France, or Charles |
!. when he attempted TO cOerce the Parliament
Of England or as that of Louis XVI of France !
or James III. Of England, when they violated |
the law in order simply TO thwait the will of
the people, defeat the purpose and intent |
of the Legislature, and carry out |
their own political desires after they had been
ovelmed by the law-malling power9 If so, this |
is the guilty intent sought for by the Constitu- !
ton Did he intend that which, if permitted, |
would destroy the Constitution or impair it in |
any vital respect, and would tend to elevate |
Andrew johnson into unchecked authority, and |
convert our Government into dcspotisml If !
he did, that is in the political and constitutional
sense an intent of the highest guilt, since it
strikes at the liberties Of the country. Can any
Senator deny that such has been Andrew john
sons guilty intent9 Would not the acts with
which he Is charged, if acquitted, Justify him in
annulng every act Of Congress which has been
passed over his Veto and in proceeding, in
armed defiance of all these laws, to carry
out his individual will instead of the
law a. TO Reconstruction, the Revenue, the
Army aud ihe nnnnintment of all nflicers 2 |