The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-05-28

after furthe uiscussi8f Wilson moved
/ 70 adjourn. pending which Buokalew or
I Tered the following reRol szon. wh1cl was
/ iald over:
/ BesoJUsd As the sense 81 ne Senate,
/ lnaJ any enforced ATTENDANCE Of mem
Ger Of the Senate before = committee OF
( the House of Representative. 10 be exam
1ueC as a witness on any question relating
/ TO impeachment. would be a diagram
breach o. the privileges OF the Senate.
ana Jnat any voluntary utterauce OF any
SENATOR before a committee for such pur-
pose. would be highly improper.
The following is personal explanation
/ by Senator Ross:
/ Mr.. President, since the vote taken in
/ in this Chamber on tue 10th inst, which
resulted IN the acqutttal Of the President
of the charge of high miSdemeauor fu Of
I fee, set out in the Eleventh Article OF Inn
{ peaehment, the whole country has been
/ hiled with rumors OF bribery and corrup-
ttOn on the part Of members Of this body.
Were they rumOrs confined TO street or bar
room GOSSIP they 10 ghL Bog be worthy OF
notice, but the HOu-e of Representative
have deemed them Df SUFFICIENT import
ance to predicate official action on them,
and since the date Of rhat vote, the
Board Of Managers mas neen in ses-
sion daily, prosecuting invest cations
calcuiat-d to eject the honor OF the
senate. As they nave received from
{ the House Of Representative such mark
ed ana proiracted attention. II IS becom-
ing the senate 70 take notice OF them, and
an investigation ls que nom the Senate,
from its high character, to It's accused
mem bers and 10 the American people II
there be on this moor Senator who has
offered or agreed 10 take a bride Of any
kind 70 convict or acquit the President,
let him be proven guilty before cOmmlt-
tee Of his peers and expelled. II there he
one vino has yielded his convictions to
threats, let as expose TIE coward 20
the merited contempt and scOrn OF n
courageous people: II there : one who
mas aut6m pied TO bully or DrlDe fellow
senator, let us know the fact, and deter
mine whether he Is a d ass scIate for us in
this high Council Chamber But if none
fgE % IN -
of this great trial. let the caIumuies, which
the tongues Of ten thousand sianderers
enc let the purity and dignity OF the
American Senate. and the humDlest AS
Wen as highest members Pe vindicated By
Its own act.
have borne in silence. until now, as
sauits on my own character and motives,
as member OF the Court such as few of
!uoe 10 the nrSl storm OF party deuuncla-
ton which burst over the heads OF the
seven Republicans who voted not ga ltv,
iol tial was an ticlpaie1' ana / was pre-
3 AIRED fOr ~. The peltings Of that storm 4
have borne with eQu&ntmftys conscious (
that lad performed q Just and worthy
act. and confident that the DEVELOPMENTS (
OF time would bring an ample VtndicatiOu 4
Of my conduct against the charge OF tnn- 1
deity 20 my party ami country. ailufe /
to tn- charge of bribery. in its various [
forms, now being rN1mi ed by the Mana I
gers OF Impeachment. IA secret session. /
auude 10 the scandals WhlCn nave Deen I
deli berately circul ted by 5nOse urzlng /
the cause OF i'm peachlneut, and repeated /
threats or assassination al brought to- I
gefh=r WI h the view of affecting my T
action ia favor Of con yictI0u 81 the Presi- y
dent. Believing the trlal would soon end, I
I have thus far omitted tn silence 10 /
these accusations, and father Than 20 pro /
woke controversy In the Senate, as mat /
tiers were then pending before the Court. /
But the tria is now ended, and have now /
something TO say len FimdtcaiIOu Of my /
conduct during 10, which is my right and /
duty to sii's
At the beginning of the trial Of this case /
1 was sworn by the chief Justice Of the 4
supreme Court OF the United states, ~ a /
do impartial justice 90 Andrew Johnson,
President Of the United States. according
TO the Cons titution and laws. had been,
ana stIu was an earnest opponent Of the
reconstruction policy Of his admi uistra-
ton. thought, as / still think, mat pol
icy in many OF its most mpO1ant par
ticulars unwise to the bet interests II the
country. / lOnged and still long for such
changes in the administration Of the Gov
eminent as would conform it to the views
of the dominant party Of the country and
the reconstruction policy OF Congress
But ] could not, with the light before me,
declare the President gu iIty of high crimes
and mfsdemeanOr- on mere differences as
TO government p0ncy. sought 70 dlVesJ
my nina o. All party preJuulces, near Jhe
accu sations and eyid nee. and endeavOr
to cast my vote in the cause with the can
dor and courage of an honest judge. In 4
this spirit discharged my duty IS "a IN enc
Der OF the Court Of Impeacumeut aud j .
hoped 10 admit an evidence offered by HE
?
ate, slit ng as "a court, as Jurors, and as
judges of The law and the fact. might SIT
AL and determine the case with no fact
shut out by technical rulet which bore on
the gulltOr Innocence of the accu led. and
When voted on the several artic es or Inn
peachsaeht, cast out OF the scale as far as
/ was bic, All mere party considerat Ons
and weighed the c. use as the Constitution
and laws and my oath d .manded.
demand of the Senate that all charges
during the late trial be openIy aud thor-
b IA rflEf "a tod
not be committed TO the secret investiga-
tlons. out by public criticism Of Boar
Of prosecutors, appointed by the House.
chalienge any man on the Board 10 appear
before the Senate and exhibit accusa-
tons or evidence against me; and,
nnaitN. 10 give notice, That when
that Committee shall be appointed, 4
shall move the Senate TO call on the
House for all the testimony taken by It's
Board Of Managers. under the resolution
Of the 10th inst. so that III any evidence of
corrupt practices toward any Senator.
against conviction, be TIE impression Of
the 3oard. 10 may not fail t. be brought
.oundaItOn for the charge OF bribery
brought against me, 1T is claimed that
assured my colleague repeatedly, up 70 the
lay OF the vote, that would vote for con-
yiction on the eleventh Article; that he
had my pledge to that effect, together with
that OF thirty five other Senators. and that
suddenly and unaccOuntablv. except ON
he suppOsitiOn OF bribery, changed my
determination IN single night.
II the assertion OF facts were true the
inference were mOnstrOusly unfair. Who
lu Ong you senators, sworn to keep his
bath and do impartial Justice, was at all
lines free Of DOUBT? The gentleman from I
" est Virginia (Willey), in a card publish
I'd on the 25th In the papers Of this city,
ays he and his colleague were in doubt IA
% the eleventh article until the week Of
his Judgmei I, and that he was led by the
announced opinion OF the Chief Justice on 2
he m after OF taking the vote on that arti-
lie 10 vote Tor conviction. while his col
eague, b the same opinion. was led % :
-. u. -r-r-.-