The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-05-05
CONGRESSIONAL.
WASHINGTON, May a
SENATE.

weighty sense of their solemnity and
true meaning. He then proceeded to
sketch the events attendant OIL the
assassination of President Lincoln and
the accession of Andrew Johnson to the
Presidency, Referring to his oath to ex-
ecute the laws, he spoke of their majes-
tic supremacy in our form of Govern
ment, and claimed that the President
was equally subject to their authority
with the humble frontier settler. He
dwelt on the high trust commit
ted to the Senate, and asserted that the
issues of life and death to the Republic
hung on their decision.
He asked how the charge of tho vio-
lations of the supreme law was met by
the counsel who for hire defend the
treason of the criminal respondent. 1t
was by the outrageous assertion that
each branch of the Government had a
right to Judge the constitutionality OF
the laws, and obey them or not, at
pleasure. This was the defence made
for His Highness, the first King of our
nation.
Mr.. Bingham held that the Senate by
upholding this proposition would lay
the foundation for monarchy first and
an anarchy next-a reign of chaotic
darkness. On this issue, which inspite
of lawyers' tricks and special pleas, was
the real question involved, their deci-
sion was whether the President could
be held to answer to the violation If
law or not. He held, first, that the
Senate had the sole power to decide
every question of law or fact arising.
They were also the final arbiters, and
the frequent attempts of the counsel to
bring the Senate and Courts in opposi-
ton were miserable devices to divert
attention.
He would not initiate the eloquent
counsel, Mr.. Evarts, who had shown
himself all eater of syllables and
snapper up of tribes, who had dis
played more Latin than law, more
rhetoric than logic, and more intellec-
tual pyrotechnics than either. He also
referred to the length of Mr.. Evarts'
speech, by saying he tried to render
it immortal by making it eternal.
Mr.. Bingham held simply that the
Senate was the Supreme and final judi
cial tribunal of the United States, and
as TO the argument which had been
made at such interminable length that
the Supreme Court was Court of last
resort for the decision ola constitutional
question, he held it had no more TO do
with the present question than the
Court of St. Petersburg, and that the
| iud gments of this tribunal could not DO
affected by decisions of the Supreme
Court made before or after the impeaCh
meut trial.
lie argued that the original jurisdic.
tion of the Supreme Court did not eX-
tend to mpeachments, and therefore
their references 10 its decisions were ir
relevant, and their arguments on this
point without colorado excuse. He
then considered the proposition adj
vauced by the counsel that heads of de-
Partments were merely the registering
secretaries of the President, bound to
do his will.
| Reading from the decision of the Su-
preme Court in the case quoted by Mr..
| Evarts, he claimed that it was therein
plainly laid down that such officers
were bound by law and net by the Pres
| ident's will. He also claimed that the
other position assumed by all the Presi-
dents counsel, that he could sit i'll
! Judgment on the validity of laws, was
overthrOwn by decisions of the saI.e
| tribunal thirty years ago, which de-
cisions had never been questioned, and
proceeded to read extracts from them.
He further asserted that the ex-At-
tOrney General was wholly inexcusa-
| bic in attempting to force into this
! trial as an authority, the decision Of
the present presiding officer in the Mis-
sissippi case, and argued it had no
relevancy whatever to the question i'll
dispute. He claimed that it was proved
that We cOuld not allow the President
discretion rs TO which law lie would ex-
ecute with interp0lating words into
| the Constitution. He referred to the
act of Washington in suppressing the
whisky iusurrectiOn, and that of Jack
son in crushing out notifications, as
instances in which obnoxious laws were
executed by Presidents who entertained
grave doubts of their constitutiOnality
lie also spoke of the acquieScence of
the American people i'll the unconstitu-
tional and Ubiquitous fugitive slave
! law until its abrogation, and in this
connection dwelt at length on the sub
iect Of slavery with its various charaC-
teristiCs. lie spoke of the cOunsel's rof-
erence to President Lincoln, that he
had violated the laws of his country
and furnished many precedents for
President JohnSon's crimes, as bold,
eliminating ISLANDERS Oh his memory.
The suspension of habeas corpus was
not made by him, but by civil war,
which rendered it necessary.
| T., h,
nifty act he said the purpose of Congress
in such legislation was to furnish au-
thority to courts to discuss cases
brought against the Presidents agents
for what they had done in pursuance of
the Constitution. If their acts had
been unwarranted Indemnity laws
would have been of no avail.
Recess.
On rc-assembling, Mr.. Bingham re-
sumed and referred to the argument of
Mr. Evarts, based on "A successful resist
ance to the brokers' tax law in New
York, as an insult to the Senate, and
said that one capable of making it was
not fit to argue the grave constitution
al provisions relating 10 the passage of
bills over veto, and maintaining that
every one who has learned TO read can
plainly settle the question whether or
not the President broke law.
Referring to citation by Mr. Nelson,
lie contcnded that it had no bearing on
the case; besides, its author, Jefferson,
was not authoritative in regard to
the Constitution, which he did not help
! to frame.
Reading the list of powers granted to
the President by the Constitution, he
called attention to the fact that no
power of suspending laws until their
! validity is tested is anywhere given
him, and held that such claim of both
! Legislative and executive functions was
III cOntraventiOn of the express terms
of the instrument. He insisted this
claim involved also au assumption of
judicial powers and characterized the
entire proposition as too absurd to be
submitted to children.
By the exercise of this assumed pow
er the President could suspend lesisla-
ton Of all kinds. He could prevent
the creation of Judicial Districts, the