The Waynesburg Republican. [volume] (Waynesburg, Pa.) 1867-18??, 1868-03-04
Setett 8@aina.
METHOD or IMPEACHMENT.

agree in placing the acts Of the mon
arch above the law, with only this
difference, that in constitutional mon
arches the ministers are responsible
to the legislature for all the princely
acts which they sanction by their sig
nature. In the struggle Of the Euro
pean countries for liberal institutions.
the principle of ministerial response
bility occupies Appointment place. The
concession Of the principle gives to the
Legislature the right Of controlling,
and, if necessary, impcaching, if not
the nominal, at least the actual heads of
the State. The principle was laid
down in all the constitutions which
owed their origin to the revolutionary
movements of l848, and was last year
reintroduced into Austria.
But though the Lawmakers in Eu-
rope lawlessly endcavored to exempt
the malfeasanccs of princes from the
operation of the laws, the people have
frequently taken the right of impcach-
ment into their own hands. Charles
|. of England, and Louis XVI. of
France, constitute memorable exam
pies of royal impeachments in Europe
and more recently Louis | hillippe
and his dynasty were deprived of the
throne by a solemn decree of the rep
resentatives ofthe French nation.
In republics the president is only
the first executive officer of the gov
ernment and the possibility of his vio-
lating the law is expressly provided
for. Still, cases Of the formal i'm
peachment ofa president are exceed
ingly rare. Instances occurred few
months ago in the United States OF
Columbia, when President Mosquera
was deposed and exiled, and in Ec-
uador, where the president was i'm
peached by the House Of Representa-
tives, and censured by the Senate but
more commonly dissatisfaction with
the president vents in insurre/ion and
civil war. In the United States, the
impeachment of the President is
without precedent, Only once, in
1913, an attempt was padc
against President Tyler but it failed.
There have, however, been several
cases Of the impcachmontof other civil
officers. In 1897, William Blout,
Senator from Tennessee, was impcach-
ed for having intrigued to transfer
New Orleans to Great Britain in
in 1903, John Pickering, Justice Of
the District Court ofthe District of
New Hampshire, was impcached on
four charges, one Of which alleged that
he was Il man of loose marals and
incorporate habits in 1905, the i'm
parchment Of Samuel Chase, an Asso-
ciate Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States, was the cause of
great public excitement in 1880, Jas.
II. Peck, Judge of the District Court
for the District of Missouri, was i'm
peached of high misdcmcanors. The
latest causes are those Of Judge Wat
rous, Of Texas, who was impeached in
1857, and of Judge West II. Humph-
reys, of Tennessee, who in 1862 was
impcached for completely in the re-
bollion. All these cases constitute
precedents of the impeachment of the
President, which will be conducted in
a similar manner, except that at the
trial of the President the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of the United
States must preside. The main points
in the procedure against the President
will, therefore, be as follows:
A committceappointed by the House
will appear before the bar of the Sen
ate and officially announce the resolu-
tion Of impeachment. The President
of the Senate will appoint a Select
Committee Of the House. A report
will then he made by the Senate Com
mittee to the Senate. The Senate will
take action, and Its action will be Off
cially communicated to the House.
The Speaker will appoint a Board of
Managers to conduct the Impeach-
ment they will carry to the Senate
the articles of impeachment. The ac-
tion of the House will be read to the
Senate, which then appoints the time
when it will "resolve itself into a
Court of Impeachment" Each Sena-
tor takes the oath that he will do i'm
partial justice. The Board of Man
ayers Of the House being introduced to
the bar Of the Court formally present
the articles of impeachment. A sum-
mons is issued to the party accused to
answer the articles of impeachment,
fixing the day returnable, which is
served at least ten days before the re-
turn thereof, The day of the trial
having arrived, the House, resolving
itself into Committe of the Whole,
proceeds in a body to the Senate
Chamber, and is admitted. The re-
turn is read by the Secretary of the
Senate. The trial being completed,
each article is read by the Secretary,
and the roll called, when each Senator
answerse "Guilty" or "Not Guilty."
two-thirds being required to declare
the accused guilty. The decision is
given, and communicated to the ac-
cused. If found guilty, the President
will from that moment be deprived Of
his office, the functions of which will
devolve upon the President of the Sen
ate, the Hon. Benjamin +. Wade, of
Ohio.
The trial of President johnson will
rank in history as one of the most
celebrated state trials of all times.
Rarely has the world watched the
proceedings Of a legislative body with