Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-09-24


and misdemeanors" articles of i'm
, parchment were preferred agains
him but majority Of the House 0
Representatives, not yet sufficiently
taught in the new school of politica
J morals, held the reasons insuflicien
and rejected the articles. The Presi
dent, who did the right thing, habitu
ally and always, at the wrong time
or omitted it till it became impracti
cable or useless, suffered the Secretary
of War TO remain in his Cabinet al
one Of his Constitutional advisers fol
more than year after he knew him
to be traitor to his counsels, leagueC
with his enemies in their attempt tc
disparage and degrade him, or at least
willing TO stand by in silence and sec
him unjustly disparaged and degraded
when word Of truth from him would
have placed the conduct of the Presi.
dent beyond reproach. In proof oi
this, a single example will suffice.
The Secretary of War had timely
official notice that a mob was assem-.
bling in New Orleans, and a massacre
was threatened. There were troop.
enough near the spot to preserve the
peace. The officer 10 command asked
instructions, but the Secretary gave
none, and withheld the information
from the President until after the
massacre had taken place. A thous-
and public papers accused the Presi-
dent with knowingly permitting, or
even of abetting, the massacre. The
Secretary preserved profound 81.
lence. Here was one secret which
he did not disclose, namely that he,
not the President, with full knowledge
of what was threatened, stood by aud
suffered the massacre, when three
words from him, "arrest the rioters, ,"
sent by telegraph to the commanding
officer, in reply to his dispatch asking
for instructions, would have averted
the mischief The publication Of the
truth, which the plainest principles OF
official duty and manly honor required
of him, would have disabused the pub.
lie mind and relieved the President
from the charge of crime of high Of
fetal atrocity. The Secretary made
no explanatory publication, and the
charge was suffered TO rest on the
President. IL was not because OF diff
fidence or habitual tardiness IN COM
ing before the public that he failed in
this. When General sherman, after
marching through the Confcderacy,
captured Johnston with the remnant
of the Confederate armies, and applied
to the President for instructions as to
the terms of capitulation, a day was
not suffered to pass until Secretary
Stanton prepared and published a bull
letin accusing the successful General
of treaehery, and containing nara
tive charged with mere fiction and
faIsehood. But let the accusation
against the President pass unnoticed,
and witnessed silently the censurc
which it brought upon him. This
was perfdy; il admits Of no excuse,
no extenuation but Notwithstanding
this, the President retained him in Of
fee. But when, at last, owing to
the promulgation Of Cabinet secrets,
which could be traced to no other
source, his longer continuance as a
confidential adviser, became impossi-
sible, the hint was taken, bill was
introduced and passed the House
which, If it had become law, would
have enabled him TO set the President
at defiance; but it was so amended
in the Senate as TO allow the President
to remove q Cabinet officer not select
ed by himself, and whom he felt un-
safe to trust. 1t was declared by the
leading members Of the Senate, and, if
l remember well, generally assented
to, that the President ought TO retain
the power in that class OF cases, and
the amendment was made for the ex-
press purpose of leaving it in his pos
session. This amendment of the Ten
ure-of-o office bill was the last act of
fairness toward the President 10 either
of the two houses of Congress. The
new code of political morals which
Senator Morton declared himselfstudy.
ing, spread in the houses like the rim.
derpest in the infected States of Hol.
land, until all the party, with q few
rare and most honorable exceptions
were touched with the contamination.
At last, after long endurance and
delay, the President, by a formal Of
fetal act, removed the Secretary of
War, and appointed one of the officers
Of the department dd interim, to take
charge Of the papers and business of
the Office until n successor should be
regularly appointed and qualified, and
he, the next day, nominated success
sor to the Senate. For this the
House at once, by party vote,
impeached him. In their articles
they declare as high crimes and mis-
demeanors separately, the removal Of
Secretary Stanton, the appointment
Of an officer to perform the duties Of
Secretary dd Hferim--that is, TO take
custody of the office, the books, and
lAlNAHf aiA ttNnlNhANhNNf hNAii a
successor could be confirmed and COM
missioned They reverted to past
acts, and impeachcd him for having
replied with bad temper TO their
taunts and insults They impoached
him for having expressed an opinion
unfavorable to their power of framing
an amendment to the Constitution to
bind ten States which they would not
suffer to be represented when they
framed il they impeached him for
doubling the propriety OF compelling
the ten States to accept the articles
so prepared for them under a penalty
or under the pressure Of military
force and they impoached him for in
quiring Of a military officer what had
been done with a certain regiment Of
troops of the United States which Con
gress had, by an act passed over bis
veto. taken from under his command
and disposed of without his knowl.
edge-each Of these, and others too
frivolous TO name, che House, by q
party vote, found TO be q high crime
or high misdemeanor They sol
/ annlv nrafarrad these arficlaa "a tho