The New York herald., 1868-05-24
A Rich Mine Of History to BE Explored
The Secrets ImDen chment.

Rich Mine Of History to BE Explored
The Secrets of Impeachment.
The abortive attempt of lawless political
majority to break up the government of the
United States by destroying the powers of the
Executive will pass into history as second only
in Importance and vilany to the equally reck-
less effort of the rebels to effectthe same object
The fame, good or bad, which will attach in
history to Lincoln and Davis, Grant and Lee,
Sherman and Stonewall Jackson, will attach
in almost as strong degree to all the prom-
nent persons in the impeachment rebellion,
from Ben Butler to Ross. The public materials
on which a true estimate of the latter event
and of the characters implicated in it is to be
formed are numerous and within the reach of
all; but the incidents which avoided publicity
and the light of day, which occurred in secret,
but which operated on the final result with
greater efficacy than all the eloquence of a
Logan, Bingham, Groesbeck or an Evarts-
these are not easily got at. There are surface
indications cropping out here and there, and
there are some specimen nuggets picked up by
exploring newspaper men but the rich mine
requires to be carefully worked in order to get
at the valuable deposits. Butler and Boutwell,
are attempting to lead off the explorers on a
false hunt by making great racket about the
votes of two Senators from the States lying on
either side of the Missouri whereas the real
object of search and discovery is, what nfu-
ences could have induced thirty-fve Senators
to vote the President of the United States
guilty and deserving of removal from Office on
the most absurd and ridiculous pretences. If
all the offences charged against Mr.. Johnson
were capable of being expressed by signs or
figures as in school FORMS they would not
amount to what the boys call "a bad mark"
The Senators who voted ''guilty" must be
credited with the average amount of common
sense and intelligence, 80 that it is impossible,
in nature, to suppose any one of them so igno
rant as to believe himself justified in giving
such vote and the question then is, by what
political influences, hopes of reward and fears
of party penalties these men were induced to
make such fools of themselves before their fell
low men, to ruin their prospects in public life
for the future and to expose their regulations
know generally what those influences were and
how they were exercised in public and in pri-
vate. But is the inside play that we should like
to get at; how this Original impeacher called
upon that doubtful Senator at his lodgings and
talked him into the desired state of mind; what
the prospects of having Ben Wade in the
White House before and during the Chicago
Convention had to do with the matter pro and
con; how Mr.. Speaker Coiax's fgurngs for the
Vice Presidency bore upon the question; with
what object and effect the Chief Justice gave
his little dinner parties how the members of
Congress formed themselves into deputations
to request in the politest manner the Senators
from their States to damn their souls with the
crime of perjury, and, in fine, to ascertain all
about that pressure brought to bear upon Sena-
tors from all quarters, including that evoked
by the gentle Schenck, as if the matter in
volved had no more to do with the mind and
conscience than the question of confirming
the appointment of a country postmaster.
This is what we want to know. This is what
the country wants to know. This is what will
sooner or later be developed and exposed to
the light OF day. But we want it now. We
want 1T for use in the Presidential
campaign. We want to have those materials
furnished as illustrative matter for the speeches
oi those twin stars of Tammany, Cochrane and
sickles, now the Castor and Pollux of the
republican armament
HOW are we to get at this rich political
m'ne We have no hope of an appeal to Ben
Butter. lie appears to be hot on the scent of
teiegrams and bank books. and we learn, with
some apprehension for the interests of deposi-
tors, that he has been worming himself into
the vaults OF the First National Bank at Wash
ington We may have some chance from the
recklessness OF the able and eccentric Tbad
Stevens, who appears to be lust now more
than usually disgusted with Bingham. Butler
| and his brother Managers, and we venture to
suggest to him "a resolution for the appoint
ment of general smelling committee. to scent
out everything that took place in secret bearing
upon the question of impeachment And we
promise Mr.. Speaker Colfax that if he will
organize such committee with fairness we
will condone his many peccadilloes in the
chair and may give him an occasional lift in
his aspirations toward the presidency of the
Senate. Let kindly Old Thad Immediately
start the subject In the House. and, as