The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-04-27
CONGRESSIONAL.
WASHINGTON, April 25.
SENATE.

Mr. Edmunds, at the suggestion of
several Senators, moved to postpone I'M
til Monday.
Mr.. Drake moved Indefinite postpone
ment, which was rejected by vote of
90 against q.
The motion to postpone till Monday
was agreed to.
Mr.. Sumner offered the following
order:
1t is ordered, that the Senate, sitting
for the trial of Andrew johnson, Presi-
dent of the United States, will proceed
to vote on the several articles of i'm
parchment at II o'clock on the day after
the close of the argument.
Senator Johnson objected, and it was
laid over.
Senator Sumner-I send to the Chair
two additional rules, the first of which
is derived from the practice of the Sen,
ate on the trials of Judge Chase ana
Judge Peck. They were read, as fol-
lows:
RULE 23-In taking the vote of the
Senate on the articles of impeachment
the presiding officer shall call each SEN
ator by his name, and upon each arti-
Gle propose the following question in
the manner following: "Mr.--How
say you, is the respondent guilty or not
guilty, as charged in the articles of I'M
parchment ~ Whereupon each Sena-
tor shall rise in his place and answer
guilty or not guilty.
| Rule 2I-That on conviction by the
Senate it shall be the duty of the pre-
siding officer forthwith to pronounce
the removal from office of the convict
ed person according to the requirements
of the Constitution. Any further
Judgment shall be on the order of the
Senate.
Senator Johnson again objected and
| the rules went over.
Mr. Groesbeck then addressed the
Senate on the part of the respondent.
After a few Introductory remarks, be
proceeded to consider the question
whether or not The Senate is now sit
ting as court, and said he would not
discuss it in the light of English pre-
cedents, but with reference to our Con-
| stitution, which cOuntenapeed neither
bills of attainder nor irresponsible tri.
bunals to be laws unto themselves. lie
first called attention to the fact that
the provisions of tho Constitution as
first drafted contemplated impeachment
for malpractice and neglect of duty III
office, but those adopted permit 1T oHly
for treason, bribery, and similar high
crimes and misdemeanOrs. He then
challenged the proof to show that dur
ing any of the trials which form our
precedentS the idea that the Senate was
not court had ever been advanced.
He read from the records of each of
| their language, in which the Senate on
all these occasions styled itself the
| Court. He also quoted Story and other
authorities to show the judicial charac-
/ ter of the Senate and the qualifications
they must bring to the discharge of
their obligations.
| In reference to their jurisdiction he
held that the only question for them to
decide was that of crime or no crime,
and further that no action could be so
I considered in connection with which
evil intention was not brought. He IL
| Illustrated this proposition by consider
ing q homicide committed by mailman,
by the supposition that the President
| should violate the law after losing his
reason. BY reference to the acts OF MIR.
Lincoln in constituting military tribu-
mails in loyal States, which conduct,
though pronounced destitute of warrant
BY the Supreme Court, had been upheld
by Congress on the ground that the mo-
tive was good. Having thus, as he
claimed, shown the falsity of the doc
trino advanced by the Managers on that
subject, he said he should consider the
question whether the President had
right to remove Mr.. Stanton and grant
a letter of authority to General Thomas,
for on these two issues hung the fate OF
eight OF the articles.
As to the first points he held that the
civil tenure law did not apply to Mr..
Stanton because he was not appointed
by Mr.. johnson, but even if Mr.. John
son is not serving his own but Mr.. Lin
coln's term, Mr.. Stanton's tenure of
Office expired month after the eXpira-
ton of his first term, and if Mr.. Lin
coin were now living MIR. Stanton
could be removed by him, and so equally
can he be BY Mr.. Johnson, if tho latter
is merely serving sut the remainder OF
the term. In support of his PROPOSE
ton that the President had power to
remove Mr.. Stanton under the law Of
1883. Mr.. Groesbeck quoted the letter of
Mr.. Adams to Mr.. Pickering, announ-
Iciug to him not that he was to be re-
moved but that he was actually re-
moved and a successor appointed.
He said his feeble health to-day
obliged him to pass by with u mere ref
erenco the utteranCes Of Senators at
the time of the passage of the tenure of
Office bill and the fact that it did not
profess to repeal the act 1889, aud went
on to argue that all admitted that there
was room for doubling the law, and the
President had awaited himself of the
counsel of those specially designated
! by the Constitution to give it to him.
He must be held guiltless of crime in
constituting it as he did. lnregard to the
constitutionality of that law, he adj
verted to the fact that those wko framed
! it he could not address with much hope
of changing their opinion, but he would
make the inquiry whether, assuming its
cOnstitutiOHalityy- the Presidents action
could be deemed criminal
Abiding to a portion of Mr.. Bout
wells speech, he denied that the Presi-
dent was merely the servant of Con-
gresS TO execute their laws. His oath
of office required him first to maintain
the Constitution. Mr.. Groesbsck further
cOmbatted the position assumed by the
honorable Manager that the President
is required to execute all laws, even ifI
they are pronounced unconstitutional
10y the Supreme Court, claiming that
in such cases lie was bound by his high
er obligations. After reciting various
well-kDswn principles of interpreta-
ton. one was that long settled practice
determined the construction of law, he
claimed that the meaning of the act
of l7S9 was SO determined and fixed by
Government usage and judicial de-
cisons, that the President had the
right to challenge the constitutionality
of Il law in conflict with and yet not
repeating the old law which had been
framed and 50 long construed as en-
bodying the principles of tho Constitu-
tion regarding the power of renewal
At this point the Senate took recess
On reassembling Mr.. Groesbeck re-
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