Middletown transcript., 1868-04-04
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part OF the House managers by Mr.. B.
v. Butler. who read lengthy address,
which occupied three hours in its delivery,
reviewing tho constitutional provisions
which are alleged to make it the duty Of
the House TO impcach and the Senate to
try President charged with high crimes
and misdemeanOrs. reciting English and
, American precedents in cases of impeach-
ment. and considering the matters Of fact
and law which would be developed in sup
porting the statements Of each Of the i'm
peachment articles, Mr.. Wilson, of the
impeachment managers, commenced the
iatrcdueticn of testimony, consisting of
documents mostly with which the public
generally are familiar, but which Mr..
Stanbery, counsel for the President, de-
sired to have read, which was done accor-
dingly. The evidence, elicted little that
was new. One incident, however, that
occurred in the case has important signi6-
canoe. On question of the adm issibility
Of evidence. the Chief Justice promptly
decided the point without taking vote of
the Court upon it. This threw the man
ayers into great excitement. They made
several speeches on the point, combating
this decision of the Chief Justice. On a
motion to retire for consultation there was
tie vote; the Chief Justice deciding by
his casting vote in faver of the motion.
His right to vote was not questioned. On
the return to the court room q decision
sustaining the Chief Justice was annoup-
eed.
The open appeal made by the managers
Of the Court to divest itself of its judi
cial character, has created mistrust and |
alarm for the character and the institutions
Of our country. The procedure of i'm
Peachment was meant to be a great and
solemn trial under the Constitution and
the laws Of the United States, the highest
legal functionary presiding But Gen.
Butler, speaking for his associates, says
t" anu respectfully insist that this tri-
ounni mas none of the attributes of judicial
court az they are commonly received and under
5000: You are q law unto yourselves
bound only by the natural principles of equity
ana Justice We claim that the question Of the
t:ns.unonality an Of any law Of Congress is, upon
this trial, stotally irrelevant one.
The proceedings on Wednesday exhibi-
ted no special point of interest, except an
abortive attempt of Mr. Sumner to recover
from the discontinue which the impeachers
had suffered in the vote of the court in
secret session. sustaining by vote of
thirty to nineteen the ruling of the Chief
Justice that he had right to decide. In
che first instance, questions of law and
evidence. With this view Mr.. Sumner
submitted an order that in giving the cas-
ting vote on Monday upon the motion to
80 into secret consultation upon the appeal
taken BY Mr.. Drake against the ruling
aforementioned the Chief Justice had
done that for which there was no constitu-
tional warrant. The order was rejected
BY vote of yeas 81, nays 27. This was
the second failure of those extremists whose
programme is to make the Chief Justice a
mere ornamental figure in the court of
impeachment. The question as to the
admissibility of certain testimony of Mr..
Burleigh, (and which we had understood
the Chief Justice to declare admissible)
relative to a conversation between Mr..
Burleigh and General Lorenzo Thomas in
which the latter is alleged to have declared
his intention to expel Mr.. Stanton from
the War Office by force, and which was
objected to by the Presidents counsel
- being irrelevant, and as being that for
which general Thomas only was response
Bile, was argued and submitted to the Sen.
ate, and that body decided to receive the
evidence BY vote of 81 to IL. George
w. Carsner of Delaware was then called
and examined. He testified to having had
a conversation with Gen. Thomas during
levee at the White House, in which he
told the General that the people of Della
ware expected him TO stand firm, and
Gcneral Thomas replied that he was STAN
ding firm. and would in two or three days
kick Mr.. Stanton out. At the conclusion
Of the examination of this witness the
Court adjourned. and the president pro
tenn. resumed the Chair.
The National Intelligencer Of Thursday,
thus alludes to the testimony of this wit
ness as follows:
Mr.. Carsner was the third and last wit
ness introduced by General Butler. He
did not harrow up the soul or /" freeze the
syeballs Of anybody by his revelations,
bat ne did succeed in convulsing with
laAghNeK Court bar snectators renorters