Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1868-04-04

Inc Oergeant-ab Arms made prOclamatloo |
commanding silence.
The Presidents counsel entered and took |
their seats as before, at 12.45. and the Ser
geant. Arms announced the Managers on
the part of the House of Representatives,
who took their places, with the exception
Of Mr. Stevens, who entered soon afterwards
and took seat slightly apart from the Man
ayers tables
The House Of Representatives was tnen
announced, and the members appeaieo
headed by Mr.. Washburne of Illinois, on tne
| arm of the Clerk of the House, ana were
seated
The minutes Of the last day of trial were
read, and Mr.. Butler commenced MS open
ing at q quarter before one O'CLOCK
GENERAL BuTLERs SPEECH
Mr. Butler opens his argument by allud-
inc to the onerUus duty that has fallen upon
! him. and the novelty of the proceedings IN
which. for the first time in the history OF
,be world, has nation brought before its
| highest tribunal its Chief Executive for trial
| on charges of MISUNDERSTANDING of the pow
ers and duties of his Office. The Constitu-
ton provides that the President, Vice Presi.
| dent. and all civil officers shall be removed
| from office on impeachment for and convic'
| ton of treason, bribery or other high crimes
| and misdcmeanors.
The House of Representatives shall solely
impeach, the Senate only shall try, and in
case of conviction the judgment shall alone
be removal from Office and disqualification
for office, one or both. These mandatory
became necessary to adapt well known
procedure of the mother country to the in
etitutions of the then infant republic But
q single incident only Of the business was
left TO construction, and that concerns the
| a ;poo,oc,tipc x,hirb orc tho Ground
work of impeachment. This was wisely
done because human foresight is inadequate,
and human intelligence fails in the task of
anticipating and providing for, by positive
enactment, all the infinite gradations Of hu-
man wrong and sin, by which the liberties
of people, and the safety of nation may
be endangered from the imbcclity, corrup-
tion aud unhallowcG ambition Of its works
He then examines the question What
are unbcarable offenses under the provisions
of our Constitution" He states that he will
give the result to which he has arrived, and
at the close of his argument the authorities
and discussions both in this country and in
England, from which the Managers deduce
their propositions, prepared Ivy the Hon.
William Lawrence of Ohio, member of the
: House Judiciary Committee, in which he
fully concurs and adopts.
We define, therefor, an impeachabe crime
, or misdemeauor TO be one IN its nature OF
consequences subrersiuc Of some Fundamental
or essential principle Of Goreramcnt, or high
: lyprejudicial to the public interests, and this
-, mag consist of a riolation Of tie Constitution
: or laus, OF an official oath, or Of dWy, By an
, act committed or omitted, or aeith0G violating
a positire 'a1c, 5y the abuse Of discretionary
D porers from improper N,otires, or for any i'm
b proper purpose.
: In examining the question, Mr Butle
quotes Mr Madison, who, in the first Con
gress, when discussing the power of thu
y President to remove an officer, uses the fol
+ lowing words ''The danger consists mainl,
= in this-.hat the President can displac
n from office a man whose merits require Ia
Il should be continued in it. In the first place
;, he will be impcached by the House for sucl
u an act Of maladministration for contenC
k that the wanton removal of a meritorou
h officer would subject him to Impeachment
d and removal from his own high trust"
n In considering the question, Is this bod
now sitting to determine the accusation o
the House of Representatives against tn
President, the Senate of the United State
= as court 2 he says 1--WE claim and re
e spectfully insist that this tribunal has non,
l. Of the attributes of judicial court, as the,
}
. course this question must lie legally deter
mined by the express provisions of the Con
stitution, and in it there is no word, as i
e well known to you, Senators, which give
d the slightest coloring to the idea that thi
!. is a court save that on the trial of this par
ticular respondent, the Chief Justice of tn
Supreme Court must preside. But evcl
s thi: provision can have no determining ct
It feet upon this question, because, is not thi
the same tribunal in all its powers incident
\. and duties when other civil officers ar
II brought to its bar for trial, when the Vic
3 President (not a judicial otlicer) must pre-
. side Can it be contcnded for momen
!. that this is the Senate of the United State
, when sitting on the trial of all other officers
u and Court only when the President is a
J. the bar, solely because in this case the Con
d stitution has designated the Chief Justice q
the presiding officer
He then states that the first eight article
D. set ont i'll several distinct forms the acts {
" the respondent in removing MI. Stanton frol
= Office and appointing Mr. Thomas I'D interim
~ differing in legal effect in the purposes fc
~ which, and the intent with which, either {
s. both OF the acts were done, and the leg;
Up duties and rights infriuSed, and the acts
ii Congress violated in so doing. After spec
:. flying these articles in detail he says, tbs
IN atdltlon TO tue PROOF already adGuced,
vs. win be shown that after the appointment
at Thomas the President caused a formal motto
~ to be served on the Secretary of the Tre
;s sury, to the end that the Secretary migl
answer the requisition for moLey of Thoma
nc and this was only prevented by the 6rmne
rs with which Stanton retained possession
of the books and papers Of the War Ofiic.
1t will be seen that every fact charged
Article is admitted by the answer of th
op respondent; the intent is also admitted {
er charged that is TO say, to set aside I'll
/. Civil Tenure, ofOAice act, and to remoy
Mr.. Stanton from the Office of the Secretar
es for toe Department of War; without the az
i'd vice and consent Of the Senate, and, if NJ
as justified, contrary to tue provisions of IL
y, Constitution itself. On this the responder
AYERS, that by the Constitution, there
AZ conferred on the President as part of Il
Executive power, the power at any and a
times of removing from office all Executi'
of officers for cause, to be judged of by Il
he President alone. and that he verify believ
that the Executive power of removal fro
VI office confded to him by the Constitute
on includes the power of suspension from off
OR indefinitely"