New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-05-29
TEB TRoTHIRpe MAoHINB.

dent johnson was pronounced guilt
less is examined, the more clearly
does its glaring injustice and absurdity ap-
pear. The cardinal principle upon which
the whole fabric of the American govern
ment is built is that the majority shall
rule; but by this vote the minority is made
to rule, and minority, also, that really
represents SO Insignificant portion Of the
people that the idea Of submitting to their
dictation is almost unbearable. Twelve OF
the States represented in the Senate were
unanimous for conviction; four were unani-
nous for acquittal; the remaining eleven
were equally divided. The votes Of the
Senators from these eleven States would Of
course Offset each other, and there would
then be majority of eight States for con-
viction. But as it is the four States which
are unanimous for acquittal triumph over
the twelve States that are unanimous for
conviction What sort of justice, equity,
and respect for the popular will is there in
this?
Look at the vote in another light. The
population Of the twelve States that were
unanimous for conviction is in round num-
bers 10000 600; that of the four States
which were unanimous for acquittal is
100000; the eleven States that were d.
yided contain population of about H.
000, 900, and on the superstition that Mr.
Trumbull, for instance, represented one
half Of the people of Illinois, while Mr.
Yates represented the other half, this
100000 may for arguments sake be as
sumed to be equally divided on the ques-
ton OF the guilt or innocence of the Presi-
dent. This would leave the case to be
decided between the twelve States that
were unanimous for conviction and the four
States that were unanimous for acquittal.
The FIRST have twelve millions of people
the latter have three millions. By all the
rules Of common sense and Of republican
government tie twelve millions should
rule: but as it is the three millions control
the result, and a miserable minority domin-
eer over a majority four times its size.
Tina; is about as curious an illustration Of
popular sovereignty as could be imagined
Take the case in still another phase. Il
is q very common thing for members Of a
legislative body to pair off" with each
other upon questions on which they would
vote N opposition to each other. For ex-
ample Trumbull may have said to Yates,
4 am bound TO vote for acquittal; you are
determined to vote for conviction; our
votes will Offset each other: let us pair of. .
Had this been done by the twenty-five
Senators who represented the eleven d.
vided States there would have been left
the eight Senator who represented the four
States unanimous for acquittal, and the
twenty-four Senators whe represented the
twelve States unanimous for conviction,
and the President would have been con
Ticted and deposed by majority Of sixteen
votes, and by two more than a two-thirds
vote. As It was, however, the eight Sena-
tors overruled the twenty-four. And this
is called a triumph of the popular will
The four States which have been thus
enabled to defy the will of all the rest Of
the country are Delaware, Kentucky,
Maryland, and Tennessee. In the House
Of Representatives they have twenty-three
Representatives, Of whom fourteen are
Democrats. The eleven States which are
divided by the action of their Senators on
the subject are Connecticut Illinois, In
diana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota,
Missouri Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
and Wisconsin. They are, with the exeep-
ton Of Connecticut all strongly Repub-
liean States, and in the House of Repre-
sentatiEes they have eighty-six members,
Of whom all but seventeen are Repub-
licans. Had they been represented in the
Senate as they are in the House, but one
fifth of their Senators--that is, four OF FIVE
would have voted for acquittal, and the
remainder-that lie, seventeen or eighteen
would have voted for conviction. In this
case the vote would have stood for cor
victiOn forty-two and for scquittal twelve,
and this vote would really have expressed
the wishes Of the people far better than the
one which was taken, and by which justice
has been SO miserably thwarted and the
loyal people of the country have been SO
grievously disappointed.
We have no disposition to accuse the
seven Republican Senators who voted for
the acquittal of the President Of being
swayed by motives that were otherwise
than exeusable, if not altogether pure
But there is this to be said about them.
A Senator is as much the servant Of the
people as is a Representative, and should
be as subserEient to their will. If the con-
science of these gentlemen was so tender
that they could not bring themselves to
vote for the Presidents conviction, they
Should have been equally tender in refusing
to stand in the way Of what they knew was
the viii Of the people who had sent them
to Washington. It would have been per
teetly easy for each one Of them to resign;
this would have reduced the Senate to
fOrtyseven menbers, and the President
would have been convicted bya majority
Of twenty-three votes.
JUDGE YE BETWEEN Us