Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-03-31
Burrl warns the House and the conn

| pIeSiucullal c!ldiF VINO was never
voted for by the people. Sir, the i'm
; peached President was not elected tc
that office by the people of the Unit.
ed States, and it seems to me little
short of cruelty on the part of the
gentleman to call special attention to
the manner in which Andrew John
son became President. The most
distant allusion to the bloody hand
| which, sending Abraham Lincoln to
u martyrs grave, elevated Andrew
johnson to the presidential chair,
sends a thrill of anguish to every
loyal heart, and if it is now theme
of pleasant reflection to him who pro
flied most by it, Il believe that the
time will come when he would give
the recollection of all his many hons
ors and offices to have it effaced from
his memory for ever.
In some one Of his numerous pubs
lie addresses, | believe that the Pres
ident, ascribing his elevation to Off
ce to the workings of the Constitu-
ton, claims for his tenure of office
something higher and more sacred
than though he had been elected in
the usual way. | think that | can
assure the gentleman from Illinois
that whatever view the people of the
United States may take of the inns
peachable conduct of the President,
the manner of his elevation to office
was not such as to give him an un>
usual hold upon their affections, or
to render his removal the cause ofan
indignant uprising or revolution; and
let it not be forgotten that the same
Constitution, by the working of
which Andrew Johnson became Pres
ident, has made it the duty of this
House, elected by the people of the
United States, in certain con-
tingency to make President, again
to initiate proceedings for the un-
making of that President who, I'M
mindful of his high duties, shall be
guilty of high crimes and misde,
meanors in office.
Has Andrew Johnson committed
acts in Office which, in view o the
Constitution, render him worthy of
impeachment and removal from off
ce? In endeavoring to answer this
question in the affirmative, as |
think it must be answered, [ will
only speak Of those acts of his which
are grouped together in the articles
presented by the committee as the
elimination Of that career of usurpa.
ton, Of crime, and misprlsion of trea
son upon which he entered in May,
1865, and which from that day to
this has saddened the heart of every
man and woman ia the country, and
made the veterans of the army doubt
whether after all we did not sur
render TO the rebels at Appomattox
Court House and at Salisbury, and
whether it was not our President,
and not Jefferson Davis, who, becom.
ing entangled in crinoline and things,
had surrendered to his captors.
The attempted removal of the
Secretary of War and the attempt to
seduce a gallant officer of the Army
from his duty, are, in my opinion,
ample cause for the impeachment Of
the President. Upon these overt
acts the articles Of impeachment are
framed, and to these, under the rules,
perhaps this debate should be con-
fined; but Tor the purpose Of illustra>
| ton | desire to call the attention of
the committee to a Few antecedent
facts which in my mind afford the
only true key to the motive for this
extraordinary conduct. In the brief
time allowed me, | can, of course,
only enumerate part of the many
acts of the President, which | have
always considered Improbable, and
cannot elaborate my views upon any
of them. The Constitution Of the
United States provides that "he," the
President, ''may, on extraordinary
occasions, convene both Houses or
either of them" l believe that it is
well-settled principle of law that
the word "may," when used in q
statute prescribing the duties of
judicial or civil officer, implies a du-
ty and not mere discretion to do
the particular act upon the happen
ing of the contingency specified.
Mr.. Chairman is there any doubt
that the middle of April, 1865, was
an extraordinary occasion in the
meaning Of the clause cf the Consists
tuition Of the United States above
quoted? The armies of the rebel
lion, which had fer four long years
occupied the greater portion of elev-
en- OF the states of the Union, which
had many times carried the bayonet
and the torch into the very heart OF
the North, which had more than once
| beleagei ed this, the capital of the ma
ton, in that month struck their flags
and laid them at the feet of our gal,
liant Generals. Our own gallant
! my which, under God, had over
lrown its enemy after four years of
gallant fighting, unremitting tot, land
patient suffering, was ready to be
discharged and return its million of
men to the pursuits of civil life
And in the midst of the nations re-
joicings and praise to that God who
giveth the victory, Abraham Lin
coin, the President of the United
States, the head of the nation, twice
elected, honored and beloved Of all
loyal men, was basely murdered by
an assassin Was not this an ex-
traordinary occasion ? In my opin>
ion, if ever plain duty rested upon
mortal ruler, Andrew Johnson was
that ruler; and to call Congress to-
gether as the first act of his official
| life as President was that duty. 1t
was not performed. And why p
Because that Congress was elected
in part by the soldiers who at such a
sacrifice had overthrown the reb,
els and believed that to the loyal
people of this country belonged the
right, and that upon them rested the
duty of settling, in the interest OF
!, loyalty, of universal liberty, and uni
yersal suffrage, the condition OF the
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