The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-06-02
II H Fl, PR SIS,
Tuesday Morning, June Q, 1893.


EB-F First Page to-day The Republican
Press of Maine on the Impeachment Verdict;
Portrait of the late Luther Jewett; the Case
of Senator Ross; False Alarm; Cabinet
Changes.
Fourth Page--Whttier to Colfax; a " Little
Story" about Grant.
The Republican, Party ON Impeachment.
The rumor that Mr.. Wade and one or two
others left a r publican>caucus because they
were unwilling to associate with Senators who
voted for acquittal, has been contradcted, as
was to be expected. Mr.. Wade, who four
years ago was so little in sympathy with the
party that he refused to abide by the renomi-
nation of Lincoln and lent his influence to
the ephemeral Fremont ticket, is hardly the
man to say now who shall or shall not be
recognized as its members. Furthermore, al
though we have never questioned Mr.. Wade's
right to vote on the articles of impeachment,
it would certainly have been more becoming
if he had resigned his claim to the succession
before voting to remove the President, and we
are glad to know that he has not undertaken
to make an issue in the party on question in
which he had personal interest too plain and
too great to be altogether overlooked in
iu6;:;.g his conduct.
II is now plain that such issue would be
sustained by the party if made The national
convention, meeting at Chicago in the first
flush and heat of disappointment, refused to
go farther than to express the belief OF the
delegates that the articles were sustained by
the law and testimony. That belief, with
verdict of 30 to 10 to sustain it, the convention
might well hold. That belief, we have no
doubt is held by great majority of the party
at large to-day. 1t is not the unanimous opin-
ion of the party, as the discussions in these
columns and in other papers have shown. In
Decd it is stated on the authority of an asso-
ciate Justice Of the Massachusetts Supreme
Court, that the Republican lawyers of the
Suffolk bar are about equally divided on the
question. The opinions of the people at large
are probably better represented by the news
papers, and the opinion of the Republicans OF
Maine may be very accurately gagged by the
extracts which We present this morning from
the Republican press all over the State
1t will be seen, on examining these
extracts, that while the belief of the Chicago
convention is generally re-afirmed, the i'm
parchment trial is treated with one mind as
an incident and not an essential feature Of
Republican policy and its result as a matter
ofregret but not as serious defeat. 1t will
be seen furthermore that while in some pa
pers the criticism of the dissenting Senators
is passionate and severe, their right and obi
cation to form an Independent opinion is as
serted with equal warmth by others.
1t is evident therefore, as fact which mus
be recognized and respected, that the article
of impeachment cannot take rank as Repub
lican articles of faith. The test OF party fealt,
must be found elsewhere. Fidelity to the ma
tion's wards at the South, respect for the ma
tion's promises, these are still the cardina
principles of the Republican creed whoever
cherishes these principles is with us; whoever
rejects them is against us. Our complaint
against the President is that he has been un
faithful to one of these principles Our repre-
sentatives proceeded against him for that rea
son, but they did not proceed on that ground
The technical ground on which their com
plant was based was his removal of Stanton
The difference between legal and politca
proceeding is the difference between justice
and expediency. A man may differ with hi,
party concerning the expediency O.
political measure, a law, or pomna
ton, and yet yield his Judgment to that of his
friends with no loss of selfrespect He NAV
properly be required to yield his preference Of
means to reach an end which his friends de.
sire as sincerely as he. But in judicial en-.
quiry he is sworn to do impartial Justice, and
cannot yield his conviction. The responsible
ty is with him and he must meet it as best he
may. The question which our Senators had
sworn to investigate in this spirit was the
technical question presented by the House OF
Representatives. The difference of opinion
which arose among the Republicans was to
be expected of honest men during the whole
trial they divided as unbiased judges would
and it is creditable to the party that
their independent action has been so
generally appreciated aud respected We
have just reason to complain of the
Democrats both in the Senate and throughout
the country for the narrow and partisan view
which they have taken of this question, but
the Republican party comes out of the trial
unframed and undismayed. 1t has prosecuted
Its case to verdict which is a moral convic-
ton, and has shown both in the Senate and in
the country at large moderation and self-re-
spect which afford the most convincing proof
of its capacity and right to continue to admin
lister the affairs of the nation.