Evening star., 1868-04-24
FORTIETH CONGRESS.
This Afternoons Proceedings.
Impeachment,
THE ARGUMENT OF Mr.. NELSON.
FRIDAY, April ~.

SKRATR.-The Court Of Impeachment was
opened with the usual formalities at II a. m.
The Chief Justice announced that the first
question in order was on the motion submitted
yesterday by Sc enator Grimes, that the Court
shall m. ct hereafter at II o'clock,
The order was adopted, as follows:
leGs.-Messrs. Anthony, Davis, Doolittle,
Ferry, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, Henderson,
johnson, Morgan, Morrill,, (Vt.,) McCreery
Morton, Patt. rson, Tenn, y Ramsey, salisbury,
Irnmoull, Van Wrinkle, Vickers, Wiley, and
Nass.-Messrs. Conkling, Conness. Corbett
Edmunds, Harlan Howe, Pomeroy, Sprsgue,
stewart Sumner, Thayer, Upton, and Will
Senator Edmunds offered an order, that after
the arg uments shall be concluded and the doors
closed for deliberation, the official reporters
shall be admitted, for the purpose Of reporting
the debates.
Senator sumner objected, and it went over.
The Chief Justice then notified Mr.. Nelson to
proceed.
Mr.. Nelson said he desired first to reply 10 the
report of the honorable Manager (Mr. Butler)
made to the House of Representatives as to the
definition Of an improbable high crime or
misdemeanor. If we 60 the law of Parliament
Tor the definition of a high crime and misde-
meanor, you will not find it: if you go there for
definition OF an mpeachable crime you will
find what we have no knowledge of in our laws
In England they punished for very venial
crimes and misdemeanors. The earliest in
stance of parliamentary Impeachment was in
1856. Mr.. n. read at some length from a work
of Mr.. Stevens concerning English cases of
impeachment and the punishments inflicted
therefore. He Mr. n. main tanned that this
whole subject of impeachment was limited n
this country by the Constitution. He knew
that Judge Story took a different view of il from
what he did, but one set of interpreters took the
Constitution one way and some another He
respectfully maintained that Congress had no
power TO create as crimes and misdemeanors
acts which were not known as such at the adop-
ton of the Constitution; that you must go to the
common law for definition of crimes and mis-
demeanors which We're impeachab offences at
the time of the adoption of the Con- ii ution
Referring here 10 the language used by MT
Boutwell, yesterday, that the President was
ambitious and inscriptions, and had ruined
every man who came In confidential relations
with him; that he spared no one, and that of his
treatment of a gentleman who was counsel for
him, but who had never appeared in his behalf
Mr.. n. said it was difficult for him to defend
he President against the charge of being such
a political leper. but he thought that it was
due to Judge Black himself that some reply
should be made to this allusion. He Mr. M
Lad never seen Judge Black in his life until he
met him in nsulation with the President in
The council chamber. He must sow briefly
refer TO the report which had been sent in rela-
tive to the Alta Neta affair, giving extracts
from executive document No 3S of the Forteth
Congress. General Butler had said in a letter
of March Q. 1865 that American citizens had
he tight to obtain guano from the island and
the letter was also signed by John A Bingham
and others. The facts contained in this docu-
ment are the only reasons why Judge
Black, in March 10, 1S6s, retired as one
not for him (Mr. NJ to censure Judge Black
for his action, or TO say that any of she
Managers were engaged in the speculation. All
these papers Were gotten up after this impeach-
ment proceeding was commenced against the
President OF the United States; and while he
wonld not make any allegations against the
honorable Managers, il was a fact that this let
ter was signed by four of the Managers Now.
II the President had gone to war with a weak
power, il might have been said that he did il
for fear of the Managers or Judge Black. The
President in a
sition, but those mIstook him who thought
they could drive him into doing ANYTHING that
lie did not think was right. The President was
Of a peculiar temperament, he might be led
but that was very hard but as for driving him
from what he thought was right by any threats
hat was impossible. The President knew that
ne, by refusing to carry out these wishes, would
be- exposed to great dangers in this trial that il
would be trumpeted all over the United States
that Judge Black had left his cause for disgust,
that black Cloud was coming over him. The
President stood like a sentinel on the watch.
tower of the Cor stitution, and would not use
the power of the Government In the interest of
any speculation. The President did not au-
ihoIiZe him (Mr. N to hurl any defian &c at
the Senate, or 10 say anything offensive to his
Judges; but he did defy his enemies and in vite
The closest scrutiny into all his official acts,
conscious that he had acted with a sole pur-
pose of doing his duty. This charge was limited
as if the President had done some harm to
Judge Black: as if Judge Black had been con-
taminated by contact with him, but all that the
President had done was his duty, and he was
not 10 be deferred from that by any promises or
any threats. He was not conscious of having
done any wrong to Judge Black, nor is he has
counsel. The honorable Manager INT. Bout
welll had again noticed the dialogue bel iween
Hamlet and Polonius as illustrating the rela-
ton between the President ard his Cabinet,
snd had likened them to serfs. He would ask
the Senate to consider the message of the Presi-
dentof Dec. 1867. Nothing had been disproved
in that message by the Managers. and al
though he lad regretted at the time
that the Senate had refused to allow the
Cabinet ministers to testify i'll confederation,
yet on sober second thought he saw that il was
all right, as none of the statements in that
message had been irlpugned. Mr.. N. here read
from the message in question that all the men,
bers OF the Cabinet were outspoken that the
tenure-of- Office law was unconstitutional, and
that Mr.. Stanton was particularly severe upon
IT. Here was the plain, untarnished statement,
that had never been contradicted, and not one
word Of testimony was brought forward TO
shake ii. This being the fact, be (Mr NJ
ass umed that Mr.. Stanton, about wnom the
whole world seemed now to be set on fire, was
one OF the most determined in the view that the
tenure Of office law was unconstitutional, and
advised the President to veto it. He had never
seen Mr.. Stanton, but he thought that gentle.
man could well exclaim, save me from nv
friends, in having such base and mercenary
motives imputed to HIM as a Cabinet min
lster as had been described by the Managers.
Mr. N. here read from the letter of
Mr.. Stanton, of March 3, 1865, accepting
the recognition of Mr.. Johnson. and comph-
menung him for his efforts an behalf Of the
Union. He tMr. ny had now shown them
out of the mouth of Mr.. Stanton himself that
the President Of the United States deserved the
encomiums which he had bestowed upon him
yesterday for his efforts to preserve the inteeri-
ty of the Union. 1t seemed almost in ncreditable
that in three short years this man who was en-
titled TO such praise at the hands of Mr.. Stan
ton, should have become the monster, the
tyrant the usurper,as he is now charged to be-
In 1s65 he had the endorsement of Mr.. Stanton
as being man whom the people should de-
light 70 honor. In the light Of these articles
Of Impeachment, Mr.. Stanto ms name appears,
n the acts of the President In connection
with him, form the border OF sthe grievances
Now although differences Of opinion have
sprung up, and although there may be those
who hold that the President has acted wron Civ
he contended that he had done nothing which
could be construed into an impeachable
offence. Another thing was, the House
of Representatives should present the President
as subject to impeachment for acts done in ref.
eIence to the seth Congress. 1t would be sup-
pc sed that the seth Congress had the power to
protect itself, and now, after that Cong ess had
pas sed out of existence, q succeeding Congress
was taking up the cudgels in its behalf The
House of Representatives, at the beginning of
this session. had voted down the charges Of i'm
peachment then brought which embraced some
Of the charges which were now brought The
learned Managers had talked q great deal about
the law Of Parliament, but they found that
there was no law of Parliament The learned
Manager (Mr. Butler) had talked a great deal
about estoppels, and he now maintained that
an estoppel should avail pnthis case, that the
House Of Representatives were precluded from
now bringing charges on which thew had ,ra