Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-02-28

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III VI Law"
SPEECH oi MR. POLAND.
NJ, Poland If Vermont having FIVE minutes
allowed him next smoke in support Of the I'M
na,cbr,cnt resolution He h1i hopel there
,rorIJ bove been no cause C,,. renewing, the
,nC,-or,,,,t IF irnna,cbmer+ but in that he had
Noon Recommended The President had onenly
,nI ostertatiopslv violated a law of the land =
~ T., i,,ito ;,,,rc,.l,,,q,t If his conduct WAS
,ll'o? 70 mss ,,,.,.o,l,oJ If would he claimed
i,,. l;r,,selt onl lis r,ic,ds s4a t1ir,prl over
ls,g
SfELO" OBJ i'if' S'"'HNS'
Mr.. Stevens, Pennsylvania, closel the debate.
He said =
- l agree with those gentlemen who have gone
before me, that this is grave subject and should
be grdyely treated, Ii l. important TO the high
official who Is the subject of these charges. and It
is important to nation Of forty millions Of peo-
pie now free and sapidly increasing to hundreds
of millions. The official character Of the Chief
Executive Of this grand nation being thus in
volyel, the charge i falsely made is a civil offence.
II, on the other hand, mislemean0r and usurpa-
ton As charged against him are true, he is guilty
Of as serious attempts to usurp the liberty and
destroy the hAppiuoss OF thi, nation Us we're
ever perpcuatcI by the most de,estabie tyrant
who ever opposed Ais ieI1w-inen. Let US
therefore discuss these questions IN no partisan
spirit, but with legal accuracy and impartial
justice. The people desire uo victim and they
viii endure no u-urper. The charges So far as l
shall discuss them, are few and distinct. An
drew Johnson Is charged with attempting 10
usurp the powers Of other branches of the Gov
crnmeut with attempting 20 aistruct and resist
the execution of the laws with misprison Of
bribery. and open violation Of laws. which de-
lare lis acts d I4i-lcmcanor and subject him to
fine and Imprisonment. with removing from Of
fee the Secretary Of War during the session Of
the Senate, without the advice or consent of the
Senate and With violation Of the 9th section Of
certain civil officers. There are other offences
charged Ia the papers referred 10 the Committee,
which may consider more by themselves. In
order to sustain impeachment under our Consti-
tuition, do not hold that it Is necessary to prove
a crime il ma iuiictab,c offence, or any act what
ever Is So. agree with the distinguished gen
tlemau from Puusy .yania on the other side Of
the House, vino holds this 20 be purely politi
cal proceeding. II Is intended for a remedy for
na]taasance IN office and TO prevent the con-
tiuEluye thereof Beyond that it is not intend
cl as % personal punishment for past offences or
for future example Impeachment under our
Constitution is very different from impeachment
un Ter English law,
We are to treat this question
then as wholly political, in which if an officer
If the Government abuses his trust, or attempt
to pCryort it t0imprOper purposes, whatever be ms
motiy .he becomes subject 20 impeachment amt
removal from Office. The offence beng lndIcta-
Die does not prevent impeachment, nor. L. IL not
necessary to sustain it. See Story Comenta-
ries on the Constitution, Madison and others
Such Il the opinion # our elementary writers.
Nor can any case Of Impeachment, tued IN tins
country, be found whereby an attempt was
made TO prove the offence criminal and mdicta-
bic.
Ii Andrew johnson escapes with bare removal
from office, if lie lie not hueI and ncarceratei
in the penitcntiary afterwards under criminal
proceedings. he may thank tie weakness or
clemency of Congress, and not his own limo
cence. We shall propose 10 prove ON the trial
that Andrew johnson was guilty of misprlson
Of bribery by Offering 10 Gen. Grant If he would
unite With him in his lawess violence, TO assume
in his stead penalties, and endure imprisonment
provided by the laws. Bribery Is one OF the
offence. specifically enumerated for which the
President may be impeachel and removed from
Office Nowhere, either in the Constitution or hy
statute, has the President the power 10 create a
vacancy during the session of the Senate and hi
it without the advice and consent Of the Senate
and yet on the DIST day Of February, 1905,
while the Senate was in session, he nouiled the
mead Of the War Department that he was reInoy-
cd from Office and his successor at interim ap-
pointed. His is a plain record Of violation Of
the Constitution and laws, which, If 1t stood
alone, would make every honest and intelligent
man give his vote for impeachment. The Presl-
dent has persevcrcd in his lawless course through
a long series Of unjastltiahle acts. When the so
called Confederate States Of America were con-
quered, and had laid down their arms and sur
rendered their territory to the victorious Union,
the government and final disposition of the con-
ouered country belonged to Congress alone, &C
eording to every principle Of the law of nations.
Neither the Executive nor Judiciary had any
right to interfere with 1t, except so far as was
necessary to control II by military rule until the
sovereign power Of the nation had provided Tor
its civil administration. No power but Congress
mad any right to say whether, how, or when
they should be admitted to the Union rs States,
and entitled to the privileges of the Constitution
Of the United States ;and yet Andrew johnson,
with unblushing hardihood, undertook to rule
them by his own power alone-drect them what
Governments to enact, and what Constitutions to
adopt. and to send representatives TO Congress
according to his instructions. When admonish-
ed by express act Of Congress, more than once
repeated, he disregar,led the warning and con-
tinued his lawless usurpation. lie is since
known to have obstructed the re-estahlishment
of those governments by authority Of Congress
and has advised the inhabitants TO resist the leg
islation Of Congress. In my Judgment, his con-
duct in regard to that transaction was high
handed usurpation of power, which long ago
ought to have brought him to impeachment and
trial, and to have removed him from his position
of great mischief He has been lucky in thus far
' .on NC, "a.o o,J IL of i' his ucoI
Denomination 10 snbIert tbe laws If his countrvI
r -. ~. - - - =. -, mon e.;