Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-05-07
DIssENsIONs IN THE CAMP OF THE


lMFEANInEatS-
The Washington correspondent OF the
Chicago Times writes under date of April
80 as follows:
Discussions are more and more distract
ing the camp of the impeaehers, as the
time for holding the Chicago Convention
draws nigh. The many candidates for the
Vice Presidency in the Senate cannot bear
the idea of the elevation Of old Ben. Wade
TO the Presidential chair, in time for him
to operate upon the delegates TO assemble
at Chicago. Senator Wilson, few days
since, said 10 a brother Senator, with
great deal of feeling, /" II is outrageously
wrong that a man should use one Office
merely to obtain another, as Wade is now
doing with respect to the Vice Presidency"
But Senator Wilson has even gone further
than this. His opposition to Wade 10 80
bitter that he (Wilson) has actually waxed
lukeWarm upon impeachment, and only
now c0nes up to the work with dispair-
ing snllenness of manner that is not at all
inspirating to his co-laborers in the cause.
A few days ago, he exhibited 80 much
restiyeness under the lash as TO actually
amount to going-back upon the measure
which is now the Republican party shib-
boleth, and which for man TO even
" flicker is high crime and misdemeanor
| in the eyes of Radicalism. A day or two
since, he said 10 the lady Of another Senator,
whose husband is vet strong in the faith,
that he "began to have doubts as TO
the policy of removing Mr.. johnson"
He "was afraid that it would injure more
than il would benefit the party" The
lady, in considerable alarm, reported this
speech to her Senatorial liege-lord, who re-
marked. sententiously, "The trouble with
Wilson is, that he would sc Oner see john
son acquitted than convicted, if his con-
viction would give Wade the Vice Presi-
dency on the Grant ticket" Then, there
are the more conservative Senators-such
as Trumbull, Grimes, Fessenden, Hender-
son, Frelinghuysen, Sherman, Anthony,
Sprague, Fowler, Van Wrinkle, and Wiley.
| These gentlemen cannot bear the idea of
| having Mr.. Wade in the Presidential
chair, welding the patronage of the gov
| eminent in the interest of Butler, Logan,
Schenck, Stevens, and all the other num-
berless worshipers of "lOot' in the Radical
party. They know that the triumph of
the impeachers is the signal of their politi-
cal ostracism and that from that moment,
as | have heretofore stated, they must
take baek-seats in the political synagogue.
Accordingly, they are not at all anxious
that Mr. johnson should be convicted. On
the contrary, am satisfied that all that the
majority of these Senators need in order to
make their votes sure for acquittal, is to be
! satisfied that sufficient number of them will
| vote together to assure each other of moral
support. They believe that, if only a
sufficient number Of them can be got to
hang together, SO as to present respectable
point numerically, their need be no fear
| Of their hanging separately, go far as the
| party is concerned. So that, after all, i'm
| parchment, whatever way you turn the
matter over, is 8 question of persenallsm
and party status, rather than OF law and
evidence. The majority of the Senate
would convict the President, if they had
the power, on merely party considerations
while a minority would acquit him on
legal grounds, if they were not influenced
by party considerations and still smaller
minority yet will vote to acquit him on
purely legal considerations. But the feel
ing is widening and deepening, that the
President will be acquitted. The impeach-
ers are growing more and more fearful and
anxious daily. What with the weakness
of their case, the superior tact and ability
displayed by the defense, and, above all,
on account of the dissensions among Sena-
tors on the subject Of the Vice Presidency
and the elevation of such an extreme man
az Old Ben. Wade, the impeachers begiT
TO think that their case is exhibiting symp'
toms of a total and most miserable collaspe