Des Arc weekly citizen., 1868-03-28
CONGRESSIONAL.

bills of no general interest were intro- duced and referred. On motion of Mir. Schenk, the Secre- tary of the Treasury was called on for his reasons for the removal of James B. | Steedman as Collector of Internal Rev enue for the First District of Louisiana. The other proceedings were unimport- ant.
 In the Senate, at one o'clock the Pres ident pro tenn. vacated the chair, and the Chief Justice called the Senate to order, and the Sergeant at Arms made the usual proclamation commanding silence; whereupon the managers ap- peared at the door, and the Sergeant at-Arms announced "the managers of the impeachment upon the part of the House of Representatives :" and the Chief Justice said "The managers will take the seats assigned to them by the Senate" Messrs. Bingham and Boutwell, led the way up the aisle, and took their seats, and in the meantime Messrs. Stanberry, Curtis, Wilson, Ev- arts and Groesbeck, as counsel tor the President, entered and seated them selves at their tables in the order nam ed, Mir. Stanberry occupying the ex- treme right. The Sergeant-at-arms then announced "the House of Repre- sentatiyes," and the members appeared, headed by Washburn, leaning on the arm of Mir. McPherson, the Clerk of the House, and took seats outside of the bar.
 The Secretary of the Senate then read the minutes of the proceedings on the 18th inst.
 Doolittle was then sworn, and when the journal had been read Mir. Davis submitted a motion that the Constitu- ton requiring the Senate to be com posed oftwo Senators from each State, and certain States being unrcpresented, therefore.
 Resolved, That the trial of this case be discontinued until all the States are represented.
 MT. Conness moved that the motion be not received, and called for the yeas and nays.
 Mir. Howe moved to inquire whether the motion was in order.
 The Chief Justice read the rule, and said "Mr. Conness' motion is not in or der," and directed the Secretary to call the yeas and nays on Howe's motion, which was done, with the following results: Yeas ?, nays 49; all present voting in the negative except Davis and McCreery. Mir. Saulsbury did not vote.
 MT. Stanbery said that he and his fel- low counscllors had devoted every hour since the last days proceeding to pre- pairing the Presidents answer, and re- gretted that they had not had more time, but would submit it now. Mir. Curtis then read it, the address being To the Senate of the United States:
 Answer of the President in the Sen ate, sitting as Court of Impeachment, for the trial of Andrew Johnson, Pres ident of the United States. The an- swer of the said Andrew Johnson, Pre- sident of the United States, to the ar ticles ofimpeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives of the United States:
 Answer to Article l. For an answer to the first article, he says that Edwin NJ. Stanton was appointed Secretary of War on the 10th of January, 1&2, by A Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, during the first term of his Presidency, and was commissioned according to the Constitution and laws of the United States, ito hold such office during the pleasure of the Pres ident v and that the office of Secretary for the Department of War was created by an act of Congress on its first ses- sion, and passed on the 7th of August, 17S9, and by that act it was provided and enacted that said Secretary for the Department of War, "shall perform and execute such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined by and in trusted to him by the President of the United States, agreeably to the Consti- tuition, relative to the subjects within the scope of said office; and further more, that said Secretary shall conduct the business said Department in such manner as the President of the United States shall from time to time order and instruct and this respondent, fur thcr answering, says, that by force of | the act aforesaid and by reason of his appointment as aforesaid, the said Stan ton became the principal officer in one of the Executive Departments of the Government, and it being the true in- tent of Section } of Article II of the Constitution of the United States, and according to the true intent and mean ing of that provision of the Constitu- tion of the United States, and in ac- | COl Wlth tiS SSbtiCd oA0 uuiiOt iii practice of every President of the United States, the said Stanton became and so long as he should continue to hold the office of Secretary for the De partmcnt of War, must continue to be one of the cabinet of the President of the United States, as we'll as the per son entrusted to act for and represent the President in matters conferred upon him or entrusted to him by the Presi- dent touching the department afore- said, and for whose conduct in such capacity, as q subordinate to the Presi- dent, the President is, according to the Constitution and laws of the United States, made responsible. And this re- spondcnt further answering, says he succeeded to the office of President of the United States, and by reason of the death of Abraham Lincoln, then Pres ident of the United States, on the 10th day of April, 1865, and said Edwin NJ. Stanton was then holding said office of Secretary for the Department of War, and by reason of the appointment and commission aforesaid, and not having been removed from said office by this respondent, the said Edwin M. Stanton | continued to hold the same under the appointment and commission as afore- said, at the pleasure of the President, until the time herein particularly men, l toned and at no time received by ap- pointment or commission, as above stated and this respondent further an sweriug that on and prior to the 7th of August, 1867, the respondent, the Pres ident of the United States, being re- sponsible for the conduct of the Secre- tary for the Department of war, and having the constitutional right to resort and rely upon persons holding that office for advice concerning the great public duties enjoiaed on the President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, became satisfied that he