The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1868-03-12

SENATE, WAsHlSofos, March g.
Ths CHAIR submitted lhs ssI.
lowing:
TO tho Senate ef The Unitsd
States:
"lnasmneE hs the sole powor 10
try impeacli6Iont Is Invested ~ the
,Cohstitati6A' ih the Senate, snd Il
Is madc the. duty Of the Chief Jus-
tice TO pfcido whom the presldont
Is on trial. 4 take the liberty Of
Submitting very respectfully sorno
oDservatlons IN respect to the prop
er moaseb proceeding upon tie
,empeacathsnt which has ben pro.
ierred ~ he House Of RcItesen.
tj2tlves asnihst the, EresidSt now
N oalcc, Thae&k &kon tho senate
sits for trial Of an impeachment d
sitsas q court, seems unQucst;on.
able. Aha. for The trial Of an I'M
peachment oEthe President, this
court Rust bs constituted Of the
members Of the Senate, with, the
Chef Justice presiding, secmss 0.
qually- so. The Fedefalist il re-
gafded as the highest cotcmporary
authority on the construction Of
the Consultation, and in the elxty-
fourth number the functions ofthe
Senate sitting in the judicial ca.
pacity as u court for the trial OF
impeachment are examined in d
paragraph explaining the reason
tor uniting the Supreme Court
with the Senate In the formation
Of q court Of impeachment. II il
observed that 10 a certain extent
that union can be obtained by
making the Chief Justice Of thas
court t6c President Of the court Of
impeachment as is proposed in the
plan OF the convention, while the
inconvcniences oi an entire incof.
porati0n Of the formerin the lat
ter will be substantially avoided.
This was perhaps the prudent
mean.
This authority seems 10 leavo
no doubt upon either Of the prop
ositions just stated, and the state
ment Of them will serve to intro
duce question upon which ! think
it is my duty to state the result Of
my reflections TO the Senate, viz:
At what period in the case Of an
impeachment of the President
should the court of impeachment
be organized under oath, us directed
in the ConstitutioB2 It will
readily suggest itself to any one
who reflects on the abilities and
learning in the law which distin.
gaish 60 many Senators, that bs-
sides The reason assigned in the
Fcderalist, there must have been
still another for the provision re-
quiring tho Chief Justice 10 pre-.
-idc in the court Of impeachment,
Under the Constitution, in case of
vacancy in the Office of President,
the Vice President succeeds, and
il was doubtless thought prudent
and BETTING that the next in sue
cession should not preside in u
proceeding through which va
cancy might be created. 1t was
not doubted that the Senate, while
sitting in its ordinary capacity,
must necessarily receivesS from the
House Of Representatives. some
notice Of its intention 10 inpeach
the President at its bar, but it does
not seem TO me an unwarrantable
opiaion, IN view of the Constitution
al provision, that the he.orgailizstlan,
of the Senate as q court 81 I'm
parchment, under the Constitution
should preeede the actual announce.
ment oI the Impeachment on tho
part of the House; and il may, per-
haps, be thought o still less un-
warranted opinion, that articles Of
impeachment should only DO pre-
senled to q court Of impeachment
that summons or process should
only issue from an organized court;
aud that the rules for the govern.
meDt Of the proceedings Of such
court should be framed only by
the court itself. l have found my
self unable TO come to any other
conclusion than this. can assign
no reason for requiring the Senate
TO organize as court under any
other than its ordinary presiding
officers for later proceedings upon
an impeachment of the President,
which does not seem TO me 10 apply
equally to the earlier.
II am informed that the Senate
has proceeded upen other views,
and it is not my purpose TO con-
test what is superior wisdom may
have directed. All good citizens
will fervcntly pray that no occa.
sion may ever arise' when the
grave proceedings now in progress
will be cited as u precedent but IL
is not impossible such an occasion
may come.
'lnasmuch, therefore, as tho
Constitution has charged the Chief
Justice with an important function
in the trial Of an impeachment OF
the President, it has seemed to me
fitting and obligatory. where be is
unable TO concur in the views of
the Senate, concerning matters es.
sential to the trial, that his re-
spectful dissent should appear.
IS. p. CHASE,
"Chief Justice of the United
States"