The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-05-04
Concerning the Doubtful Senators
and the Final Vote.
correspondence of. Cincinnati Gazette.
wAsH1soroN, April %.

ing else, at the capital. The conciu
sions reached, vary with the characte
and standpoint of the spectators.
Thus the managers profess them
selves absolutely. certain of conviction
They say no case was ever perfectly
made out, II theirs has not been. SOM
of them think their speeches have con
cluded or ought to conclude tho whole
| matter; others, that the evidence ha!
been enough to convict others that thu
vote of the Senate denying Mr.. John
sons right to remove Stanton, Il
itself an assurance Of the verdict. Blu
for one reason or another, they al
seem equally confident. They have
had their own difficulties and heart
burnings-of which more by-and-by-
but in this they can all agree.
To the Presidents counsel, on the
other hand. there would appear to have
been vouchsafed an equal confidence
ming without a doubt as to his success
and his friends have been building
their hopes upon his. From this quar-.
| ter, in fact has sprung much ofthe as
surance which the Presidents party
have been exhibiting. They could not
question the issue-was not their lead.
ing lawyer certain about IL? But when
Mr.. Stanbery came to explain the
grounds of his certainty, 1t always ap.
peared that he rested solely upon what
he believed to be the absolute legal
strength of his case. Heknew nothing
of the disposition of the Senators, had
no secret Information as to the pur-
poses of those doubtful ones whose
votes are to decide the matter, possess
ed no clue to the Senatorial purpose
that was not in the hands of every one.
But with the simplicity of a mere law
yer in political matters, he judged his
lawyers case good one, and therefore
felt sure of clearing his client. Mr..
Evarts has been equally hopeful; but
with this gentleman hopefulness in
any case in which he may be engaged,
however desperate, is characteristic.
He has been saying to everybody that
he expects the President to be acQuit-
ted; but the opening of his speech to-
day did, indicate a perfect assurance.
In fact 1t sounded rather like an appeal
from courtwhose judgment he dread
ed, to the Public and to History. Still
| 1t may be set down that the Presidents
counsel appear to expect an acquittal
almost as confidently as the Managers
expect conviction.
The President himself, in SO far as
casual appearances go, may be cOnsid-
cred as certainly anticipating acquittal.
A common form of expression with
him is that "there are too many honest
men in that Senate to permit partisan
conviction" Evidently he bases great
| hopes on the known reluctance of
Grimes, Fessenden and Trumbull to
enter upon the impeachment move
ment. Still there are reasons for be.
lieving that the expectation of acquittal
which is constantly manifested is not
unmingled with gloomier forebodinRs.
Some members OF the Cabinet and
some private friends have taken the
ungracious task OF assuring Mr.. john
son that the prospects are not so bright
as he has been believing. Mr.. Jere.
Black detection also caused him some
uneasiness, and 1t is shrewdly limited
that the course pursued by most of his
counsel has not tended to allay it. He
expected personal Vindicatfon at their
hands, and instead he finds them qui-
city putting him aside-Judge Curtis
and Mr.. Evarts almost ignoring him,
and Mr.. Groesbeck referring to him
only to say that he is a man of little
culture and few ideas, but of marked
devotion to the Constitution. In a few
days he will probably be declaring that
his conviction was due, partly to the
partisan pressure in the Senate, and
partly to the laundering of his counsel.
In the occasional periods of depression,
when he has been contemplating such
result, he has dropped expressions
which indicate purpose in that event
to receive the condolences of his fol-
lowers in some leading cities. of the
to the public from the stump.
Among the members of the House
we have had, within the past week,
tolerably general panic. Ardent inn
peachers began to admit that the case
looked gloomy, and to prognosticate
all manner ofdoletul events If the Pres
ident should be acquitted-the disrup-
ton ofthe Republican party, the with
drawal of troops from the South, the
IN n rohol
classes, the inauguration of reign OF
terror in Washington, the inevitable
success OF the Democracy at the PTesi-
dental election. Even the special
friends of Mr.. Wade were uneasy, and
apprehensions were general. Grimes,
Fessenden, Trumbnll and Sherman
can control this thing, said some. They
are at heart opposed 10 impeachment;
and If they feel sure of each other, and
of three or four more, they may be
bold enough to defeat it. Others ar
gued that the great danger lay, not in
actual cooperation to defeat It, but in
the different views likely to be taken
by different classes ofSenators. Here
is one set, they said, who believe the
President clearly guilty OF a violation
Of the office act. All
previous charges against him they
have regarded as to vague for impeach-
ment. The conspiracy charge they
look upon as farce; the idea of in
tending that Lorenzo Thomas should
take forcible possession of the War De-
partment an absurdity. As to the
speeches of the President, they were in
bad taste, but no worse than those of
some ofhis accusers and some of his
trlers. These men will vote TO convict
on the articles concerning the violation
OF the law, and against conviction on
the other articles. Then we have an
Athar larDA - 81 j
lool upon the alleged breach of law as
exceedingly doubtful. They are not
sure that the President was without a
reason-fo constituting the law as not
including Stanton; they doubt the
constttutionality OF the law; they see
no proofs of any intent to do more at
any rate than to makeup a case for the
courts; they are not sure that this was
not strictly within the line of his duty
under his oath to protect and defend
the Constitution; and they look upon
this entire set of charges as involving
at most only technical violation of a
doubtful law under great provocation,
ior an excusablepn purpose. On all these,
therefore, they will vote not guilty.
But that outrageous denial of the legal
1ty OF congress, q coordinate branch
OF the Government, and the shameful
speeches in which 1t was enforced,
struck at the very root of well-organi-
zed government, and on the articles re-
ferIing to this, they will be sure to vote
guilty.
Snow the great danger is" argued
these members, "that the Senators VIII
thus split up their votes, some voting
guilty on one article, some on another
-an taking care to vote SO that they
can say to their constituents that they
were in favor of impeachment, on the
only article on which, according to
their best Judgment they could consci-