The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-03-03

who had uttered the memorable sentene
tfLet no guilty man escaps0 held IL in hi
i power to rob au American Congress Of. It
!. right TO lnflict punishment, or to pronounc
censure on publicly convicted criminal
twhere was the barrier ts be found beueatl
| Whuse shelter The liberties OF the peopi
q could rest secure. [Applausel II 3as-
Mr.. Hoar !" Does che gentleman say tia
I Co .ngress has the power to punish sny mai
! In Il Is county," ssa - z7. i.
/ Nj. Blackburn: / WILL not submit to In
lterrupt,, ~n. ana ths last man who would
introduoe, one atom OF politics into this dis
custom. L. is not admissible here. TIL,
Republican / members Of the committee wer.
a earnest ia /, We prosecution OF this Inquiry
ard In the urese. Vtation Of this report - The
members represe .Nting the msjority Of thi,
/ House. We have sven no difference In; the
tconmittee-rosn. I ppeal to the membsrs
of the Reuse that there shall be no d1erancs
j manifested here. II fraud has been csm-
mitted, IL criniaRity exi ,ts, IL corruption
has been proved, let the representatives OF
the people 10 this House 80 declare it, and
send the issue to tho court, where It may
finally be tried; aud il We arts unable to
punish when guilt is most openly: confessed,
let the responsibility for that failure rest on
ether shoulders than oura @t:S
Mr.. Dsnforth, Of Ohio, another member OF
the committee, expressed 1t as his, juGgment
that the acceptance OF Mr.. Belkaap's resis.
nation 10 10 manner changed the position of
Of that officer to the country. He disagreed,
however, with the statement OF the chair
man, Mr.. ClSner, that the conduct OF this
officer was the legitimate outgrowtb of the
principles of the party in power, aud he ex-
pressed the hope that there would not be
single vote on the Republican side Of the
House against the resolution.
Mr.. Kassop, Of Iowa, said that few years
ago there had gone from his State young,
well-educsted, gallant gentleman to fight the
battles of his country. He had gone through
the. war, and the President bad afterwards
called him TO seat in his Cabinet, placing
him at the head Of that army of which he
had been sn humble but somewhat distin.
guished mem er.-~This morning for the
first time the delegation from Iowa
hsd heard that that gentleman, who
had been so much respected in bis
own State and SO much honored by the
nation, hsd been found guilty Of re-
ceiviDg compensation for some act of off,
cial duty, and that that compensation bad
been continuous. The House would judge
Of the emotion with which the members
from that State had listened to the reading
Of the evidence. He had never heard any
thing read with greater interest than that
report, aud when at the close OF the reading
he had made an appeal to his friend from
Pennsylvania (Clymerl not for himself alone,
but for his colleagues, whose pride and
honor were 80 hurt by the character
OF the report, for moments delay,
that they might find whether there
| not ho In ouidopoo ono
ting circumstance, be had been met by the
demand for the previous question.
He did not desire TO claim any exemption
for Mr.. Belknap from all the penalties to
| which his acts entitled him, but he found the
most painful feature disclosed by the evil.
dence to be the fact that not one word of 1t
touched the officer in question until the
death which broke g. heart had occurred.
GSensatiop.] Was be to be blamed that he
and his colleagues wanted night to ascer-
tain the extent of that officers guilt by read
Jog the evidence in print? Was he to be
| blamed that when he found the most delicate
relations in human life involved in this pro.
ceeding-a relation 80 delicate that he dared
not alude to it in d. tall. He asked
an opportunity to consider whether there
was anything to be said in excavation of 80
high and so great misdemeanor. But 1t was
too late to 90 back to that now. He and his
colleagues had been refused that opportunl-
ty, and now he only asked the attention OF
the House to the question whether the
House did not need more time to ascertain
whether this officer was i'm peachable. After
quoting from Judge Story on this point, he
argued that the powers OF Congress were
limited Dy the Constitutin, and that If Mr..
Belknap be impeached the Senate could not
D., execute the constitutional provision which de-
clares that be shall he removed from office. Ii
be were liable to impeachment let 1t be under
stood that they were all, without exception,
for impeachment; but if the House was
establishing precedent which did not rest
on the Constitution, and which was danger
Gus for the future, he thought it right that
the House should pause and consider, Dy a
report from the judiciary Committee, the
question of its right to make the impeach-
ment. If the House could impeach man
not in office, it might go back and impeach
jefferson Davis and John B. Floyd for Goa.
spiracy. ....
Air. Robbins, of North Carolina, suggested
that there was great difference between
conviction on impeachment and conviction
| on indictment. In the latter case the man
might he pardoned by the Executive, but 10
the former case he could not be-. AS to the
suggestion as to the impeachment of Jefer-
son Davis, he replied that 1t had been de-
cided that senator could not be lmpeacned,
not being an officer of the United States.
The DEBATE being closed, the House pro-
ceeded to vote on the resolutions, ana they
were unanimously adopted.
The Speaker appointed as the committee
to notify the Senate OF the action OF the
House, Messrs. Clymer, Robbins, Blackburn,
Bass, and Danford; these members com
nosinp the Committee on Expenditures
of the War Department making the report.
| Adjourned. a:. y. a.,sea
Belkhap's Successor Pro Tenn.
| WASHINGTON, March 1.-The following
order explains itself:
| "ExEcUTIvE, MANSION, March z, 1876.
"Sir,-The resignation of the Secretary
]. of War having been rendered and accepted
I this day, you are Hereby directed to assume
and perform the duties pertaining to the
Secretary of War, in addition to those o
your own Office, until otherwise directed.
| every truly yours, U. S. GRANT.
"To the Secretary Of the Nacy." ar.
Interesting Details Relating 10 she
Belknap Investigation.
| WASHINGTON, March 2-The evidence
shows that Caleb P. Marsh made the bargain
with the late wife of Secretary Belknap, and
psid the money to her. After her death the
money went direct to the Secretary, the last
payment being for the quarter ending De
cember, 1875.
! A rumor that Belknap had killed himself
/ grew out of the reported colloquy between
him and the President. The Secretary said
he thought he would have killed himself