Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-05-20

judiciary elaboration and impartiality
in the trials placed before them, we
propose to throw what light we can
upon it by brief allusion to two inn
peaehments cases in each country-in
England to the impeachment Of the
Earl of STAFFORD in the reign of
Charles I and that of Warren Hastings
in that of George III.
Men reading the impeachment Of
STAFFORD are impressed with the idea,
not SO much of solemn and majestic
court of justice with its careful and
pains-taking scrutiny of evidence and
exposition of law, as of body of ex-
asperated men who have at last got
their enemy in their power, and are
flying at his throat like wolf-hounds
at the burglar of the sheepfold the
only question in doubt is, not whether
the court will acquit or conviction
conviction is foregone conclusion, the
only question in doubt is whether the
king will interpose his prerogative to
save his favorite or leave him to the
tender mercies Of his enemies. The
result we all know; Charles Stuart
thought more of his own safety than
that of his friend and minister, and
the proud head of STAFFORD bowed
upon the block.
We come now to the trial of War
rem Hastings for oppression and extor-
ton in his Office 50 Governor of India.
We invite our readers who may be in
terested to hunt up an old volume Of
Macaulay's miscellanies and reperuse
the gorgeous description of this trial.
They will thank US for the advice il
they take it, for al English literature
does not contain a more magnificent
description. What then is the scene
disclosed to us by the magical descrip-
ton of the great essayist? A court OF
justice Pho, indeed A frst-class
debate in the House of Commons on
on what is called a cabinet question. A
debate which is to result in fixing an
administration in power or unseating
it and cabinet ministers on the one
side and chiefs of the opposition on
the other join fercely in the melee,
flashes of eloquence and passion at
the white heat, fierce denunciation and
bitter sarcasm, keen logic and scOrnful
sarcasm are all there but where the
painful analysis and conscientious
reserve of judgment and profound
thought and earnest solicitude which
characterize the solemn deliberations
of court of justice? Why, the very
supposition of such u treatment would
have been felt by every one present as
discordant with the spirit ofthe scene.
And the result confirms this reading
of the case, for, when at length judg-
ment had to be given, every tory
marched off on one side Of the gang
way, every whig ON the other; every
tory uttering the stately form of &C
quital, Not guilty, upon my honor,
every wing that of conviction Guilty,
upon my honor"
Now we cross the Atlantic and come
to the impeachment of Andrew John
son before the Senate of the United
States-a Senate exasperated by being
so often baffled in policy by the peril
nacious vetoes of the bluff and burly
Tennessean-a Senate led by Thad
Stephens and B. F. Butler.
We need to go into no details here
the cracking of the party lash is still
resounding in our ears, the screaming
denunciations of weak kneed Repub-
licans by Stephens, the dog facedinso-
lence of Butler, and above all when
just enough Republicans awakened to
sufficient sense of decency to see the
total absence of either law or evidence
in behalf of an adverse verdict, and t.
vote accordingly, saving the Senate
from the scandal of what would have
been one of the most lawless Verdicts
in history-who does not remember
the rancor with which these men were
denounced as the Judases of their
party and drummed out of the Republi.
can camp2
The analysis we intended of the
Belknap impeachment must be reserv.
ed for another issue as well as our
comment upon it, sustaining the main
principle sought to be established il
this paper.
We must close the present article
with generally remarking that i'm.
parchment can never arise except wher
party feeling is strained to its highest
intensity, and the legislative halls in
which are concentrated all the fercest
passions arising from the controversy
is the last place in which fairness and
impartiality can be looked for.
The adjournment to another issue Of
the consideration of the Belknap trial
is the less to be regretted as we shall
then probably be in possession Of the
whole proceedings.
A FRIEND who takes and reads the
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