The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1876-03-08

terminated the office, and that any Amer
lean citizen could lay down an office
held by him without any acceptance of
his resignation. Judge Story had laid
down the doctrine that it could not be
done in England, but there any citizen
could be impeached, and therefore the
English cases of Warren Hastings and
Lord Bacon did not apply in America.
No man could be impeached but a civil
officer, and when he ceased to be a civil
officer, he ceased to be within the literal
description of the Constitution. In this
country, the only Judgment that could
be rendered in an Impeachment case, was
removal from Office and future disquali-
fication from holding Office. But under
the statutes a person guilty of such of
fenses could be indicted, tried and SEN
fenced by the criminal courts of the
country. He protested against hot haste
in this matter without having the testi-
nsony printed. He thought such haste
unworthy of this grave question, and if
he stood alone he would still stand here
to say so.
Blackburn, of Kentucky another mem
Der Of the committee, expressed his sat
isfaction that the report which had been
read by his colleague, Clymer, showed
TO the world that nothing had been left
undone by the committee to shield and
shelter from dishonor every person ex-
cept the one whom il was the duty of
the committee to investigate and report
upon. He could not consent that the
gentleman from Massachusetts should
make this political or paTtiZan ques-
ton. He would not consent that his
side of the House should be placed in
the position of prosecutors, and the 9TH
er side should take up the position of
defenders. 1t was a question which ad-
dressed itself alike to every member of
the House. He regarded the case as an
unprecedented one in more respects than
one. The action of the President in ac-
cepting Secretary Belknap's resignation
under the circumstances was unprece
dented, and this was the first instance in
the history of the country where any
man claiming manhood and holding an
exalted station had sought to shelter
himself from legitimate investigation by
interposing the dishonor of a wife (sen-
setion). Passing to the question of the
impeachability of Mr.. Belknap, he sug-
gested that was a question, as Judge
Story had intimated, that might properly
be left to the decision of the Senate. On
such a state of facts would the House, he
asked, shrink from the performance of
its duty because there might be the mist
or shadow of doubt on that point? The
admissible. He quoted from the i'm
parchment case of Lord Bacon, in which
it was stated that when the Lord Chan
ceIlor had sought TO save himself by the
resignation of his office, the attempt was
vain. The King did not and could not
interfere. Was the House to be told
that the man in power at the other end
of the avenue was able to rob an Ameri-
can Congress Of a right and power which
the King of Great Britain could not take
from Parliament? TSensation and ap-
plause. 1t used TO be the theory that
the King could do no wrong, but no
man had ever been found bold enough in
this country to say that the President
could do no wrong. If the man who
had uttered the memorable sentence,
Let no guilty man escape" held it in
his power to rob an American Congress
of its right to int1ict punishment, or to
pronounce censuTe on a publicly con-
victed criminal, where was the barrier
to be found beneath whose shelter the
of the people could rest secure?
[ Applause.
Hoar-Does the gentleman say that
Congress has the power to punish any
man in this country?
Blackburn-I will not submit to inter
ruptiOns. | am the last man who would
one atom of politics into this
1t is not admissible here.
The Republican members of the Com
mittee were as earnest and honest in the
prosecution of this inquiry aud in the
of this report as the major
Ity of this House. We have seen no
difference in the Committee room,
appeal to the members of the House
that there shall be no difference mani
tested here If fraud has been perpe-
Il V,alS fu4-
ton has been proved, let the represen-
tatives of the people in this House so de- |
clare it and send the issue to the court
where It may finally be tried and if we
are unable to punish where guilt is al
most openly confessed, let the RESPONSE |
bility for the failure rest on other Shout |
1crs than ours.
Danforth of Ohio, another member of |
The Committee, expressed it as his judg- |
meut that the acceptances of Mr.. Bel !
knap's resignation by no means changed |
the position of that officer to the coun-
try. He disagreed however with the |
statement of the Chairman, CIymer,
hat the conduct of this officer was the |
legitimate outgrowth of the principles |
Of the party in power and he expressed /
the hope that there would not be a sin !
gle vote on the Republican side of the |
House against the resolution.
KassOu of Iowa, said that few years |
lgo there had gone from his State, a |
young, we'll educated and gallant gen. |
-leman to fight the battles of his country |
He had gone through the war, and the |
President had afterwards called him to |
| seat in his Cabinet, placing him at the !
head of that army of which he had been /
IN humble but somewhat distinguished |
member. This morning for the first |
ha 1ala ha6 hoa nd
hat she gentleman who had been so /
much respected in his own State, and so /
much honored by the nation, bad been /
'Ound guilty of receiving a compensa- |
ion for some act of official duty, and /
hat that compensation had been con-
lnuOus The House would Judge of /
he emotion with which the members /
rom that State had listened to the read |
ny of the evidence. He had never heard |
lnythiug read with greater interest than
hat report and when at the close of the /
eading he had made an appeal to his
riend from Pennsylvania, Mr. Clymer,
Tot for himself alone, but for his col /
eagues. whose pride and honor were so
ouched by the character of the report
or moments delay that they might !
ind whether there might not be in the
violence one extsRuating circumstance
re had been met by the demand for the
previous question. He did not desire to
lain any exemption for Belknap from
II the penalties to which his acts en-
tiled him, hut he found the most pain
nj feature disclosed by the evidence to
,e the fact that not one word of it touch
d the officer in question until the death
Which broke a heart had occurred.
Was he to be blamed that
e and his colleagues wanted right to
scertain the extent of that officers
.uilt by reading the evidence in point?
as he to be blamed that when he found
he most delicate relations in human
ife involved in this proceeding, a rela-
ion so delicate that he dared not allude
o it in detail, if he asked an opportuni-
y to consider whether there was any
hing to be said in extenuation of so
Ugh and so great misdemeanor. But |
. i. -. LII.