Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-03-10

anpOint managers alter Ene adJourHN
ment of the House. The order OF
acquittal was finally adoptrd-yeas %;
nays 8.
A more audacious document than
the above order has rarely ever been
seem Tt seems scarcely possible that
Court of Impeachment could have
had SO little regard for. appearances
as to permit the Governor counsel
openly to dictate to them the very
words IN which their action should
be expressed. Common decency
aud self-respect ought 10 have sug-
gested that some member OF the
Court, some Senator and not the paid
attorney should have made the ncces-
sary motion to give expression to the
opinion of the Court. It is passing
strange, too, that complaint should be
made that Kellogg was not permitted
to be present at the investig alton by
the Committee of the House of Rep
resentatives. We venture to say that
since the beginning of time no man
| has ever been permitted to be present
at the investigation by the Committee
of the House seeking to inform itself
whether here is just ground for pre-
ferring articles Of impeachmenta against
him.
The right to be present in person OF
by counsel, the right to have copy
of charges and the right to confront
witnesses are rights that belong to the
person accused only upon the trial +
the particular articles of impeachment.
Until then the accused has no more
right To be present than u person has
right to be present when a grand
ilry is hearing testimony to deter
mine whether bill of Indictment
shall 30 found against him. Nor is it
| less strange, III the face of the facts.
that it should be asserted that the act
of impeachment was Il VOL ttiOn of the
| Wheeler compromise, when il is ex-
pressly declared by the House OF Rep,
sentatives that Kellogg was impeached
only for acts committed since the date
of the Wheeler compromise. Perhaps,
however, the baldest of all, the most
shameless and bare faced is the state
ment that the Senate knew Kellogg e
bS innocent OF all unlawful acts. Bui
1t Is difficult to say which assertion !;
h. most remarkable. It is certainly
refreshing to hear complaint made tl.a
in The tiyst notification TO the Senate O
the impeachment of Kellogg no spe
cifc charges were set forth, for 1t /:
| we.l-kuown to oil men who know any
thing whatever of the forms of con
ductiug impeachments that the tir5t
notification is always in general terms,
accompanied by promise IN due TIM
to exhibit particular articles of I'M
| peachment. In proof of tl.is two nota
bile il starces come readily 10 mind, thu
Holden Impeachment and the Andrew
johnson Impeachment. The Resolu
ton of the House OF representative
impending Holden was in the follow
ing words:
Res0lrcd. That William w. Holden
Governor Of the State of North Ca,o
lima, be impeached OF high crimes ant
misdemeauors Ill office.
The resolutions directing the Motif
cation to the Senate and raising
committee II prepare specific charge
were in the following words:
ResOlped, That a committee of thre
be appointed to go to the Senate, ant
at the bar thereof and in the name o
The Houso of representatives, and o
all the people of the State of Norti
Caroiiua to impeach William "
Holden, Governor OF the State 0
North Carolna, OF high crimes an,
misdemeanors IN office, and acquaip
the Senate that the House OF Ieprs
seutatives viii i'll due time exhibi
particular articles OF impeach men
against him and make good the same
and that the committee do deman,
that the Senate take orCer for the AZ
pearance If said William w. Holden t.
answer sIiQ impeachment.
HcSOiUcd, That q committee of sever
be appointed to pre- are and repor
articles Of Impeachment against VIII
liam W. Fl ,Iden, Governor of tn,
State Of North Carolina, with power t.
send fer persons, papers and records
and 90 take testimony under oath.
The resolution passed by the House
of Representatives of the United
States and reported to that body by
Thaddeus Stevens in behalf of the
Reconstruction Committee was in the
following words:
| ReSOtUed, That Andrew Johnson
President Of the United States, be I'M
peached of high crimes and misde
meanors i'll Office.
The notification of the action of the
House WIS made to the Senate by Mr.
Stevens and Mr.. Bingham, who con,
situted the Committee appointed fol
that purpose, in the following words
Mr.. Stevens being the spokesman:
Mr.. President, in obedience to the
order of the House of Representatives
We appear before you and in the
namo of the House of Representatives
and of I'll the people of the United States
do impeach the President of United
States fer high crimes and misde-
meanors in Office, aud we further in
for'1 the Senate that the House oi
| Representative will in due time ex,
| hibit particular articles of impeach
ment against him and will make
good the same and in their name We
| do demand that the Senate take order
for the appearance of said Andrew
johnson to answer to said impeach-
| menS.
From the above it will be seen that
the action of the Louisiana House of
Representatives was in strict accord>
ance with usage, custom and precedent
in such cases. The Louisiana Senate
dismissed the case before there was an
opportunity to bring in specific charges
or particular articles impeachment, as
they are technically called. So much