New-York tribune., 1876-04-18

,.cs ~ THE sFNATE-BFIKNAPS CoONe"h
rug PLEA OF WANT OF JURIsDIclIoN-A
-, ,yn 1,stuPosING sCENE-THE EX-sECkh-
T.py APPARENTLY UNMoVED.
Try TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNEl
WASHINGTON, April 17.-There was a eIe"o IN,
today to invest the proceedings IN the an
trial of ex-Secretary Belknap in the senate Tho
sir of dignity and solemnity '0
A - e--o,,,,oroepts and the well-studied formaul-
- no observed. there was nothing Impressive vi
4S;,';,r IN tbe ceremonies There was lul senate
9-.a.t ,,;tb and there was as large croNu Va
- :; attendance az the spacious ga'ieiios
,1 ia The day was particularly Ihe' anu
w. .to Conitol on the lawns and terraces were
.,s.1ao,ds Of children making merry WIN Vheii
80 eggs-a custom nowhere so gehcIaiiy o'-
a-,od os in Washington. it was more hkeS hoiiu"y
than ANYTHING else, and people Wouiu ho' iooA
- Nobodv seemed TO think of the trial except
;o;on and even the Senators did not appear
1 on,o,nber the disgrace to the Government and the
.o,n+ry that followed the discovery OF the Secre-
tary's crime. .. ,o.u,, for
The assembling of the court was set down Tor
1890 o'clock Two long tables, the same as used IN
tbe Johnson impeachment trial, we're placed IN the
n space in front and to the right and lett OF the
Ts,s des, for the use of the managers on the part
off fba
~ ro.r Of the Senator'S desks were placed chairs
sHe nos Of tho members of the House. COM
80. ,vas appointed to wait upon the ChefJustice
n"S osk bis attendance for the purpose of admins
onC the oath to such Senators as were not present
- tho FIRST session of the court. A long delay fol
,o,rod M business being transacted and the SEN
..o,. nossed tho time in whispered conversations or
;n rsoding and writing The Chief-Justlce hnally
attending the formality of administering the oaths
was soon over. ,
At o'clock ex-senator Carpenter entered the
bor,ber clad as for festival, in wonderful dis
plov of sbirt-bosom white necktie, and swallow-ta
coat To the surprise of many he was followed Dy
Gen. Belknap in person, whose presence occasohed
entter of excitement Following were Jeremiah
Rl,ck and Montgomery Blair, who, with Mr.. Carpen-
Ter coupose the counsel Of the eX-Seeretary' MI
CARPENTER and his client, arm in arm, Went dlrecuy
N tbe table assigned them TO the right of the Clerks
desk and took seats. At the head of the table sat
Mr.. Carpenter. On his right was Mr. Black, and be-
tween the latter and Mr. Blair. who sat at the loot
WAS Gen. Belknap. subsequently Mr. Carpenter
who is to be the leading counsel, took position al
the other end of the table. Mr.. Benap was dressed
with his usual scrupuouSly good taste black Dody
coat buttoned dark pantaloons and light KID gloves
He was self-cOnscous and pc fecty at ease betray-
ing no more feeling interest than his counSl OF
any Senator present He toyed with the stationery
on the table before him, and occasionally took mp
and assumed to read from the rules for the trial OF
impeachment No change whatever was observed
in him. He has lost the haggard look he wore for q
week OF more after his crime made known, and
he frequently conversed with Judge Black with
some appearance of animation.
Soon after the entrance of the eX-SecretaTy,
the managers on the part OF the House
were announced and entering the chamber
they marched down the aisle and took seats
at the other table. Soon afterward came
the members of the House, preceded by the Speaker
and other officers. They were received with the
usual fornaity and took the seats provided for
them as far as possible. There were only about
half the number of chairs required and about a
hundred members had to stand. The proceedings,
however, were brief. TheSergeant-at-Aims, ia obe-
dience to an old formahty, approached the Clerks
desk as soon As order had been restored and calling
three times the name "Wm. w. Belknap," COM
manded him to appear and answer the impeachment.
Thereupon Mr. Carpenter arose, with bnStlDg halr
and necktie, and made the expected plea-want OF
jurisdiction of the Senate.
The managers asked for time to consider the case
and prepare a reply, which was granted, and then
the Court adjourned until Wednesday The mem
bers of the House struggled out of the chamber the
managers and counsel following, and the Senate re-
sumed its legislative business One or two of the
managers shook hands with Gen. Bclknap on his
way out but 1t was observed that none Of the SeHa
tors spoke TO him. His attendance in person cxctes
good deal of remark. He is not required to be
present, and may as well be represented as Presi-
dent Johnson was by counsel His lawyers, how
ever, thought the effect would be good and 50 viii
expect him to exhibit himself every day. Before
going to the Capitol, Mr. Belknap spent in company
with his wife, some time in Mr.. Carpenters apart
ments, where it is said, Mr.. and Mrs. Marsh were
taken before they appeared before the House Com
mittees after their return from Canada.
AN ANTE-WAR QUESTION REVIVED.