Arizona silver belt., 1894-05-19


 Impeachment Of President Andrew
 Johnson--T,Yo successful Cases. The removal of federal officers by i'm peachment proceedings, under section 1 Of article 2 of the consultation has been attempted seven times.
 Tho Rlount case was the first Wil.
 liam Blount, United States senator from Tennessee, was charged in l7g1 with conspiring with British officers to steal part of Louisiana from Spain for Eng lands benefit. The house prepared ar ticles of Impeachment The senate ex- pelled him, after putting him under bouds for trial. Blounts defense was that q senator was not @ civil officer liable to impeachment and on the ques- ton of jurisdiction only he was ae- quilted
 Judge John Pickering of the federal district court for New Hampshire was impeached in 1903 for drunkenness and profanity on the bench The defense was insanity, On trial before the sen ate, Pickering was convicted by a party vote and removed from his office
 In lSOl. Samuel Chase of Maryiand, a justice of the supreme court of the United States and One-of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was charged with improper conduct on the bench; among other things, with having indulged m highly indecent and extra judicial reflections upon the United States government" in tho course of a charge to Maryland grand jury. The impeachment proceedings, instigated aud managed by John Randolph of Vir- ginia, were political in their origin and ammus. Judge Chase was acquitted through tho failure of the prosecution to obtain two-thirds vote against him in the senate on any one of the eight arti- clcs Of impeachment. He resumed bis seat on the bench and held 1t as long as he lived.
 Ahcut quarter of century later, James II, Peck, federal district judge in Missouri, was hnpeachcd for oppress. i've treatment of an attorney. The case was Of no inn 'tauce. The judge was acquitted
 Thirty years afterward, at the begin. niag of the war of the rebellion. Judge West II. Humphreys of the federal dis tr.ct court of Tennessee joined the Con. fcdcracy and accepted judicial office m. der it. without taking the trouble to send his resignation to Washington. He was nnpeached mainly in order to vacate the office and convicted on June %. 1862 Que of the witnesses summoned to ap- pear against Judge Humphreys was An drew Johnson, then governor of Tenues- sec, destined himself to be the next sub Ject Of Impeachment proceedings be- fore the senate. One of the four sena. tors who voted not guilty on the article eharaing Judge Humphreys with high treason was William Pitt Fessendla, wEuso vote five years later saved An drew Johnson.
 Andrew Johnson was impeached on March 4, 1868. the Il articles charging thu president in various forms with yio- lation of the tenure of office act, with Of the constitution, with con. spiracy 10 prevent the execution of the tenure of office act. with conduct aud ut- teranccs tending Ito bring tue high of. lice of president into contempt. rdicule and disgrace. and with the public de. 1 c.aration ID his speeches wlilo swinging around tho circle that tle Thirty ninth !. congress was no constitutional legisla- ! ,ure. IL is not necessary to recite the | history of tEe memorable trial, which | lasted for nearly three months and in | which the hottest of political passions wore enlisted, Thirty-six votes were | needed yo convict, No vote was ever .a@en except on the threo strongest ar .icles-the second, third and eleventh 'ud on each of these the senate stood 5 or conviction 10 70 for acquittal, im- peacunent failing Gy a single vote. One # the counsel who defended President Johnson was the Hon. William M Eyarts # New York.
 The seventh and last federal inpeach. uent was that of William ", Beiknap. of war. Hewas charged n 1876 with corruption in office, and the louse voted unanimously to impeach i'm. He resigned hastily few hours 'efore the passage of the Impeachment esolution, and his resignation was accepted by Grant. The trial proceeded nevertheless. Belknap's de- ense was a denial of jurisdiction, based m the circumstance that when the iin- 'eachment resolution passed the house e had ceased to be civil officer of the United States. Tho impeachment pro eedinss failed by the lack of two hirds majority in the senate for convic. ion.
 It will be observed that in only two ascs have impeachment proceedings gainst q civil officer of the United tates been prosecuted successfully be ore the senate by the house of repre- One of these was for the re- loval of a drunken and profane judge. those presence upon the bencl was ub, icndal. Tue other was purely oriL-l proceeding to vacate the office of judge actually rugaged in open rebel on against t.. government, but tech ically still an Incumbent of his office nder the government. Of the five un- lccessful impeachment proceedings on ecord, two failed for want of juris- iction. Of the whole seven cases, four oncernedA judicial officers Only once as there been an attempt to punish by npeachment cabinet officer. Only nee has there been an attempt to pun { h and remove byimpeachment a presi- ent of the United States New York un
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