Year: 1868

Cowardly, contemplate, mean to the last,
impeachment has been beaten to death like
vile reptile in its chosen place of refuge.
Driven distinctly from every point they had
taken which could be called fair ground, the
Managers Of this great case and the radical
Senators known to be for conviction, heart and
soul, had remaining one opportunity to redeem
themselves-one way by which they could in
the last scene demonstrate to the country that
they were moved by just motives and were
wronged by the light in which much of their
conduct had shown them. Had they, with
some final grace of moral courage, faced the
verdict fairly-taken, even defantly, the re-
sponsibility of their course-that spirit would
have covered many of their sins. But if they
could have acted with manly honor, and so
put themselves before the court as either to
win their case or openly acknowledge its de-
feat, giving the accused the plain acquittal to
which he has right, they might have saved
for their cause some popular respect and
stood to the future only under the common
odium of error, and not as men exhibiting in a
whole career absolute disregard to and even
defiance of common ideas of right


But an instinct carried them to dsgraceful
attempt to cheat and swindle at the last in the
very court. Already it has been seen, in the
adjournment from Tuesday until Saturday,
how effectively an unscrupulous majority
might outrage justice. Under the plainest letter
of the law not less than two-thirds of the Senate
could convict, but by this convention tactics of
adjournment a majority had, as it counted, all
power. 1t adjourned because it knew the
verdict would be for acquittal and thus kept
the verdict in suspense, counting upon pres
conviction some better chance another day.
This, worthy of thimbleriggers and throwers OF
false dice, rather than the Senators of great
nation, was the course pursued in the High
Court on Saturday. One of the many articles
of impeachment had been framed purposely
to catch votes. It was one that alleged least
against the President; it was one specifying
next to nothing-so vague and general that
the simplest difference in political views with
the President might, II was thought, justify
Senators in voting guilty on it. II was so
vague that no court should ever have enter
tanned ii. But on this, because of its very
nullity, there were likely to be more votes for
guilty than on any other. On this the i'm
peachers knew they had most strength. They
resolved, therefore, to force this, though II
was the eleventh article in the bill, first on
the attention of the court. If they should gel
a verdict in their favor on this one article II
would be enough, and they might thus even
demoralize, as they thought, the men who op-
posed them, and SO carry the whole bill. II, on
the other hand, they should fail on this they
could not hope just now to win on any, and
they could withdraw from the field to try the
pressure again. They might find on this that
they could not convict, but they would not
nave the common honesty to acquit. They
would hold over the President over the consti-
tuition, over the country, the threat OF the re-
vival OF this bill on some other day, when bull
lying, bribery or the corrupt bargaining Of 4
Presidential convention, should induce changes
in their fave, and they might, through such
outside means, get verdict that their evidence
and their arguments could not obtain Such 1,
' the disgrsceful, demoralzing, ruiAous course
the party of impeachment has taken; and this
is in character with its history.


But il is defeated even ct this. Impeach-
ment has failed, even with all this tortuou,
scheming TO aid II, and never will dare agair


to raise Its head before the American people