Year: 1868

YORK WILLIE,


Mr.. Bingham [Ohio] said he was utterly inca.
pabe of approaching this question in q party spir
| it. The gentleman Mr.. Brooksl says the issue
involved is an issue relative to Office. 1t was not
so, but an issue whether the constitution shall be
maintained by the Representatives Of the people.
He had no desire to resort to this last power re-
posed in the people, and had restrained others 30
long as there was any doubt hanging over the ques.
ton of his liability to impeachment. With the
past he was satisfied and was responsible for ii to
the common Father of US all ; but he. stood here
with conviction as clear as TRUTH that the Prssi.
dent had been guilty of violation of his oath Of
Office and of Congressional and Constitutional law,
| and had trampled upon the Constitution Of the
United States. He must have known that he
could ell vacancies during the recess of the Senate
but at no other time He could make temporary
appointments, but it needs no argument to show
that he could not create the vacancy to fill the OF
fee. If he may create o vacancy, and remove an
officer, why should he not remove Lorenzo Thorn.
as, and so go on,from day to day until the end Of
his term. The gentleman (Mr. Banks) had ar.
gued that the Secretary of War was not within
the operation of the civil tenure act but the Pres
ident recognized the act as embracing the Secreta
ry of War by the very act of suspending him last
summer. He complied with it by giving the Sen.
ate his reasons within the time designated in the
Tenure Of Office act. The Senate (Mr. B. argued)
was the place Of final resort for judgment in these
cases, and the Supreme Court could not review
the act of the Senate, or pass judgment upon it.
That Senate has decided that +. NJ. Stanton was
Secretary of War, the President of the United
States to the contrary notwithstanding and under
the law the President could only appoint another
Secretary when the Senate agreed to Mr.. Stantcn's
removal But the President has chosen to violate
the 5th section of the Tenure of Office act and
has de6ed the representatives of the people The
gentleman from New York tells us to beware, but
did the gentleman not know that it is written in the
constitution, that the President shall be removed
from Office on conviction of high crimes and misde-
meanors2 Did he not know that the power of i'm
peachment was vested in the House Of Represen-
tatives under the Constitution? There is enough
in the facts already disclosed in the President
correspondence upon this subject, to draw the in
ference that the President is guilty under another
to the act of 1861, which makes it crime for rhe
President, or any one, to prevent an officer from ex-
ercising the functions of his Office. 1t was plain,
under this last act, that the President had inter-
ferred with an officer, put in his place by the Sen
ate There were some facts that had come to the
knowledge of the committee that should be here
mentioned This General Thomas to-day appear
ed at the War Office and notified Mr.. Stanton that
he (Thomas) would not recognize him (Stanton) as
Secretary of War; that he would keep possession,
and that he would take the mails for the War Of
fee, and all by the direction of the President


After some further debate it was agreed that the
vote on the impeachment resolution should be taken
on Monday at S P. NJ, and the House then nd
journed.


WHAT THE NORTHERN PAPERS SAY.


The New York Tribune says:


Mr. johnson will achieve no coup Il etat. Ma
ture, in denying him the courage proportioned to
his vanity, has made him proof against great
crimes. His forte lies entirely in peccadiloes. -
When Congress concludes to impeach him for petty
misdemeanors, it will find plenty of them. But if
it waits for high crimes he will serve out his term
in feverish peacefulness and empty feints:


The New York World remarks.


We suppose the President will make no immedi-
ate attempt to eject Stanton by force and that the
ridiculous trepidation of Congress isa little prema-
ture But when the proper time comes for for
cibe election, Grants disobedience of orders will
be but slight obstacle. He is bound to obey the
orders of the President; it is duty from which
Congress can no more release him than it can d.
vest the President of. the chief command Of the
army. The right of command implies the duty of
obedience; if Congress tells General Grant not to
obey, it thereby attempts to strip the President OF
the command of the army an attempt which can
succeed only by the overthrow of the constitution.
If General Grant refuses to obey orders, he Is a
menable to military discipline. 1t will be the duty
of the President to cause his arrest for insubordi
nation and mutiny, and organize court martial to
try him. The President can, at the same time, or
der brevet general totake possession Of the head
quarters of the army. We do not suppose the
President will quite yet exert his full authority in
this form. He will probably first apply to the s'u-
preme Court, who will summon Mr.. Stanton, to
show by what authority he assumes to retain the
Office from which he has been removed There is
every reason to believe that the court will adudge
the Tenure of Office bill unconstitutional. With
what face will Stanton go before the Court and con-
tend that the Tenure of Office bill is not repugnant
to the constitution, when it is notorious that he
held the contrary opinion at the same time Of its
passage2 Nay, he advised the President to veto
it for unconsttutionaty, and furnished points tor
the veto message. 1t is not to be supposed that
the Supreme Court will render partisan decision
in his favor, when the case is so clear against him
that he is on record as having decided against his
present claim When the court has rendered its
decision, if General Grant refuses to obey orders,
the time will have come to put him under arrest.
He has, indeed, no more right to refuse obedience
now than he will have then but it is probably ex-
pedient for the President to await the decision of
the court before resorting to force.


INTERVIEW BETWEEN THOMAS AND STANTON.


The Washington Star of Saturday evening says


There were present at Secretary Stanton's office
on Saturday morning, Representatives Morehead
and Kelley, from Pennsylvania; Van Horn and
Van Wyck, of New York Dodge of Iowa Ames,
of Massachusetts Messrs Freeman Clark, of New
York, and ex-member Columbus Delano, of Ohio.


About IL: 80 A. NJ, General Lorenzo Thomas,
having just been released on bail by Judge Cartier,
presented himself at the door Of the department
and told Mr.. Stanton that he would like to zee