Year: 1867




Yesterday evening Professor Dwight delivered,
at the Law School, Lafayette place, very able
and interesting lecture on the subject OF 'lm-
peachment" He arranged his lecture under
tour heads;-First, ''The Nature of impeacn-
ment;" second "The Crimes for which Impeach-
ment may be Institutcd;n third, "The Method
OF Procedures" and, fourth General Remarks"
He compared the law or impeachment as 1T has
been exercised under the English Constitution,
with the law as IL exists in the United States,
citing instances TO show that in England an i'm
peachment, like an indictment, considers the
accused innocent until proved guilty. so that,
throughout the whole OF English history we
find but one case IN which suspension from the
exercise of the duties OF office was tried to be
enforced, and that in the case OF Pickett and
other VIGOROUSLY corrupt judges, who were
ordered, during the procedure OF the act OF I'M
peachment against them, not to exercise their
functions on circuit. In the celebrated case OF
Lord Bacon, Lord High Chancellor OF England,
who was sentenced, according to custom, to
kneel and beg pardon of the House, and 1t
being specially provided that on such occa-
sions the Lord High Chancellor should occupy
the woolsack, the King had to send
functionary to request Lord Bacon to give
up his insignia of Office, otherwise the punish
ment inflicted could not have been carried out.
In another case-that of the notorious Scroggs,
corrupt Judge, who was impeaChed for maltea-
sance IN ofiice-the House of Lords appealed to
his sense of modesty not to exercise the tunc-
tions of his office during his impeachment.
Scroggs, however, was not troubled with any
modesty on this score, and there was no power
according to the Constitution to suspend him
from Office. The lecturer said, Can the accused
be suspended from Office during the progress of
the trial? This subject is OF Importance In case
of the impeachment of the President, as an
assertion of such power might lead to the utmost
confusion, and perhaps to civil war. strongly
believe that there can be no suspension from
office, on two principal grounds:-Flrst.
From the practice in England. Second. From
the true construction of the language of
the United States Constitution. There is no eX
press language in the Constitution warranting
the suspension from othce, and the history OF
the Constitution, and the debates upon it, show
that the power of suspension from office during
impeachment was carefully excluded from the
statute. IN the New York Constitution of l777
there was special law providing for suspension
from office; those who framed the United States
Constitution had that law before them; there is
evidence to snow that the question was con-
sidered by them; and yet they did not embody
it in the Constitution. In England a person
might be impeached tor a variety of crimes and
misdemeanors, but under the Constitution of
the United States there can be no impeach-
ment tor crimes not expressly mentioned in
the statutes. The lecturer bere described
the mode of impeachment in England, and
contrasted it with that in the United States. In
this country no arrest is necessary, and the
punishment inflicted does not, as in England,
require the presence of the person Impeached
because here it consists in the removal from
office. In England one might be impeached for
mere common law crimes; but in the United
Sta tes this is not the case, and the care with
which the power of impeachment has hitherto
been exercised in this country Is shown in the
fact that, In the only instances on record in
which impeachment has been resorted to, D. e.,
of Pickering, Chase, and Blount, only one of
them, Pickering, was condemned.


In conclusion, the lecturer said: What would
be the effect of political impeachment upon
our system of government it is difficult to say.
All analogy leads TO the conclusion that it
should be avoided until the last extremity, and
that the trial should be preceded by the unmls-
taxable verdict of the people. There is profound
! wisdom in the remark OF that sound and calm
lawyer, SERGEANT Maynard, that "the trial and
| condemnation of one man at common law will
work more upon the people than ten iUpeach
! ments." 1t is the weakness of political tribu
! nal that, whether justly or not, it labors under
while it is the strength of common law court
that every presumption is made by public
opinion in favor of its business and impartaiity.
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