124 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES (1868). 



stitute, 253 ; the substitute, 253 ; passed, 253 ; 

 amended in the House and returned, 254; re- 

 port on the House amendments, 254 ; the Sen- 

 ate non-concur, 255 ; conference, 255 ; report, 

 255 ; adopted, 255 ; vetoed by the President, 

 255; passed over the veto, 255; subsequent 

 adjournments of Congress, 255. 



VIII. Session of 186T-'68 : Second session 

 of the Fortieth convenes, 124. 



Resolutions to print extra copies of the Pres- 

 ident's message, 125 ; motion to strike out the 

 message, 125 ; it is a libel, 125 ; the evidence 

 of a direct coalition between the President 

 and the former rebels, 125; a successor of 

 Jefferson Davis, 125 ; assault of the President 

 upon Congress, 125 ; a desire to suppress argu- 

 ments and information of the kind contained 

 in the message, 125; what is this message? 

 125 ; motion to amend, lost, 126. 



Message of the President in commendation 

 of the conduct of Major-General Hancock, 126. 



A bill for the further security of equal rights 

 in the District of Columbia considered, 126; 

 the word " white " to be stricken out of all 

 laws and charters, or ordinances of cities, 126 ; 

 bill ordered to be engrossed, 126 ; read, 126 ; 

 vote for the same laws here that we would 

 vote for our own people at home, 126 ; expres- 

 sion of opinion in the Northern States at the 

 recent election, 127; the number of blacks 

 in this District is very large, and promises to 

 become larger, 127; this privilege of voting 

 may be exercised by them to the detriment of 

 the rest of the public, 127 ; the colored people 

 have rights, 127; bill passed in Senate, 127; 

 do. in the House, 127 ; resolution to ask of the 

 President whether the bill had gone to the 

 Secretary of State, 128 ; reply of the Presi- 

 dent, 128 ; moved to refer it to Judiciary Com- 

 mittee, 128; error of the President's views, 

 128 ; what the Constitution requires, 128; fur- 

 ther debate, 129 ; message referred, 129. 



In the House, a resolution to impeach Pres- 

 ident Johnson considered, 129 ; threats of the 

 Speaker to the galleries, 130 ; meaning of high 

 crimes and misdemeanors, 130 ; the President 

 has in his hands the immense patronage of the 

 Government, 130 ; all facts point to one con- 

 clusion, that the President is guilty of using 

 the great powers of the nation for the purpose 

 of reconstructing the Government in the inter- 

 ests of the rebellion, 130 ; influence of Cabinet 

 officers, 130 ; his proclamation of 1865, 131 ; 



not understood, 131; his motive concealed, 

 131 ; testimony of Matthews, of Ohio, 131 ; 

 declared the country could not be saved ex- 

 cept by the Democratic party, 131 ; that ex- 

 pression discloses his mysterious course to this 

 day, 132; acts which disclose his guilt, 132; 

 message of December, 132 ; speech of Febru- 

 ary, 1866, 132; his vetoes, 132; interference 

 to prevent the ratification of the constitutional 

 amendment, 132; suspends the test-oath, 132; 

 surrender of abandoned lands, 132; turned 

 over millions of captured railway property to 

 its former owners, 132; holds Tennessee bonds, 

 133 ; appointment of provisional governors, 

 133 ; these are impeachable offences, 133 ; 

 propositions laid down in his last message, 

 133; what is our condition to-day? 133; in- 

 volved in financial difficulties, 134; substan- 

 tially impossible to collect the taxes while the 

 Tenure-of-Office Act is in force, 134; there is 

 no remedy for grievances while Mr. Johnson 

 is in office, 134; all rests here, 134; this 

 House has the sole power of impeachment, 

 134 ; this body must be guided by the law, and 

 not by that indefinite something called con- 

 science, which may be one thing to-day, and 

 quite a different thing to-morrow, 134; the 

 facts advanced examined, 135, 136 ; it is feared 

 the failure to impeach and remove the Presi- 

 dent will defeat the congressional plan of re- 

 construction, 136; we may not impeach for 

 this, 136 ; the resolution rejected, 137. 



In the House, a resolution to impeach Presi- 

 dent Johnson again offered, 137 ; referred 

 without debate to the Committee on Recon- 

 struction, 137; report of the committee, 137; 

 resolution to impeach the President reported, 

 138; the fact of removing a man from office 

 without the consent of the Senate, while it is 

 in session, is of itself, and always has been, 

 considered a high crime and misdemeanor, 

 138; why is this attempted? 138; the sacri- 

 fice of two or three branches of government 

 deemed indispensably necessary to keep the 

 Republican party in power, 138; the Presi- 

 dent has thrown himself violently in contact 

 with an act of Congress, 138 ; this is a vast 

 question, 138; it is the construction of vital 

 provisions of the Constitution of our country, 

 139 ; these proceedings of removal are neces- 

 sary only for a usurper, whom the people have 

 repulsed and thwarted time and again, 139; it 

 is known that men ascend to power over bloody 



