CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



139 



ident of the nation. But the suggestion has 

 been made on this floor that his conduct in- 

 volves a mere question of the construction of 

 a law. Sir, it is the question of the construc- 

 tion of vital provisions of that which is ante- 

 cedent to and underlies the law the Constitu- 

 tion of our country and of its express provisions. 

 Nor, even if the arraignment depended upon the 

 provisions of the Tenure-pf-Office Act, would 

 the issue be a mere question of the construc- 

 tion of law. That question was referred to the 

 Senate yesterday, and that body advised the 

 President that they regarded his action as un- 

 constitutional. - It was again referred to-day 

 to the courts of the country, and is marked for 

 adjudication for "Wednesday next, and the of- 

 fender, who, I fear, will hereafter be known as 

 thV St. Arnaud of our army and country, is 

 under $5,000 bail to respond to the demands 

 of the law and abide its peaceable determina- 

 tion. And yet, sir, after the action of the Sen- 

 ate and the reference of the question to the 

 judicial tribunals of the country and let me 

 say, in passing, that I speak not from the re- 

 port -of the honorable gentleman from Ohio 

 (Mr. Bingham), who referred to the fact, but 

 from my own observation escaping from the 

 magistrate's office, and coming, as I am in- 

 formed, through the office of the President and 

 his Attorney-General, Adjutant-General Lo- 

 renzo Thomas appeared in the "War Depart- 

 ment at noon to-day, and, in my presence, de- 

 manded to exercise the functions of Secretary 

 of War; and when ordered courteously, but 

 positively, to take his place in the office of the 

 Adjutant-General, and attend to his duties, he 

 protested that he was Secretary of War ad in- 

 terim, and was there in obedience to the orders 

 of the President of the United States, and, in 

 his name, demanded possession of the mails of 

 the department, with all its books and papers. 



"Sir, this extraordinary procedure on the 

 part of the President is not necessary for the 

 adjudication of a legal question. The question 

 gentlemen attempt to raise can be decided very 

 speedily. These proceedings are necessary 

 only for a usurper whom the people have re- 

 pulsed and thwarted time and again, but who 

 hopes, by the absolute possession of the War 

 Department, to use the army, and thus over- 

 come the contumacy of the people, and who 

 attempts, on the 22d of February, 1868, to exe- 

 cute by cunning that which he hoped mob vio- 

 lence would execute for him on the 22d of 

 February, 1866. 



"It is not well, Mr. Speaker, that the insti- 

 tutions of this broad but infant nation should 

 depend upon the virtue or life of one or two of 

 its citizens. Lincoln was murdered, and other 

 distinguished patriots may be. It is known 

 that men ascend to power over bloody steps, 

 and that they may do it in this country and 

 yet be tolerated. Therefore, the hour has come 

 when Congress owes it not only to itself, but 

 to the safety of the country, to warn Mr. John- 

 son that he cannot perpetuate his power, and 



bring him, as hastily as the forms and spirit 

 of law will permit, to trial and degradation. 

 The army of France obeyed the orders of St. 

 Arnaud as Minister of War, and the army of 

 the United States owe obedience to the orders 

 of the President, issued by the Secretary of 

 War. On the integrity of that officer in this 

 crisis depend the peace and life of the nation! " 



Mr. Beck, of Kentucky, followed, saying: 

 "Mr. Speaker, disguise it as we may, and call 

 this proceeding by what name we will, it is at 

 last apparent that the leaders of this Congress 

 are prepared to take the fatal plunge into the 

 sea of revolution, and, fearing that the more 

 timid or conservative of the members of the 

 majority may halt before they leap, the lead- 

 ers are determined to dash them on while they 

 are yet blind with rage, lest the sight of the 

 frightful precipice should make them shudder 

 and retrace their steps. Defeated twice in 

 their impeachment schemes since this session 

 began, once in the t House, after all the acts, 

 public and private, 'of the President had been 

 ferreted out for six months, through perjured 

 spies and informers, and again before the Re- 

 construction Committee, with all the acts and 

 correspondence between General Grant and 

 the President (see PUBLIC DOCUMENTS) before 

 it, the foiled and baffled leaders, desperate and 

 reckless, have now taken advantage of the in- 

 sane furore created by a legitimate effort of 

 the President to test, before the courts of the 

 country, his constitutional and legal right to 

 remove an obnoxious, and, as he asserts, faith- 

 less subordinate, who is a spy upon his actions, 

 and an obstacle in the way of the faithful per- 

 formance of his constitutional obligation to 

 c see that the laws are faithfully executed ' 

 to remove him from his high position and place 

 there a pliant tool of the dominant faction ; 

 and this, too, is to be done with an indecent 

 haste that would be disgraceful to the proceed- 

 ings in the lowest and most insignificant ma- 

 gistrate's court in the country. The matter 

 was referred to the Reconstruction Committee 

 late yesterday evening. A sub-committee of 

 three, all of whom were known to favor the 

 scheme, were to-day charged by that commit- 

 tee to take proof and prepare the report, care- 

 fully excluding therefrom either of the mem- 

 bers who were known to oppose it. Sitting 

 after this House met, in violation of the rules 

 of the House, and against the protest of the 

 minority of the committee, the articles of im- 

 peachment are now hurried before this body." 



Mr. Logan, of Illinois, followed, saying: 

 "Now, Mr. Speaker, let us examine this ques- 

 tion for a moment. It seems to me very plain 

 and easy of solution. It is not necessary, in 

 order to decide whether this action of the Pres- 

 ident of the United States comes within the 

 purview and meaning of this statute, for us to 

 talk about revolutions, or what this man or 

 that man has said or decided. What has been 

 the act of the President is the question ? The 

 law is plain. If the President shall appoint, 



