142 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



and railroad jobbing, its profligate Indian ex- 

 penditures, and its fraudulent and corrupt 

 extensions 'of patents ; and the Post-Office De- 

 partment, arraigned before the House by a 

 committee of the House on charges of corrup- 

 tion ; and the State Department, arraigned be- 

 for the nations of the world for not vindicating 

 the rights of the nation and of the citizens of 

 the nation ! 



"Confronted as we are this day, Mr. Speaker, 

 by this state of things, so threatening to our 

 national existence and so destructive of all that 

 is held dear by all good citizens, can there be 

 any patriotic man of any political organization 

 who does not call upon Congress to sternly do 

 its whole duty, and purge this capitol of the 

 crimes which defile the nation? " 



Mr. "Woodward, of Pennsylvania, said : " I 

 take it upon me to deny your right to impeach 

 anybody, and the present Senate's right to try 

 any impeachment. Says the Constitution : * The 

 House of Representatives sjiall have the sole 

 power of impeachment,' and the 'House of 

 Representatives shall be composed of members 

 chosen every second year by the people of the 

 several States.' This House of Representatives 

 is not so composed ; but, on the contrary, the 

 Representatives chosen from ten of the ' several 

 States' have been and are excluded from these 

 Halls. I do not say if they were absent vol- 

 untarily they could prevent your exercise of 

 the impeaching power ; for then they would 

 form, though personally absent, a part of the 

 composition of the House ; but, so long as you 

 prevent their entering into its composition, you 

 are not the House of Representatives to whom 

 the Constitution commits the 'sole power of 

 impeachment.' Our functions in this regard 

 have been likened to those of a grand jury 

 which consists of twenty-three men. And sup- 

 pose, sir, a majority of a grand jury should get 

 possession of the jury-room and bar the door 

 against a minority of their fellows, as well 

 entitled to be there as the majority, would the 

 findings of such a jury be respected ? By no 

 court in Christendom. On the contrary, their 

 acts would be set aside, and very likely them- 

 selves punished for their contempt of the law. 



" Then, as to the Senate, the Constitution says 

 ' the Senate shall have the sole power to try 

 all impeachments,' and that the 'Senate of 

 the United States shall be composed of two 

 Senators from each State.' The ten excluded 

 States are entitled to twenty Senators upon 

 that floor, and, until they are admitted and in- 

 corporated into the body, I deny that it is the 

 Senate to whom the Constitution commits the 

 power to try impeachments. What criminal 

 was ever before arraigned before a court from 

 which twenty of his legal triers had been ex- 

 cluded? Yet you propose to arraign the man 

 who represents in his person thirty-five mill- 

 ions of freemen before just such a dismembered 

 bench. You ^ have no right to do it. Your 

 might makes it not right. A giant's strength is 

 good, but it is tyrannous to use it as a giant. 



" The flippant reply to this grave suggestion 

 is that we pass laws, ' and therefore we are a 

 House and Senate to impeach. But the an- 

 swer is, your legislative powers have not been 

 questioned, your impeaching powers are. I 

 am not bound to take even a valid objection to 

 the jurisdiction of a court which sits to adju-r 

 dicate my civil rights, nor is my objection to 

 its jurisdiction to try me for crimes and misde- 

 meanors impaired by my failure to make timely 

 objection in behalf of my civil rights. The 

 question of jurisdiction is raised now, and now 

 is the time to decide it. It was never raised as 

 to our legislative powers, and the time has 

 gone by for that. But this is the very time to 

 raise it as to our criminal jurisdiction. It could 

 not be decided before it was raised, and hence 

 I conclude all the legislation we have done does 

 not constitute us the court to originate and try 

 impeachments which the Constitution contem- 

 plates." 



Mr. Judd, of Illinois, presented the following 

 telegram, which was read by the Clerk : 



CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, February 24, 1868. 

 The Bepublican press and party of the city of 

 Chicago unanimously demand the impeachment of 

 Andrew Johnson. A mass meeting is called for to- 

 morrow evening, to give expression to this feeling. 



L. B. OTIS, Chairman Preliminary Meeting. 

 HENRY M. SMITH, Secretary. 



Mr. Eldridge, of Wisconsin, said: "Who be- 

 lieves that this is the movement of the lovers 

 of the Constitution, and the laws made in 

 pursuance thereof, for their defence and pro- 

 tection? Who believes that it is for the purpose 

 of keeping the President in his legitimate 

 executive sphere? 



" If any one doubts upon this point, let me 

 ask him why it is that Mr. Stanton, who pro- 

 nounces this Tenure-of-Office Bill unconstitu- 

 tional, is so anxious to hold on to this office ? 

 Why is it, when distinguished Senators de- 

 clared that no gentleman, no man of honor, 

 could hold on to a Cabinet office after an inti- 

 mation from the President that he was not 

 wanted, that his resignation was desired? Why 

 is it, when the personal and official relations 

 of the Secretary and the President are admit- 

 tedly such that they can have no intercourse 

 or communication with each other? Is it, I 

 repeat, to strengthen and aid the Executive in 

 the legitimate and proper exercise of the ex- 

 ecutive power ? 



"It is admitted upon all hands that the party 

 for impeachment desire to keep Mr. Stanton 

 there to oppose and circumvent the President. 

 He is kept there in the interest of the legisla- 

 tive and not the executive power. He is kept 

 in the interest of Congress and not the Presi- 

 dent. He is expected to execute the will of 

 Congress, to do its bidding, to strengthen its 

 power, to oppose and not to aid the President. 



" Now, I put it to the gentlemen upon the 

 other side of this House, if they expect or 

 believe that it is possible for this Government 

 of several and coequal departments to exist 



