IMPEACHMENT. 



367 



President of the United States, do deny each and 

 every averment in said several answers, or either of 

 them, which denies or traverses the _ acts, intents, 

 crimes, or misdemeanors charged against said An- 

 drew Johnson in the said articles or impeachment, 

 or either of them ; and for replication to said an- 

 swer do say that said Andrew Johnson, President of 

 the United States, is guilty of the high crimes and 

 misdemeanors mentioned in said articles, and that 

 the House of Representatives are ready to prove the 

 same. SCHUYLEE COLFAX, 



Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

 En. McPnERsoN, Clerk of House of Representatives. 



The Chief Justice : " The replication will be re- 

 ceived by the Secretary and filed." 



After discussion and consultation upon the 

 application of the President's counsel for fur- 

 ther time, it was 



Ordered, That the Senate will commence the trial 

 of the President upon the articles of impeachment ex- 

 hibited against him, on Monday, the 30th of March 

 instant, and proceed therein with all convenient 

 dispatch, under the rules of the Senate sitting upon 

 the trial of an impeachment. 



And the court adjourned to March 30th. 



March 30. The court having convened, the 

 case on the part of the prosecution was opened 

 by Mr. Manager Butler, after which the evi- 

 dence relied on to make good the articles of 

 impeachment was presented hy Mr. Manager 

 Wilson. The presentation and reading of the 

 following documentary evidence occupied the 

 remainder of the day : 



The oath of office of Mr. Johnson as Presi- 

 dent, April 15, 1865 ; the appointment of Mr. 

 Stanton as Secretary of "War by Mr. Lincoln, 

 January 13, 1862 ; his confirmation by the Sen- 

 ate, January 15, 1862 ; and the message of 

 President Johnson of December 12, 1867, ex- 

 plaining his reasons for removing Mr. Stanton 

 (see ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA, 1867, p. 744). 



March 31. The managers put in the Senate 

 resolution of January 13, 1868 (see CONGRESS, 

 U. S.), not concurring in the suspension of Mr. 

 Stanton ; the President's message of February 

 21, 1868 (see PUBLIC DOCUMENTS), announcing 

 the removal of Mr. Stanton and appointment of 

 General Lorenzo Thomas as Secretary of War 

 ad interim, and an extract of the Senate jour- 

 nal showing the action of the Senate thereon, 

 as follows 



Resolved ly the Senate of the United States, That 

 under the Constitution and laws of the United States 

 the President has no power to remove the Secretary 

 of War and to designate any other officer to perform 

 the duties of that office ad interim 



Mr. Stanton's commission from President Lin- 

 coln as Secretary of War. The chief clerk of the 

 Senate testified that notice of the Senate reso- 

 lution of February 21st, as to the removal of 

 Mr. Stanton, had been served on the President. 

 Another officer of the Senate testified to having 

 served the same on General Thomas, at 11 p. M.-, 

 February 21st. A clerk in the Treasury Depart- 

 ment testified to a change in the form of com- 

 missions since the passage of the Tenure-of- 

 Office Act ; substituting, for " during the pleas- 

 ure. of the President for the time being," the 

 words, " until a successor shall have been ap- 



pointed and duly qualified." This change was 

 made March 6, 1807. Mr. Burt Van Horn, of 

 the House of Representatives, and others, tes- 

 tified to the demand of General Thomas on 

 Mr. Stanton, on the 22d of February, 1868, 

 that the latter should give up to him the office 

 of Secretary of War ; and the refusal of the lat- 

 ter so to do. Evidence of General Thomas's dec- 

 laration at that time, being offered in order to 

 show an intent to take possession of the Depart- 

 ment by violence, the same was ruled admissi- 

 ble by the Chief Justice. This led to a discus- 

 sion of his right to take part in the proceedings, 

 and to an amendment of the seventh rule as 

 follows, 31 to 19 : 



The presiding officer of the Senate shall direct all 

 necessary preparations in the Senate Chamber, and 

 the presiding officer on the trial shall direct all the 

 forms of proceeding while the Senate are sitting for 

 the purpose of trying an impeachment, and all forms, 

 during the trial, not otherwise specially provided for. 

 And the presiding officer on the trial may rule all 

 questions of evidence and incidental questions, which 

 ruling shall stand as the judgment of the Senate, 

 unless some member of the Senate shall ask that a 

 formal vote shall be taken thereon ; in which case it 

 shall be submitted to the Senate for decision, or he 

 may, at his option, in the first instance submit any 

 such question to a vote of the members of the Senate. 



April 1. A resolution, denying the right of 

 the Chief Justice to vote in case of a tie, re- 

 jected, 21 to 27; the ruling of the Chief Jus- 

 tice, as to Thomas's declaration of intention, 

 was sustained, 39 to 11 ; and Mr. Burleigh tes- 

 tified that the General stated on the 21st of 

 February, that he should take possession by 

 ten o'clock, and that he would use force, if 

 possession were refused him. At the end of 

 the argument on the admissibility of the testi- 

 mony, it was decided nem. con, that the limita- 

 tion of one hour on the twentieth rule applies 

 to the whole number of persons to speak on 

 each side. Other declarations of Thomas's, 

 before February 21st, were ruled out by the 

 Chief Justice, but admitted by the Senate, 28 

 to 22. They were to the effect that, ten days 

 before that date, the General said to certain 

 clerks in the War Office, that he intended to 

 relax certain rules then in force. Other wit- 

 nesses testified to the same effect. 



April 2. Further evidence corroborating 

 the above, as to the inteview between Stan- 

 ton and Thomas. General Emory testified 

 that he was summoned to the President by a 

 note from his secretary, and that the President 

 made inquiries about recent movements of 

 troops round Washington. Witness replied 

 that such movements could not have taken 

 place without his knowledge under Order No. 

 17, series of 1867. The President sent for the 

 order, read it, and said : " This is not in con- 

 formity with the Constitution of the United 

 States, that makes me Commander-in-chief, nor 

 with the terms of your commission ; " and 

 asked if he was to understand that the Presi- 

 dent of the United States cannot give an order 

 except through the General of the Army or 

 General Grant. Witness replied that the Ar- 



