按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!
; in the removal of Mr。 Stanton; after refusing to hear testimony in his behalf on that charge。
The next interrogatory; No。 9; was 〃when the President asked the witness (Gen。 Sherman;) to accept the War Office; was anything further said in reference to it?〃 This was objected to by the prosecution; and the vote thereon was 23 to 29。 Twenty…eight of the twenty…nine gentlemen thus refusing answer to this question; afterwards voting to convict the President; after refusing to bear the testimony of a very important witness in his behalf; which his counsel proposed to produce and tried in vain to get before the Senate。
On the tenth interrogatory; by Defense; 〃whether the President had stated to the witness; (General Sherman); his object in asking him to accept the War Office;〃 the vote was 7 to 44 against receiving it; and thirty…one of the gentlemen voting not to hear this testimony; at the close of the hearing voted to convict Mr。 Johnson of a high misdemeanor in office in the removal of Mr。 Stanton; after refusing to hear his defense。
The next; No。 11; was as to the President's attempt to get a case before the Supreme Court for a judicial determination of Mr。 Stanton's right to retain the War Office against the President's wish。 This testimony was refused by a vote of 25 to 27every nay vote being cast by a Republican; every one of whom at the close of the trial; voting in effect to convict Mr。 Johnson of a high misdemeanor in office in seeking resort to the courts to test the legality of an act of Congress passed for the practically sole purpose of restricting an executive function never before questioned。
The next interrogatory; No。 12; was whether the witness; (General Sherman; had formed an opinion whether the good of the service required a Secretary of War other than Mr。 Stanton。 It was well understood that General Sherman believed that for the good of the service Mr。 Stanton ought to retire; and as the Chief Officer of the Army his opinion was certainly entitled to weight; and the President had a right to the benefit of his judgment。 This interrogatory was objected to by the Prosecution; and was rejected by a vote of 18 to 35thirty…one of the thirty…five being Republicans; who at the close of the trial voted to convict Mr。 Johnson of a high misdemeanor in the removal of Mr。 Stanton; after refusing him the benefit of the opinion of the Chief Officer of the Army on a question affecting the military service; and to which he was in all fairness clearly entitled。
No。 13; General Sherman was asked whether he had advised; the President to appoint a successor to Mr。 Stanton。 (It was well understood that he had。) Answer to this was refused; 18 to 32thirty of the latter; all Republicans; voting at the close of the trial to convict Mr。 Johnson; after refusing to hear this important testimony in his behalf。 No。 16。 The answer to the last interrogatory; (〃if he did; state what his purpose was;〃) was received by a majority of one; 26 to 25every nay vote being a Republican; and constituting a majority of the Republicans of the Senate。
No。 21。 Mr。 O。 E。 Perrin on the stand; was asked as to the President's statement that Mr。 Stanton would relinquish the office at once to General Thomas〃that it was only a temporary arrangement〃that he would 〃send to the Senate at once the name of a good man;〃 (which he did)。 This testimony was rejected by a vote of 9 to 37thirty of the latter number being Republicans who at the close of the trial voted to convict Mr。 Johnson of a high misdemeanor in sending to the Senate the name of Thomas Ewing; Senior; for appointment as Secretary of War; vice Stanton removed in assumed violation of the Tenure…of…Office Act。
The next offer of testimony to be rejected was No。 23Mr。 Gideon Welles; Secretary of the Navy; on the stand; to prove that the Cabinet had advised the President to veto the Tenure…of…Office Bill as unconstitutional。 The Chief Justice ruled the testimony admissible for the purpose of showing the intent with which the President had acted in the transaction。 Prosecution objected; and by a vote of 20 to 29; the decision of the Chief Justice was overruled。 No answer to this interrogatory was permitted; every vote to refuse this testimony being cast by a Republican; every one of whom; at the close of the trial; voting to convict and remove Mr。 Johnson for alleged violation of a law which he believed to be unconstitutionalwhich he was advised by the head of the Law Department of the Government was unconstitutional and therefore not a law which he had sworn to execute; and the constitutionality of which he had endeavored to get before the courts for adjudicationthose 29 Republicans so voting after having refused to hear testimony in his defense on these identical points。
The next disputed interrogatory was No。 24that Mr。 Johnson's Cabinet had advised him that the Secretaries who had been appointed by Mr。 Lincoln and still holding; (Mr。 Stanton; Mr。 Seward; and Mr。 Welles;) were removable by the President; notwithstanding the assumed restriction of the Tenure…of…Office Act。 The Chief Justice ruled this testimony to be admissible。 Objection was made by the Prosecution; and a vote taken; and the interrogatory was rejected22 to 26every nay vote being a Republican; every one of whom at the close of the trial; voting to convict and remove Mr。 Johnson from office; after having refused to hear this very important testimony in his behalf。
Defense next offered to prove (No。 25) that it was determined by the President; with the concurrence of the Cabinet; that an agreed case for the determination of the constitutionality of the Tenure…of…Office Act should be made。 This testimony was objected to; and a vote taken; which was 19 to 30。 Every one of the gentlemen voting to reject this testimony; Mr。 Johnson's right to which cannot with any possible showing of fairness be successfully disputed; were Republicans; and after so voting; at the close of the trial; declared by their several verdicts that he had been fairly proven guilty of a high misdemeanor in office; by violation of the Tenure…of…Office Act in seeking a judicial determination of the validity of a disputed Act of Congress; and should be expelled from office。
No。 26; was as to any suggestion by the President of the employment of force for the vacation of any office; (relating of course; to the War Office。) Mr。 Johnson had been charged with seeking the removal of Mr。 Stanton by force; should he resist。 Knowing perfectly that the answer would be in the negative; the Senate refused to permit answer to this interrogatory; by a vote of 18 to 26; every one of the twenty…six gentlemen at the close of the trial in effect voting that the President was guilty as charged; of seeking to remove Mr。 Stanton by violence; after refusing to hear either his denial or witnesses in his behalf on that point。
No。 27。 Defense proposed to prove that the Cabinet had advised the President that the Tenure…of…Office Act did not prevent the removal of those members who had been originally appointed by Mr。 Lincoln。 This testimony; which; if permitted answer; would; in the minds of unprejudiced people; have at once set aside the entire impeachment scheme; was not permitted answer。 The vote was 20 to 26every one of the twenty…six gentlemen who voted to reject that most important and conclusive testimony in Mr。 Johnson's behalf; at the close of the examination voting to convict him of a high misdemeanor in office by violating the Tenure…of…Office Act in removing Mr。 Stanton from the office of Secretary of Warafter refusing this offer to prove by his Cabinet advisers; the witness himself; (Mr。 Welles; and his testimony; if received; was to be followed by that of Mr。 Seward and Mr。 Stanton; all of whom had been appointed by Mr。 Lincoln and not re…appointed by Mr。 Johnson;) that that act did not apply to or protect them against removal at the pleasure of the President。 So that on eighteen of these twenty…one disputed interrogatories put in behalf of the Defense; a majority of the Republicans of the Senate refused in every instance to hear testimony; after having sworn to give Mr。 Johnson a fair and impartial trial。
But the most flagrant case of unfairness to the defendant in this examination of witnesses occurred in the treatment of interrogatory No。 3; put by the prosecution; in their introduction of a letter from the President to General Grant; purporting to enclose letters from different members of the Cabinet in substantiation of the position of the President in the controversy then pending between Gen。 Grant and himself。 These letters were enclosed with; and specifically referred to and made a part of the President's communication; and were necessary to a correct apprehension of the controversy; from the President's or any other standpoint。
Being so enclosed and referred to in the letter transmitting and enclosing them; they became quite as much a part of the President's communication as his own letter which enclosed them。 Counsel for Defense objected to the introduction of the President's letter without the enclosures; but the objection was not sustained and the letters were not permitted to be introduced; but the letter enclosing and referring to them was。 The vote on