History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States Part 50

To declare the sense of an act ent.i.tled "an act to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, and to provide for the payment of certain demands for quartermasters' stores and subsistence supplies furnished to the army of the United States;" became a law February 22; 1867.

RECAPITULATION.--Vetoes, 10; pocket vetoes, 1; laws pa.s.sed over vetoes, 6; vetoes sustained, 4; became laws without signature, 4.

As President Johnson proceeded in his career of opposition to the legislative branch of the Government, the conviction fastened upon the minds of some that he was guilty of crimes rendering him liable to impeachment. On the 7th of January, 1867, Hon. James M. Ashley, of Ohio, brought before the House of Representatives articles of impeachment, as follows:

"I do impeach Andrew Johnson, Vice-President and acting President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.

"I charge him with a usurpation of power and violation of law:

"In that he has corruptly used the appointing power;

"In that he has corruptly used the pardoning power;

"In that he has corruptly used the veto power;

"In that he has corruptly disposed of public property of the United States;

"In that he has corruptly interfered in elections, and committed acts which, in contemplation of the Const.i.tution, are high crimes and misdemeanors; Therefore,

"_Be it resolved_, That the Committee on the Judiciary be, and they are hereby, authorized to inquire into the official conduct of Andrew Johnson, Vice-President of the United States, discharging the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States, and to report to this House whether, in their opinion, the said Andrew Johnson, while in said office, has been guilty of acts which are designed or calculated to overthrow, subvert, or corrupt the Government of the United States, or any department or office thereof; and whether the said Andrew Johnson has been guilty of any act, or has conspired with others to do acts, which, in contemplation of the Const.i.tution, are high crimes and misdemeanors, requiring the interposition of the const.i.tutional power of this House; and that said committee have power to send for persons and papers, and to administer the customary oath to witnesses."

This resolution was adopted by a vote of one hundred and eight to thirty-eight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hon. James M. Ashley.]

Near the close of the session, the Committee on the Judiciary, having in charge the question of impeachment, made a report. The condition in which the subject was left by the Thirty-ninth Congress will be seen from the following extract:

"The duty imposed upon the committee by this action of the House was of the highest and gravest character. No committee, during the entire history of the Government, has ever been charged with a more important trust. The responsibility which it imposed was of oppressive weight and of most unpleasant nature. Gladly would the committee have escaped from the arduous labor imposed upon it by the resolution of the House; but once imposed, prompt, deliberate, and faithful action, with a view to correct results, became its duty, and to this end it has directed its efforts.

"Soon after the adoption of the resolution by the House, the Hon. James M. Ashley communicated to the committee, in support of his charges against the President of the United States, such facts as were in his possession, and the investigation was proceeded with, and has been continued almost without a day's interruption. A large number of witnesses have been examined, many doc.u.ments collected, and every thing done which could be done to reach a conclusion of the case. But the investigation covers a broad field, embraces many novel, interesting, and important questions, and involves a mult.i.tude of facts, while most of the witnesses are distant from the capital, owing to which, the committee, in view of the magnitude of the interests involved in its action, has not been able to conclude its labors, and is not, therefore, prepared to submit a definite and final report. If the investigation had even approached completeness, the committee would not feel authorized to present the result to the House at this late period of the session, unless the charge had been so entirely negatived as to admit of no discussion, which, in the opinion of the committee, is not the case. Certainly, no affirmative report could be properly considered in the expiring hours of this Congress.

"The committee, not having fully investigated all the charges preferred against the President of the United States, it is deemed inexpedient to submit any conclusion beyond the statement that sufficient testimony has been brought to its notice to justify and demand a further prosecution of the investigation.

"The testimony which the committee has taken will pa.s.s into the custody of the Clerk of the House, and can go into the hands of such committee as may be charged with the duty of bringing this investigation to a close, so that the labor expended upon it may not have been in vain.

"The committee regrets its inability definitely to dispose of the important subject committed to its charge, and presents this report for its own justification, and for the additional purpose of notifying the succeeding Congress of the incompleteness of its labors, and that they should be completed."

With the acceptance of this report, the impeachment was at an end so far as the action of the Thirty-ninth Congress was concerned. The subject was handed over to the consideration of the Fortieth Congress.

CHAPTER XXV.

PERSONAL.

Contested Seats -- Mr. Stockton votes for Himself -- New Jersey's loss of two Senators -- Losses of Vermont -- Suicide of James H. Lane -- Death in the House -- General Scott -- Lincoln's Eulogy and Statue -- Mr. Sumner on Fine Arts in the Capitol -- Censure of Mr. Chanler -- Pet.i.tion for the expulsion of Garret Davis -- Grinnell a.s.saulted by Rousseau -- The Action of the House -- Leader of the House.

Matters of interest relating to the members of the Thirty-ninth Congress remain to be noticed. Some names of members appear in the opening scenes of Congress which were subst.i.tuted by others before the close. This was occasioned partly through successful contests for seats by persons who, after an investigation of their claims, were declared to have been legally elected, but failed, through fraud or mistake, to receive their credentials. The right of Mr. Voorhees, of Indiana, to a seat in the Thirty-ninth Congress was contested by Henry D. Washburn. The testimony in this case was laid before the Committee on Elections early in the session, and after patient hearing of the parties and careful consideration of the subject, the committee reported in favor of Mr. Washburn and unseated Mr. Voorhees.

The seat in Congress taken at the opening of the session by James Brooks, of New York, was decided by the committee, after consideration of the claims of the contestant, to belong to William E. Dodge, a merchant of New York city.

The right of John P. Stockton, of New Jersey, to a seat in the Senate having been disputed on account of irregularity in his election, the Senate came to a vote on the question, after considerable discussion, on the 23d of March, 1866. Mr. Stockton was declared ent.i.tled to his place by the close vote of 22 to 21, he giving the decisive vote in favor of himself. There arose a very exciting debate as to the right of a Senator to vote for himself under such circ.u.mstances. Mr.

Stockton finally yielded to the arguments against his right to sit in judgment on his own case, and he was unseated March 27th by a vote of 22 to 21. For a time the seat thus vacated, to which New Jersey was ent.i.tled in the Senate, remained unoccupied on account of the refusal of the Republican Speaker of the New Jersey Senate to give his vote in favor of the nominee of the Union caucus, Mr. Cattell. On account of the nearly equal balance of the parties, the choice was long deferred, but eventually made in favor of Mr. Cattell. The other seat held by New Jersey in the Senate was practically vacant for a considerable time on account of the illness of its inc.u.mbent, Mr. William Wright, who consequently resigned and eventually died before the expiration of the Thirty-ninth Congress.

Other seats in Congress were vacated by death. Of all the States, Vermont suffered most severely in this respect. A part of the proceedings of the Thirty-ninth Congress consists of funeral addresses and eulogies upon Judge Collamer, a distinguished Senator from Vermont, whose term of service, had he lived, would have expired with the close of this Congress. He died, lamented by the nation, on the 8th of November, 1865. One who took a prominent part in the funeral obsequies of Mr. Collamer was Solomon Foot, the surviving Senator from Vermont. A man termed, from his length of service, "the father of the Senate," long its presiding officer, of purest morals, incorruptible integrity, and faithful industry, he died universally lamented on the 28th of March, 1866. Mr. Foot's death created a profound impression, since it exhibited, in a most remarkable manner, the effect of Christianity in affording its possessor a happy close of life.

The death of another Senator stands forth in striking contrast with that of Mr. Foot. On the first of July, 1866, Senator James H. Lane shot himself at Leavenworth, Kansas. While on his way home from Washington, when at St. Louis, he had intimated a determination to commit suicide. His friends watched him closely, and obtained possession of his pocket-knife lest he might use it for the fatal purpose. Mr. Lane having reached Leavenworth, two of his friends invited him to ride with them on Sabbath afternoon. After getting into the carriage, he expressed a desire to return to his room for his cane, refusing to allow any one to go for him. Mr. Lane having returned with his cane, they drove to the heights overlooking the city. He entered cheerfully into the conversation, remarking upon the beauty of the city and landscape. On returning, they had to pa.s.s through a gate that separated two fields. One of the gentlemen alighted to open the gate. At the same time Mr. Lane stepped down from the carriage, and, pa.s.sing around behind it, said, "Good-by, gentlemen," and instantly discharged a pistol with its muzzle in his mouth. The ball pa.s.sed out at the top of his head, near the center of the skull, producing a fatal wound. The unhappy man lingered for a few days in a state of unconsciousness and died. Thus ended the stirring, troubled life of one who as a politician had occupied no inconsiderable s.p.a.ce in the public eye.

A number of seats in the House of Representatives were vacated by death. James Humphrey, an able and honored member from New York, died in Brooklyn on the 16th of June, 1866. During the second session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, two members of the House of Representatives were removed by death--Philip Johnson, of Pennsylvania, in his third term of Congressional service, and Henry Grider, of Kentucky, a veteran member, who, having served in Congress from 1843 to 1847, was more recently a member of the Thirty-seventh, Thirty-eighth, and Thirty-ninth Congresses.

Congress was called upon to pay funeral honors to others than its members. The death of General Scott, so long the ill.u.s.trious chief of the military establishment of the nation, was regarded with due solemnity and honor by Congress, who deputized a large committee to attend the funeral obsequies at West Point. An equestrian statue of the distinguished General was voted by Congress to adorn the public grounds of the national capital.

The name of Abraham Lincoln, the nation's martyred President, was always p.r.o.nounced with profoundest respect and sincerest grat.i.tude in the halls of Congress. His birthday, February 12th, was celebrated by the adjournment of Congress, and such an a.s.sembly as the hall of Representatives has rarely witnessed, to hear a eulogy p.r.o.nounced by Mr. Bancroft, the American historian. An appropriation of ten thousand dollars was made to pay a young artist, Miss Minnie Ream, to model a statue of Abraham Lincoln. This proposition elicited an animated discussion, and was the occasion of a most interesting address by Mr.

Sumner on Art in the Capitol. "Surely this edifice," said he, "so beautiful and interesting, should not be opened to the experiments of untried talent. Only the finished artists should be invited to its ornamentation.

"Sir, I doubt if you consider enough the character of this edifice in which we are now a.s.sembled. Possessing the advantage of an incomparable situation, it is one of the first-cla.s.s structures in the world. Surrounded by an amphitheater of hills, with the Potomac at its feet, it resembles the capitol in Rome, surrounded by the Alban hills, with the Tiber at its feet. But the situation is grander than that of the Roman capitol. The edifice itself is worthy of the situation. It has beauty of form and sublimity in proportions, even if it lacks originality in conception. In itself it is a work of art. It ought not to receive in the way of ornamentation any thing which is not a work of art. Unhappily this rule has not always prevailed, or there would not be so few pictures and marbles about us worthy of the place they occupy. But bad pictures and ordinary marbles should warn us against adding to their number."

Perhaps no Congress in the history of the country presents fewer disagreeable incidents of a personal nature than this. The Democrats in Congress being in such a small minority as to be unable to _do_ any thing effectual either to impede or advance legislation, could only present their vain protests in words. Chafing under the difficulties they encountered, it is not surprising that at times they used language so ill-timed and unparliamentary as to call forth the censure of the House.

On one occasion, Mr. Chanler, of New York, submitted a resolution "that the independent, patriotic, and const.i.tutional course of the President of the United States, in seeking to protect, by the veto power, the rights of the people of this Union against the wicked and revolutionary acts of a few malignant and mischievous men meets with the approval of this House, and deserves the cordial support of all loyal citizens of the United States."

For introducing this resolution, the House voted to censure Mr.

Chanler as having "attempted a gross insult to the House."

Before the vote was taken, Mr. Chanler said: "If by my defiance I could drive your party from this hall, I would do so; if by my vote I could crush you, I would do so, and put the whole party, with your leader, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Stevens], into that political h.e.l.l surrounded by bayonets referred to by him in his argument on Thursday last."

In the Senate a pet.i.tion was presented from citizens of New York praying that Garret Davis be expelled from the Senate, and, "with other traitors, held to answer to the law for his crime, since he stood in the att.i.tude of an avowed enemy of the Government"--since he had made the declaration in reference to the Civil Rights Bill "that if the bill should become a law, he should feel compelled to regard himself as an enemy of the Government, and to work for its overthrow."

"It is true," replied Mr. Davis, "that I used in substance the words that are imputed to me in that pet.i.tion; but, as a part of their context, I used a great many more. As an example of garbling, the pet.i.tion reminds me of a specimen that I heard when I was a young man.

It was to this effect: 'The Bible teaches "that there is no G.o.d."'

When those words were read in connection with the context, the pa.s.sage read in about these terms: 'The fool hath said in his heart that there is no G.o.d.' That specimen of the Bible was about as fair as this garbled statement is of what I said upon the matter to which it refers."

The most serious subject coming up for the censure of the House was an a.s.sault made by Mr. Rousseau, of Kentucky, upon Mr. Grinnell, of Iowa.

In many of its features this incident resembles the "affairs" of a personal character which were of frequent occurrence when Southern members were in Congress before the war. In February, 1866, Mr.

Rousseau, in the course of a speech on the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, made the remark, "If you intend to arrest white people on the _ex parte_ statement of negroes, and hold them to suit your convenience for trial, and fine and imprison them, then I say that I oppose you; and if you should so arrest and punish me, I would kill you when you set me at liberty."

To this Mr. Grinnell replied, "I care not whether the gentleman was four years in the war on the Union side or four years on the other side, but I say that he degraded his State and uttered a sentiment I thought unworthy of an American officer when he said that he would do such an act on the complaint of a negro against him."

To this Mr. Rousseau, on the following day, replied: "I p.r.o.nounce the a.s.sertion that I have degraded my State and uttered a sentiment unworthy an American officer to be false, a vile slander, and unworthy to be uttered by any gentleman upon this floor."

Some months after this, Mr. Rousseau, in a public speech delivered in New York city, denounced Mr. Grinnell as a "pitiable politician from Iowa." In a speech made in the House on the 11th of June, Mr. Rousseau said of Mr. Grinnell: "I do not suppose that any member of this House believed a word he said. When a member can so far depart from what every body believes he ought to know and does know is the truth, it is a degradation, not to his State, but to himself."

"When any man," replied Mr. Grinnell--"I care not whether he stands six feet high, whether he wears buff and carries the air of a certain bird that has a more than usual extremity of tail, wanting in the other extremity--says that he would not believe what I utter, I will say that I was never born to stand under an imputation of that sort.