When Mr. Adams had concluded, on motion of Mr. Giles, the further consideration of the subject was postponed until to-morrow.
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the amendments reported by the select committee to the bill, entitled “An act concerning courts martial and courts of inquiry;” and, after progress, adjourned.
Saturday, April 9.
Case of John Smith.
Agreeably to the order of the day, the Senate took up the resolution reported by the committee, appointed on the 7th of November last, to consider the subject, to wit:
Resolved, That John Smith, a Senator from the State of Ohio, by his participation in the conspiracy of Aaron Burr, against the peace, union, and liberties of the people of the United States, has been guilty of conduct incompatible with his duty and station as a Senator of the United States; and that he be therefor, and hereby is, expelled from the Senate of the United States.
Mr. Hillhouse.—The cause before the Senate has been so fully heard, and so ably discussed, that it was my intention to have given a silent vote, had not the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Adams) declared in so pointed a manner that even voting on the resolution would sanction the report of the committee which accompanied it; a report containing principles which I can never sanction by my vote; principles which go to discredit all our criminal tribunals, and those rules of proceeding and of evidence which govern the decisions of courts; rules which alone can shield innocence, and protect an accused individual against a Governmental prosecution, or the overwhelming power of a formidable combination of individuals, determined on his destruction—principles which would plant a dagger in the bosom of civil liberty.
I do, most fully, agree with the gentleman from Massachusetts, that the Senate for the purpose of exercising their censorial power of expulsion, have cognizance of the case before us. That, for that purpose, they have cognizance of all crimes and offences, and are not bound to wait for the proceedings of the courts of common law. I further admit, that the same degree of evidence is not necessary to justify an expulsion of a member, as to convict him before a court and jury. For example, on a charge of treason, two witnesses are necessary to a conviction. On such a charge, I should not hesitate to expel a member on the testimony of a single witness of irreproachable character. What I insist on is, that the evidence admitted must be legal evidence, and such as would be admissible in a court of law; not ex parte depositions, hearsay evidence, or surmises founded on mere conjecture or suspicion.
Were I, in deciding this case, to be governed by political or party considerations, I should incline to vote in favor of the resolution on your table. But, when we reflect, that agreeing to the resolution is to disrobe a Senator of his honor, to doom a fellow-citizen, an amiable family, and an innocent posterity, to perpetual infamy and disgrace, party and political considerations ought not, cannot influence the decision. Impartial justice and testimony, alone, must govern, and I flatter myself will govern, every member of this Senate in the vote he is about to give.
Elias Glover, having volunteered in giving his deposition, when no accusation existed, was to be considered rather an accuser than a witness. An ex parte deposition, taken under such circumstances, could not by me be considered as evidence, on a question of expulsion, had not the accused member and his counsel agreed to its admission, by which I was bound to consider it as evidence. And in my mind it is so material, that if the force of it had been destroyed by counter-testimony, I must have voted for the resolution before us. But I have listened with pleasure, for it always gives me pleasure when a person accused can prove his innocence, to the evidence adduced, which has completely done away the force of Glover’s deposition. The gentleman from Massachusetts admits, and every member who has spoken seems to agree, that no reliance can be placed upon it. I shall therefore lay that out of the case; as also the other evidence attempting a direct proof of a participation in Aaron Burr’s conspiracy, as in this also I fully agree with the gentleman from Massachusetts that it amounts to very little. It is the conduct and confessions of Mr. Smith by which his guilt is endeavored to be established; and when such talents and eloquence as are possessed by the gentleman from Massachusetts are brought to bear upon, and are urged with so much energy and force against an individual accused of being concerned in plots and conspiracies against the Government of his country, charges peculiarly calculated to excite jealousy and suspicion, innocence itself could hardly expect to escape. After hearing his able and eloquent argument, I was much gratified by the motion of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Giles) to postpone. I wished for one night to consider the subject; I was not then prepared to make a reply.