people, even
those who worked in the same shop with him, did not know
that he had lost his leg. Butler went before the Senate
Committee on Post Offices to get them to reject President
Hayes's nominee, taking his own candidate with him. He had
the man leave off his artificial leg and come on crutches
to get greater sympathy. He made an earnest and angry speech
before the Committee attacking President Hayes. But he made
no impression, and the old Postmaster was confirmed and reappointed.
Thereupon Butler left the Republican party, first declaring
himself an Independent and attempting in that capacity to
get elected as Governor of the State. Failing in that he
avowed himself a Democrat, and was, as has been already said,
elected by the Democrats in the fall of 1882. This transaction
terminated his relation to the Republican Party, and his defeat
for Governor terminated his political life with the exception
that he was the Greenback candidate for the Presidency in
1884. But he received little support.

CHAPTER XXV
BELKNAP IMPEACHMENT

March 3, 1876, a message was sent to the Senate from the
House of Representatives, impeaching General Belknap, the
Secretary of War. He was charged with having received corruptly
a large sum of money, payable in quarterly instalments, for
the appointment of a Post Trader, an officer appointed by
the Secretary of War. This was a very lucrative position,
the profits of which depended very largely upon the Secretary.
I was chosen one of the Managers of the Impeachment by the
House. There was no serious question of the guilt of the
Secretary. But he resigned, and his resignation was accepted,
after the discovery of his misconduct, before the proceedings
of impeachment were inaugurated. The whole struggle was over
the question of the Constitutional right of the Senate to
convict a public officer on impeachment proceedings instituted
after he had left office. Upon that question I made a careful
and elaborate argument. A majority of the Senate (37 to 25)
were for sustaining the proceedings. But the Senators who
thought the Senate had no jurisdiction to enter a judgment
of guilty when the proceedings were commenced after the person
left office, deemed themselves constrained to vote Not Guilty
as the only mode of giving that opinion effect.

So General Belknap was acquitted for the want of the two-
thirds vote for his conviction. Every Democrat voted for
conviction except Mr