The impeachment of General Belknap, the American Secretary at War,
has ended in an acquittal. General Belknap was accused of selling the appointments of " traders "—that is, purveyors to the forts—and on his own confession was im- peached before the Senate. He had, however, resigned, and the President had accepted his resignation, and many lawyers were doubtful whether he could legally be impeached. The evidence was very grave, and out of sixty Senators present on his trial, thirty-five held him to be guilty, while several of the minority avowed that they only voted acquittal bemuse they doubted the jurisdiction of the Senate over a man no longer in the public service. The Constitution, however, demands a vote of two- thirds of all Members present before a verdict of guilty can be returned, and General Belknap was, therefore, formally acquitted. It is open to the Government still to summon him before the ordinary Courts, but there is little chance of the President con- senting to take this course, even if his advisers should decide that it is legal, which is doubtful, as the words of the Constitu- tion are that "the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment." General Belknap has not been convicted.
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