The faid motion being further amended at the Clerk's table, to read as followeth :

Refolved, That a committee be appoint. ed to enquire into the official conduct of Samuel Chafe, one of the affociate juftices of the fupreme court of the United States, and of Richard Peters, district judge of the district of Pennsylvania, and to report their opinion whether the faid Samuel Chafe and Richard Peters, or either of them, have fo afted in their judicial capacity, as to require the interpofition of the conftitutional power of this Houfe. Mr. Speaker ftated the question, that the House do agree to the faid motion, as fo amended,

And debate arifing thereon,

An adjournment was called for :Whereupon,

3.

Samuel Chafe,one of the affociate juftices of the fupreme court of the U. States, and Richard Peters, diftrict judge for the diftrict of Penn fylvania, by whom the faid circuit court was then holden, did inform the counsel for the prisoner, that, as the court had formed their, opinion upon the paint of law, and would direct the jury thereupon, the counsel for the prisoner must confine themselves to the quef tion of fact only: And whereas, it is reprefented, that in confequence of fuch determination of the court, the counfel did refuse. to addrefs the jury on the question of factand the faid John Fries was found guilty of treason, and fentenced by the court to the pu nifhment, in fuch cafe, by the laws of the United States, provided, and was pardon, ed by the Prefident of the United States."

And the faid amendment being twice read at the Clerk's table,

And then the House adjourned until to morrow morning, eleven o'clock,

SATURDAY, January 7, 1804.

The House refumed the confideration of the queftion depending yesterday at the time of adjournment that the Houfe do agree to the motion of the fifth in tant, as amended by the House, "for the appointment of a committee to enquire into the official conduct of Samuel Chase, one of the affociate juftices of the fupreme court of the United States, and of Rich ard Peters, diftrict judge of the district of Pennsylvania:"-and after farther debate

thereon,

A motion was made and feconded, to amend the faid motion, by prefixing thereto, a preamble, in the words follow ing, to wit:

"Whereas information hath been given to the House, by one of its members, that in a ertain profecution for treafon, on the part f the United States, against a certain John Fries, pending in the circuit court of the aited States in the fate of Pennsylvania,

from, all the words, from the word "Whereas," in the first line, to the end of the amendment, for the purpose of inferting in lieu thereof, the following words, to wit ;-" members of this House have stated in their places, that they have heard certain acts of official mif conduct alledged against Samuel Chafe, one of the affociate juftices of the fupreme court of the United States, and Richard Peters, judge of the district court of the diftrict of Pennfylvania: Whereupon,

A divifion of the queftion on the faid motion for amendment, was called for,

And on the queftion, that the House da agree to the motion for ftriking out the words before recited,

It was refolved in the affirmative-yeas 79-nays 41,

And then the queftion being put that the Houfe do agree to infert the words before recited, in lieu of the words fo ftricken out, it was refolved in the affirma tive.

The question was then taken, that the Houfe do agree to the faid amendment propofed by way of preamble, amended to read, as follaweth:

"Whereas members of this House have

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Wednesday, January 2nd, 1805.

THE

HE senate chamber was fitted up in a handsome style as a courtand laid out into apartments for the Senators the House of Representatives, the managers, the accused, and counsel the members of the executive departments, besides a semi-circular gallery constructed within the area of the chamber, which forms from its front an amphitheatre contiguous with the fixed gallery of the Senate chamber.

On the right and left of the President of the Senate, and in a right line with his chair, there are two rows of benches, with desks in front, and the whole front and seats covered with crimson cloth; so that the senators front the auditory.

The Secretary of the Senate retains his usual station in front of the President's chair on the left of the secretary is placed the sergeant at arms of the Senate, and on his right the sergeant at arms of the House of Representatives.

A temporary semi-circular gallery, which consists of three ranges of benches, is elevated on pillars, and the whole front and seats thereof covered with green cloth-At the an

gles or points of this gallery, there are two boxes which project into the area about three feet from the line of the front, which save the abruptness of a square termination, and add considerably to the effect of the coup d'œil. In this gallery ladies are accommodated, and they assemble in numbers.

On the floor, beneath this tempovided rising from front to rear, and rary gallery, three benches are proalso covered with green cloth-these benches are occupied by the members of the House of Representatives-on the right there is a spacious box appropriated for the members of the executive department, foreign ministers, &c. &c.

A passage is opened in front from the President's chair to the dooron the right and left hand of the President, and in front of the members of the House of Representatives, are two boxes of two rows of seatsthat facing the President's right, is occupied by the managers-that on the other side of the bar for the accused and his counsel-these boxes are covered with blue cloth.

The marshal of the district, and a number of his officers, have station s in the avenues of the court and in the galleries,

Mr. Otis (Secretary) read the return on the summons of Samuel Chase, made by Mr. Mathers, sergeant at arms, who was sworn that he served the said Samuel Chase with a copy of the summons and a copy of the articles of impeachment.

Proclamation was made that Samuel Chase appear conformably to the summons, or that his default would be recorded.

SAMUEL CHASE appeared accordingly.

The President of the Senate (Mr. Burr) informed Mr. Chase, that having been summoned to answer the articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives, the Senate were ready to receive any answer he had to make.

Mr. Chase requested the indulgence of a chair, which being immediately furnished, he seated himself near the centre of the area of the Senate chamber in front of the President. The members were seated in boxes, covered with crimson, on each side of the President, and in a line with his chair.

Mr. Chase rose and made the following

ADDRESS.

MR. PRESIDENT,

I appear in obedience to a summons from this honourable court to answer articles of impeachment exhibited against me, by the honourable the House of Representatives of the United States.

To these articles, a copy of which was delivered to me with the summons, I say, that I have committed no crime or misdemeanor whatsoever

for which I am subject to impeachment according to the constitution of the United States. I deny, with a few exceptions, the acts with which I am charged; I shall contend, that all acts admitted to have been done by me, were legal; and I deny in every instance, the improper intentions, with which the acts charged are alledged to have been done, and in which their supposed criminality altogether consists.

But in charges of so henious a nature, urged by so high an authority, a simple denial is not sufficient. It behoves me, for the legal justification of my conduct, and for the vindication of my character, to meet each charge with a full and particular answer; to explain and refute at length every principle urged against. me; to state the evidence by which I am to disprove every fact relied on in support of the accusation ; and to detail all the facts and arguments on which my defence is to rest. The necessity of an answer embracing all those objects, in cases of impeachment, is obvious; and the right to make it, is secured by law and sanctioned by uniform practice.

Such an answer it is my intention to make. It is my purpose to submit the whole ground of my defence. to the view of this honorable court, of my country, of the world, and of those who are to conduct the prosecution. So will my judges come to the trial with that full knowledge of the whole matter in dispute, which is essential for enabling them to understand and apply the testimony and the arguments; and the honorable managers will be better prepared to refute such parts of my defence, as they may think untena

ble.

But in a case of this kind, where the accusation embraces so great a

variety of charges, of principles, and of facts, it is manifest, that for preparing such an answer as I have a right to make, and as my duty to myself, my family, my friends and my country requires at my hands, a considerable time must be necessary.

Many of the principles involved in this impeachment are very important, not only to me, but to the liberties of every American citizen, and to the cause of free government in general. These principles ought to be maturely considered, and clearly explained. They present a wide field of legal investigation many of them require laborious and extensive research, and althongh some of them have accompanied the prosecution from its commencement, and have thus been for a considerable time subjected to my consideration, some, on the other hand, have been very recently introduced.

Of this description is the principle, whereon the 5th and 6th articles rest, relative to the extent in which the courts of the United States are to be governed, not only in their decisions, but in their proceedings by the state laws. A principle which was not brought into view until a few weeks ago, and the explanation of which will require a careful consideration of the conduct and proceedings of the supreme and circuit courts of the United States, from the first establishment of our federal system.

The same articles involve the construction of two state laws of Virginia, which I am charged with having infringed in the trial of Callender, which were not mentioned on the trial, or during any of the introductory proceedings, and of which I never heard until these articles were reported a few weeks ago. It is manifest that in order to fix the true coustruction of these laws,

1...

about which professional men have differed in opinion, recourse must be had to the decisions of the courts of that state as explained by their records; or in case those should be silent, to the recollection and opinion of professional men accustomed to preside or attend in the courts

where those laws are enforced. It

is manifest that such an investigation cannot be accomplished in a short time.

The facts on which this prosecu-tion rests, except the last article, are alledged to have taken place more than four years ago; some of them at Philadelphia, some at Wilmington, in the state of Delaware, and some at Richmond, in Virginia.— These facts are very numerous, and the greater part of them are of such a nature, as to depend for their criminality or innocence, on minute circumstances, or slight shades of testimony, and often on the different manner in which the same circumstances may affect different spectators, all equally disposed to represent truly what they observed. The most material facts are alledged to have happened in Richmond and Philadelphia. In the former of these places I am an utter stranger having never been there but once, and in the latter I know personally but very few individuals. These circumstances render it difficult for me to ascertain the persons who witnessed. the various transactions in question, and are able after this lapse of time, to give accurate testimony concerning them; and this difficulty is very much increased, by the distance of those places from that of my residence. I assure the honourable court, that from the moment when this prosecution assumed a serious appearance and a definitive form, at the last session of congress, I have turned my attention to the subject