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Letter of Mr. Bennett.

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY,
SAN JOSE, April 23d, 1851.

HON.  STEPHEN J. FIELD.

DR. SIR:  I take pleasure in adopting this form to explain to you my vote upon the question put to the House in the final disposition of the case for the impeachment of Judge Turner.

Had the House been called for a direct vote upon the question of impeachment, I should certainly have voted for the impeachment; but finding that some of the members thought the wishes of the citizens of Yuba County had been accomplished by the removal of Judge Turner from your district, and on that account would vote against the impeachment, I thought there was less injustice in postponing the whole matter indefinitely, than in coming to a direct vote.  I will also say that it was understood by many members that you would be satisfied with such a disposition.

I am very truly your friend,
F.C.  BENNETT.

TO THE HON.  STEPHEN J. FIELD, SAN JOSE.

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Letter of Mr. Merritt.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, May 4th, 1879.

MY DEAR JUDGE: 

Your letter of the 27th of April reached me day before yesterday, and the copy of the proceedings in the matter of the impeachment of W.R.  Turner, on yesterday.  The editorial comments on the case, so far as I am concerned, are exactly correct.  I remember distinctly having voted for the indefinite postponement of the charges against Turner on the distinct understanding that you consented to it, or at least acquiesced, for the reasons: 

1st, That Turner, by the passage of the bill concerning courts of justice, etc., had been sent to a district where he could do no harm and was out of the way; 2d, That you did not desire to extend the session of the Legislature; and, 3d, That the whole matter was extremely distasteful and disagreeable to you.  I remember further very distinctly, even after this great lapse of time, that I was very much astonished when you told me that I had voted under a misapprehension as to your views and wishes.  It is very certain that Turner would have been impeached had not a false report, as to your views and wishes on the subject, been industriously circulated among the members of the Assembly a short time before the vote was taken.

That report alone saved Turner from impeachment.

Very truly your friend,
SAML.  A. MERRITT.

HON.  S.J.  FIELD, Sup.  Ct.  U.S.

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Letter of Mr. McCorkle.

WASHINGTON, CITY, D.C., May 8th, 1879.

HON.  S.J.  FIELD.

MY DEAR SIR:  I have received your note and the printed record of the “Proceedings of the Assembly of the State of California of 1851, on the petition of the citizens of Yuba and Nevada Counties for the impeachment of Wm. R. Turner, Judge of the Eighth Judicial District of California.”  The simple reading of the record recalls vividly to my mind all of the circumstances of the case and enables me to answer your inquiry in regard to the indefinite postponement of the motion to impeach Judge Turner.