Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1830-04-15

"'H Sohh'i"t'ph ~ htnt Nhhll hpHli
OF the Constitution aud the laws, instead
ofbeing used arbitrarily or tyraniea'l,. eau be
? exercised only for the public welfare,
In two classes OF cases the power OF appoint
ment ~ exercised by the President alone -
hrsi, when Congress- have, by laws, vested IN
him the appointment OF such inferior officers rs
they thought proper and secondly waere he
is empowered TO make appointments by virtue
OF the last clause in the second section ofIhe
second article. There are some peculiar CON
s'deraiions growing out OF tue manner IN
which the power OF removal IN tue FIRST of elias. es
has been exercised, which II il unnecessary TO
enter into now, a. they ara not immediately
connected with the executive rights OF the Sc
nate. Appointments of the second class are
! temporary only by the express provisions OF
! the clause which authors YES them. " The Presi-
dent shall have power To fill up all vacancies
that may happen during the recess oil the Sc
nate, by granting commissions which shat
! eipire al The eHR Ofhe Hert seHioa." With
these exceptions, the second section referred 10
expressly conters the power of appointment up-
Gu the President and senate. by the words " he
shall nominate and by aud with the advice
! and consent oil the Senate, shall appoint
Although the Constitution has thus recOgni-
zed the Senate ms an essential component part
of the appointing authority, yet the power Of
| removal has been uniformly exercised by the
| President alone since the Constitution was es.
| tabllshed. Tins then has been IA deviation fr-n
| tue general principle. that the right to remove
| ran be exercised only where the right 80 up
| pont exists, But do not concur with honora.
bio gentlemen who have viewed this power rs
Unlimited by the Spittt Of the Constitution,
| and having arrived N the conclusion that SIC,
| r0lo is the legal tenure OF Office, would leave u
10 becuma the sport of a spif not less arbitrary
| al al,
Every administration pr ceding this has pro
| fessed 10 exercise this power within certain -
| tablished constitutional limitations, regarding
removals ms eipedIenfs to be tcsorIed 10 by the
| President only for the purpose of securing
| faithful execution Of the laws, or when really
necessary for the general welfare. Aud II
| inglr instance can he shown in whIon any
| President before this has eeer proslItned thb
authority to party uses ior personal az
| grandiHemrnt, il viii be found thai ht hhs
| least ia terms, assumed the virtue Of admins
| terlng The government on different principles.
aud denied that he intended 10 inyadc the
| tight OF opinion or peiyeIt hls power lfoin In
| legimaie objrc'. Tue history is wrll OF the
precedent upon whieh the Senator from len
| nnesee 50 much relies, as al others 10 which he
| has not adrerled, shows that this, constructive
power would have never been acknowledged II
| IT had not been surpassed 10 have been strictly
limited aud distinctly defined.
When the bhl establishing an Llecn'ise
Department 10 be ca led the Department oil
Foreign Affairs" was under the consideration
of the House oil Representatives, during III" FIST
session of Congress alter the adoption OF the
Contsnulion the debate TO which the
gentleman from tennessee has referred,
arose upon one Of its provisions granting
10 the President the right OF removing the Sc
cretary TO whom our foreign relations wer 10
be principally entrusted That provision was
then so modified as not 10 carry with II the APP
pearance OF grant Of something DOT brtofs
given but to recognise constitutional power
of removal already snbsSng IN the Pfesldenle
The power was strongly denied by Mr.. Gerry. |
and Mr.. Roger Sherman and maintained bs |
Mr. Madison aud Mr.. Baldwin these gaDte- |
men had all been members of the Convention !
that made the Constitution and yel we're thus
equally divided IN opinion on tins construction |
of the very instrument winch they had, 50 re.
Gently before that, assisted III tJrmIns. The |
point then was regarded as extremely doubt
ful. There we're others who had not been !
members OF the Convention, who engaged on |
different sides With equal zeal III the contest,
until al length IA construction implying the
existence of the power was established SO lar
a tribunal which had M jurisdiction over
the subject could do II by vote OF thirty
TOUR 10 tWtHIJ " Hhh Oith b'th opsN''N'T
and apprehend ii is unquestionably true, that
the character of Washington tnen PIesden, oi
the United States, had great inaaence IN pro-
ducing this decision. Add 10 this, too, that the |
question arose III the yeiy strongest case winch |
could have been presented Tor The advocates
of the executiye--the case OF Secretary, be |
tween W hom and the President II was absolute
" nee essary TINT The most confidential rela
lions should spbsist these supporters OF Exc
cutve authority were then, as men VIII eyer |
be, Influenced ia some degree by the cHcum-
stances Immediately around them. lhe states
men of the day literally We'd with each her
in expressions of their high confidence IN the
man who then filed the Chair OF State. be.
loved by all, aud di5irusted by none aud II !
is but too EVIDENT from the Arguments advahe- |
ed on this occasion, thai they were beguied
by the Imagination thatnoae hui beIngshi shch
exalted virtue and spotless purity wodd ever /
be elected to succeed him. They reasoned
from an illusion to which human nature Is at MI
times liable. uadeI such circumstances, pm !
cple was decided which forms a distinct ek-
cepton to an established general rule ana IL
cam II escape observation that under other
auspices a very d. 1erent result would probably |
have been produced by the deliberations oil
l7S9-Ihe discussion 10 sustain tins power /
mainly rested on these hIief positions thai the
constitution had ouerred upon the President
the Executive pOwer-that the benfI al cohces'
SION OF Executive authority embraced removals
as well is apponments--ihai the power gran
ted to tho Senate. being an exception To thiS
general provision, Dug ht therefore 10 be constrn
ed strictly, aud could not he extended beyond |
the express right with its necessary incIdenis)
of negaliVing appoint mens-and, above nj,
that lhe President, being bound 10 " take care
that the laws be faithfully executed must there
fure remove whenever The public interest I'M
periousy required it, The last position, aided
by all the ekirsneons considerations referred
10, was successful. Every reasoner d"eli upon
IL as the key stone Of the argument II was
not then commended by the fathers of the re-
public, that the general grant OF Executive
power was 10 be Construed alone by the strict
specifications OF II, subsequently, entered 'nthe
same instrument True, our modern reasoner'