Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1830-04-07
SPEECH OF MIR. CLAYTON,

March are come This day, which the anniversary thc
Chef Afaeute's Inauguration, brings With strange
of past s stranger anticia,ons
Of the future On The las, dh Of March, aud a, aSo" TIN. se,
President the oeess Il his stately Triumph To- that s1ec
where ,o" :, 81 ~, o. s osess & which e
iieaded administer the Government independently OF the
that tho whole subject has been thrust mo tbs debate as
have stated, there seems To be some ptoprey ~ svos
portion of the passing hour the consideration oil inc ehsn
would he proper subjects Of reaee,on ior Chief Magistrate
hmse and aie his constitutional ADVISERS, eNe,css 10
own duy I've by the temperate OF his iconcur
With the gentleman that M discussing Tins OF any other srolee,
NV ~ nv ,eySTdsd as poor uuxarics We should go lor no
bier Than mere party Interests fsmeples are 20 be ns
IL made The first nqr ought TO he, what arc the true Pn
,p. INV view Of those psinc;ie differs as noeh in some re-
spccis, from those Of wose Judgment Usually deer
docs others from those VI sone vino profess TO DC Po
The power Of removal where expressly conicrre1 by
the except section which provides that all
cya officers Of the states shah Office on
npeachcnt for conviction OF neason other high
se is dam 5e,e g resrr re;noycae only Ivy this means
in, good behaviour not the Of Office. the power
removal properly and generally inc ent and cono.
ence Of the power Of appointment The TO destroy
ordinarily implied from the power is common
axiom of Jurisprudence, that the authority TO dissolve
thing mast high which formed IT, The Legia
which has the express power pass law for raising re-
Governors many eujoy, by express provisions
their respective constitutions lie Of appohnen to
Office and exercise by csircIo and by implication only,
the power Of removal from their State Constitutions being
upon subject The Postmaster General, xho hay
nlonizig this administration has removed, within the
year. his thousand Deputies and clerks though YES
with the express right OF appointing them, point
you to oofcug upon him the right remove
Of tcn The clerks and appointed onder
express legal provisions by other Heads Of Departments here
removable only by the The law has
conferred upon the Supreme Court the Of appointing its
limited the Of his office in express Bu,
this authority thus derived fu implication
tlon within the spirit of tho Constitution and the laws,
instead Of being used arbitrarily yrannay can be exerc
sel only for the public welfare
by tho President aonersi, when Congress have, by laws
vested in him the appointment, OF such inferior officers they
thought proper an secondly where he make
appointments by Of the last clause second
Of the second Article There some peculiar considerations
growing of the which the power in
the FIRST of classes has been exercised which
to enter into they no, Immediately connected with
the executive rights of the Senate Appointments the
cond class temporary only by the provisions Of the
clause which authorize them Tbe President shall pow
fill all vacancies that may happen dning the recess
the Senate by granting commissions which shall epre at s
cad IF their neat session" With these exceptions the
cond section referred expressly cons the power of appoint
mcnt the Presiden and Senate by the words he shall
nominate and by aud with the advice aud consent of the Sc
Although the Constitution recognised tho Senate as
the power Of removal has been unifopy exercised by The Pre-
siden alone since the Constitution established This then
has been deviation from the general principle, that right
only where the right TO appoin, ex
lists But do with honorable gentlemen who have
viewed this power unlimited by the spirit Of the Coui-
ton and having arrived al the conclusion the
kgal tenure Of Office, would leave tsto sport
' not less arbitrary and yranncal than that Of absolute
despoiiSm Every administration preceding this has proessed
ioexerese this within certain established constitutional
mutations regarding removals expeent
10y the President only for the purpose Of securing faithful
eu,on OF The laws OF when really neecsary for the general
welfare And single Instance be shown which any
President before this has prosuicd authority 10 party
uses or for personal assandlzemen it will be found that
has, at least IN asumed the OF administering the
governments different principles and that he Intended
legitimate oe The history as s Of t 1 '% ,
which the Senator rom Tennessee much tcTS
or would have nsvsr been sokSowedsed If il had NOT been
supposed been strictly limited and distinctly confined
Tho
becalled the Department Of Foreign Affairs" was under the
consideration Of the House Of representatives. during fra
session Of Congress after the adoption of Constitution the
debate 10 whchIhe gentleman from Tennessee has Referred
arose upon one Of is provisions granting the President
right OF removing the Secretary whom relations
were 10 be principally entrusted That provision then so
modified as not h 70 cary with it. the appearance Of grant Of
power of removal already sbsng in tho President The
man, and maintained by Mr.. Madison and Mr. Baldwin,
These gentlemen bad all been members Convention that
made The Constitution and yet equally divided in
opinion the construction very instrument which thew
had recently before that assisted forming The point
then regarded extremely doubtful There were Others
who had been members Of the convention no engaged ON
different sides with equal zeal contest until al 1e3qt
construction implying the existence of power was estab
lshed far tribunal which bad jurisdiction oVer the
subject could do H. bya Of thirty twenty II has
that the character Washington then President of The Uni
td States, had influence producing decision Add
70 ms too that the question arose 81 the very strongest
which could have been presented for the advocates Of the ex
eeu'vethe case OF Secretary between whom and the Pres
iuen was absolutely necessary that the confidential
relations should subist These supporters Of Executive au
tIoTIy were then as men VIII ever be- Influenced
gree by the circumstances Immediately around them The
statesmen Of the day literally We'd with other In express
sons OF their high confidence in the who then filed the
Chair of State beloved by all and dsTused by nome and Il
but too evident from the Arguments advanced on this occa
SON. That they were beguied by the imagination that none but
gs OF such exalted virtue and sPo'ess purity would
elected 10 succeed him They reasoned from an illusion 10
WHICH human nature all times liable Under such crcn
stonce principle decided forms distinct excrr
ton TO an established rule canno, cscaue ose,
Vaon mat under other auspices very different result would
PROBABLY have been produced by the deliberations Of 1893
s usGusoh 20 sustain ih power mainly rested these
pref Posions-that the constitution had upon the
resident The Executive poertbat the general concession Of
Executive authority embraced removals. az well as aupoiol
nenishat the power granted the Senate being an excep
lion 10 this general provision, ought therefore IN be
y and could not be extended beyond the express QhrI
VIM US necessary incdents onesaving appointment
above AL that the President being stake care tbat
lhe laws be faithfully exeeutsdn thcfee remove when
ever the public interest mperousy requires The las, posi-
o AIDED by All the extrsneous considerations referred to- was
suceeul Every easoner dwelt upon the keystone OF
he argument IL was not then the fathers 81
IePubc that the general grant Of Executive power was 90 he
construct alone by the strict specifications Of H. susqev
entered ~ the same instrument True, modern resonefs
tevo, az tue though, OF extending the powers of COps he
m bo. .,