Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1865-07-01
A cnNsrIrnTLoNAL. QUESTION.

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tbs death of the President and its conquences in
resnsct 10 the Vice President. Tee postulate to
discharge the powers and duties OF the ONCE
made vacant by the death of q President IL but
a constitutional allotment OF the Vice President
az such, without another oath or Inauguration.
Thrice since the commencement OF the federal
government have the Executives thereof depart
ed this life, leaving vacant the Office OF President
of The limited States. The trainers Of the coDs.i
tntion. counting upon such contingencies, made
nrovisions in the ant cles of the same concerning
The exercise and discharge Of the duties and
nowers of that Office for the remainder OF the
presidential term. The whole proceeding and
course of action in such cases TO be had were
distinctly marLCd by them and declared in that
instrument. II had been d,emed By them incon
venient and inadvisAble TO have new election
for he purpose Of filling the vacant office. They
determined that the Office Of President should
continue vacant and that the powers and duties
thereof shou deVolve on another state officer
I'M "a President shall be elected officer
whose very being, as his name and style Of office
Indicate, was constituted for tuch purpose Not
so. however, the chair of the Presidency. IL was
10 be filed, not by new election or choice by
ballot nor by any outward or preliminary act Of
the people or appointment OF the government. ID
a collective aggregate or corporate capacity, but
by operatlon of law. No external acts were re-
anired as qualifications for the occupancy OF the
vacant char of state Its seat is the inheritance
OF the Vice President; as such, his title TO 1t Is
derived in the same silent invisible, incorporeal
manner that the heir-at-law derives title to the
estate of his ancestor; its descent Is like the dew
on Hermon-noiseless in its pascent manifesto
ton.
There ia no virtue in the administration of an
cath 10 the Vice President, as htting pre.requi.
size to act as such, in the place of the President.
There is no necessity for a pompous public inau
guration, OF other acrimonious induction OF him
10 the vacant chair. Nor is there in the COnsttu-
ton itself syllable or sentence 10 warrant view
different from this. Its language is explicit "ln
case of the removal OF the President from Office,
or of his death, re -ignation or inability to dis
charge the powers and duties of the said office,
the same t1ot the ohce but the powers and du.
ties Of the olice) shall deyOvc on the Vice Presi
den'."-[Art ii, sec. s, Constl
The incumbent Of the Office of Vice.Prcsidcnt,
who has already taken the proper oath as such
officer, BY simple constitutional nvestiture, Is TO
be the Executive, losing nothing ci his Official
name character style or title OF Vice President,
The orFICK OF President does not devOlve on him
On,y the powers aud dates of the O:bce devolye
on him. The connecting and relative words, the
same used in the passage above quoted, most
mauifosty warrant this view. The grammatical
construction OF the whole sentence demands this
version. The aGsurdity OF the contrary be.
comes plain, when It is seen that the provision az
well ami cs TO q vacancy made otherwise than by
removal death or IcsignatiOn-all OF which ell
lc, tually place OutSde of and beyond both the
oFrICE and CHAIR of Office the presence and per-
SOD OF the President. The other sort Of vacancy,
made by inability, clearly does not reach nor
fleet the office. There - NJ vacancy OF the
office nor can there he, While the officer lives. un.
imueached, unassigned. How then in such case,
can the Weep esldCnt STEP into the office isc.i
of tic President yet alive, unrt moved, and never
having resigned il and at once become the Prcsi.
dent
lake an illustration. let the duly elected Prcsi.
den. LccOme insane, idlotc, or be- Overta6gu by
disease in some Of its manifold forms to the cx-
tent ol operating Us disability or Inability 20
dis. harce the powers and duties OF his office" is
he in such case any the less the lawful fnd con.
utional President Of the United States Is he
any he less the ncumbent Of tue office, because
disabled Because OF his inability, for the rea-
sou above supposed, to discharge the powers and
du,ies OF his otice, and because they are per.
formed by the Yice-Presi ieut, is the disabled
President less or other than the President, and
the acting Vice President more or other than
Vice. President For what purpose in Iced, is the
Office OF Vice President Its name ID significant,
and the use of the term vice, instead of, would
seem TO leave no doubt of the object and intent
OF the Office.
The oath taken by the Vice President on en-.
tering upon the duties Of his Office extends in its
obligations TO every contingency growing out Of
its ielatiOns-One OF which well understood by
him at the time he takes upon himself its solem.
mites i, 10 exercise and perform the duties of he
office a Presiden, in place or instead of in room
of the President, when he has been removed, has
died, has resigned; or when, still remaining the
incumbent Of the Office, through inability he can.
not exercise and discharge them himself. 1t is
safe TO conf emily asset that no popular de-
bate, no teaching Of the articles of the Federal.
lat 1 o history contemporaneOus with the adop-
ton of the Federal Constitution, will show that
these possible events in respect 10 the Presidency
were intended or expected ~ work metamor-
phoss of the person OF the Vice President into a
President of tie United states Yet thrice has
il occurred in the lifetime of this government that
individuals chosen 10 Till the OIL OF Vice Pres
ident of the United etates, aud Lf course TO per
form the duties OF President if cert lin events hap.
PEN d, have cl lined 10 have become Presidents
of the United States-that they were not on ly by
the grace, but by the act Of God TRANSFORMED in.
to vel table Presidents OF the United States.
Observe the oath prescribed by the constitution
TO bs taken by the President of the United States
| do sOlemnly swear that will faithfully execute
the OFFICE of President Of the United States TO
the hest OF my ability, and will preserve protect
aud defend the Constitution Of the United States
This is the oath which il has been supposed quail
fed the ycePresident 10 act in place Of the Presi
dent
If the powers and duties only of the Office Of
President devolve en- the Yice-PIesident and the
OFFICE OF President devolve not on hun, how can
this oath at all apply to the Vice. Presidents Is
ANYTHING gained by its administration to him BY
he Chief Justice Can il be that his o,iIinal
path as Vice President fails TO qualify him to act
as President whenever the po1ers and duties of
The Office of President shall devolve on him?
A vacancy in the Office of President alone.
r La, .av,s,, -,
no new election can be had for such purpose
except when the Offices Of President and Vice.
President are both vacant. With such exception,
)aly at the expiration Of the term Of Office by
limitation, can there be another
President, and then not to fill a vacancy, but 10
execute the flee derived by him from the people.
The Constitution substitutes the Nice-PIesident as
,uch to act as President; hence when he is made
% swear that be will execute the Office OF Prcsi.
lent he has taken upon himself that which can
be executed alone by President as such. The
powers and duties OF the office not the Office, he
ong to him, or the language of the Constitution
5 without significance The Vice President
when he shall exercise the Office OF President. y
Art. ], sec. 3, sub. 81 Observe, EXBRCIsE. not
lave or hold the Office. II is a right of the Pres.
lent 10 have and to hOd-it is a right granted by
he Ieop'e. Again: "What officer shall then act
- President Such officer she'll act according.
v" Cart. IL, sec. g. Then tn, Vice. President
'hall act as President. Ant MI, sec. |,
lmend)
Usage or the universal custom In all parla.
neutRry and ecclesiastical affairs and translc.
ions seems TO warrant the view here taken OF
his matter. In the diocese of New York not long
SINCE there was an ecclesiastical dign itary still
IN office and receiving salary, the functions OF
whose biShoprc he did not exercise, but another
an Instance quite analogous TO the political
DGe under cOnsidera'iOn-and that other recog-
lzDg his proper relations, used the style Of Pro-
yisionsl Bishop. Though it is wri ten, his
DishOpric left another take" he would not take it,
/ Only discharged its duties. Nor did he adopt
/ fashion Of official signature false in philoso:
phy false in principle and false in fact, as itwoud
have been il the term Bishop had been used by
him without limitation, while he was person
,ui yicem geret-S mere VoegeTeut
Again, in conclusion, the view above taken is
by the high authority OF Judge Adyo'
ale General Holt. lie stands committed to the
proposition with which we started. The neces.
titles OF the law in matter of pleading, II would
eem, have settled the question. This ofncer, in
raining the specifications OF indictment against
he cOnspirators in the assassination Of President