Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-04-17
Gbt FIREMAN.
MONTPELIER, VT:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL II, 1867
Notification.


The President and the heads of depart
ments at Washington have invented new
way of evading the tenure of office bill.
That bill provides, that all officers to be APP
pointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, according
to the constitutional shall be appointed by
and with that consent, and not without. 1t
also provides that the clause of the constitu
ton authorizing the President to make
temporary appointment to fill vacancy oc-
curing during a recess of the Senate. shall
not be construed TO authorize the President
to remove officer during such recess. mere
" to create vacancy to be thus filled. To
most persons, not hunting for methods in
which to evade the plain provisions OF the
constitution, this law is evidently but re-
iteration of the constitution, and takes
neither from the President from the
heads of departments any power which con-
stitutionally belonged 10 them before The
President of course vetoed the bill, but
two-thirds vote overcame his objections. and
the bill became law.
The next effort of the officers of the gov
eminent, whose only duty is to execute not
to make laws, is to study out an ingenious
method Of evading this law. Secretary
McCulloch and the law adviser of the Sec
rotary of the Treasury have hit upon plan
which the Secretary has already put in oper-
alton One of Mr. McCulIoch's pets was
nominated as Indian Commissioner, but be-
ing copperhead was rejected by the Senate,
that body had undoubted right to do.
The Secretary, however, at once appointed
this rejected candidate special agent to 90
to New York and do just what he would
have done if he had been Commissioner.
He had no authority Of law in doing this,
anv more than he had when he disregarded
the law requiring officials to take the test
oath, and appointed assessors and collectors
all through the South who didn't and
couldn't take the oath. But he seems To
have no care for express statutes, and when
they arc in the way of his doing what he
wants to do, he becomes law unto himself
This action of the Secretary, and rumors
that the President had been advised by the
Attorney General to resort to similar trick
when the Senate refused to approve his nomi-
nations, the occasion of the resolution
of inquiry introduced by Mr.. Sumner and
passed last week, calling upon the President
for information as to what legal advice he
received respecting This appointing power
in view Of the tenure of Office bill. He
has not vet made response to this inquiry,
but it is understood that the Attorney Gene
IL IL. -. L
ses three opinions of Solicitor Jordan, of the
Treasury Department. on the tenure of Office
bill, substantially holding, first that in eases
where vacancy in Office occurred prior to the
date of the tenure of office law the vacancy
should be filed under the old law. Secondly,
where a vacancy has occurred in a collector
ship OF assessorship under the tenure of Office
law. and the Senate has failed TO confirm any
nominee, it is the duty ofthe Secretary to fill
such Office temporarily by the appointment
of deputy collector assessor the case
may be, though the law does not expressly
provide for such action Thirdly, that the
Secretary has power at will to remove such
deputy and appoint another to hold office
until the collector assessor is nominated
and confirmed.
1t is manifest that all this is but an eva
sion, without any color or right of law OF
the land and it is besides most dishon-
orable and mean evasion. 1t is setting al
example of lawlessness in places where the
law should be most rigidly observed 1t i.
defying the expressed will of the people in a
particular in which Congress has most faith
fully interpreted that will. 1t is adding Il
the veto power, which the constitution gives
to the President, the power TO nullify laws
which the constitution does not give to the
President If the President may appoint
deputy to perform the duties of an Office va
cant because the Senate has not agreed Of
the appointment, he may appoint deputy t
any office, at any time, and thus get rid o
any necessity Of sending any of his nomina
tions to the Senate Is it not evident thai
such course is most fragrant violation boil
of the constitution and of decency?
But it is perhaps expecting too much of ;
political renegade, who has betrayed hi
trust and used all his official power to over
throw the principles of the party which
elected him, that he will be either law-abid
ing or honest If, however, he attempts thi
outrageous usurpation, we trust Congress
will not condone the offence. it did in tho
case of Secretary McCulloch's appointees
by voting money to pay these illegally ap
pointed officials for services in an Office whicl
they only held by most contemptuous dis
regard of the plainest provisions of the con
stitution and the statutes of the country