Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1867-09-21
THE GoVERNoRsHIP.

OuI hduAOuA OOA0O ivy " S0>--
ously as to bereft him of much of his reason
and nearly all of his propriety. In his agony
and consequent founderings mentally he lashes
about him with wild, reckless and singularly
pointless effect. He undertakes to show by
the Tenure Of Civil Office AetA passed by the
last Congress, that the President has no rlgnE
to make the change; that "the suspension OF
Ballard and the appointment OF 0lDOs Is
most hjgh-handed outrage" that the latter
cannot expect to hold the office any longer tnan
sttwenty days after the Senate shall meet IN
Noyember:" and that, at that time the Senate
will be very certain to reinstate Gov Ballard.
In all of these positions, based upon his own
version of the Tenure of Civil Office Act, we
shall undertake to prove that our contempt
rary of the Statesman is grossly in error, and
we shall take the language of the Act itself to
support our position. We quote from the Act:
SEC O. And be it further enacted, That when any
officer appointed aforesaid, excepting judges OF
the United States courts, SHALL during recess OF the
Senate, be shown, by evidence satisfactory to the
President to be guilty of misconduct in office, or
crime or for any reason shall become incapable
or legally disqualified to perform It's duties IN
pend such officer and designate some suitable person
to perform temporarily the duties of such office until
the next meeting Of the Senate and until the case
shall be acted upon by the Senate, and such person
so designated shall take the oaths and give the ponds
required by law to be taken and given by the person
duly appointed to fill such otce; and In sucn case IL
shall be the duty of the President within twenty
days after the first dayof such next meeting OF the
Senate to report to the Senate such SUSPENSION with
the evidence and for his action In the case
and the of the person so designated to perform
the duties of such office.
It will be readily seen that Congress, by
virtue of the Act, gave authority to the Presi-
dent to suspend any civil officer-the U. S.
Judges excepted-during recess of the Senate,
for the specified delinquencies, on evidence
satisfactory" to himself. The Senate cannot
after this action of both Houses, assume to de-
eide that, although the evidence against any
suspended civil officer should be insuficient'to
satisfy that body, the President had not suffi-
Gent proof to satisfy himself, of the miscon-
duct or crime, or incapacity, or disqualified
ton of the officer he has seen fit to suspend.
The Act simply requires that the President
shall be satisfied with the evidence in the case;
not that Congress or the Senate shall deem the
evidence upon which he acted to be sufficient.
Therefore, when the President declares him.
self to be satisfied with the evidence, and forth
with suspends an officer and appoints another
to the place, the Senate, by its own adoption
Of the Act, must sustain him in SO doing That
body cannot go behind its own record, and I'M
dertake to decide that the evidence is not sat
isfactory to the President after he declares
that it is. This single provision is ample !
authority for the action of President Johnson
in the suspension of Governor Ballard, and the
appointment Of Mr.. Gibbs, and the Senate
cannot censure him for the exercise of this
authority.
In saving that Gov. Gibbs cannot expect to !
hold the Office of Governor of Idaho Territory
beyond the twenty days after the Senate shall
meet in November, the Statesman commits a
wilder absurdity than in charging the suspen-
sion of Gov Ballard to be most high-handed
outrage. Agreeably to the Act, the President
has twenty days after the next meeting of the
Serate to communicate to that body the re-
port of his action in the premises, with the CIV.
idence and reasons upon which he based his
action. It does not follow, nor does the act SO
provide, that even in case the Senate should
refuse to concur in the action Of the President,
that that body shall Immediately and with
out further inquiry into or consideration of
the case, cause the suspended functienary to
be renstated in Office It is more likely that
the Senate would, in such case have copy
of the charges upon which the suspension was
based prepared and forwarded to the officer
suspended, and await his answer, before it
would proceed to undo that which the Pres
dent had done by virtue of the Act. This
would consume, at least, say thirty days
in the transmission hither of thecharges, thirty
more in preparation Of the answer, thirty
more in forwarding it to Washington, and who
shall say how many more in the consideration
there of the whole subject by the Senate
should it be in session when the answer reach
ed Washington City, which is improbable
And we think it unlikely that the Senate will,
any time between this and the ensuing Presi-
Dental election, when its majority party mem
bers will be kept SO studiously applied In ar
ranging and perfecting the political machinery
which they will deem essential to the triumph
Of their candidate for the Presidency, and to
tba continuance of their own lease of power