New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-06-28
Mr. SEUARD ON THE PRESIDENTIAL
nEDICE

OFFICE
II il refreshing TO mark the mind OF n public
man. as he advances la years, becoming catho-
lie and benevolent and we have the authority
OF the copy book for growing wiser and bet
"ter rs life wears away Mr.. Secretary Sew
ard. who has passed most of his political ex-
istence in chastising most Of the Presidents,
from Jackson 20 Buchanan inclusive, has lately
discovered that Presidents are like dead men,
aud should not be criticised at all. lie SAID TO
the citizens of Boston: "The people having
elected a President agree, by their own con-
sent. 10 acquiesce and 20 sustain him for the
"neriod of four years, and no longer. when they
" can turn him out and put in n successor they
"Hl.o better We have got TO learn
"this ono simple habit of acquiescing
Gin the choice we ourselves make oil
"a President for four years. There
is n solution of all our troubles" There is,
we must allow. something peculiarly soothing
in this pacific morality; and if, from the day
of his Inauguration 10 the conclusion OF MS
term. President could be directed by divine
inspiration, being misled neither by the devil
nor by the Attorney General, acting III all mat
tiers with supcrhuman skill, and being quite
incapable of making n mortal mistake then
we agree with Mr.. Secretary that 1t wonld be
wrong and perhaps even blasphemous, for a
constituency TO lose its confidence, and TO grow
at It's anointed ruler. But, unfortunately, our
President is not King, and nothing IKE
King albeit, for convenience of illustration, MIR.
Seward saws ilnpressiyely: Almighty God has
| 4. revealed to man, or allowed him TO conceive
"of no civil or permanent government In
which there shall not be one executive
head. That head must be, whether 1t Is
| "King, or an Emperor, OF President III
this came from anybody else, we should say
that il was n middle. Do Presidents govern
hv Divine RIGHT Are Presidents anointed
with holy oil on the Fourth of MarchY Are
they the gifts of Gods grace, or are they the
creatures of the people7 Is tho office greater
than the power that fills it Is the elected
srperior 10 the elector2 Alas 10y what right,
then if we must bow in funquestionng sub
r;ssion to-day. can we indulge in the deep and
thrilling delight of turning out Mr. Johnson
to-morrowP If Presidents andlheir doings are
M, IN he publicly and freely discussed by the
people, how are the people to make up their
minds upon disputed points of policy We
beg Mr. Stewards pardon, but we fancy that
he mistakes the theory OF our Government
altogether There is nothing heavenly
obout n veto. On the contrary, we have seen
a number of them most summarily, yet consti-
tutionally, disposed of by Congress-by repre-
sentatives lacking in reverence ana wlckedy
doubling tile demi-diyinity OF the Whlte
House. This popular condemnation, legally ex-
pressed, is the plain exercise OF an undouDted
right. and without such right we might as
we'll have no Congress Mt all. Authority to
mass bills over vetoes includes authority to
examine, critcise, and condemn the acts OF the
President; without it, he might literally reign
for forty years, if he lived so long, and, dying,
he might designate his successor. Congress
would sink into the mean condition OF the
Roman Senate in the days of the Emperors,
even if il escaped the fate of the Long Parlla-
ment Mr. Seward will find nothing about
sustaining the president through thick and
through thin either in the Constitution or in
tbe traditions of the Republic. His is the hand
to-mouth notion of politician without party,
and might easily be made the cloak OF the
most desperate usurpations. Under other CIR
cnmstances, and in his old place in the Senate,
! Mr. Seward would be the first and the firmest to
denounce such fallacy. Does he ever read
the fable of poor Tray, who was found III such
had company9 The dog we may reasonably
| sunpose. after he discovered his mistake, went
home rs fast as possible. Mr.. Seward refuses to
resign. and insists that the company is very good
company indeed. We may admire the tenacity
of his friendship although it results, like that OF
Damon and Pythas, III foot-ght speeches ana
The least tendency in the world to rlgmaroie;