New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-03-26
POWER or REMOVAL.

A careful perusal of the Presidents answer
to the Articles of Impeachment impresses upon
us the fact that this great state trial involves
mainly two forms of the power of removal.
viz the Presidents power to remove his SUBJ
Ordinates to secure harmony between them
and the Executive, and the power of Congress
to remove a President or other officer i'll order
to secure the same harmony between those who
make and those who execute the laws. The
power of the President TO remove subordinate
officers is not mentioned in the Constitution,
and remains to be dOubtfully and indirectly in
ferred from clauses which were framed with
out reference to it. The power of Con-
gTess to remove the President and all
other Federal officers by impeachment
is 80 explicitly set forth in the Constitution
that it is evident its trainers considered Il a
far more important power than the other
Both are necessary but the former is the more
important as contempt of the law is more mo-
mentous than contempt for an individual.
1t is noteworthy that while Congress bases
the proposal to remove the President clear
and manifold violations of law, the President
bases his attempted removal of Stanton OH no
charge of wrong-dong whatever. He indeed
refusal to resign when requested the President
suspended him, and when the Senate declined
to concur in the suspension, he removed
him. lie does not charge that Stanton
requested Mr. Stanton to resign, but he does not
had disObeyed any order, violated law,
attempted usurpatiOn of unwonted powers,
given unwise advice, appeared drunk in pub
lie, insuted his superior officer, betrayed trusts,
cOnsOrted with Rebels, sold executive patron
age and pardOns for money, pandered officially
to suspicious people, given them his signature to
sell, pardOned deserters that they might vote
at elections, appointed Rebel officers over loyal
men, or any other of the volume of cnOrmities
with which the popular branch of Congress
charges the President. The sole ground for
removing the Secretary is that he refused to
resign because public considerations of high
" character forbade it,"
Was this unreasonable in the Secretary
Had not Congress ordered him to remain in
Office by a special lawg Had not Congress for
two years doubted whether public cOnsidera-
tons of a high character did not forbid them
to adjourn at all, lest the President might at
tempt revolution in their absence? Had they
not felt compelled to take the control of the
Army and of reconstruction from the President
and devOlve it on the General of our Armies,
thus practically superseding the President in
advance of his impeachment Had not the
cloud of impeachment been two years lowering
and rumbling in the Presidents horizon before
it burst over his head9 Mr. Stanton's appre-
tensions were shared therefore by Congress
and the people.
The distrust was well-fOunded. The Presi-
dent had formed organizations i'll the Southern
States, without pretense of legal authority,
under military proclamatiOns merely, with CON
situations approved neither by vote of the peO
pie they professed to govern, nor of Congress,
which excluded more than half their people
from voting, and elected only Rebels to Office.
For these unlawful Rebel bodies he claimed
the powers of States and in messages, threats,
and speeches demanded that they should
have seats in Congress whether that body
deemed 1t lawful or wise to admit them
OF not. He affirmed that the pretended Sen
atols and Representatives elected under
these constitutions could unite with
Copperhead members of Congress from the
North, and he could recognize this body
as the Congress entitled TO make laws and
control the Army ana Navy, utterly Ignoring
the true Congress. He had, in speeches
to cOntemptuous crowds, denounced the
true Congress as "a body, claiming to he
"a Congress, hanging on the verge of the
" Government" He had shown his disposition
to tamper with rebellion az q means of pro-
noting his ambition by boasting Of the
promotions aud bonon which he might