Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1868-03-07

minutes eacn, winch ueDate endll continue
until the next legislative session; after the
report to the exclusion of all other business
| except the reading OF the Journal
that at three O'Clock in the afternoon
of the said second day, the fifteen
minute debate shall cease, and the
committee shall then proceed to consider
and vote upon the amendments that may be
offered under the five minute rule OF debate
but no merely profOrnld amendment shall be
entertained; that at O'Clock in the after
noon of said second day, the said committee
shall rise and report it's action to the House
which shall imme diately aud without dilatory
motion vote thereon; that il the articles o
impeachment are agreed upon, the House
shall then Immediately aud without dilstOry
motion elect by ballot seven managers t.
conduct said impeachment on the part q
the House, and that during the pendency o
resolutions in the House relative to said i'm
peachment. thereafter no diiatOry motions
shall be received, except one motion on eact
day, that the House do now adjourn.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.-The President
to-day sent to the Senate the following
message, which was read in secret session,
and laid on the table and ordered printed
The Senate removed from it the injunction
of secresy:
70 the Senate Of the United States
have received a copy of the resolutions
adopted by the Senate on the 2lst instant,
as follows:
ssWhereas, The Senate has received and
considered the communication of the
President stating that he had removed Ed
win NJ. Stanton, Secretary of War, and
has designated the Adjutant General OF
the army to act as Secretary of War dd
interim therefore
Resolved, by the Senate of the United
States, That under the Constitution and
laws of the United States, the President
has no power to remove the Secretary of
| War and designate any other officer to
perform the duties of that Office Gd an
| terim.o
This resolution is confined to the power
of the President to remove the Secretary
of War, and TO designate another officer to
perform the duties of the Office ad interim,
and by its preamble is made expressly APP
plicable to the case of Mr.. Stanton, and
The designation to act ad interim of the Ad-
iutant General of the army. Without,
| therefore, attempting to discuss the gener-
al power of removal as to all officers, upon
which subject no expression of opinion is
contained in the resolution, l shall cOnfine
myself to the question as thus limited
| theSOwer to remove the Secretary OF
War. Ii is declared in the res0lu-
ton ''thai under the constitution and laws
| of the United States, the President has no
power 10 remove the Secretary OF War and
designate any other officer to perform the
duties OF that Office Gd INTERIM" AS to the
question of power under the constitution do
not propose at present to enter upon it's dis
| cussiOD. The uniform practice from the be-
| ginning OF the government as established by
every President who has exercised the office,
| and the decisions of the Supreme Court OF
the United States, have settled the question
| in favor OF the power of the President to re-
move all officers, excepting a class holding
appointments of Judicial character. No
practice or any decision has ever except
| ed a Secretary of War from this general
power Of the President TO make removals
| from Office. 1t is only necessary, then, that
| sh Md refer 10 the power OF the Execu-
| tive, under the laws of the United States, to
1 remove fr0m Office Secretary of War. The
resolution denies that under those laws thie
power has any existence: in other words, it
| firms that no such authority IL recognized
on given by the statutes of the country.
What, then, are the laws of the United States
VIII ch deny that the President has the power
To remove that officer
know of but two laws which bear upon
this question. The first in the order of time
| ia the act of August 7th, 1889, creating the
Department OF War, which, after providing
for q Secretary as its principal officer, pro-
needs as follows: .t.
Second. And be it further enacted, That
there shall be in said department an inferior
officer, to be appointed by the said principal
officer, to be employed therein as no shall
deem proper, and TO be called Chief Clerk OF
| the Department of War; and who, whenever
| the said principal officer shall be removed
from office by the President of the United
States, or in any other case of vacancy, shall,
1 a fha olNQ "A
custody of all records, books and papers APP
pertaining to the said department"
/ 1t is clear. then, that this act, passed by a
Congress many of whose members partlci-
pated in the formation of the constitution, so
Tar from denying the power of the President
/ to remove the Secretary of War, recognizes
| 1t in the Executive alone-without the con-
currence of the Senate, or OF any other de-
partmsnt of the government.
| Furthermore this act does not purport to
confer the power by legislative authority;
nor, in fact, was there any other existing
| legislation through which it was bestowed
| upon the Executive. The recognition of the
power by this act is, therefore, complete as
recognition under the constitution itself
/ for there was no other source or authority
from which it could be derived.
The other act which refers to this question
| is that regulating the tenure OF certain civil
| officers, passed by Congress on this second
act Is in the following language: THAT the
person holding any civil Office to which he
| has been appointed by and with advice and
| consent of the Senate, and any person who
| shall hereafter be appointed to any such
Office and shall become duly qualified to act
therein, is and shall be entitled to hold the
Office until a successor shall have been in a
like manner appointed or duly Qualified, ex
cept as herein otherwise provided: provided
that the secretary of State, of the Treasury,
| of ~ sssa IDfnrIOr.
Postmaster General and the Attorney General
1 shall hold their offices respectively for and
during the term OF the President by which
they may have been appointed and for one
month thereafter. subject to removal by and
| with the consent and ADVICE OF the Senate,
The fourth section of the sau act restricts
the test OF Office to the limit prescribed by
the law creating them. That part of the first
section which provides the proving declares
that every person holding civil office to
which he has been or may be appointed by
and with the advise and consent OF the Sem
ate shall hold such office until successor
shall have been in like manner appointed. 1t
purports 20 take from the President, during
the fixed time established for the term OF
| office, the independent power OF removal,
| and to REQUIRE for such removal the concur
rent action of the Senate and the President.
The proYiso that follows proceeds to fix the
term of the several heads OF departments
whose tenure had never been defined before,
by prescribing that they "Shall bold their
office respectively for and during the term of
the President by whom thsy may have been
appointed, and for one month thereafter, !
| subject TO removal by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate /"
| Thus, as to those enumerated officers,
the proviso takes from the President the
power of removal, except with the advise
and consent of the Senate. BY it's terms,
however, before be can be deprived of the
power to displace them it must appear that
he himself has appointed them. Ii is only
in that case that they have any tenure OF
| office or any independent right to hold DUR