The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-15
Butler .. the Tenure Of Once Law.

Butler the Tenure of Once Law.
Buffers proposition to repeal the Tenure OF
once law is the first step yet taken in Con
gress having particular relation to Grant.
This is the third proposition for the repeal OF
the same act that Congress has heard since the
beginning of It's present session. The first
came from Mr.. Cary, of Ohio and the second
was made by the President in his Message,
and of these two Congress scarcely heard the
one, while it dersively laughed at the other.
But the same proposition, coming from Butler
seems naturally to claim significance that
would not be accorded to it as coming from
almost any other man in the country. Buffers
relations to the House are peculiar, and so are
his relations to the incoming President. The
who must be heard as the House knows. He
cannot be snubbed as any chance man in the
crowd of Representatives may be, nor can he
be laughed down, as has been sufficiently
proved by the ''bottle' experiment in that
way. Moreover, his political sagacity has
come to be recognized in very palpable de-
gree by the fact that his simply turning his
attention to subject gives it Importance.
People recognize that he has been among
the first to discuss many things that
subsequently grew to great proportions in our
national agitations, and thence infer, perhaps
rather too readily, that whatever he touches is
likely to do the same. He has grown to be a
leader OF thought in the House, however
others may nominally lead its action. Yet,
with all this, the House is not sure of his fealty
to party-not sure of his motives-and so hesi-
tates what to do with his proposition
The merits of the case are clear. This law
was made to tie the hands of President not in
sympathy with Congress- 1t was made to
cripple the Presidential office, because in the
exercise of the powers given him by the consti-
tuition the President could be tolerably indie
pendent Of the dictation of the radical
majority. This tyrannical majority, jealous of
every power that could oppose it, stopped at
nothing in the effort to make itself supreme in
the government and framed this law as the
most effective blow it could deal at what was
always regarded as the proper constitutional
authority of the Executive. Having made this
law to control a President hostile to
it, people would naturally suppose that
Congress, now that President is
elected Of its own views, would be ready to
wipe out that law and return to the true basis
of the constitution. But there are some rea-
sons why it is not ready to do this. 1t has en-
joyed the power of holding the Executive hand
and foot for months, and it is not willing to lay
that power aside This was one of the dangers
that the trainers Of the constitution endeavored
sedulously to guard against in adjusting the
nice balance of our system; but Congress
cares less for the danger of the government as
whole than for it's own power in that govern
ment. This is piece OF short-sightedness that
is universal in the history of similar bodies.
Another reason is that there is a large section
Of the republican party which remembers that
Grant was elected without any pledges, and
that he has never yet given any evidence of
that kind Of radical temper that would satisfy
Massachusetts,. They contemplate the posi-
bility that they may by and by be as eager to
hold Grant as ever they were to hold Johnson,
and rightly judge that this law once gone they
cannot re-enact it.
AS must inevitably be the case with a
gripping law, this statute operates in two
ways. Made to prevent the Executive doing
wrong, 1t equally prevents him doing right,
and 1t is obvious how necessary it is that it
should be repealed if Grant is to do what is
universally expected Of him. He is expected
to make wholesale slaughter of the corrupt
officials that are In place under this very law
but he cannot remove single rascal who has
credit with political caucuses, cliques and
rings, and cannot appoint man who does not
come commended to all the Senators on SINH
lar authority. Were Butler. therefore, in
terested in seeing the failure of Grants ad-
mlnistration he might reasonably stand still
chievous law, and in the absence of any expo
sition of his motives he must therefore receive
credit for magnanimous disposition to let
Grant start fair and for patriotic wish to get
back to the constitution. But with whatever
purpose he has opened the most important
political measure of the session, and one the
vote upon which will be significant Of the
temper and attitude of Congress toward Grant,
determination not to repeal the law would
be vote OF want of confidence in the new
President
THE Two PERUVIAN IRoS-C LADs.-It ap-
pears that there is some question as to the
destination of the two iron-clads which we
sold to the Peruvian government The Spanish