The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1868-01-30
What Saws the Law ?

called the Constitution OF the Uni |
ted States, was framed by men of /,
the profoundest philosophical in
sight and purest motives, and has
been universally admired by other
men of the same cast all over the |
world. What have been regarded |
as its principle excellencies were it's
nice distributions Of power, its care
full checks upon the misuse of pow
er, and the fixed limits placed not
only upon the general functions of
government, but upon its special
and subordinate branches.
This Constitution, in accordance
with the teachings Of the soundest
political writer's, has divided the
administration of the government
into three equal and coordinate
departments. One of these is for
the making and devising of laws
another for executing them; and
third for constructing them, when
they conflict with each other or
may be otherwise brought into
doubt. Each Of these departments
is a unit; it has its distinct and
clearly defined sphere; it is, except
certain defined instances, totally in
dependent of the Others, not to in
terfere with them nor to be inter
fered with by them; and it is re-
sponsible, like all the others, to the
people by whom it is made, and for
whose interests alone it was made.
The powers conferred upon each Of
these departments are precisely in
the same words, that is, they are
complete and conclusive in each.
save where the exceptions are es-
pecially named.
The words are these: "All 1egis-
lative power herein granted shall be
&. e., is) vested in Congress-"
&c. /; "The Executive power shall
be vested in a President Of the Uni.
ted States of America - ''The iu-
dicial power Of the United States
shall be vested in one Supreme
Court" &c.-words which show
that the President, the Supreme
Court and Congress hold their trusts
from the same authority, under the
same grant, by similar tenure, and
on equal conditions, L. e., without
the subordination of one to the
other, or without any real OF i'm
piled infeIiority in either. The
range Of their powers is different,
both as to its objects and its extent,
but the substance or ground of it is
identical. The President is just as
much the President as Congress is
Congress, Or the Supreme Court is
the Supreme Court. The President
is the whole and the only executive
power, and the Supreme Court. with
the Inferior courts, is the whole and
only judicial power, as Congress is
the whole and only legislative power
save, as we before said, a few ex-
ceptional but necessary interlacings
of jurisdiction.
The President being constitution
ally the Executive power, that IS,
the power required by the Consti-
tuition to enforce its own provisions
and laws made under them, by what
authority, what right, what show of
right, can Congress commit the ex-
ecution of the laws to officers not
belonging to the Executive, nor re-
sponsible to it, but holding directly
from the Congress Would not
such an act be the abrogation, so
far forth, Of the Executive Depart
ment? Would it not be making a
second Executive Department,
thereby destroying the unity of that
branch of the government whose eff
ficiency especially depends upon its
unity? Legislatures and judges
may be divided in opinion, and the
results ftheir action be the better
for such division, but the executor
of the laws, to lie an executor at all,
must be one. Courts, councils, as
semblies, parliaments, are proper in
the sphere of deliberation, but the
emperor, the king, the president
alone is tolerated in the sphere OF
action.
By virtue of his Office the Pres
ident is made "Commander-in- Chief
of the army and navy of the United
States - in that capacity he is the
head Of the military arm of the ex-
ecutive, as he is already in his ca
pacity of President head Of the civil
arm. All military officers as well
as civil officers, engaged in the ex-
ecution of the laws, are subordinate
to him; he appoints them, commits
sions them, and gives them orders
and it would be mutiny in any sub
ordinate to refuse obedience to his
orders once clearly promulgated.
Has Congress the power given ii
anywhere to change this fundamen
tai disposition of things? Can ii
by mere enactment divest the Presi-
dent of the powers vested in him:
make another man the Commander
in-Chief, and order him to execute
the laws, at his own discretion, OF
subject only to the supervision and
control of Congress If so, what
becomes of the constitutional limi-
tations What meaning is there in
the positive, specific, unmistakable
) clauses vesting the several powers
of the government Or, is Con-
gress, in spite of this language, an
omnipotent parliament, in reality
like that of Great Britain, represent
ing alone the nation, and entitled to
override all other powers when its
convictions Of the public interests
shall so require? If that be the
truth, let US know it at once, and
pride ourselves no longer on the
superiority of our political system
to the absolutisms of Europe, which
have wrought so much mischief
". Y Post.