The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1868-03-27

would seek to use all the power of tn,
government and the army to defea
the laws Of Congress and carry into ex
lecution his own designs, enacted law
regulating the removal from and ap
pointment to office, the first section O
which provides
"That every person holding any civil Of
fee, TO which he has been appointed by anC
with the advice and consent of the Senate
and every person who shall hereafter be ap.
pointed to any such office, and shall become
duly qualified to act therein, is, and shal
be, entitled to hold such Office until sue.
cessor shall have been in like manner ap
pointed and duly qualified, except as hereir
otherwise provided Provided, That the Sc
cretaries of State, of the Treasury, Of War
of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Post
master General and the Attorney General,
shall hold their Offices respectively for and
during the term of the President by whom
they may have been appointed, and for ont
month thereafter, subject to removal by auC
with the advice and consent of the Senate.
1t is contended by some that this
section authorizes the President to re-
move the Secretary of War because h
was appointed originally by President
Lincoln and continued in office by An
drew johnson. But the President did
not SO understand it when he suspend.
ed Mr.. Station, during the recess Of the
Senate, by virtue of the authority giver
him in the second section of the law
referred to, instead of removing him as
he undoubtedly would have done but
for that law. This is only weak sub
terfuge resorted to after he found that
he could not use General Grant.
The second section authorizes the
President to suspend, during the recess
of the Senate, any officer appointed as
aforesaid, excepting judges of the Uni
ted States courts, who shall be guilty Of
misconduct in office, or crime, or fol
any reason shall become incapable OF
legally disqualified to perform its du-
ties, and says: "In such case, and in
no other, the President may suspend
such officer, and designate some suita-
bic person to perform temporarily the
duties, until the next meeting of the
Senate" :"
The President is required to report
his reasons for the suspension 10 the
Senate within twenty days after the
first day of its next meeting, with the
evidence on which his action is founded.
"But if the Senate shall refuse to con
cur in such suspension, such officer, so
suspended, shall forthwith resume the
functions of his Office" DC.
The sixth section reads as follows:
"SEc 6. And be IL further enacted, That
every removal, appointment, or employm nj
made, had or exercised contrary TO the pro-
visions of this act, and the making, signing,
sealing, cOuntersigning, or issuing of any
commission or letter of authority fo- or in
respect TO any such appointment or employ
m nj, shall be deemed, and are hereby de-
clared to be, high misdemeauors, and, upon
trial and conviction thereof, every person
guilty thereof shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding $4,000, or by Imprisonment
not exceeding five years, or both said pun
lcuuculsy III luO uIBCi OblOu Vi Luc COuIt
Provided, That the President shall have
power to make out and deliver, after the ad-
iournment of the Senate, commissions for
all officers whose appointment shall have
been advised and consented to by the Sen
ate.
This law does nothing more than to
enforce obedience to the Constitution
in letter and spirit, and prescribe the
penalty for the violation of it, making
the violation a crime or high misde-
meanor. The President so understood
it, and recognized its validity in sus-
pending Mr.. Stanton, instead of remov-
ing him during the recess of the Sem
ate. But he expected to induce Gen.
Grant to take the responsibility of vio-
lating the law, and he used every arti-
fee to accomplish that object. He
even promised to pay the fine and en-
dure the imprisonment himself if Grant
would only commit the crime. l sup
pose if the crime he wished Grant to
commit had been the murder of some
Radical, he would just as readily prom
ised to suffer the hanging in the place
of the General. General Grant bad no
disposition to violate the law, and il he
had placed any reliance whatever on
Andrew Johuson's promises he would
have shown himself a greater fool than
his worst enemies take him to be.
Having entirely falled to implicate
General Graut in his unlawful purposes
the President finally determined to
take the bold step on bis own response
bility, and issued the following order:
EXECUTIVE MANSION.
WASHINGTON, D. c., February %, 1868.
SIR: By virtue of the power and authori-
ty vested in me, as President, by the Con-
sti'ution and laws of the United States, you
are hereby removed from office as Secretary
for the Department Of War, and your func-
ceipt of this communication
You will transfer to Brevet Major General
Lorenzo Thomas, Adiutant General of the
Army, who has this day been authorized and
empowered to act as Secretary of War Gd
GtGCItHt oil ICCOlus, UOOhcj HdpClS- ana OiACA
property row in your custody and charge.
Respectfully yours, ANpsEw JOHNSON.
Hon. EDWIN NJ. STATION, Washington.
On the same day this order was
served upon Mr.. Stanton and copy
sent by the President to the Senate of
the United States, Lorenzo Thomas
appeared at the office of the Secretary Of
War, demanding possession, and threat
ening to take possession by force unless
Mr.. Stanton voluntarily surrendered it.
Upon the receipt of the Presidents
message, transmitting the order, the
Senate went into executive session to
consider the subject and after discus
sion passed the following resolution:
IL Executive SESSION,
SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,
February 81, 1868.
Whereas the Senate have read and con-
sidered the communication of the President,
stating that he lad removed Edwin NJ. Stan
ton, Secretary of War, and had designated
the Adjutant General Of the Army to act as
Secretary of War ad interim: Therefore
Resolsed blythe Senate Of the United States,
That under the Constitution aud 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 ad interim.
Here, Mr.. Speaker, is palpable and
defiant violation not only of law pass
ed by Congress under the Constitution
of the United States, but of the Consti-
tuition itself. By this act Andrew John
son committed a crime or high misde-
punishable By fine and i'm
prisonment, for which he is also liable
to impeachment, and ought to be re-
moved from the Office which he has so
lon0 and co often abused. 7 do not