The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-02-28
INTERESTING ACCOUNTS FROM wAsH1NGT ON

The columns of the Northern papers ar,
crowded with dispatches and correspondence
from Washington. From the mass Of interest
ing news matter which they contain, we selec
what is most important and readable.
THE PRESIDENT ON THE REMOVAL OF STANTON
AN ABLE v1ND1cATIoN OF THE PROCEEDING.
The following is President Johnson's mes
sage sent to the Senate on Monday, of which
we gave a synopsis yesterday:
To the Senate of the United States: I have
received copy of the resolution adopted BY
the Senate on the 21st instant, as follows:
| s'Whereas the Senate have received and con
sidered the communication Of the President
stating that he had removed Edwin NJ. Stan
ton, Secretary Of War, and had designated the
the Adjutant- General of the army to act as
Secretary Of War dd tn,eriD1; therefore
Resolved by the Senate of the United
States. That under the Constitution and laws
of the United States the President has nc
power to remove the Secretary Of War and de
signate any other officer to perform the duties
OF that office dd inter-ina."
This resolution is confined to the power ol
the President to remove the Secretary OF Wal
and to designate another officer to perform the
duties OF the office ad interim, and by it's pre-.
amble is made expressly applicable TO the re-
moval of Mr.. Stanton, and the designation to
act cd interim of the Adjutant- General OF The
army. Without, therefore, attempting to dis
cuss the general power of removal as to all
officers, upon which subject no expression o.
opinion is contained in the resolution, shall
confine myself to the question as thus linn.
ited--the power to remove the Secretary OF
War.
IT is declared in the resolution "that under
the Constitution and laws Of the United States
the President has no power to remove the Sec
retary of War and designate any other officer
to perform the duties OF that Office dd interim.
As to the question OF power under the consti-
tuition I do not propose at present to enter up
on It's discussion. The uniform practice from
the beginning of the government, as establish
ed 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 class holding up
pointments OF judicial character. no prac-
tice. or any decision. has excepted Secretary
of War from this general power OF the Pres-
dent to make removals from office. 1t is only
necessary, then, that I should refer to the
power of the Executive, under the laws OF the
United States, to remove from office Secre-
tarv of War. The resolution denies that un-
der these laws this power has any existence.
In other words, it afirms that TO such author
ity is recognized or gwen by the statutes OF
the country What, then, are the laws of the
United States which deny the President The
power to remove that officer? know but two
i.ws which bear upon this question. The first
in order Of time is the act OF August 7th, 17o9,
creating the Department of War, which, after
providing for Secretary as it's principal OIL
Ger, proceeds as follows:
ssSec. Q. And be it further enacted That
there shall bc in The said department. an lnfe-
rior officer, to be appointed by the said princi-
pal officer, to be employed therein as ho shall
deem proper, to be ualed the chief clerk in tho
Department OF War, and who, whenever the
fec by the President of the United States, or
in any other case Of vacancy, shall, during
such vacancy, have the charge and custody Of
all records, books and papers appertalning to
the said department"
Tt is clear that this act, passed by Congress
many of whose members participated III the
formation of the constitution, so far from de-
nying the power Of the President to remove the
Secretary OF War, recognizes it as existing il
the Executive alone, without the concurrence
of the Senate or of any other department OF the
government. Furthermore, this act does not
purport to confer the power by legislative au'
thority, nor in fact was there any other existing
legislation through which it was brought upon
the Executive.
therefore complete as recognition under the
constitution itself, for there was no Other
source or authority from which it could be de-
rived. The other act which refers to this
question is that regulating the tenure of GER
tain civil officers, passed BY Congress on the
second day of March, 1867. The first section
of that act is In the following words: THAT
has been appointed by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and any person whc
shall hereafter be appointed to any such Office
and shall become qualified to act therein, ls
and shall be entitled to hold such office until q
successor shall have been in like manner np-
pointed and duly qualified except as herein
otherwise provided. Provided that the Secre-
ta.ics of State, of the Treasury, Of War, of the
Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-Gen-
eral and the Attorney-General, shall hold theiI
offices respectively for and during tho term o1
the President by whom they may have been
appointed, and for one month thereafter, sub,
jcct to removal by and with the advice and
consent Of ihe Senate"
The fourth section o! the same act restricts
the term of offices to the limit prescribed by
the law creating them. That Fart of the first
section which precedes the proviso declares
| that every person holding civil office to whlci
he has beon or may be appointed, by and witt
the advice and consent of the Senate. shal
hold such Office until successor shall nave
| been IN uh6 uldulcr dppOlut0u' ~ Puu Pa W "
take from the Executive, during the fixed time
established for tho tenure OF the office, the in
dependent power of removal, and to require
for such removal the concurrent action OF tn
President and the Senate. The proviso tha
follows proceeds to fix the term of Office
seven heads OF departments whose tenure ne
YER had been aetned before, by prescribinl
that thov ''shall mold their Offices, respectively
for and during the term of the President D
whom they may have been appointed, and TO
one month thereafter, subject to removal b
and with the advice and consent OF the Sen
ate." H..
proyiso takes from the President the power
removal except with the advice and consent
the Senate. By it's terms, before he can be dc
prived of the power to displace them, it mus
appear that he himself has appointed them
It is only in that case that they have any ter
ure of Office or any independent right to mol
during the term Of the President, and for on
mouth after the cessation of his official funi
tions.
The proviso, therefore, gives no tenure
Office TO any one Of these officers who has pee
appointed by a former President beyond on
month after the accession of his successor.
T.. H. ooeN NJ. klxoo I've