The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-02-26
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THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGES.


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THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGES.
The President on Monday sent back to
the Senate the messages previously sent
on Saturday. but which reached the capi-
tol after the adjournment Of the Senate.
One Of them nominates Hon. Thomas Ew-
ing, Sr., Of Ohio, to be Secretary of War.
The other is reply to the Senate resolu-
tion of Friday night relative to the ap-
poiutment of General Thomas as Secretary
of War dd Interim. The latter is alengthy
document, covering thirty seven. pages of
foolscap. The crowded state of our
columns compels us to present an abstract
of its contents. sfaA s5i,EL
The President briefly refers to the fact
that each of his predecessors had exer
cised the prerogative Of removal, and that
the Supreme Court had decided that the
authority was lodged in the Executive by
the Constitution. he then says:
1t is only necessary, then, that should
refer to the power of the Executive, under
the laws of the United States, to remove
from office Secretary of War. The reso-
luton denies that under these laws this
power has any existence lin other words,
it afiirms that no such authority is recog-
nized or given by the statutes Of the coun-
try.
What, then, are the laws, of the United
States which deny the President the
power to remove that officer?, know but
two laws which bear upon this question.
The first in the order Of time is the act Of
August 7, 1889, creating the Department
of War, which, after providing for Sc
cretary as its principal officer, proceeds as
follows
"SEcr1oS 2. And be 1t further enacted,
That there shall be in the said Department
an inferior officer, to be appointed by the
said principal officer, to be employed
therein as he shall deem proper, and to be
called the chief clerk in the Department
of War, and who, whenever the said prin-
cipal officer shall be removed from Office
by the President of the United States, or
in any other case of vacancy, shall, during
such vacancy, have the charge and GUS
tody of ali records, books, and papers, ap-
pertaining to the said Department"
1t is clear that this act, passed by Con-
gress many of whose members participated
in the formation of the Constitution, SO far
from denying tho power of the President
to remove the Secretary of War, recog-
nizes it as existing in the Executive alone,
without the concurrence OF the Senate or
Of any other Department. of the Govern
ment. 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 re-
cognitiop of the power by this act is there
fore complete as a recognition under the
Constitution itself; for there was no other
source or authority from which it could be
derived.
He then quotes the first section of tho
civil tenure act of March 2, 1867, and in
reference to its concluding proviso says:
The proviso that follows proceeds to tlx
the term of office of the seven heads. of
departments, whose tenure never had been
defined before, by prescribing that they
"shall hold their Offices respectively for
and during the term of the President by
whom they may have been appointed, and
for one month thereafter, subject to re-
moyal by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate" Thus, as to these enume-
rated officers, the prouiSo takes from the
President the power of removal, except
with the advice and consent of the Senate.
By its terms, however, before he can be
deprived of the power to displace them, it
must appear that he himself has appointed
them. 1t is only in that case that they
have any tenure Of office, or any inde-
pendent right to hold during the tenn of
the President and for one month after the
cessation of his official functions. The
proviso, therefore, gives no tenure OF office
- off xuh ha hpQn
appointed by former President beyond
one month after the accession OF his sue
cessor.
He further states that the only appoint
mcnt ever conferred upon Mr. Stanton as
Secretary Of War was that conferred by
Mr.. Lincoln and after noting the distinc-
tion between members of the Cabinet and
other civil officers established by the pro-
viso above alluded to, says:
The consequence is, that as to my Cabi-
net, embracing the seven officers deSig-
mated in the first section, the act takes
from me the power, without the concur
renee of the Senate, to remove any Of
them that have appointed; but it does
not protect such of them as did not ap-
point, nor give to them any tenure of
Office hey ond my pleasure. =
II would be violation of the plain
meaning of this enactment to place MIR.
Stanton upon the same footing as those
heads Of departments who have been ap-
pointed by myself. AS to him, this law
gives him no tenure Of Office. The mem
bers Of my Cabinet who have been ap-
pointed by me are by this act entitled to
hold for one month after the term of my
Office shall cease; but Mr.. Stanton could
not, against the wishes Of my successor,
hold moment thereafter.
He asserts that under this construction
Of the tenure -of-office act he has never
doubted his power to remove Mr.. Stanton,
but says that, owing to doubts which
existed as to the construction of the law,
he, from the first, "deemed it desirable
that at the earliest possible moment those
doubts should be settled, and the true con-
struction of the act fixed by decision of
the Supreme Court of the United States.
My order of suspension in August last
was intended to place the case in such
position as would make resort to judicial
decision both necessary and proper. My
understanding and wishes, however, under
that order of suspension, were frustrated,
aud the late order for Mr.. Stanton's re-
moval was q further step towards the
accomplishment OF that purpose