The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1868-03-27

United States, by message dated on
he I'd day of March, 1857, q true
,opy whereof is hereunto annexed,
md marked ga" that the power last
was conferred, and the
luty of exercising it in all cases was
imposed on the President by the Con
,titution of the United States, and
hat the President could not be de
Drived of this power or relieved OF
this duty, nor could the same be
vested by law in the President and
the Senate jointly, either in part or
in whole, and this has ever since re-
NAMED, and was the opinion of this
at the time when he was
forced as aforesaid to consider and
decide what acts should and might
be lawfully done by this respondent
as President of the United States, to
cause the said Stanton to surrender
the said Office.
This respondent was also then
aware that, by the first section of an
act regulating the tenure of civil OF
fee, passed March 2, 1867, by con
stitutional majority Of beth Houses
of Congress, it was enacted as fol
lows: "That every person holding
any civil office, to which he has beer
appointed by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and every per
son who shall hereafter be. appointed
to such Office, and shall become duly
qualified to act therein, is and shal
be entitled to hold such office unit
his successor shall have been In like
manner appointed and duly qualified
except as herein otherwise provided
viz: provided that the Secretary
of State, of the Treasury, of War
and Navy, and of the Interior, the
Postmaster General, and the Attor
ney General shall hold Office for and
during the term of the President by
whom they may have been appointed
and for one month thereafter, subject
to removal by the advice and consen,
of the Senate" This the respondent
understood and intended to be an
expression of the opinion of Con,
gress by which that act was passed
that the power to remove the Execu-
tive officers for cause might by law
be taken from the President and vest
ed In him and the Senate jointly,
and although this respondent had ar
rived at and still retained the Opin-
ion above expressed, and verify be.
Iieved, as he still believes, that the
first section of the last mentioned
act was and is imperative and void,
by reason of its conflict with the
Constitution of the United States,
vet, lnasmuch as the same had been
enacted by the constitutional majori'
ty In each of the two Houses Of tina,
Congress, this respondent considered
it to be proper to examine and decide
whether the particular case OF the
said Stanton in which it was this re-
spondent's duty to act, was within OF
without the terms of that first section
of the act, or whether the President
had not power according to its terms,
to remove said Stanton from the of
flee of Secretary for the Department
of War, and having In his capacity
of President of the United States
examined and considered, did form
the opinion that the ease of said
Stanton and his tenure Of Office were
not affected by the first section Of the
last named act.
This respondent further answering
says, although q case thus existing
which in his Judgment. as President
of the United States, called for the
exercise of the executive power to
remove said Stanton from the office OF
for the Department of War,
and although this respondent was ol
opinion as above shown that under
the Constitution of the United States,
the power TO remove said Stanton
from said officewas vested in the Pres
ident of the United States; and al
though this respondent was also oi
opinion, as above shown, that the case
of said Stanton was not affected by
the first section OF the named act, and
although each of said opinions had
been formed by this respondent upon
an actual case requiring him in his
of President Of the United
States to come to the same judgment
and determination thereon, yet this
President of the United
States, desired and determined to ar
rive, if possible, on question of con-
and effect of said first sec
lion of the las. named act, and also
the broader question of the executive
power conferred on the President of
The United States by the Constitution
Of the United States to remove one of
The principal officers of one OF the Ex
ecutive Departments for cause, SEEM
ng to him sufficient; and this re-
,pondent also determined that if,
rom causes over which he could eX-
,rt no control, it should become alb
necessary to raise, and have
n some way either or both of the
ast named questions. 1t was in &C
,ordance with the Constitution of the
United States, and required the Pres
dent thereby that questions of so
much gravity and Importance, on
which the legislative and executive
of Government had dis
greed, which involved powers con-
idered by all branches of the Gov
during its entire history
Iown to the year 1867 TO have been
onfided by the Constitution of the
United States to the President, and to
,e necessary for the complete and
roper execution of his duties, and
hould be in some proper way sub
1itted to that department of the Gov
entrusted by the Constitu-
ion with the power and subjected by
. to the duty not only of detcrmin
lg finally the Constitution and effect
{ all the acts OF Congress, by com
airing them with the Constitution OF
ne United States aud pronouncing
iem imperative when found in con-
.ct with shat fundamental law which /
ne people have enacted for the gov
rnment of all their interests, and TO
lesc ends:
l. That through the action of the
enate of the United States, the alb
,lute duty of the President to sub
itnte some fit person in the place of
tanton as one OF his advisers and as
subordinate officer, whose
fcial conduct he was responsible
II and had lawful right to control,