Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-03-17
CONGRE ESSIONAL.
Conclusion Of Yesterdays Proceedings


SENATE.-After our report closed. the bill to
r. peal the tenure of office bill was discussed at
length.
Mr.. Morton continuing his speech said he
had been informed by MIR. Rollins. the late
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, tnat IN
many instances he had abundant moral proof
of the lncompetency or dishonesty OF the r. ve-
nue. officers. but IL was not possible to make mp
a case TO md to the Senate, and so the official
was left undisturbed. Mr. Rollins said the law
was very good one tor bad Pres mt, and q
very bad law for a good President. Under this
law, If the President undertakes to suspend
every ofhcer, for reasons which he may con-
slider good. the whole time of the Senate will be
occupied in the trial of tn. cases. Ii would, in
fact, impose upon the Senate a duty which il
cannot perform. He urged upon the Senate as
matter OF justice, to repeal this law. For
seventy EIGHT years the government was ad-
mInistereu without such a law. As due to the
new administration il should be repealed. We
have man now in whom the W hole nation has
confidence Let us strike the fettsrs from his
hands, let us give him chance to make a clean
sweep. The whole sentiment OF the country
demanded the repeal, and without the repeal
the pledge OF the Republican party to purify
the civil service cannot be redeemed
Mr.. Yates advocated the immediate repeal as
due by the influential men of the country to a
President who had Just been elected with such
singular unanimity. Should different rule
be prescribed for President Grant than that
which had obtained for every President from
the foundation of the Government down to the
days of Andrew Johnson He had no idea tn at
Gen. Grant would dim his record on q thou.
sand battle fields of glory by folio wing the ex-
ample OF Andrew Johnson and turning traitor.
The law wss made for special purpose, for
a bad President, very bad President, but who
is row out OF the way; and our choice, the
choice of the people, the peoples favorite, is in
bis place, and let us do away with the law
He would stand by this administration so long
as II was true to its principles and to those who
put II into power. Should General Grant 60
back one single inch on those principles by
which he was elected, no Senator on this II oor
would denounce him quicker than he. Mr.. Y, }
but he hated this distrust In advance, this re.
striction, this limIta ion upon him.
Mr.. Fessenden should vote for the repeal of
the law, but not upon the ground that a vote
orher wise would indicate any distrust o: the
President He should vote for the repeal be-
cause he believed it unwise at the time il was
passed, and had withheld his vote, although he
did not care TO oppose II, as II was thought ne.
c"ssary by his political friends. He did not
regard II as Unconstitutional, because he held
that Congress might place Limitation upon the
appointing power of the President, bat he
thought the Senate already possessed a suf-
ficient check in that il could reject such ap-
pOintments as II did not approve. III. did not
consider, however, that any one here b I'd the
right TO say that the suspension merely OF the
law would indicate any doubt OF the Presi-
dent. He was tired Of this continued express
sion o: un bounded confidence in The President
OF course we had confidence in him, or we
would not have elected him. but he was tired
Ol continue elOODcrlDg over his great
tories. Laughter The President was a gen.
eral no longer. but President, and he would
have very hard time of IT, and if he DID not
make mistakes he wOnld be more than mortal.
He Mr.. + J had, at times, been accused of lee.
turing the Senate; he did no. wish TO lecture
any body, but he must say that in his cons ider-
atIon OF matters OF legislation he aid not care
who was PresIden Mt; he did not regard the Off ce
or the man, but his duty as a man, and a. a
legislator TO his conscience and to the great
constituencies which sent them there. He
merely wished 10 repeat now h S protest against
constituting the vote of any Senator In oppOSI-
ton 10 the repeal Of the act rs any reflection
upon the eminent citizen who now fills tle
office of President.
Mr.. Howard for one must protest against the
imputations thrown out by ,he Senator from
Indiana, (Mr. Morton,) and Illinois, mt.
Yates, that those of them who We're opposed
to the repeal OF this law felt any disrrust OF the
President. Such imputatione We're entirely
gratuitous. Some such meas ure as the tenur re-
of-ofiice act had long been deemed necessary.
and Andrew johnson furnished the occasion.
He conceived the measure Just and salutary,
ard II YVES an unjust reflection TO construe his
action as evideEcIng anv suspicion of the pres
ent President. He thought no record on the
page OF history was so glorious as that of that
eminent warrior. out he was not one of those
that thrift may follow fawning." Mr.. II. then
explained the working of the tenure or ce
ac', and claimed its necessity and perfect coR =
stitutionaliy, holding that as the consent of the
Senate was necessary for an appointment, IL
was eq uaily necessary for removal, and quoted
Webster, Benton, Clay and Calhoun as main =
tanning the same view. If he knew anything
OF the character Of General Grant, he would
hurl back the moment he heard it. any such
lmputatlon as that the retention of this act
would constitute any reflection upon him.
General Grant was not the man TO higgls W ith
the Senate over such a matter. He (Mr II }
would, under the circumstances, vote for the
suspension OF this act, but he would never
vote for It's repeal; he would never swallow
his words. hp Wnuih np m Tor no
principle.
Mr.. Edmunds said 1t would certainly be
curious TO a disinterested spectator, If such
were here, to witness this spectacle of an at
tempt TO cast off a law which the wisest and
best OF the republic had so long struggled to
obtain, and In the absenc ce OF which a Pres dent
had often coerced the will of the people,
The Democratic party In this chamber We're
solid in favor OF repeal some OF them NO doubt
from principle, but others with the idea OF
placing tie Republican party in a disreputable
position Dir. Edm munds then read at length,
from an unpublished manuscript, an account
# the debate in the Senate Of the First Cong
on The subject OF the Presidents power of re-
moval, which indicated that a majority of that
BODY We're of the opinion that the Senate had,
conformity with the President, the power Of re-
moya al eQus ly with the power Of appointment.
Mr.. Edmunds then asked why this law should
be repealed. Was there no danger Of future
Andrew Johnsonsl Had the millennium really
comet Was the race of bad Presidents and
Vice Presidents extinctl This was a govern
ment not OF men but OF law, and il our laws
were to he done away with because we hap.
pened to have q good man at the head Of the
government, we would soon have no laws or
govern ment at all.
Mr.. Yates would ask tie Senator to tell the
truth, in the face Of the senate. whether this
law had not been expressly enacted on account
Of Andrew johnson
Mr.. ubedly, and was not
the bad conduct of King John the reason of
magma charta, and would the Senator wish
charta abolished because there was NO more
King Johns
The Senate. at p. m, went into Executive
Session, and then adjourned.