The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-04-09
THE TENURE-OF-OFFICE QUESTION
$50 AT REST.

The agony is past. Both Houses
of Congress having passed the fol-
lowing substitute for the Tenure-of-
Office bill, it was, on the 5th, signed
by the President:
That the first and. second sections
of the act entitled San act regulat-
ing the tenure of certain civil Offices"
passed March 2, 1869, be and the
same are hereby repealed, and in
lieu of said repealed sections the
following are hereby enacted:
Sec. l. Be it enacted, de-, That
every person holding any civil office
to which he has been, or hereafter
may be. appointed by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate,
and who shall have become duly
qualified to act therein, shall be enti
tied to hold such office during the term
for wltich he shall hace been appointed,
unless sooner removed by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate,
or By the appointment, NTH the like
advice and consent, ofa successor in his
place, except as herein otherwise
provided.
SEC. 2 Ind be IL further enacted
That during any recess of the Sen.
ate the President hereby is empow.
cred, in his discretion, to suspend
any civil officer appointed by and
with the advice and consent of the
Senate, except Judges of the United
States Courts, until the end of the
aert session ofthe Senqte, and to des
ignste some suitable person, subject
to be removed in his discretion, or
by the resignation of another, to
perform the duties of such suspended
officer in the meantime, and such
person SO designated shall take the
oaths, and give the bonds required
by law to be taken and gwen by the
suspended officer, and shall, during
the time he performs his duties, be
entitled to the salary and emoluments
of such officer, DO part of which shall
belong to the officer suspended; and
it shall be the duty of the President.
within 80 days after the commence
ment of every session of the Senate.
except for any Office which in his
opinion ought not to be filled, to
nominate persons to fill all vacan-
cies in office which exist prior to the
meeting of the Senate, whether tenn
porarily filled or not, and so in the
place of all officers suspended and
if the Senate during such session
shall refuse to advise and consent to
an appointment in the place of such
officer, then, and not otherwise, the
President shall nominate another per-
son as soon as practicable to said session
Of the Sesate for said office.
We have opposed the total repeal
Of this law, because we have felt that
too much patronage was placed in
the hands of the President already.
and that the law as it stood only pre-
served to the Senate its constitu-
tional power in the premises. The
principal change wrought by the
substitute bill consists in this that
officers suspended by the President
during the recess Of the Senate do
not hold over in case the Senate
refuses to confirm the appointment
made to fill the vacancy thus oc-
casioned, but the President is
required "to nominate another person
- soon as practicable to said session
of the Senate for said Office" What
shall be done in case the Senate re.
fuse to concur in this second nomin.
alton the bill does not direct, but the
presumption is that the President
shall continue to nominate until the
Senate shall confirm his nominee.
We hope yet to see the immense
of patronage now in the (
hands of the President largely reduc.
I'd. We would much prefer to see
In the hands of the people; but so Il