The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-03-26

The Democrats will be surprised and dis
gusted at the refusal of the Senate to quarrel
with Gen. Grant, and also at the disposition
eyinced by the latter to be satisfied with reas-
enable effort on the part of Congress to make
its laws conformable to his wishes. They have
anticipated lepetition of 1896; instead Of that
they have all things tending toward an era OF
good feeling.
1t is needless to deny that the difference OF
opinion among Senators respecting the civil
tenure act was very serious one,-so serious
in fact that only a patriotic desire to begin the
uaxy administration with the existence of har-
8 nonv hetween the different branches of the
government prevented rupture. But happi-
Iv n satisfactory compromise has been effected
between those who would repeal, those who
would suspend and the third class who regard
the continuance of the law of 1858 with favor,
which is also represented to be satisfactory to
President Grant. OF the Republicans and
semi-Republcan Senators who voted ON the
question of adopting the substitute offered by
the Judiciary Committee in place of the House
bill for the repeal of the act, only Fsssenden,
Fowler, Grimes, Morton, Ross; Sprague and
Warner voted in the negative. On the final
passage of the substitute there was no division
An analysis of the provisions of the new bill
shows,
First, that the President is left free to re-
move his own Cabinet officers at will. The
first section of the old law, which gave Cabinet
officers definite tenure of their positions, is
repealed Those officers seem therefore to be
outside of the provisionsof the first section of the
new act, which applies only to officers who are
appointed for prescribed term. Members Of
the Cabinet will therefore be appointed, as
they used to be, to hold their places during
the pleasure of the President" and of course
he may remove them without liability to have
his action reviewed by the Senate.
Second, the President is relieved of the per
formanee of duty which men have regarded
as an onerous one ever since Falstaff refused
to give shis reasons on compulsion." General
Grant may suspend in vacation, from such mo-
tivesas he will, and still have no account to
give to the Senate of his doings beyond a
simple record of the facts.
Third, the idea of removals for nalfeasance
or misfeasanee in Office only which was prom
inent feature Of the old law, especially as con.
strued by Gen. Grant, is ignored in the new
law. The President is not only relieved of the
necessity Of making out case against the in
dividual removed, but also of having any case
against him.
Fourth, the Senate still retains the power to
correct the action of the Executive, if it deems
sudh action unwise, since the appointments
made during recess only hold till the end of
the session next ensuing, and failure of the
Senate to endorse the new appointments re-
stores to their places the offices removed. Re
movals are effected while the Senate is in ses-
sion only by the confirmation of that body Of
new appointees.
The essential feature of the old law was its
recognition of the alleged constitutional right
Of the Senate to act concurrently with the Elk
ecutive in making removals. This is retained,
but in sucha form that an obstinate and self
willed Chief Magistrate might easily make it
anullity be promptly reversing the action Of
the Senate as soon as it had adjourned and
filing all offices with men who met his person
al approval by series of ad interim appoint
ments But Gen. Grant is not SO constituted
as to take pleasure in searching for loopholes
in the letter of law through which to escape
from the necessity of observing it's spirit
With a different man in the White Heuss it
might be necessary to amend the act SO as to
forbid the rsappointment Of persons once dis
placed by the action of the Senate.