The Portland daily press., 1869-03-19
The Tenure of Once Ac. i'm ,he Senate

The Tenure of OGice Act i'm the Senate.
States in respect to the civil tenure act is an
embarrassing, unfortunate and inexplicable
one. 1t can easily be understood how new
m embers, who did not vote or express any
opinion on the subject of the powers of the
President and Congress over removals from
o fice when the bill was passed, take sizes on
the question according to the manner IN Wnicn
it presents itself 10 their minds at the present
ime. 1t can easily be understood, too, how
Senators. like Fessenden, who voted against
tn, act in the first instance, and have not at
any time proiessed to be strongly impressed
with its wisdom, may consistently vote to re-
zeal it as soon as opportunity offers. But ev-
erybody who remembers anything about the
discussions that arose in Congress, when the
measure was proposed, and the arguments and
opinions of counsel and Senators in the i'm
parchment trial will recollect that friends OF
the law argued that it was not to be regarded
as temporary expedient to tie the hands of a
mischievous President, but that it was in fact
merely declaratory of an existing constitu-
tional power of the Senate to act concurrent
ly with the Executive in making removals as
we'll as appointments, and that it was wise
measure as a matter of general and permanent
policy. How men who have taken that ground
can change front SO suddenly, when they find
the law doing exactly what it was intended
to do, keeping men in Office unless they have
shown ineap icity or dishonesty in discharging
their duty it is difficult to see.
The Senate is divided into three distinct
parties on the question before it: those who
desire the absolute and unconditional repeal
of the law; those who are only willing to al
low it to remain imperative for a stated pc
riod, but wish to keep it within easy reach for
cases of emergency. and those who are opposed
TO meddling with it at all. The first party is
led by Senator Morton, the able representa-
tive of the State of Indiana. With him are all
the Democrats, the Republicans who voted
against the act in the first instance and those
who see things under Grant that they didn't
and couldn't and wouldn't see under johnson.
The second party is led by the members of the
judiciary Committee, who have reported in
favor of suspending the act till December
Mr. Carpenter the new Senator from Wiscon-
sin, is to be classed with those who favor sus-
p0uSiOn. III tue luEEcobiuS ucDdtc OI w cu-
nesday he made powerful speech, worthy of
the reputation which he brings to the Senate
from his Western home, in which he defend
ed the law as just, reasonable and consistent
with the nature of our institutions, But as.in
his opinion certain provisions of the existing
Law need modification, he is willing to vote for
the suspension proposed by the Judiciary
Committee. The third party is led by Senator
Edmunds of Vermont, who in the debates of
Tuesday and Wednesday, spoke in support Of
the civil tenure law in such manner as to
place him in the very foremost rank of the
statesmen of the Senate. The neat manner in
which he entrapped Yates of Illinois into dis
avowing his own views expressed in his "opin-
ion'' submitted to the Senate at the time of the
impeachment trial. was one of the eleysrest
things ever done in the Senate. The party that
favors suspension seems to have better pros
pect of winning than the others, since their
proposition is in the nature of compromise
and may ultimately command the support Of
nearly the whole Senate.