The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-01

3 Nh inaugural address. declared his 'snx,ssies"
alo his sense OF "the magnitude and diihcuity
OF the trust" awakening dl5tru5tiui
son, In hts famous INAUGURAL. 80 repete with
seriousness that the task is above his taents says:
~ approach It with those anxious and awful pre-.
sentiments which the greatness OF the charge and
the weakness OF my powers 80 Justly inspire, and
humble myselfbefore the magnituda olthe undertake
ang our soldier absolutely untrod Ia ciyal iIe,
duties, before which Washington ana Jefferson had
Strung, said In his inaugural The responsibilities
fear" Great predecessors. with ample preparation
for the responsibilities, had shrunk back with fear.
bitIes, or the Caesar had begun to stir in his
bosom. In either case he was disqualified.
SELECTION Or HIS CABINET.
Next after his inaugural address his first oficia
act was the selection OF his Cabinet, and here the
eral wonder as the President was little known, OK
cept from the victories which had commend ID him
istc was this initial act Looking back
upon it we recognize the By
Which tns
the party that had elected him were sat at naught,
aaa tns Of
s%a relations with tao republican party and
lutely without claims from public service.
and and some Sns absolutely disqualified by the gts
was the political phenomenon presented for the
first time IN American history while reported say
which he acted to committee, whom no described
his Cabinet as his family, with which no stranger
Congress he announced that lie selected his
Cabinet to suit himself and nobody else
being good rules unqusstloaaby 70,
the choice OF domestics. to which tbs
Cabinet seem to have been likened. This personal
governments Powered in the Navy Department,
where gift-bearing Greek was suddenly changed
to q Secretary. No less parsonage than the grand
reported as asking on the 9th OF March--the very
day when the Cabinet was announced, in unaffected
"Do you KNOW ANYTHING or DoRrns"
But yet this unconspicuous citizen. bearer OF gifts
to the President, was constituted tae naval supc-
riOr OF that historic character If others were less
obscure, the Cabinet as unit, was none the less
notable as the creature OF the Presidential will,
Idea Of csSlnet Though 'O not na nix in
sas os virtue of ws oon
stitutional governments everywhere. Che Cabinet
has become constitutional body hardly less than
IL expressly established by the constitution ITSELF
Its members, besides being the hoads Of great de-
partments, are the counsellors OF the President,
the spere Of his ONCE, being nothing less than the
great catalogue in the preamble of the CON
Tnon and snas with YIN the DUTY ss
cure the blessing Of liberty to ourselves res
the exalted responsibilities as head Of depart
ment and as counsellor, member should have such
position IN tine na country sst MS
the administration. How little these things were
regarded by the President . ne9g nSt g
s aseiesh s AZ RFss 81 rs casne
but It is :. constitutional !, ., discretion
and not by mere personal Wildly Craftsmanship
and not by favoritism. A Cabinet Is a national
institution and not Presidential perquistc, unless
our President Is allowed to copy the example OF
Imperial France. In all constitutional governments
the Cabinet is selected on public reasons and with
n n0r1n IN n
nor sit ITO please himself and nobody else"
personally dlsagreeable, when they had become re-
representatives. atty M Of the prevailing party as when
accepted Fox, and George the Fourth, as preiu
diced as his father was obstinate, accepted Can
ming, each bringing to the service commanding
abilities. BY such instances in cOnstita-
tional government is the cabinet fixed as
e constitutional and not q personal body:
the President Of republic dedicated to constitu-
tional liberty can imagine himself invested with
ish sovereign by which his councillors arc changed
from public officers to personal attendants, ana
a common interest, is nude perquistte OF tho
APPROPRIATION OF THE OFFICES
Marked among the spectacles which followed and
kindred in character with the appropriation OF the
GsS1st S o p the
titiqn. Obscure and undeservviag retainers
army associates, friends Of unknown iame
and notable OF bic only as personal friends or
idential mind during those months OF obdurate
reticence, when generous people supposed the
from the fact it would seem as If the chief and most
spontaneous thought was how to exploit
s SsSo e the to NEWS s
House presented itself to the Imagination and
letter was written consigning military dependent
rest. DR.. Johnson, acting as executor in selling
the astsry q Mr. TnTa said 1--WE arc no.
sss e sE1was h's prs ssSsas
as s great English the morss ssaens
that his military dependent felt In that letter all
he acted accordngy It is not necessary to saw
that in these things there was departure from
the REL OF law whether IN the appoint
in return for personal benefactons although it
plainly unrepnblican, offensive and indefensible.
But this usurping spirit, born OF an untutored
egotism, brookng no restraint showed itself i'm
another class of transactions, to which l have
already referred, where law and constitution were
little regarded
ASSAULT ON TIE SAFEGUARD OF THE TREASURY.
was the d attempt against one the
sacred safeguards OF the Treasnry-the. original
Workmanship OF Alexander Hamiltonmbeing moth
ing less than the act to establish the Treasury De-
partment Here was an important provision, that
no person appointed TO any office instituted by
cerned or interested in carrying on the business OF
trade or commerce, and any person so offending
was declared guilty OF high misdemeanor, and
was to forfeit to the United States $4,000, with re-
mOva from Office, and forever thereafter to be in
capable of holding any office under the United
States. From the beginning this statue had never
been questioned until 1t had acquired the character
of fundamental law And yet the President by q
special message, dated March 8, 1862 being the sec
ond day of his first service as civilian, asked Con-
gress to set it aside, so as to enable
MR.. STEWART, OF NEW YORK.
already nominated and confirmed as Secretary OF
the Treasury, to enter upon the duties of this
ofice This gentleman was unquestionably the
largest MsgehaRt VIZ hg9 trenssets9 business sn
tude as to clog the Custom House, II the statute
was anything but one OF those cobwebs which catch
the weak but yield to the rich, this was the occa-
sion for it; and the President should have yielded
to no temptation against It, The indecorum OF his
efforts stands out more painfully eminent when it
is considered that the merchant for whom he wished