The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1874-07-09

| Boston Globe Il communication making
an important suggestion in regard to Il
change in the tenure Of thesIrcsdential
office. He proposes u scheme by means
of which he thinks that all anxiety i'll re-
gard to the pcrpctuaton Of the Office of
President by means of executive patron
age is set at rest, and the experience and
ability of !, retiring chief magistrates, arc
forever secured in the service of the pub
lie. lie introduces his proposition with a
discussion OF the evil consequences which
would be inevitable from the election of
any President to third term. The progress
from such an event to monarchy would be
by easy stages. 1t is proposed, however,
to restrict in the first place, every Presi-
dent to a single term of Office, and to
lengthen the term TO period of six years.
This proposition is by no means new one.
The second portion OF Mr.. Aliens proposed
reform disposes of the main argument
against the one term principle while IN
| Producing an entirely novel and original
| suggestion. He proposes that every Presi-
| dent. after the close of his executive term,
instead of passing into the irksome mac
| tivity Of private life, shall take his place
| in the Senate chamber. In that august
| body his rights and duties are to be con-
sidered as identical with those of the pres
ent senators, with the single exception
| that he shall he considered as the repre-
sentative of the nation ut large rather than
| the representative of any state, and that
| his term of office shall only close with his
| life. He would be in i measure what 4 con
| gresham nj large is to his state delegates
| in the lower house. 1t is easy to understand
| the advantages of such an arrangement.
| It would add dignity and responsibility
| to the already exalted position of chief
| magistrate. Ii would prevent the danger
| Gus and insidious Vaccinations to secure
| a reelection which al present threaten to
| ovcrturn our democracy. 1t would pre-
serve as the constitutional advisers of the
| President, those men whose actual eXper-
| fence could be made available for his en-
| lightenment 1t would retain, in the coun-
ellis Of the nation an element above am
| bition, outside ofpetty local influences and
only anxious to earn fair fame and advance
the country's good One formal object
ion to this scheme for the creation Of
| Presidential Senators lies in the fact
that it involves an election for life
objection is not without force, and it
can only be urged in palliation that the
Supreme Court Judges now hold Office by
the same tenure ; that impeachment would
be security against any unfaithfulness on
the part of the eX-President, whom duty
and a sense of honor failed to rule: and
finally that, as the chief magistrates are
generally old men when they retire, the
term Of office would prove to be brieter in
actual experiment than that of the present
senators, who are reelected over and over
again, Another objection may be put
which is even more forcible. The new
scheme involves a sort OF violation OF state
rights and q step towards contradictions
The Senate is a body in which commune
ties or states are represented, and moi the
Island, with its population Of 1858,
stands on the same footing therein as the
state of New York, with its 1882, 759 in
habitants. Would it not be contrary to
the theory of our government to introduce
among these representatives of the several
etatne "e political organizations. men who
would be simply representatives OF the
great nation which they compose Ger
tainly such an objection would have been
valid fifty years ago; but according to the
ideas OF the day, this peculiarly would be
one of the recommendations Of the plan ;
for the central government is now an i'm
portant reality in political life instead of
a sort Of abstraction, with which no citi-
zen ever came in contact, save when he
went to post a letter Practically these
Presidential Senators would not have
much numerical power in the upper house ::
for there are seldom many eX-presidents
living at any given period. To-day there
is but one, Andrew johnson of Tennessee.
During the terms Of Lincoln and johnson
there We're only three, Fillmore. Pierce
and Buchanan, and Judging by the past,
that number wonld rarely or never be en-
ceeded Mr.. Aliens scheme is by no
proposition, which has found favor in
many quarters, to allow cabinet officers,
after the manner Of those in Great Brit
ain, place on the floor of the House of
Representatives and voice IN its delibera-
tons
The probable murder of the girl Mary
Thomas adds another to the many crimes
against human life in Boston and vicinity.
that have bafiled all attempts to bring the
offenders to Justice. The murder of the
children in Bussey's woods is still rs great
a mystery as ever The murderer of Lane,
who was shot in the evening in his own
doorway, still walks the streets undiscoy-
cred if not unsupported The ruffian who
beat to death Bridget Landergin with a
furnace wrench is still unknown. Kate
Lehans murderer. who brutally beat her
over the head with 4 club in the street,
got safely away. The man who dissected
the body Of Abijah Ellis, and set it aioat
in barrels on the back bay, is still unde-
tected Yet Boston is a well governed
city, with an efficient police and law
supporting population. But this immuni-
ty of mnrderers is something alarming
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