The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-11-24

Can the Presidential Omce be
Vacant
Ben Batter and Caleb Cushing
were interviewed last week, in re-
gard to what could be done if Con-
gress disagrees as to who is elected
President. Butler said:
Suppose the House do not go into
an election. Congress is dissolved
on the 4th of March by the expirs-
ton OF the term of service of tie
House. AS we have seen there is
no provision for the President to
hold oyer, and no provision for bis
successor in the interim between
that and new election. What, in
such case, is to be done? The ge-
MUS or all government is that the
executive must never lapse. The
announcement is made, "The king
Is dead long live the king" in the
same breath. Officers under most
OF our State constitutions and most
OF the officers Of the Federal ap-
pointment hold until their success
sors are appointed. IL IL not In ac-
c0rdance with the genius OF our in
In the constitution and laws, that
the incumbent should hold over un-
I'll his successor Is appointed and
qualified. The law as we have seen
having made provision within q
limited time for the appointment of
q successor, would it not be the duty
of Gen. Grant, under such clrcum-
stances, to hold on and see to it that
the laws are faithfully executed un-
til successor should be duly chos-
en- and consiitutlonslly declared
elected and qualified, and would
not the good sense and sound judg-
ment by all patriotic and just men
agree to such an Interpretation rath-
or. than to have anarchy, confusion,
and perhaps civil war, with their
dreadful consequences2
Caleb Cushing followed the same
line of speculation, and holding that
1t would be revolutionary in the
House not to submit to the dicta-
ton of the Senate, said:
We are In fact considering all the
time what the Democratic majority
in the House of Representatives will
do. Now, If they pertinaciously
differ with the Senate on the point.
the effect will be in the first place to
leave the government of the United
States in the hands of the very per-
soma by whom 1t is now administer
ed. The failure to elect, or to de-
clare elected the new President, does
not dissolve the army and navy; it
does not arrest the action of the |
federal courts 1t does not stop the
collection of revenue, internal or
external; 1t does MT displace any
of the heads of departments, execu-
tive commissioners, foreign minis
tiers, or any of the civil employees
OF the government. All these per-
sons will continue in Office, and |
would, in my opinion, be competent
for the discharge of ali their duties |
even in the contingency of the tenn |
porary non-existence of any Presi-
dent CT the United States.
And in reply to the question as
to what would happen if ne Presi-
dent were chosen before the 4th of
next March, Mr.. Cushing said:
In that event Gen. Grant would
continue to exercise the functions
of President. If it be alleged that
this is q violent construction of the
constitution, reply that it would
be much more violent construc-
ton of the constitution to maintain
that 1t intended, in certain contin-
gencies easy to suppose, the govern
ment OF the United States shall be
left without any head, in what is
called in some countries an acepha-
lous condition.
1t is true the case never has oc-
CURED of the President holding
over, but that would be much less q
departure from form than the nom
existence Of an executive head Of
the government. just as it is said
that nature abhOrs vacuum, so it
may be said that political society
abhors and repels the non-existence |
of government.
In that event it would, in my
opinion, be the right and duty of
President Grant to summon imme-
diately the new Congress-, and it
would be the duty of the new Con-
gress to devise q, remedy which, if
not in literal conformity with any |
any provision of the constitution,
yet should observe its spirit and |
approximate as nearly as possible. |
There Is law higher than all writ |
ten constitutions il is the law of |
and that would be |
the law incumbent upon the two
Hnnaoo In HonnHoaa