, 1884-07-19

vailed when the number was smaller. have
been found insufficient and impracticablc,
and earnest efforts have been made 10
separate the great mass Of ministerial Of
iccrs from PARTISAN influence and personal
control. Impartiality in the mode Of APP
pointment to be based ON qualification;
and security of tenure to be based on
faithful discharge of duty, are the
two ends to be accomplished. The
public business will be aided by separating
the legislative branch of the Government
from all control of appointments, and the
executive department will be relieved by
subjecting appointments by fixed rules,
and thus removing them from the caprice
of favoritism; but there should be rigid
observance of the law which gives in all
cases of equal competency the preference
to the
SOLDIERS WHO RIsKED TuEIn LIVES
in defense of the Union. | entered Con-
gress in 1868, and in L somewhat pro
longed service | never found it expedient
TO request or recommend the removal of
n civil officer except in four instances, and
this for non-political reasons which were
instantly conclusive with the appointing
power. The officers in the district appoint
cd by Mr.. Lincoln in 1861 upon recon-
mendation OF my predecessor, served as a
rule until death or resignation. Iadoptcd
at the beginning of my service the test
of competitive examination for appoint
ments to West Point, and maintained it
so as l had the right by law to
nominate n cadet. In the case of many
officers l found that the present law,
which arbitrarily limits the term of the
commission, offered a constant tempta-
ton to changes for mere political reasons.
| have publicly expressed the belief that
the essential modification of that law
would be i'll many respects advantageous.
My observation in the Department of
State confirmed the conclusions of my
legislative experience and impressed me
with the conviction that the rule % i'm
partial appointment might with advantage
be carried beyond any existing provision
of the civil service law. 1t should be APP
piled to appointments
IN THE CONSULAR SERVICE.
Consuls should be commercial scntinels,
encircling the globe with watchfulness for
their country's interests. Their intel,i-
gence and competency become there
fore matters of great public CON
Germ. No man should be appointed
to an American consulate, who is
not well instructed in the history and re-
sources of his WI country and the
requirements and language of commerce
in the country to which he is sent The
same rule should be applied even
more rigidly to secretaries obligation in our
Diplomatic Service. The people have the
right to the most efficient agents in the
discharge of public business, and the APP
pointing power should regard this a the
prior and Interior consideration.
THE MORMON QUESTION.
Religious liberty is the right of every citi-
zen in the republic. Congress is forbidden
by the constitution to make any law re-
specting the establishment of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof. For
a century under this guarantee Protestant
and Catholic, jew and Gentle have wor-
shipped God according TO the dictates Of
conscience; but religious liberty must not
be perverted to the justification ofoffcnscs
against the law. \ religious sect strongly
intrcDched in one Of the territories of the
the Union, spreading rapidly into
four other territories, claims tine right
to destroy the great safeguard and monu-
ment of social order, and to practice, as
religious privilege that which is n crime
punished with severe penalty in every
state of the Union. The sacredness and
unity of the family must be preserved as
the foundation of all governments, as the
source of orderly administration is the
surest guarantee Of moral purity. The
claim of Mormons that they ire diyinely
authorized to practice pologamy should
no more be admitted than the claim of
certain heather tribes, if they should
come among us, to continue rite of human
sacrifice, TIL, law does not interfere with
what a man believes; it takes cognizancc
only Of what he does. As citizens the
Mormons are entitled to the same civil
rights as others, and to these they must be
confined. Polygamy can never receive
national sanction or liberation by admitting
a community that upholdsita IL Il state in the
Union like Others. Mormons must learn
that liberty of the individual ceases where
rights of society begin.
OUR CURRENCY.
The people of the United States. though
often urged and tempted, have never seri-
ously contemplated the recognition of any
other money than gold and silver and cur
rency directly convertible into them.
They have not done SO. They will not do
80 under any necessity less pressing than
that of desperate war. The special re-
quisitc for the completion Of our none
tary system is fixing Of the relative values
of silver and gold. Large use Of silver as
the. money Of account among Asintic ma
tons, taken in connection with the
increasing of the world, gives
the ]weightiest reason for an international
agreement in the premises. Our govern
ment should not cease to urge this meas
urc until a common standard Of value
shall be reached and established; 4 stand.
ard that shall enable he InitnI St,tns n.