The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-09-02
Suspensions of Federal Officers.

Suspensions Of Federal Officers.
The many suspensions of federal Of
ficers of the higher grades, in which
the appointments must be made by the
President, "by and with the advice
and consent of the senate" that have
occurred since the 4th of last March,
have naturally caused good deal of
discussion in and out of the newspa-
pers, and there is still considerable dis
pute in regard to the law upon the SUBJ
ject. "A succinct statement of the stu
alton, as to the law and as to the facts,
especially as regards Vermont, will
therefore be read with interest.
Of the federal officers in this state,
those whose appointments must be made
by the President, "by and with the adj
vice and consent of the senate" are the
district Judge, the collector of customs
at Burlington, the collector of internal
revenue at Montpelier, the district at
torney, the marshal, and the twenty
eight postmasters whose annual salaries
are one thousand dollars and upwards.
Congress has vested the appointment
and removal of the other postmasters
in the postmaster-general, and of nearly
all the remaining federal officers in the
state in the secretary of the treasury.
The law by virtue of which the Presi-
dent has suspended General Wells,
Major Stearns, and dozen or more of
the presidential postmasters, as they
are called-and is soon going, if demo-
cratic prophecies may be believed,
to suspend Colonel Haskins, General
Henry and the rest of the twenty-eight
postmasters-is all contained in Sec
tons 1867 and 176S of the Revised
Statutes of the United States. These
statutes were passed in April, 1869,
soon after the accession of General
Grant to the presidency, and took the
place of much more stringent statutes
upon the executive which were passed
in March, 1867, during the term of
President johnson. Section 1867 de-
clares that no civil officer who has been
appointed by the President, " by and
with the advice and consent of the SEN
ate," can be removed before the ex-
piration of his term, unless the senate
be willing. This takes the power of
removal away from the President and
vests it in him and the senate con-
jointly. Section 176S allows the Presi-
dent, during recess of the senate
(Which now exists, and has since the
4th of March,, to suspend civil officer
who was appointed by the President,
"by and with the advice and consent
of the senate" until the end of the
next session of the senate, and to des-
ignate person to perform the duties
of his Office in the meantime, who shall
take the oath, give bonds and draw the
salary for the time being; and that
within thirty days after the next meet
ing of the senate the President shall
nominate the designated person, or
some one else, to the office, which
nomination may be confirmed by the
senate or not, as a majority of its mem
bers may agree. If the nomination of
the designatee be not confirmed, he
ceases, upon the adjournment of the
senate, to be the incumbent of the
office, and if no other nomination has
been confirmed, the person who was
suspended by the President during the
recess again takes possession.
1t would be superhuous to more than
state this proposition if it had not
been so strenuously contradicted by
some of the democratic leaders in this
state, and the claim set up that the
, President virtually had the power of re-
! moval, and that the republican incum
bent could not return to his office, in
| any event, after suspension. 1t is
, enough to say here, by way of reply
Z that during the progress of the bill
which is now the above-named statutes
, through congress, in 1869, the effec
= and meaning of its provisions wer,
: carefully discussed by, among others
: Senators Bayard and Trumbull, of au
f thority certainly among democrats, ant
n Senators Sherman, Morton, Carpente
4 and Edmunds of the republicans. Sen