Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-19

NAKED USURPATIoN.
"Ihe attempt WAS a naked and bold
usurpatlOn on the part of the Senate"
Ar. Brown maintained that the tenure of
office law, which he termed ian absurd
law,' was in palpable violation of the
constitution. 1t attempted without au-
thority to limit the Legitimate power
which the constitution conferred on the
President In making removals from office.
In conclusion Mr.. Brown said: "The peO-
pie of this country constitute a high
court OF appeals, and it is the Judgment
OF that high court not that the President
has used the power of removal, but that
he has failed to use it with sufficient
energy.
SINS OF OMISSION.
II there is any charge against him in
the popular mind, 1t is not a charge of
commission, but charge of omission
not that he has made mistakes in making
appointments or removals. from Office
doubtless he has MADE some J, but that
his mistake has been that he omitted to
use the power with sufficient force. When
the people of the United States called the
President to the high and responsible po-
sitlon he now fills and placed in his hands
as a great trust the executive power
OF this government. they expected
IN carrying out his policy, that he would
put in Office and retain in office as his as
sistants persons of ability and integrity,
who concur in his policy and are ready
to render important and faithful service
in carrying it into execution.
POLITICAL SPIES.
1t was not the intention Of the people
that all the executive Offices of the gov
ernment should be filed with political
spies, plotting how they can soonest over
throw the administration, and sympathiz-
ing more with those who from the outside
make war upon it than they do
with the President and his friends,
who are attempting to sustain his policy,
which is intended to advance the best in
terests of the country. Let the President
exercise the power conferred on him by
the constitution and remove from office
those who are not IN accord with his ad-
ministration, and not ready to do faithful
service in aiding to carry out his policy,
ana fill their places with honest, capable
men who are friends of the admlnlstra-
tion, and the universal acclamation of the
Democracy and the honest masses Of the
people of this country will be
s''well done, good and faithful
servant Mr.. President, the people, { the
high court Of appeals to whom alone the
President is responsible for the manner in
which he exercises his discretion in the
matter of removals from office, will order
a non-suit in the great case, George f.
Edmunds & Company, Republican man.
ayers of the Senate, versus Grover CleVe-
land, President OF the United States"
sFooNER's SUPPORT.
At the conclusion OF Mr.. Browns re-
marks Mr.. SpoOner took the floor in sup
port of the majority report.
Dir. Spooner said he would make no at
tempt to disguise the fact or to apologize
for it that the fortunes of the Republican
party were very dear to him. He would
not attempt to deny that he wished that
that party might, here and elsewhere,
reap every fair party advantage which
might be taken from the blunders and
shortcomings, if any such there were, OF
this administration. 'But / trust" con-
tInued Mr.. SpOoner, ''that l do not forget,
and shall not forget, that l am Senator
of the United States, as we'll as a Repub-
lican, and that as Senator my first duty
always is to the people, and that have
no right to take action here to subserye
party interest which would be harmful to
the interests of the people.
DENIES THE IMPEACHMENT.
81 deny for myself, and IhaYe authority
to deny for every Senator upon this side
of the chamber, the statement so often
made on the other side, that we desire, or
are willing even. to harrass, hamper, or
embarrass the President in the proper
exercise of executive functions" Such a
motive, Mr.. SpoOner SAID, would be un-
worthy, and 1t ought not to be so lightly
imputed. The principle involved in the
question before the Senate was, 10 bis
mind, far above the question as TO who
should or should not mold an office. 1t
| involved q principle essential to the Or
derly conduct Of this government. Mr..
Spooner, after reading the Senate resolu-
tiOn calling for the papers In the Duskin
case and the Attorney Generals reply to
it, characterized the Attorney Generals
letter as the most remarkable response
ever coming from an executive officer to
legislative body.
DEsECTING THE REPLY.
The Attorney General had not denied
the existence of the papers called for, but
contended that the papers were private
papers, and said, substantially, that as
the papers were called for by the Senate
for special purpose, namely, to be con-
sidered in relation to a suspension, the
Senate was net entitled to them. This,
Mr.. SpoOner held to be the substitution OF
one man power for the government as it
was intended to be. Mr.. SpoOner took up
the question from legal point OF
view, and quoted from the constitution
and tenure of Office act, to show that the
power OF removal, as we'll as OF appoint
ment. was in the President and the Senate
acting together, and that what was in his
sole discretion absolute was the power OF
suspension during the recess OF the
Senate.
SOURCE OF CONFUSION.
One source Of much confusion in this
debate, Mr.. Spooner said, was the con-
founding, by the Democratic Senators, Of
suspensions with removals. suspension
did not mean removal. IL was a very
different thing. To suspend an officer
caused temporary cessation Of his func-
tions; to remove caused perma-
nent cessation. A suspended officer
was not removed officer, for
II the Senate refused TO confirm his sue
cessor the suspended man returned 70
Office. The supreme Court had so de-
cided. Mr.. Spooner read from the de-
cisiOns Of the courts to show this. The
President had declined TO furnish the
papers called for because forsooth, they
would enable the Senate TO see the rea-
sons for the suspension. They would
enable us TO see that he had exercised the
power Of suspension wantonly.
DECLARED DANGEROUS.
No power could be so dangerous TO the
Republic as the power thus asserted by
the President that the papers relating TO
public business on the files OF the
government were his private papers, to
be removed from the files, buried in
cellars OF the White House, or carted of
TO Buffalo N he chose, merely because be