Huntsville gazette., 1886-03-06

Sltlon penang TO, IN some way, cur
tail this power of the President by
legislation, which furnishes evidence
that to limit such power it was sup
posed to be necessary to supplement
the Constitution by such legislation.
The first enactment of this description
was passed under stress
of partisanship and political
bitterness which eliminated in
the Presidents impeachment. This
law provided that the Federal officials to
which it applied could only be suspended
during the recess of the Senate when
shown by evidence satisfactory to the
President to be guilty of misconduct in
office, or when incapable or disqualified
to perform their duties, and within ten
days after the next meeting of the Senate
it should be the duty of the President to
report to the Senate such suspension
with the evidence and reasons for his ac-
tions. This statute passed when Con-
gress was Overwhelmingly and Bit
terly opposed politically to the
President, and may be regarded
as an indication that even then it was
thought necessary by Congress in order
to determine the Executive to the Legis-
lative will, to furnish itself for that pur-
pose, instead of attempting to reach the
object intended by an invention Of any
pretended constitutional right. The law
which thus found its way to our statute
books, needed no avoWal. Ii valid and
now in operation it would justify the
present course of the Senate and command
obedience of the Executive to it's de-
mands. 1t may, however, be remarked
in passing, that under this law the Presi-
dent had the privilege of presenting to
the body which assumed to review his
acts his reasons therefor, instead OF being
excluded from explanation or judged by
papers found in the departments.
"Two years after the law OF 1867 was
passed, and within less than five weeks
after the Inauguration of a President, in
political accord with both branches OF
Congress, the sections of the act regulat-
ing suspensions from office during the re-
cess of the Senate were entirely de-
feated, and in their place were
substituted provisions which, instead OF
limiting the causes Of suspension to
misconduct, crime, disability or dis
qualification, expressly permitted, such
suspension by the President in his discre-
ton, and completely abandoned the re-
quirement obliging him to report to the
Senate the evidence and reasons for his
actions.
ssWith these notifications, and with
all branches of the Government in polit-
ical harmony, and in the absence of parti-
san incentives to captious obstruction,
the law as it was left by the amendment
of 1869 was much less destructive of e--
eentive discretion, ard ret tie great
General and patriotic citizen who on the
4th of March, S69, assumed the duties
of chief Executive, and for whose freer
administration of his high Office the most
hateful extremes of the law OF
1867 were on the 5th day of
April, 1869, removed, mindful of his
obligation to defend and protect every
preroeative of his great trust and appre-
hensive Of injury to the public service
in the continued operation Of these stat
utes, even in their modified form, i'll his
first message to Congress advised their
repeal on account of their unconstitution-
al character and hurtful tendency, in this
language: 1t may be well to mention
here the embarrassments possible to
arise from leaving on the statute books
the so-called Tenure of Office act
and to earnestly recommend their
total repeal? 1t could not
have been the intention Of the trainers
of the Constitution when providing that
appointments made by the President
should receive the consent Of the Senate,
that the Senate should have the power to
retain in Office persons placed there by
Federal appointment against the will OF
the President. The law is inconsistent
with a faithful and efficient admnistra-
ton of the Government. What faith can
an executive put in officials forced upon
him, and those, too, whom ne has sus-
pended for reason? How will such Of
ficials be likely to serve an admnlstra-
ton which they know does not trust
them?
s'I am unable to state whether or not
this recommendation for repeal of
these laws has been since complied with.
If it has not, the reason can probably
be found in the experience which de-
monstrated the fact that the necessities
of the political situation but rarely de-
veloped their vicious character. And
50 it happens that after an existence OF
nearly twenty years OF almost innocu-
Gus disuetude, these laws are brought
forth, apparently the repealed as well as
the unrepealed, and put in the way OF an
Executive who is willing, ifpermitted, to
attempt an improvements III tne Lnebh-
DDS of administration.
"The constitutonality of the law is by
no means admitted. But why should the
provisions of the repealed law, which re-
quired specific cause for suspension as
part of the report to the Senate 'of evil
dence and reasons be now in effect ap-
piled to the present Executive, instead Of
the law afterward passed and uDrepealed,
which distinctly permits suspensions by
the President, in his discretion, and care
fully omits the requirement that evidence
and reasons for his action in the
case shall be reported TO
the Senate The requests and demands
which, by the score, have for nearly three
months been presented to the different
Departments of the Government, what
ever may be their form, have but one
complexion. They assume the right OF
the Senate to sit in judgment upon the
exercise of my exclusive discretion and
executive function, for which am solely
responsible to the people from whom |
have so lately received the sacred trust
of office.
"To the end that the service may be inn
proved, the Senate is invited to the fullest
scrutiny of the persons submitted to them