The Portland daily press., 1886-03-26
XLIXth CONGRESS- FIRST SESSION.
SENATE.
WASHINGTON. March 25.

In the Senate tO-Qay MT. dOaT appeared
for the committee bill establishing a commis-
sion. composed of the Secretary of State, the
Librarian of Congress and Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, to examine and
report to Congress as to the character and
value of manuscripts belonging to Congress.
Passed.
Mr.. Frye reported favorably from the COM
mittee on commerce the bill to provide for
encouragement Of American shipping and to
promote postal and commercial relations
with foreign countries. Mr.. Frye explained
briefly that the bill appropriated $1,100,O00
for carrying United States mails in Ameri-
can vessels to foreign contries and makes it
the duty of the Postmaster General to adver-
tise for proposals, also to accept the lowest
bids and to enter into contracts for carrying
of those mails.
The chair laid before the Senate letter
from the Postmaster General, transmitting in
compliance with recent Senate resolution,
tabular statement of fourth class post
masters removed since March 4, 1885. Re-
ferred.
On request of Mr.. Edmunds the army bill
was, by unanimousEconsent, made the un-
finished business of the morning hour TO-
morrow, and the EdmundS resolutions were
then placed before the Senate.
Mr.. voorhees, took the floor in opposition to
the majority report After stating the ques-
tion at issue Mr.. Voorhees, asked why the
majority resolutions cOntented themselves
with an attack on an agent-the attorney
general-and shrank from direct blow on
the principal-the President. Did the SEN
ator from Vermont expect cabinet officer to
disobey the President? The resolutions
were meant for popular effect. They con-
templated no measure of legislation to
remove any evil or pretended evil They
were merely the elimination of Senatorial
opinion and barren Of result other than
cheap partisan denunciation. The resolu-
tons now before the Senate he, said, e0nsti
tuted trivial and inconsequential measure
compared to the sturdy and straightforward
remedy provided by the constitution for the
punishment of public official wilfully
recreant or disobedient to the law. These
resolutions were simply intended to keep
Republicans in office. There was nothing
more eerta1 howeysr than that the people PIE
Senate had turned aside from the legitimate
business of legislation. Labor, all over the
country, was overtaxed and scantily paid by
reason of long standing and vicious legisla-
ton. Human suffering was wringing its
hands and weeping in many parts of the
country in destitution from want of employ
ment and proper remuneration. Great cor
porations were overshadowlng the land and
absorbing the powers of the State and nation
and grinding the flesh and blood of men and
women into their huge and massive happers
American commerce no longer had ship ON
the high seas. The great questions OF tax
alton and finance were pressing for atten-
tion, but from all these great and pressing
ouOJCCbo VIC AuoI GuIll dSIuc w UlSCuoo Gilo
question raised by the Senator from Yer
mont lMr. Edmunds.) 1t was thrust into our
councils to abstract the business of the
country in favor OF a lot of Republican office
holders. The President, Mr.. VOORHEES, said,
was holding his great office in trust for the
people and was not warranted in abandon
ing the rights of the Presidential Office in
favor of any other branch of the government.
AS to the removals by President Cleveland
Mr.. Voorhees, said there were from 100000
m offinahn1hQrc in tho T1uitQd StafQc
Fer twenty-five years this tremendous
patronage had been in the hands of one of
the strongest, most Jealous, vehement and
prospcriptive political parties ever known in
the history of the world.
Mr.. Voorhees, heartily endorsed Mr. Cleye-
lands action in making removals so far as
action had been had, and he would heartily
endorse the Presidents action in the same
direction if it went a thousand leagues
farther with the exception of the fourth
present moment ten Republicans in office to
one Democrat and he (Mr. Voorhees, had no
hesitation in declaring that such a state of
things was not consistent with the true
theory of popular government or with its
safe and honest administration. The civil
service law had never commended itself to
the Judgment of Mr.. Voorhees,. Very re-
Gently he had voted in the committee and
should vote in the Senate for its absolute re-
peal 1t had proven itself to be a violent
pie and a stumbling block in the way of
rational and successful administration.
Mr.. Evarts then addressed. the Senate in
support of the majority report. The resolu-
ti0nS reported, he said, declared that the de-
mand made by the judiciary committee on
the Attorney General for papers should, un-
der the circumstances, have been complied
with and that neither his duty nor the in
struction of the President justified him in
his refusal to comply with the demand. In
the lanpn of fhp nStitutj0O yShotnVQr
touched the common defense and general
welfare" belonged to the two houses of Con-
gress. When, therefore, either house under
took to deal with public documents in the
the government of the United States for use
by Congress upon its Judgment Of what its
duties or proposed actions related to. The
question of the power of removal was a great
question, and in Mr.. Evarts' opinion it was
a settled question. He believed it to have
been decided, and correctly decided, that
the power of removals under the constitution
belonged to the President without the parti-
cipation of the Senate in what related to the
mere act of removal. But what was the
question here? President Cleveland had not
removed Duskin; he had not asserted his
power under the constitution to remove him
1t was not for the President to determine in
dealing with an office or officer whether he
would exercise the power that belonged to
him alone and then perform another act that
did not belong to him alone but belonged to
him with the participation of the Senate.
Mr. Evarts then proceeded to discuss the
tenure of Office act which be said gave the
President power to suspend during vaca-
ton Suspension did not yacate the office.
Mr.. Evarts had never approved of that law
but had never been able to express the opin-
ion that it was unconstitutional. When
Bunett's nomination came in, the Presi-
dents message gave the nomination as be-
ing to take the place of Duskin, suspended.
That of course meant that he was still in the
Alabama had made the point that now it was
only moot question because Duskin's term
had expired. So good a lawyer as Mr.. Pugh
would have to admit that issues werealways
determined as they joined, therefore Mr..
that the question was a moot one if the Pres
ident, when the situation was changed, had
sent in his nomination of Burnett in place
of Duskin, whose term had expired, the