Year: 1868

these But then. II is sad that the practice Of holding


ngton and has since continued without interruption I'll
unquesonable thathe did not take the opinions In writing
OF all the heads OF Departments on bills that were
submitted TO him in the constitutional way and not u


likely that he may have consulted them as TO appoint,
mens and other matters OF executive duty that involved
anything like discretion, They may have met occasion
ally IN after times upon the special invitation OF ,ns
President 1t was. however think until the period OF
the when the abors and OF the Pres


dent as CommanderinChlef OF the Armies were i14 ~
largely magnihed make it necessary that ne shQnd
take counsel from day day. that they cTystazed t9
Their present form, as sort OF lnsttntloh Ti b % he


not until the accession Of Andrew johnson that hy De


gan TO do the work Of Congress in condtloh o peaG


legisating for f the time for%ard through
all that long and unhappy nterregnum OF Tue tne
lawmaking power while the telegraph was wating upon
which was erecting States by proclamation taAng tne
people and surender9g up the public pT0pff 10 Sep
them their feet and exercising supervisory T PoTee S
the lands had apparently taken the pace Oh tnc


pn has ever claimed 70 say that the
acts OF this caba which looked like some dark cOnclave
people We're the results Of free consultation and


parison OF views IS TO speak without knowledge Tor
be excused the egosm IL under the conviction that
they could not have held together long under an I'M


pgt tnoTouSh submission to ali his views that was
moved TO introduce and urge as did through great ds


amendment TO the Tenure -Of-OHce bill, that brings
about this conflict II has come sooner than expected
important of the Departments of the Government
from the grasp Of the President the wisdom $40 Oh g@ @
Johnson's accession would in my humble )uugment se


his policy aside and made hs resistance TO TN 1he lion VIII
without Congress impossible The vail has been h1ted
now read in the letters Of living light the great fact that
during the progress OF all this usupaton that has con


vulsed all the nation and has kept the south in anarchy
for three long years. there scarcely ripple OF dis
sent to suffer the stagnant surface OF those lawmakDg
and breaking cabas those mere beds OF Justice where


in accordance with the theory OF the President himself


there but Will that reigned undispued aud SUI
preme TO insist then that any apology be found for the
denOupuCips President
where difference OF opinion was considered treason 70


the President punished by dismissal is as it 70
me- his part the very climax OF erontery what adj
moval Of Mr. stantonl HIS counsel promised III the
opening that they would exhibit reasons TO show that
was impossible TO allow him 10 continue to hold the Office
They have failed TO do IT, They have not even attempted
it. Was because he had failed to perform his duties or
in any way offended against the law The President al
leges nothing of the kind Was IL personal quar-
rel Nothing this kind is pretended either All that
that his relations Mr. such TO pre-
cude him from resorng to him for advice eayen save
mark and that he did not think he could be any
longer safely responsible for him HIS counsel say that
Mr. Stanton is thorn in MS SIDE Me so are Siant
Sherman, sheridan 50 Is Congress ana so Is every oya
man in the country who questions or reslsts ms
will. The trouble is, as everybody knows that Mr.
stanton does not indorse his policy, ana cannon
be relied on 70 assist him IN oDstTucune
this thorn TO stick and IL need be- prick and tester


little there, and must maintain IL there II you would be
faithful 10 the nation and TO yourselves You cannot let
Mr. Stanton 90 by an aquta Of the President without
surrenderng into his hands the very last fortress ta
still hold and holding only al the point OF
the bayonet But there s point just here that seems
have been entirely overlooked by the counsel Tor the
President to which desire especially TO invite your at
tenon II seems TO have been assumed by them through
out If it not indeed distinctly asserted IN the defend
ants plea that If they shall be able 10 succeed In esab


fishing power OF removal in the President either under
the Constitution or the act OF 7S9 erecting the Depart


mere will and pleasure without reason and without
responsibility, and having failed to show
Whatever Yor he act done here he stands Of course on
this hypothesis But what is the law Is there no such
attendants Was it intended in either whether the
power lowed from source or from the other that It
Tta %Gad be Psoper penns 81 iSGops ike our own Nor
the Opinion Of Mr. Madison or those who voted and
acted with him in the Congress OF 7s9 NO man theh
who asserted the powe OF & 70 De r IN e
supposed that its exercise was TO be question OF mere
would be the efectothe doctrine Of removal i was an
swered by Mr. Madison himself in these words: The
danger consists merely nhs that the President dis
place from office whose merits require that he
should be continued IN it. What viii be the motives
which President feel for such abuse ofs power
and the restraints that operate TO PREVENT In the first
place, he will be impeached by the House before the
Senate for such act of maadminstraton, for con
would subject him 10 Impeachment and removal irom DIS
own high trust and doubt mainly on the arg


ment that the power OF removal embodied In the
law what theu have the President and his Cabinet 10
say in to this Is the President pmpeachaue on
his own case, or does he expect 10 realize the
points Of the argument and then Tepldia,,s the
resist Was MI. z stanton mertorious oficerf
Did his merits require that he should be continued in the
place No loyal man, think. disputes that they dld
and This Senate has already solcmny adjudged by their
decision that npOn the stated by the President
there was no sufficient for his removal While none
others have since been shown by the accused himself
What then, the motive for the act OF maadnhsta
tion as Mr.. Madison terms iti Nothing that we are
aware Of except the fact the President cannot con
troll the War Office In the interests OF ms pohcy 80
long he is there Was this. then, wanton rem0Va


II was something moIe-it a wicked one and are
we TO be told that he Is bound TO show no reasons


and cannot De compelled TO answer Tor 10 te NATION ~
those who claim the power Of removal for him on the
fOotingthat ITS abuse would be mpeachaDle But u IL
further strenuously argued that although the Jaw may


as it already been held 10 be by this Senate te case
not clear as TO authorize charge Oh crino @
against President unless can be shown that he mas
wifully misconstrued IT, and that athongn 81 t h
law is passed through the forms OF iegisaton ~ - S
duty that il Is faithfully executed so long az re-
qures no more than ministerial action on his part ie
when it is question OF cutting on poWer oohou h, "
him by the Constitution, aud he alone can Drg aDout


and advice he should be OF the opinion tha he law was
unconstitutional, II would be no violation ol
duty TO take the needfui steps, ana eacefSS faISS
decided Allow me to say answer that not even igno-
rance OF law which excuses opUay eS o % on9b io be
allowed plead IT. The testimony shows think that nc
did misunderstood its meaning HIS suspension OF
Mr. stanton. which was an entirely new p,oc%1uuS, % St T
lowed 1t was by his report OF the case 10 he oen


within days after its next meeting, evidence that
he did understand the law as eomprehendnc hat ease,
and did not intend 20 violate 1t n he could get rd OF e
hazardous a remedy. But the question here is not so
much whether he gnorantly and innoceny mstoOk inc



with the powers claimed by him under the Constitution he
may suspend operation Of law by assuming 10 to DO
unconstitutional and setting IL aside until the Court shan


have decided that 10 is constitutional and valid one


In the At II not necessary TO violate the


law either by cOntrving to prevent the incumbent from
resumng his place under IT, or turning him out by vo


enee after lie had been duly renstated by the
senate II he honestly desired 10 test its
validity in the judicial form all that II was
necessary for do TO issue his order OF removal
and to give the officer a notice OF that order and ITS
object II he refused 10 obey the next obvious step
would he direct the Attorney General 10 out wit
az UfOtr
was not summary enough for his uses-as his special
counsel employed after the arrest Of his pStdO SeCre
teStines-becauSe te IL would have