CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



2-19 



their o\vn anxieties and sorrows; they cannot 

 1 tin- immense burden of public debt im- 

 posed upon them ; and they are too oflcn re- 

 minded of it by the tax-fiat hercr, all of which 

 has be i -11 brought upon them by the conduct of 

 t!.. people of these States, to feel over-anxious 

 for their return to participate in ruling the 

 nation without the best and strongest assur- 

 that they are safe in doing so. Another 

 reason which keeps them watchful and careful 

 is that almost every Union man in the whole 

 North, who has any considerable property, is 

 the- holder of the bonds of the Government, 

 which they feel would ho put in peril if the 

 Southern men, even with Northern help, could 

 evi-r again hold the control of this Government. 

 It is not true, sir, that the Union people of the 

 North are dissatisfied with the policy or tho 

 action of Congress on this subject. What they 

 do fear is that we shall not stand firm to tho 

 end ; they fear tho effect of patronage on us, 

 and they have far more reason to than wo 

 have to fear for them. Now, Mr. President, 

 what luck do you suppose some postmaster, or 

 marshal, or assessor, made by the President out 

 of a copperhead or limping Republican, would 

 have among these people arguing for tho im- 

 mediate and unconditional admission of the 

 rebel States? 



" The idea is simply ridiculous. The truth is, 

 that the Union masses of tho loyal States stand 

 firmly with Congress in this matter, and will do 

 BO to the end if we do not allow them, to make 

 issues against us by the adoption of untenable 

 measures. Our platform is firm and strong, 

 and all tho Union party will stand with and by 

 us upon it, unless we by our own folly let in a 

 weak timber or rotten plank to frighten them 

 from it. In this particular matter of the po- 

 litical patronage of the President, if we do noth- 

 ing that can be made an excuse or cover for 

 it, if the President turns out good Union men 

 because they sustain Congress and concur with 

 the mass of their party, and puts in others because 

 they agree with him, ho will raise such a storm 

 of indignation against himself among Union 

 men as has not been witnessed before. Tho 

 truth is, that tho President, if he entertain any 

 such design, cannot build up for himself, against 

 the Union party, a presidential party of any 

 considerable numbers without having in it the 

 men who opposed every measure for the put- 

 ting down the rebellion, who discouraged en- 

 listments, opposed the draft, voted the war a 

 failure, and many other things of that character. 

 This very fact will destroy his party if he en- 

 deavors to make one. Where those men go 

 the people will not. The people look upon this 

 thing now as they did during the war, not as 

 an ordinary question of politics, but as a ques- 

 tion of loyalty or treason; and if the President 

 abandons the great Union party to form one 

 for himself, and his party is made up, as it 

 must be in the main, by tho men who opposed 

 the war, they will soon be tho only ones left 

 in it 



" If the President is ambitious to have anch a 

 party as this, shall we deny him the benefit of 

 a few lured me!veii:iri.'s in the shape of Fed- 

 eral office-holders if he desires ? If ho chooses 

 to make changes, so far as my own S: 

 concerned ho will have to make them from men 

 who do not belong to tho Union party, if he 

 must have men who support his policy, for I 

 have never yet heard of a Union man there who 

 docs not most cordially support Congress. 

 And I believe my State is not singular in this 

 respect, but that the same will be found true 

 of every loyal State. Let us then have faith in 

 the people, stand firmly upon our principles, 

 avoid all false and doubtful expedients, leave to 

 the President tho full and free exercise of every 

 constitutional right and prerogative, so that any 

 action of his hostile to the party that elected 

 him, if he be guilty of any, shall be without 

 excuse. If wo can keep from killing ourselves, 

 I have no fear of tho President being able to 

 do so, oven if ho entertains any such wicked 

 purpose.' 1 



Mr. Trumbull, in reply, said: The Senator 

 from Vermont tells us that from the foundation 

 of the Government this power of tho President 

 to remove and appoint at pleasure has been rec- 

 ognized. I would like to inquire of that Sen- 

 ator if it has been recognized in the army and 

 navy. Has it not rather been denied? Will 

 he point to the clause of the Constitution that 

 restricts the power of the President in the ap- 

 pointment and removal of army and navy offi- 

 cers any more than it does in the appointment 

 and removal of civil officers? Has not Congress 

 from the foundation of the Government denied 

 the authority of the President to remove, ex- 

 cept as provided by law, a very large class of 

 officers, both in the army and in the navy? 

 Have wo not denied it also in relation to civil 

 officers? It is not true that the President has 

 from the foundation of the Government exer- 

 cised this power ad libitum. I am not disposed 

 to go into that argument. The Senator from 

 Missouri (Mr. Henderson) exhausted that sub- 

 ject the other day. He showed how many re- 

 movals had been made under the different 

 Presidents, and I was astonished at the few 

 that were made by the earlier Presidents. I shall 

 not go over the argument to show whether tho 

 power to remove exists or not. I think that 

 subject has been sufficiently argued. But, sir, 

 if the President has not the authority to remove 

 during tho recess of tho Senate, as a general 

 proposition, does the Senator deny that we may 

 give him that authority ? I take issue with 

 the Senator from Vermont as to the authority 

 of Congress in this respect. I insist that we 

 may confer upon tho President the power to 

 remove in vacation by law, and wherever he 

 does make a removal in vacation in pursuance 

 of law, and makes an appointment in pur- 

 suance of law in vacation, it is proper we should 

 pay the appointee ; but because we by statute 

 confer upon tho President authority for causo 

 to remove and appoint in vacation, does it there- 



