CONGRESS, UNITED STA'l 



180 



1 



"Tho people nr.' n.i\v hero in their unclouded 

 :-. They have taken tin- (iovernnieiit into 

 o-.vn ham!-. They have rebuked and 

 n down I!K- arrogant pretensions of the 

 . They have stricken the veto dead 

 in h'n hands. They have declared that lie shall 

 not stand at your doors to arrest your legisla- 

 tion, as ho has publicly threatened that he 

 . They have- degraded him, for the 

 Ving, from your associate in council, to 

 .'mister of your will. It is their high 

 and irreversible decree, that the public servant 

 who presumed to deny their jurisdiction nnd 

 your<, over the most momentous question of 

 your history, shall stand aside until you have 

 disposed of it, and then execute your judg- 

 ment in _'ood faith, whether it be agreeable to 

 him or not. They have now reviewed and 

 reaffirmed their decision of 1864, and again 

 instructed you to enact such laws as you may 

 think proper, and to see that they are honestly 

 enforced, or that the impediment fa removed. 

 Pass this bill, as the first in the order of neces- 

 sity, nnd the residue of the work will be of easy 

 accomplishment. Reject it, and posterity will 

 grieve that the courage which had conquered 

 treason twice was not seconded by the spirit 

 that ini^ht have shorn its locks, and bound it 

 in everlasting chains." 



The motion to reconsider prevailed, various 

 amendments were offered and ordered printed, 

 and the- consideration of the bill postponed to 

 December 12th, when it was taken up. 



Mr. Williams then offered the following 

 amendment : 



SBC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the heads 

 of the several departments of the Government shall 

 hold their offices, respectively, for and during the 

 official term of the President by whom they were 

 appointed, unless removed by the President by and- 

 with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and they 

 shall severally appoint their assistants and all other 

 otlk't-rs pertaining to their respective departments, 

 subject to the approval of the Senate, on report to 

 be made to that body if then in session, or if, during 

 the recess, at the next meeting thereof, to hold for 

 the like period, unless removed with the like concur- 

 rence of that body. 



He said : "This section, it will be observed, 

 consists of two propositions. Tho first makes 

 the heads of the several departments irremova- 

 ble at the more pleasure of the President. Hav- 

 ing thus made them, as I think, practically in- 

 dependent, then the second clause authorizes 

 them to appoint, as we have unquestionably a 

 right under the Constitution to do, the subordi- 

 nates in their respective departments. This 

 clause is so framed as to take it out of the rule 

 or precedent established by the Congress of 

 1789, to the effect that, in the absence of any 

 statutory provision or of any legislation defining 

 the term of office, the President might remove 

 at will. 1 propo-e here, in order to obviate all 

 ble dillieulry on this ground, to define the 

 term. As it stood originally" in the bill it was 

 in the word-;, for the term of four years.' It 

 was suggested by my friend from Iowa, and 



other gentlemen, that thin would make a diffi- 

 culty at the incoming of a new adn, 

 I have endeavored to obviate that by 

 in.^ the section as to confine the p< i : 

 official term of the i !>y whom they 



were appointed.' 



" Tho second clause is dependent. If the first 

 should prevail, I see no reason why tin; 

 should not prevail also. If, in other words, the 

 heads of the departments can be lilted from 

 their present abject attitude and made indepen- 

 dent of the Executive, then I seo no reason 

 against conferring the appointing power upon 

 those officers. Under our present legislation 

 and under the precedent that has already been 

 established, so far as regards the Post-Office 

 Department, we know in some few cases, where 

 the salary is some one thousand or two thou- 

 sand dollars, the appointments arc- made by the- 

 Postmaster-General without any supervisory 

 power or power of revision in any quarter, ex- 

 cept it be on the part of the President himself; 

 and I think the experience of the country shows 

 how this power has been abused. I think there 

 ought to be a limitation on it. I propose, 

 therefore, that no appointment shall be made 

 except subject to the approval of the Senate, 

 and no removals except upon the same terms. 



"The gentleman from Iowa, in his remarks 

 yesterday, had something to say in reference to 

 the confidential relations of these officers to the 

 President. He seemed to think that they were 

 intended to be confidential advisers of the Presi- 

 dent. I do not know that any such thing as 

 advisers of the President is known to the Gov- 

 ernment. I suppose the President may take 

 advice elsewhere; and if he should take such 

 advice it would perhaps be better and more 

 honest than that he now receives." 



Mr. Kasson, of Iowa, said : " I wish, to call 

 the attention of the House to the situation of 

 the President and the Secretary of State if this 

 proposition should be adopted. Every thing is 

 done in relation to foreign affairs nominally by 

 the Secretary of State, theoretically by the 1 

 dent. If hi the settlement of intricate ques- 

 tions of foreign policy a division of policy shall 

 spring up, and the President shall sustain one 

 policy in dealing with foreign nations and the 

 Secretary of State another, you will find the 

 Secretary of State with his hands tied or the 

 President with his hands tied. You must en- 

 able the responsible head of the Government to 

 control its policy. You must enable him to 

 change his agent even in the recess of a session 

 of Congress. You must secure harmonious ac- 

 tion in the policy of the Government by the 

 President's direct action in the choice of those 

 through whom alone that action can bo had. 



" It is not so only in respect to foreign atlairs 

 but in some respects also to domestic nrtairs. 

 The President is bylaw, and to some extent by 

 the Constitution, the responsible head of the 

 executive office. The proposition of the gentle- 

 man now is, to make these Secretaries who are 

 themselves theoretically or actually agents of 



