The Government Class Book Part 14

--11. To be eligible to the office of president or vice-president, a person must be a natural born citizen of the United States, thirty-five years of age, and must have been fourteen years a resident within the United States. The reasons for requiring long terms of citizenship and residence, and mature age and experience, in the case of senators, apply with equal force in the case of president.

--12. In case of a vacancy in the office of president, the vice-president becomes the president. The power of making further provision for supplying vacancies is, by the const.i.tution, given to congress. (Art. 2, --1.) Congress has accordingly enacted, that, when there is neither president nor vice-president, the president _pro tempore_ shall act as president; and if there should be none, the speaker of the house of representatives would a.s.sume the duties of the office.

--13. The same section declares that the salary of the president shall neither be increased nor diminished during the time for which he shall have been elected. It would be improper to allow congress to reduce his salary at pleasure. This would make the executive dependent upon the legislature for his support. On the other hand, if his compensation could be increased during his official term, he might be tempted to use undue influence to procure a needless increase of his salary.

--14. The presidential term commences the 4th of March next after the election, and ends the 3d day of March four years thereafter. Each successive congress also commences and ends its term every two years, on the same days of that month; and it is called a new congress, although only one-third of the senators go out of office when a congress is said to expire, and are succeeded by new ones when the next congress is said to commence its official term.

Chapter XL.

Powers and Duties of the President; Treaties; Public Ministers; Appointments and Removals.

--1. The powers and duties of the president are next given. "The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states when called into the actual service of the United States." (Art. 2, --2.) Some of the reasons for giving to the executive the command of the public forces, have been given. (Chap. XXV, --2, 5.) It has also been observed, that a prompt and effectual execution of the laws is best secured by intrusting this power to a single individual. (Chap. x.x.xVIII, --2.) The const.i.tution, (Art. I, --8, clauses 12-16,) give congress power over the army, navy, and militia, and "to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions." As this power is to be exercised upon sudden emergencies, congress has by law authorized the president to call out the militia for these purposes. And as the direction of the public forces is a power of an executive nature, it is intrusted to the executive.

--2. The president has also "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." The same power is exercised by the governors of the several states. (Chap.

XII, --4.) Through partial or false testimony, or the mistakes of judges or juries, an innocent person may be convicted of crime; or facts may subsequently come to light showing the offense to be one of less aggravation than appeared on the trial. There should therefore be somewhere a power to remit the punishment, or to mitigate the sentence, or postpone its execution, as the case may seem to require; and by no other person or persons, it is presumed, would this power be more judiciously exercised than by the executive.

--3. The president has "power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to make treaties, to appoint emba.s.sadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court," and other officers, "provided two-thirds of the senators concur." A _treaty_ is an agreement or contract between two or more nations, for regulating trade, or for restoring or preserving peace. This power ought therefore to be in the national government. In monarchical governments it belongs to the king.

To confide so important a trust to the president alone, would be imprudent. To a.s.sociate the house of representatives with the president and senate, as in making laws, would render it impossible to act with the decision, secrecy, and dispatch, which are sometimes necessary in making treaties.

--4. As the treaty-making power appears to be in its nature neither wholly executive nor wholly legislative, but to partake of the nature of both, a _part_ of the legislature is properly a.s.sociated with the president. As the senate, being less numerous than the house, is capable of acting more promptly as well as more easily convened and at less expense, that body is more properly united with the executive in the exercise of this power. And it is equally proper that the power to appoint emba.s.sadors and others by whom treaties are negotiated, should be placed in the same hands.

--5. Treaties are negotiated; that is, the provisions or terms are arranged and agreed upon, by the agents of the two governments; and a copy of the articles of agreement is sent to each government to be approved and confirmed, or, as it is usually expressed, to be _ratified_. Both governments must ratify, or the treaty fails. Treaties are ratified, on the part of our government, by the president and senate. This is what is meant by their making treaties. The persons by whom treaties are negotiated are sometimes appointed by their governments for that special purpose; but the business is perhaps more frequently done by the permanent representatives or ministers of the respective governments.

--6. Each of the princ.i.p.al civilized nations has some officer at home who acts as agent in negotiating treaties and transacting business with foreign governments, and has also a representative at the seat of each foreign government for this purpose, and for keeping his government, apprised of what is done abroad. Our government has a minister in Great Britain, one in Russia, one in France, one in Spain, and one in each of the other princ.i.p.al commercial nations; and each of these nations has a minister residing at the city of Washington, the seat of government of the United States. The officer of our government who corresponds with foreign ministers here, and with our ministers abroad, is the secretary of state. The negotiation of treaties at home with the ministers of foreign governments residing here, is done by him.

--7. Representatives at foreign courts have different names or t.i.tles: emba.s.sadors, envoys, ministers, and charges des affaires. An emba.s.sador who is intrusted with the ordinary business of a minister at a foreign court, is called an _emba.s.sador in ordinary_. An _emba.s.sador extraordinary_ is a person sent on a particular occasion, who returns as soon as the business on which he was sent is done. He is sometimes called _envoy_; and when he has power to act as he may deem expedient, he is called _envoy plenipotentiary_; the latter word signifying full power. An ordinary emba.s.sador or minister resides abroad, and acts in obedience to instructions sent him from time to time.

--8. Agents or representatives sent by our government to reside at foreign courts, are called _ministers_. Formerly those sent to the less important countries, were called _charges des affaires_, who are ministers of a lower grade. The name, usually written charges d'affaires, is French, and is p.r.o.nounced _shar-zha-daf-fair_, accented on the first and last syllables. It means a person having charge of the affairs of his nation. It is not at present applied to any of our representatives abroad, all being called by the common name of minister.

--9. _Consuls_ are agents of inferior grade. They reside in foreign seaports. Their business is to aid their respective governments in their commercial transactions with the countries in which they reside, and to protect the rights, commerce, merchants, and seamen of their own nation.

Hence much of their business is with masters of vessels, and with merchants. They also dispose of the personal estate of citizens of their own nation who die within their consulates, leaving no representative or partner in trade to take care of their effects.

--10. The appointment of judges of the supreme court by the president and senate, seems to be proper. Their election by the people, most of whom could have little or no knowledge of the persons who should be chosen, would be injudicious. Besides, the ma.s.s of the voters are not so competent to judge of the qualifications necessary for so important a judicial office, as those to whom the const.i.tution has given the power of appointment.

--11. The power of appointing the head officers of the several executive departments, is with equal propriety given to the president and senate.

As the president is in a measure responsible for the acts of his subordinates who conduct the business of these departments, and as, without their cooperation, he could scarcely carry out his own measures, it is proper that he should have the right of selecting them; and by being required to submit his choice to the body of senators for their approval, a sufficient safeguard is provided against the appointment of unworthy or incompetent men.

--12. "The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session." (Art. 2, sec. 2, clause 3.) Without such a power somewhere, the public interests would often suffer serious injury before the senate should again be in session to act upon a nomination by the president. As it is his duty to see that the business of the executive offices is faithfully done, he seems to be the proper person to make such temporary appointment.

--13. The powers and duties of the president enumerated in the next section of the const.i.tution, are all necessary to insure a successful administration of the government; and they are so clearly of an executive nature, that they could not with any degree of propriety have been devolved upon any other officer or department of the government.

--14. The last section of this article of the const.i.tution enumerates the persons liable to be removed from office by impeachment, and the offenses for which they are thus removable. As in the state governments, so in the general government, impeachments are made by the house of representatives, and tried by the senate. (Chap. XX, --6-8; Cons. U.S., art. I, --2, 3.)

Chapter XLI.

Auxiliary Executive Departments. Departments of State, of the Treasury, of the Interior, of War, of the Navy, of the Post-Office; Attorney-General.

--1. The great amount and variety of the executive business of the nation, requires the division of this department into several subordinate departments, and the distribution among them of the different kinds of public business. At the head of each of these departments is a chief officer. These chief officers, sometimes called _heads of departments_, with the attorney general, being private advisors or counselors of the president, are called the _cabinet_. They are appointed by the president and senate.

--2. By the first congress under the const.i.tution, were established the state, treasury, and war departments, whose head officers, called secretaries, and the attorney-general, const.i.tuted the first cabinet.

In 1798, the navy department was established. During president Jackson's term of office, the postmaster-general was made a cabinet officer. And the establishment, in 1849, of the department of the interior, added to the cabinet the seventh member.

--3. The _secretary of state_ performs such duties as are committed to him by the president relating to foreign intercourse. Some of these duties have been mentioned. (Chap. x.x.xIX, --6.) He conducts all our diplomatic correspondence, being the official organ of communication with the ministers of foreign governments sent to this country, and with our ministers abroad. _Diplomacy_ signifies the rules and customs which govern the intercourse of nations through their ministers or agents; also the management of the business of a nation by its minister at a foreign court. And such minister, especially if he manages with ability and skill, is called a _diplomatist_.

--4. The secretary of state keeps the seal of the United States; and he makes out, records, and seals all civil commissions to officers appointed by the president and senate, or by the president. His duties in relation to the publishing and distributing the laws, and certain other matters, are similar to the duties of a secretary of state of a state government.

--5. The _secretary of the treasury_ has charge of the finances of the nation. He superintends the collection of the revenue, and performs certain other duties of the nature of the controller or auditor of a state. (Chap. XIII, --3.) He lays before congress annually a report of the finances, containing a statement of the public revenue and expenditure during the past year, the value of the imports and exports, and estimates of the revenue and expenditures for succeeding years, and plans for improving the revenues. He also makes annually a statement of appropriations of money, and of sums remaining, in the treasury.

--6. The vast amount of business in this department requires a great number of a.s.sistants; among whom are several controllers and auditors of accounts; a treasurer, a register, who keeps the accounts of goods imported and exported, and of the shipping employed in our foreign trade; a solicitor; a recorder; and numerous clerks.

--7. The _secretary of the interior_ superintends the business relating to the public lands, public buildings, the lead mines and other mines of the United States, Indian affairs, patents, and pensions. A _pension_ is a yearly allowance to a person by the government for past services. In this country pensions are granted for services in war. They were at first allowed only to such as had been disabled in the war of the revolution and in the war of 1812; and subsequently to all who had served at least six months in the revolutionary war, and to their widows during their lives. Those disabled in the late war with Mexico have also been added to the pension list. And by recent acts of congress, bounties of lands were to be allowed to all the surviving soldiers of the war of 1812, who had served one month therein.

--8. The _secretary of war_ performs duties relating to military commissions, or to the land forces and warlike stores of the United States. The standing army of the nation consists at present of about 15,000 men, who are distributed among the several military stations, armed and ready for service. He reports annually a statement of the expenditure and application of moneys drawn from the treasury for his department, and makes such suggestions relative to its condition as he thinks proper. He is a.s.sisted by subordinate officers and clerks.

--9. The _secretary of the navy_ executes the orders of the president for procuring naval stores and materials, and for equipping and employing vessels of war, and performs such other duties pertaining to the naval establishment as are required of him. Three officers are appointed by the president and senate, who const.i.tute a board of _commissioners for the navy_, and discharge the ministerial duties of the office of the secretary, and furnish estimates of the expenditures of the department.

--10. The _postmaster-general_ establishes post-offices, appoints postmasters and other persons employed in the general post-office, and provides for carrying the mails. He is a.s.sisted by three a.s.sistant post-masters-general, an auditor of the post-office treasury, to audit and settle the accounts of the department, and to superintend the collection of the debts due the department. The business of this department requires a large number of clerks. He reports annually all contracts made for the transportation of the mail, and a statement of the receipts and expenditures of the department.

--11. Postmasters keep an account of all letters sent from and received at their respective offices, stating the names of the offices from which letters are received, and of those to which letters are sent, and whether they are post paid or sent free. Postmasters, at stated periods, (in most places quarterly,) advertise all letters remaining in their offices; and they send quarterly to the general post-office accounts of letters sent and received, and of moneys received for postage, and of those paid out on orders of the department. Letters also which have lain in their offices during the time for which they were required to be advertised, are sent as _dead_ letters to the general post-office, where they are opened; and such as contain money or other valuable matter are returned by mail to the writers.

--12. Postmasters are allowed for their services a commission on the amount of postage received by them quarterly. Those at whose offices the sums received are small, are allowed a greater per centage than those where the receipts are large. Thus, the commission at present (1859) is, on the first $100 received, sixty per cent.; on the next $300, fifty per cent.; on the next $2,000, forty per cent.; on all over 2,400, fifteen per cent. Stamped letters are considered as paid in cash. On newspaper postages, fifty per cent, on all sums, large or small. If a postmaster's commission exceeds $2,000 a year, besides the expenses of the office, the excess is paid to the general post office. Postmasters may also receive for pigeon-holes or boxes, not exceeding $2,000, the excess, if any, to be paid to the general post-office. Postmasters whose compensation amounts to $1,000 or more in a year, are appointed by the president and senate.

--13. Postmasters whose commission on postages has been less than $200 during the preceding year, may receive and send, free of postage, letters on their own private business, weighing not more than half an ounce. And members of congress, during their term of office, and until the first of December after its expiration, may send and receive letters and packages weighing not more than two ounces, and all public doc.u.ments free. A person to be ent.i.tled to send matter free, must write on the outside his name and the t.i.tle of his office. This is called _franking_.

Civil officers at the seat of government also may frank matter relating to the business of their offices, by marking it outside, "official business."

--14. The _attorney-general_ attends to all suits in the supreme court of the United States in which the United States is a party or is concerned, and gives his opinions on questions of law when requested by the president or heads of departments.

Chapter XLII.

Judicial Department.

--1. We come now to the third article of the const.i.tution. The first two sections provide for the organization, and prescribe the powers, of the courts of the United States. The want of a national judiciary was a material defect of the confederation. Dependence upon the state courts to enforce the laws of the union, subjected the government to great inconvenience and embarra.s.sment. A government that has a legislature and an executive, should also have a judiciary to judge of and interpret the laws. The const.i.tution declares that "the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may ordain and establish." Under the authority here given, congress pa.s.sed the judiciary act of 1789, by which the several courts of the United States were established.

--2. The same section declares, "The judges of both the supreme and inferior courts shall hold their offices during good behavior." In no other department of the general government are offices held for so long a term, which is virtually for life, unless removed on impeachment, or for inability. To insure a correct and impartial administration of justice, the judges should be independent. If they could be displaced at the pleasure of the appointing power, or by frequent elections, they might be tempted to conform their opinions and decisions to the wishes of those on whom they were dependent for continuance in office. The object of the framers was to remove them as far as possible from party influence.