I united with the majority of the Committee in the report,
for the reasons I have stated above. I still think the position
of the Senate right, and that of the President wrong. But
I never agreed to the claim that the Senate had anything to
do with the President's power of removal. So I took the first
opportunity to introduce a bill repealing the provisions of
the statute relating to the tenure of office, which interfered
with the President's power of removal, so that we might go
back again to the law which had been in force from the foundation
of the Government, in the controversy with President Jackson.
A majority of the Republicans had attempted to do that, as
I have said, in the first session of Congress under President
Grant. But it had been defeated by the Senate. So I introduced
in the December session, 1886, a bill which became a law March
3, 1887, as follows:
"Be enacted, etc., That sections 1767, 1768, 1769, 1770,
1771, and 1772 of the Revised Statutes of the United States
are hereby repealed.
"Sec. 2. This repeal shall not affect any officer heretofore
suspended under the provisions of said sections, or any designation,
nomination or appointment heretofore made by virtue of the
provisions thereof.
Pages:
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011