"
There is a tradition that when this awkward arrangement was
made, the proposition that the Secretary of State should succeed
in the case of such vacancy was defeated by the suggestion
that Mr. Jefferson had too much power and consequence already.
The arrangement seemed to me clearly objectionable. In the
first place the Vice-President, who, it is supposed, has died
or become incapable, is the Constitutional President of the
Senate. The Senate, under the practice and construction of
its power which prevailed down to a very recent period, only
elected a President pro tempore when the Vice-President vacated
the chair. His office terminated when the Vice-President
resumed it, and there was no Constitutional obligation on
the Senate to elect a President pro tempore at all. So it
was quite uncertain whether there would be a President pro
tempore of the Senate at any particular time, especially when
the Senate was not in session. There have been two instances
where the President of the Senate has refused to vacate the
chair, for the reason that he did not desire to have a President
pro tempore elected, and thereby have an honor conferred on
a member of another party than his own.
Pages:
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055