the people, that I cannot let it pass without expressing my detestation of the principle it involves."

The bill with the clause conferring on the President the power of removal finally passed the House by a vote of 29 to 22, and the Senate by a majority of two. The question came up again for an angry discussion during the administration of John Adams, when he peremptorily dismissed from his cabinet Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State, who had refused to resign when requested to do so by the President. At that time it was contended heads of departments were on a different footing from any other appointments by the President. The question was still unsettled when Andrew Jackson became President, and he caused to be inserted in the commission issued to cabinet officers a clause stating they should hold their office "during the pleasure of the President."

Stated cabinet meetings as they now exist were unknown until about the middle of the nineteenth century. President Washington adopted the custom of submitting in writing matters on which he desired the opinion of the members of the cabinet, and they met, usually at the home of Secretary Jefferson, and each gave his written reply. Occasionally, however, he did hold meetings of the cabinet, at which he presided. One notable occasion of this kind was when Secretary of State Randolph was confronted with the compromising letters which forced his resignation.

When absent from the seat of government, President Washington required the cabinet to hold weekly meetings, at which Vice President Adams presided. This recognition of the Vice President was not followed until President Wilson was about to sail for Europe, when he requested Vice President Marshall to attend each cabinet meeting and preside.

On five occasions the Senate has rejected cabinet nominations-that of Roger B. Taney, to be Secretary of the Treasury, by President Jackson; Caleb Cushing to be Secretary of the Treasury, James M. Porter, to be Secretary of War, David Henshaw, to be Secretary of the Navy, all nominated by President Tyler; and Henry Stanbery, to be Attorney General, by President Johnson.

When Andrew Jackson became President he appointed five members of Congress to seats in his cabinet. This angered the Whigs, and an amendment to the Constitution was proposed. By it senators and representatives were made ineligible to any office in the gift of the President or Secretary of the Treasury during the term for which they had been elected to sit in Congress, nor for two years thereafter. The proposal met with but little encouragement.

In 1909, when President Taft named Philander C. Knox as Secretary of State, it was discovered he was ineligible owing to the fact that the salary of the Secretary of State had been increased from $8,000 to $12,000 while Mr. Knox was a member of the Senate, and his term of senator had not expired when the appointment was made. This dis

covery was made by a newspaper correspondent, and for a time created great confusion, as President Taft was very anxious to have Mr. Knox at the head of that important department. To escape from the constitutional dilemma, Congress hastily amended the law fixing the salaries of cabinet members so as to leave that of Secretary of State at $8,000, and Mr. Knox served at that salary while the other members received $12,000 each.

At first members of the cabinet were not appointed for any fixed term, but an act of Congress passed in 1866 provided they should hold their respective offices during the term of the President by whom they were appointed, and for one month thereafter. It is the custom, however, for members of a cabinet to promptly tender their resignations on the incoming of a new President. Originally a person nominated and confirmed to a cabinet position held his office without a new appointment and a new commission under a President succeeding himself, but a custom grew up that when a President, elected to a second term, desires to retain any member of his former cabinet, for him to renominate such person to the Senate. This was not done by President Wilson, nor by President Coolidge on succeeding President Harding.

By an act approved March 1, 1792, it was provided: "In case of removal, death, resignation or inability of both the President and Vice President of the United States, the President of the Senate, or, if there is none, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for the time being, shall act as President until the disability is removed, or a President elected."

This remained the order of succession until January 19, 1886, when the order was wholly changed, the new Act reading as follows: "That in case of removal, death, resignation or inability of both the President and Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of State, or if there be none, or in the case of his removal, death, resignation or inability, then the Secretary of the Treasury," with the same limitations as to removal, death, etc., as in case of the Secretary of State, through the whole cabinet list as it then stood, in the following order: Secretary of War, Attorney General, Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior, "shall act as President until the disability of the President or Vice President is removed or a President is elected."

It will be noted that "removal" is added to resignation, death, etc. It was provided that when the powers and duties of the office of President shall devolve on any member of the cabinet, if Congress be not then in session, or is not to meet in accordance with the law within twenty days, the cabinet officer succeeding to the powers of President shall issue a proclamation convening Congress in extraordinary session. It appears that if the election of a President should devolve on the House of Representatives and of a Vice President on the Senate, and they fail to act, there is no provision of law to remedy the matter.

I

THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN SYSTEMS COMPARED

T IS A COMMON THING for newspaper writers and others to speak of the cabinet as the President's "constitutional advisers." The phrase is incorrect, for the cabinet is unknown to the Constitution except where that instrument says the President may, when he so desires, require the head of any executive department to give him in writing his opinion upon any question of administration of the department. In this, as in other marked respects, the American cabinet is wholly different from that in England. Here the President may consult with or ask the advice of the cabinet as a whole, or of any individual member. In England the cabinet is the real ruling power, and the acts of the cabinet become the acts of the sovereign.

Here the President may select at his own will the various members of the cabinet, with the single exception that he must nominate them and receive the confirmation of the Senate. In our own history only twice has the Senate rejected a cabinet nomination. In England theoretically the King names the cabinet, yet in fact it is named by the House of Commons-that is, the King must name as the Premier the leader of the majority in the House of Commons and the Premier selects the other members. Here the Secretary of State is generally regarded as the premier of the cabinet; there he is the First Lord of the Treasury. In England the cabinet must be selected from the members of Parliament, and they must remain such member. On being appointed to a cabinet seat they are required to resign their seat in Parliament if a member of the House of Commons, and stand for a re-election. If they fail to be re-elected they lose the cabinet seat. Here if a cabinet seat is tendered to a member of Congress he must resign his seat in Congress. We have only one instance in our history where a member of Congress acted at the same time as a member of the cabinet. When Mr. Jefferson became President he had a hard time to find some one to accept the navy secretaryship, and for several months Samuel Smith, of Maryland, a member of the House of Representatives, acted as Secretary of the Navy, signing papers as such Secretary. There seems to have been no objections raised from any source, but since that time there has been no similar case.

In England the Crown has comparatively little direct participation in the government. The House of Commons, under the leadership of the cabinet, is the real governing power. There the executive power is exercised by the cabinet, or rather by the Prime Minister. There the Secretary of Foreign Affairs is the real spokesman of the nation in all matters concerning other nations. He also, as a rule, accompanies the Crown when he is absent from his usual place of residence or when he goes on a journey to any part of the country. Here the President is never of necessity accompanied on a journey by any member of his cabinet.

The King cannot hold any communication or conversation with a minister of another country except in the presence of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Here in practice such private interviews seldom occur, but the President may, if he so desires, hold such communication without the Secretary of State's knowledge.

Here the pardoning power is vested in the President alone. It is true he seldom or never grants a pardon unless it is recommended by the Attorney General, but he can do so. There the prerogative of mercy is in the hands of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which corresponds very closely to our Department of the Interior. There the Secretary would not tolerate any interference by the Crown. Here the President can appoint or dismiss other officers of the government at his own will, without consulting the cabinet or any individual member. There the appointing power is exercised only upon the advice and consent first being given of the cabinet. The appointing power is really in the hands of the Prime Minister.

There in selecting a Prime Minister the Crown is compelled to select one who has the confidence of the majority in the House of Commons. In short, he must be a member of the party having for the time being a majority in the House of Commons. So long as he can retain the confidence of the majority in the House the Crown cannot dismiss him from office. When a Prime Minister is appointed he at once selects the other members of the cabinet and the Crown must accept his selection. Here no member of the cabinet has any control over the selection of the other members. It is said that when Mr. Seward, who had been selected by President Lincoln for Secretary of State, heard that Mr. Chase had been selected for the head of the Department of the Treasury, he undertook to influence the President to make a change. Mr. Lincoln curtly told him that if Chase were left out Mr. Seward would also be on the outside. In England, when the Prime Minister has made his selections, he submits the list to the Crown as a mere matter of form.

The British cabinet is not fixed as to numbers, but varies in size according to the will of the Prime Minister. There the Prime Minister is the official link between the Crown and the cabinet. When a decision has been reached on any question, but not before, it becomes the duty of the Premier to acquaint the sovereign with the facts. This is done nominally for the purpose of obtaining the royal pleasure regarding the matters discussed, but as a matter of fact the Crown must ultimately yield to the wishes of the Prime Minister. It is a maxim of the English government that the cabinet is responsible to Parliament, which, in reality, is the House of Commons. An adverse vote in the House of Commons terminates the existence of the Ministry, but a similar vote in the House of Lords does not. It is thus essential that the existing Ministry should have the confidence and support of a majority in the House of Commons.