If the
officer be accused of dishonesty, how shall it be made out? Will it be
inferred from acts unconnected with public duty, from private history,
or from general reputation, or must the President await the commission
of an actual misdemeanor in office? Shall he in the meantime risk the
character and interest of the nation in the hands of men to whom he
can not give his confidence? Must he forbear his complaint until the
mischief is done and can not be prevented? If his zeal in the public
service should impel him to anticipate the overt act, must he move at
the peril of being tried himself for the offense of slandering his
subordinate? In the present circumstances of the country someone must be
held responsible for official delinquency of every kind. It is extremely
difficult to say where that responsibility should be thrown if it be
not left where it has been placed by the Constitution. But all just men
will admit that the President ought to be entirely relieved from such
responsibility if he can not meet it by reason of restrictions placed
by law upon his action.
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