Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

272. Experience has demonstrated that the success of military and naval operations essentially depend upon the vigor, promptitude, and energy with which they are executed, and that these qualities are most likely to be displayed where the command is intrusted to a single person. Hence the propriety of confiding the command of the public force to the President. When the legislative authority has declared war, the President, to whom its execution is confided, is bound to carry it into effect. He has a discretion vested in him as to the manner and extent; but he cannot lawfully transcend the rules of warfare established among civilized nations.

273. The President is not obliged, in person, to take the command of the army, but he may delegate his right to another officer; nor is he obliged to command, in person, the militia when they are called into the public service, but may confer the chief command upon another. In his capacity of commander-in-chief of the army and navy, he may establish rules and regulations for their government; and the rules and orders emanating from the War and Navy Departments are to be considered as emanating from him.

Executive Departments.

274. To enable the President to perform the various important duties devolving on him, Congress have at different times created executive departments, to which are allotted functions peculiar to each. These departments are now six in number, and are designated as follows:-First, Department of State; secondly, Department of the Navy; thirdly, Department of War; fourthly, Department of Treasury; fifthly, Post-Office Department; sixthly, Department of the Interior.

275. These departments are aids and instruments by which the executive authority of the government is administered. The chief officer of each is termed Secretary, and the name of the department over which he presides at once suggests the character of the duties confided to him.

276. Thus the Secretary of State, in subordination to the President, has the general charge of all matters relating to our foreign affairs; the Secretary of War, of all matters relating to the control and disposition of the army, the erection of fortifications, and the purchase of arms and munitions; the Secretary of the Navy, of all similar matters relating to the naval establishment of the United States; the Secretary of the Treasury has charge of the finances of the

government, and is required, at the commencement of every session, to lay before Congress a report on the subject of finance, containing estimates of the public revenue and public expenditures, and plans for increasing the revenue; and the Secretary of the Interior, which is a new department created in 1849, has supervision of the patent, land, pension, and census offices; and also of Indian affairs, mines, and the public buildings.

277. The Postmaster-General, as we have elsewhere remarked, has charge of the postal affairs of the country; and the law officer of the government, termed the Attorney-General, is bound to prosecute and conduct all suits in which the United States are a party, and to give his advice and opinion, when required by the President, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments, touching any matters that may concern their departments.

278. The Secretaries, the Postmaster-General, and Attorney-General, are appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and by recent legislation, are only removable with the like advice and consent. He may require their opinion in writing upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; but in practice he assembles them as a cabinet council. Hence they are spoken of as the Cabinet. It was not until within a comparatively recent period that the Post

master-General was regarded as one of the Cabinet, and summoned to take part in its deliberations.

279. Though the President may require the written opinion of his Cabinet, as above mentioned, he has no such authority with respect to the judiciary. The judges can only be called upon to decide controversies brought before them in legal form, and are bound to abstain from extra-judicial opinions upon questions of law.

Reprieves and Pardons.

280. The President has power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

281. A reprieve is a suspension of the punishment awarded to an offence for a designated time; a pardon is a total remission of such punishment, and may be granted before as well as after trial and conviction. The President has also power to order a nolle prosequi in any stage of a criminal proceeding in the name of the United States. He may pardon too either absolutely or conditionally, provided the condition be compatible with the genius of the Constitution and laws. The power to pardon is not limited to any particular grade of offence; but, with one or two exceptions, which we shall presently notice, extends to all, and includes the remission of fines, penalties, and forfeitures. And as it is confirmed by

the Constitution, Congress can impose no limitations or restrictions upon its exercise.

282. The prominent exception to the President's power of pardoning is in cases of impeachment, and he is restrained in those cases lest he should screen from punishment his favorites or dependants, who might be convicted of political or official offences. It is thought too that he would not have the power to pardon a person sentenced for a contempt of either branch of Congress, though it is admitted that he may pardon for a contempt of court.

Treaty Power.

283. The President has also the power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present

concur.

284. Under this power the President, with the sanction of the Senate, may make treaties of peace, commerce, alliance, and of every other description, subject to only one limitation, namely, that the treaties thus made shall not violate the principles of the Constitution. For example, the Constitution provides that no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States. If, therefore, the President should negotiate a treaty, one of the stipulations of which provided that the United States should grant titles of nobility, such stipulation would be absolutely void.