Mr. GARFIELD. The Gentfrom Pennsylvania, [Mr. WILLIAMs, in his speech the other day and again this morning, referred to the law sed at the last session of the 38 h Congress in regard to the dismissal of officers in the military service by the President. I wrote that section, and had charge of the conference committee on the part of the House by which it was adopted on the last night of the session; and at the time of making the report submitted some remarks as the result of a tolerably full investigation of the subject, and at the request of several members I will say a few words on the subject of this bill so far as it relates to the removal of officers from the military and naval service. The POTUS, as a matter of fact, has from time to time since the foundation of the Government removed officers from the Army and Navy at his pleasure, though his constitutional right to do so has never been affirmed by a judicial decision. In deed, his authority to do so has frequently been questioned; but the practice became so general at it was laid down in the Judge Advocate Generafs Digest of Opinions for 1865, and which exhibits both the practice and the opinion of the executive dept on the subject, in the following paragraph: “From the foundation of the Government, the POTUS has been in the habit of south ily dismissing officersin the land and naval services. The power to do so seemsto inhere in him under the Constitution as Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy. The power of summary daiustmhoisrsitayl buypotnhe President does not depend for itsteen, chapter 200, the act of Congress, section 7 act of July 17, 1862;the act being simply declaratory of the right, which has been exercised by the President since the earliest history of the Government.” Now, I look upon that as a doctrine most dangerous in theory and practice; and I wrote the section to which the gentleman has referred for the purpose of circumscribing the power of the President in that direction. We were unable to secure the repeal of section 17 of the law of 1862, by which the President was not only authorized but even requested to dismiss summarily and without trial any officer of the Army or Navy, when in his judgment it would be for the good of the service to do so. Now, under that law the President not only exercised that power himself, but he delegated the authority to the leading generals of the Army; and within my own knowledge 130 commissioned officers in the Army of the Cumber land were dismissed without a trial within 11 months by reason of this summary power dele gated by the President.