POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Foster Blodgett, late postmaster at Augusta, Georgia, vs. United States Post Office Department. It appears] by the records of the Post Office Department that Foster Blodgett was appointed as postmaster at Augusta, Georgia, on the 25th July, 1865, and that his appointment was confirmed by the Senate of the United States on the 27th July, 1866. And it further appears that by an order of the then Postmaster General, Hon. Alexander W. Randall, dated January 3, 1868, George W. Summers was designated as a special agent of the Post Office Department, to take charge of said post office at Augusta, Georgia, of which Mr. Blodgett was notified under date of January 3, 1868. And it further appears that the name of George W. Summers, as postmaster at Augusta, Georgia, in place of Foster Blodgett, suspended, was sent to the Senate of the United States on the 14th July, 1868, by Andrew Johnson, then President. And it further appears that the name of George W. Summers, as postmaster at Augusta, Georgia, in place of Foster Blodgett, removed, was sent to the Senate of the United States on the 19th February, 1869, by Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States. It also appears by the records of the Sixth Auditor's office that said Blodgett was paid up to the 31st December, 1867, for his services as postmaster, at the rate of four thousand dollars a year. It also appears that Blodgett was restored to his position of postmaster by order of the Postmaster General, under date of March 30, 1869, in the words following, to wit: POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., March 30, 1869. Post office, Augusta, Georgia, salary, $4,000. In the case of Foster Blodgett, suspended by an order of the Postmaster General. It appearing from the records of the Post Office Department, that on the 3d day of January, A. D. 1868, Foster Blodgett, then postmaster at Augusta, in the county of Richmond, and State of Georgia, was by an order of the then Postmaster General suspended from the aforesaid office of postmaster, and that George W. Summers was then and there designated as special agent of the aforesaid department, to take charge of the post office thereat, and discharge all its duties until further action should be had by the President and the Senate of the United States. It also appearing by a further order of the same date that George W. Summers was appointed as a special agent of the Post Office Department, by order of the then Postmaster General, to take charge of the post office at Augusta, aforesaid, with pay at the rate of $1,600 per annum, and $3 per diem for subsistence. It further appearing from the files of the department that on the 14th day of July. A. D. 1868, the name of George W. Summers was sent to the Senate of the United States for postmaster at Augusta, Georgia, aforesaid, by the then President of the United States, but there is nothing on record to show that any action was ever taken by that body; and that on the 19th day of February, A. D. 1869, the name of George W. Summers was, for the second time, sent to the Senate. No action, however, appears to have been had thereon. Under this showing, it is ordered that the services and pay of George W. Summers, as special agent of the Post Office Department, be, and the same are hereby, discontinued. It is further ordered that Foster Blodgett be restored to his office and pay of $4,000 per annum, and that he immediately resume his duties as postmaster. JNO. A. J. CRESWELL, It also appears, by the records of the Sixth Auditor's office, that George W. Summers was paid as special agent of the Post Office Department at the rate of $1,600 per annum, and $3 per diem for subsistence, from the 11th January, 1868, to 3d April, 1869. Mr. Blodgett now alleges that he was not legally suspended, as required by the civil-tenure act, approved March 2, 1867, and claims pay at the rate of $4,000 a year from the 1st January, 1868, to the 30th March, 1869. (See his accompanying application, marked A.) Respectfully submitted to the honorable Attorney General, for his opinion on the following points: Was Mr. Blodgett legally suspended from office; and, if not, is he entitled to compensation from the 1st January, 1868, until the 30th March, 1869? JNO. A. J. CRESWELL, Postmaster General. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, SIR: I have considered your letter of December 20, 1869, in which you ask for my opinion upon the question whether Foster Blodgett, the postmaster of Augusta, Georgia, was legally suspended from his office; and if not, whether he is entitled to compensation from the 1st of January, 1868, until the 30th of March, 1869. It appears from the statements in your letter that in July, 1865, Mr. Blodgett was appointed postmaster of Augusta, and his appointment confirmed by the Senate on the 27th of July, 1866. It further appears that by an order of the then Postmaster General, the Hon. A. W. Randall, dated January 3, 1868, George W. Summers was designated as a special agent of the Post Office Department to take charge of the post office at Augusta, Georgia, of which Mr. Blodgett was notified on January 3, 1868. * * By the statute of March 2, 1867, (14 Stat., p. 430,) entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," which is the statute governing the case, it was provided "That every person holding any civil office to which he has been appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate ** shall be entitled to hold such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided." By the second section of the act, "When any officer appointed as aforesaid, excepting judges of the United States courts, shall, during a recess of the Senate, be shown, by evidence satisfactory to the President, to be guilty of misconduct in office, or crime, or for any reason shall become incapable or legally disqualified to perform its duties, in such case, and in no other, the President may suspend such officer and designate some suitable person to perform temporarily the duties of such office, until the next meeting of the Senate, and until the case shall be acted upon by the Senate, and in such case it shall be the duty of the President, within twenty days after the first day of such next meeting of the Senate, to report to the Senate such suspension, with the evidence and reasons for his action in the case, and the name of the person so designated to perform the duties of such office." * I am unable to see that, under the provisions of this statute, the mere designation by the Postmaster General of a special agent of the Post Office Department to take charge of a post office, is either expressly or by just implication a compliance with the terms and conditions upon which an officer can be suspended by the President. If it were to be held that an order of the Postmaster General is to be considered, in any matter concerning his department, as the act of the President upon the principles laid down in The United States vs. Eliason, 16 Peters, 291; and Wilcox es. Jackson, 13 Peters, 513; and in the case of Satterlee Clark, 2 Opinions, 67, I should still be of opinion that the law had not been complied with so as to make a valid suspension of Mr. Blodgett from his office. There is no record proof furnished by you that the President or the Postmaster General, professing to act by his authority, had any evidence that Mr. Blodgett was guilty of misconduct in office or crime, or for any reason had become incapable or legally disqualified to perform its duties. The first time that the word suspended is found in the papers submitted, is when the President during the session of the Senate, on the 14th of July, 1868, sent in the nomination of George W. Summers, as postmaster at Augusta, Georgia, in place of Foster Blodgett, suspended, which does not indicate when he had been suspended, or that he was suspended during the recess of the Senate, which was the only time during which he could be legally suspended, nor do you inform me that any reasons for the suspension such as the law then required were submitted to the Senate. They took no action upon the nomination. A nomination of the same George W. Summers, in place of Foster Blodgett, removed, appears to have been sent to the Senate on the 19th of February, 1869, upon which also no action seems to have been taken. Mr. Blodgett could not by law be removed from office during the term for which he was appointed and commissioned, except by the appointment of a successor with the advice and consent of the Senate, or by a suspension such as the statute allowed. I do not understand that the action of the Postmaster General in January, 1868, was during a recess of the Senate; and if it was not, the question of the power of suspension under the statute of 1867 does not arise, and Mr. Blodgett then held the office until his successor was qualified. As he continued to hold his office lawfully, therefore, between the first of January, 1868, and the 30th of March, 1869, and, so far as appears, was able, ready, and willing to perform his official duties, I think he was, and is, entitled to the compensation provided by law. I return herewith, the papers submitted, and have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. J. A. J. CRESWELL, Postmaster General. E. R. HOAR, [Required by acts of Congress of July 2, 1862, and March 3, 1863. ] I, Foster Blodgett, being appointed postmaster at Augusta, in the county of Richmond, and State of Georgia, do swear that I will faithfully perform all the duties required of me, and abstain from everything forbidden by the laws in relation to the establishment of the post office and post roads within the United States; and that I will honestly and truly account for and pay over any moneys belonging to the said United States which may come into my possession or control. And I do further solemnly swear that I have neither voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought, nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further swear that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. FOSTER BLODGETT. Sworn before the subscriber, Ellis Lyons, notary public for the county of Richmond, Georgia, this twenty-third day of April, A. D. 1869; and I also certify that the person above-named is above the age of sixteen years, to the best of my knowledge and belief. ELLIS LYONS, Notary Public, ex officio J. P. |