1050. CABINET, Theory and the.—
Our
Government, although in theory subject to be
directed by the unadvised will of the President,
is, and from its origin has been, a very
different thing in practice. The minor business
in each department is done by the head
of the department, on consultation with the
President alone. But all matters of importance
or difficulty are submitted to all the
heads of departments composing the Cabinet:
sometimes by the President consulting them
separately and successively, as they happen to
call on him; but in the gravest cases, by calling
them together, discussing the subject maturely,
and finally taking the vote, in which the
President counts himself but as one. So that
in all important cases the Executive is, in fact
a directory, which certainly the President
might control; but of this there was never an
example, either in the first or the present administration.
I have heard, indeed, that my
predecessor sometimes decided things against
his council by dashing and trampling his wig
on the floor. This only proves what you and
I know, that he had a better heart than head.—
To William Short. Washington ed. v, 94.
Ford ed., ix, 69.
(W.
1807)
