Commissioned officer

“ The Lieutenants who had been most fortunate in getting their commissions early got about six or seven months' service, and then the dream of their glory departed and they fell back to the ranks to stand "attention" to any white man who could muster political influence sufficient to secure a commission. [pg 251] Their day was short, and when they were discharged from the volunteer service, there appeared no future for them as commissioned officers. ”

“ The third way a commission is sometimes obtained is by direct appointment to a Second Lieutenancy by the President, who has the power, and exercises it when vacancies occur over and above those filled by cadet graduates of West Point, and by candidate non-commissioned officers from the ranks. In the case of the President having appointed a civilian to fill a vacancy, the appointee is called upon to pass an examination, mentally and physically. ”

“ Corporals and sergeants are called "non-commissioned officers," because they receive a warrant from their colonel countersigned by the adjutant as authority of rank, in place of a commission from the President of the United States.
The labors of soldiers, privates, corporals, or sergeants are not usually arduous, except in case of war or other like emergency. Their daily routine is no more monotonous than men's ordinary pursuits in civil life, with the one exception that they are always under the command of others ”

“ Of course the commissioning of officers in the Army lies entirely within the President's discretion and is not subject to judicial control. Although there can be no doubt about that, it does not follow that Congress is precluded from drafting a special group into the Army on condition that they will be commissioned. Receiving a commission is clearly not a matter of right; but granting it may be a condition for retaining a person in the Army. The commissioning of officers in the Army is, no doubt, a matter of discretion within the province of the President as Commander in Chief. ”

“ The Commissioner of the General Land Office exercises a general superintendence over the subordinate officers of his department, and is clothed with liberal powers of control, to be exercised for the purposes of justice, and to prevent the consequences of inadvertence, irregularity, mistake, and fraud, in the important and extensive operations of that officer for the disposal of the public domain. ”

“ Sections 31, 32, 33.—The commissioners may direct the appointment of such paid officers, with such qualifications, as they think necessary in every union, and may define their duties and determine their continuance in office or dismissal, and regulate their salaries. The commissioners are further empowered, with or without the concurrence of the guardians, to remove any paid officer whom they deem unfit or incompetent, and to require the appointment of a fit and competent person in his 225room, failing in which the commissioners may themselves make the appointment. ”

“ The appointment is the sole act of the President; the transmission of the commission is the sole act of the officer to whom that duty is assigned, and may be accelerated or retarded by circumstances which can have no influence on the appointment. A commission is transmitted to a person already appointed, not to a person to be appointed or not, as the letter enclosing the commission should happen to get into the post office and reach him in safety, or to miscarry. ”

“ They are responsible to the lieutenant-governor, each in his own division, for the working of every department of the public service, except the military department, and the branches of the administration directly under the control of the supreme government. The deputy commissioners perform the functions of district magistrates, district judges, collectors and registrars, besides the miscellaneous duties which fall to the principal district officer as representative of government. ”

“ The Commissioner may, at any time, discharge a police officer below the rank of inspector with at least 10 years’ service if, in the opinion of the Commissioner, it is desirable in the public interest to do so. ”

“ They say that the conduct of the commissioners for years has been such as to poison a patrolman from the time he first applies for admission to the force. The payment for appointment, the reputation of the politicians in the Board, the uses made of him by his executive superiors in their private schemes, and by the Commissioners, directly and indirectly, for their partisan purposes, together with the general moral tone490 of the force and the work, all tend to teach him how he is to do for himself when he can. ”

“ The principal or principals in command alone are culpable, and the other officers, while they stand unimpeached, have their full merit. There were, it is true, divers persons, from misrepresentation, put into commission at the beginning, without fit qualification, and perhaps the number may have been increased by later appointments; but it follows not that the gentleman or man of merit should be neglected or overlooked on their account. None other than a gentleman, as well as a seaman both in theory and practice, is qualified to support the character of a commission officer in the navy ”

“ The Commissioner of Police may hold an inquiry into the conduct of any member of the force or of any officer or employee under his control and upon such inquiry shall have and may exercise the like powers and authority as are conferred upon the Inspector of Legal Offices by section 16 with respect to high constables. ”

“ A commissioner, appointed by the President and Senate, was to control the Bureau, with an office force not exceeding ten clerks. The President might also appoint commissioners in the seceded states, and to all these offices military officials might be detailed at regular pay. ”

“ Commissary of Muster. See Muster.
Commissary Sergeants. In the U. S. service, are sergeants who are selected from the line of the army, by the Secretary of War; they must be steady and reliable men, and their duties are to assist the commissary officer in receiving, storing, preserving, issuing, selling, and accounting for the subsistence supplies at their posts, according to the regulations for the subsistence departments.
Commission. A writing, generally in the form of a warrant or letters-patent, authorizing the performance of duties, or exercise of powers belonging to another. ”

“ He is but an agent of the commissioner, appointed by him, and removable by him at his pleasure, to procure information needed to aid in the performance of his own official duties. He may appoint one or a dozen persons to do the same thing. ”

“ In his discretion an appointing officer may fill any position by appointment through the competitive system from a certificate of eligibles issued under the authority of the Commission, or by promotion, demotion, reassignment, transfer, reinstatement or restoration in accordance with the Civil Service Regulations. He shall exercise his discretion in all personnel actions solely on the basis of merit and fitness and without regard to political or religious affiliations, marital status or race. ”

“ The commissioner at the head of the department and all officers and employés, including street-sweepers in charge of districts, should be selected solely because of their fitness for their respective duties, and should not be removed except for good and sufficient cause. ”

“ The Commissioner—often wrongly described as the Chief Commissioner—is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the Home Secretary, and has wide, almost autocratic powers. It is an Imperial force which has duties apart from the care of London. ”

“ The National Commissioner, with the concurrence of the provincial executive, must appoint a woman or a man as the provincial commissioner for that province, but if the National Commissioner and the provincial executive are unable to agree on the appointment, the Cabinet member responsible for policing must mediate between the parties. ”

“ That a person has served two years continuously since July 16, 1883, in a place in the departmental service below or outside the classified service, and the appointing officer desires, with the approval of the President, upon the recommendation of the Commission, to promote such person into the classified service because of his faithfulness and efficiency in the position occupied by him, and because of his qualifications for the place to which the appointing officer desires his promotion. ”

“ They do not appoint the superior officers, but it is to be expected that their advice will be considered by the Secretary of State, with whom the nominations lie. As a Commissioner cannot be in more than one place at a time, they cannot be expected to have any intimate knowledge of the capability of the men who depend for promotion on them ”

“ To a Police Committee consisting of some eighty members selected by the Common Council is delegated everything that concerns the pay, allowances, and financial business of the force; whilst all questions touching the discipline and disposal of the men under his command are referred to the Commissioner, who is thus supreme in his own department. ”

“ The Commissionaire at the centre entrance to the Trocadero greets me with "Regimental dinner, sir? First floor, leave your coat and hat to the right." A very intelligent man this commissionaire, an old soldier who knows another old soldier when he sees him. ”

“ The commissioners are generally empowered to conduct the District's business. They have the power to subpoena witnesses and to administer oaths in investigating District affairs, Tenn.Code Ann. § 6-2616 (5) (1955) , and they serve for only nominal compensation. Tenn.Code Ann. § 6-2615 (Supp.1970) . Plainly, commissioners who are beholden to an elected public official for their appointment, and are subject to removal procedures applicable to all public officials, qualify as 'individuals who are responsible to public officials or to the general electorate' within the Board's test. ”

“ The Commissioner is independent and subject only to the national Constitution, this Constitution and the law, and must be impartial and must exercise the powers and perform the functions of the office of Commissioner without fear, favour or prejudice. ”

“ The law constituted the general-in-chief commanding the army and seven other general officers a board of commissioners with the necessary powers for carrying out the purposes of the act, and provided for the detail of officers from the army for the position of governor, deputy governor, and secretary and treasurer, for each site which should be established. ”

“ The executive is only one of a number of commissioners having responsibility without control, and occasionally it has happened that an official, such as the state treasurer, has been designated in the commission in such manner as to impose the duties upon the individual and not the incumbent of the office. It is a custom more honored in the breach than in the observance. Where governments have fallen, it has generally been because of encroachments by one department upon the province of others. ”

“ No supernumerary commissioner shall be appointed without being examined, and giving bonds for the administration of his office. No dependent or member of a household of our said president and auditors may be appointed to such commissionership, under penalty that the clerk appointed contrary to this ordinance shall lose all fees and salary for the time during which he shall occupy himself with the commissionership. ”

“ On 12 April 1843 he resigned his appointment as commissioner of police. He maintained the force in a high state of efficiency, and, though a rigid disciplinarian, was much liked and respected by the officers and men. ”

“ On the institution of the metropolitan police force in 1829, he was appointed the chief commissioner, an office which he filled with great credit and ability. To his skilful guidance were mainly owing the speedy removal of the initial prejudices against the new police and the lasting success of the measure. ”

“ A qualified Commissioner shall hold office for a term of four year.
A qualified Commissioner having retired from office by rotation may be reappointed, but may not hold office for more than two consecutive terms. ”

“ The reason why this small body can administer with dispatch and efficiency is seen at a glance. Each commissioner is the head of a department for which he is personally responsible. He is not hindered as is the executive at present by an inefficient and meddling council which has more power, often, than the executive himself. He knows the laws for he has helped to make them. It is his business to see that they are executed, and if they are not, he cannot escape blame. He cannot plead ignorance, lack of responsibility, or lack of power as do present administrative officers. ”

“ The Commissioner's suggestions in reference to the propriety of consolidating into one statute the principal features of the pre-emption and homestead laws, are, in my judgment, specially worthy of the attention of Congress. The necessity of a re-organization of the clerical force in his office, and of vesting him with authority to appoint special agents who shall bring the subordinate land-officers more immediately under his supervision, is clearly and forcibly stated, and the matter will, I earnestly hope, receive the early and favorable action of Congress. ”

“ Now I think we had better go to-morrow and see Broek, and also Saandam, and I am going to take a commissioner."
Mr. George had employed a commissioner once before, as the reader will perhaps recollect, namely, at the Hague; and perhaps I ought to stop here a moment to explain more fully what a commissioner is. He is a servant hired by the day to conduct strangers about the town where they reside, and about the environs, if necessary, to show them what there is that is curious and wonderful there. ”