Secretary of legation

“ If the acting secretary had the power, in the absence of his principal, to sign and deliver the warrant-a point on which we express no opinion-he did not choose to exercise it, but preferred in a matter of such consequence to leave the ultimate decision of the question to the secretary himself. ”

“ C. C. 205, in the case of an indictment for an assault and battery on a member of a foreign legation, it was held that the certificate of the secretary of state, dated subsequently to the assault and battery, is the best evidence to prove the diplomatic character of a person accredited as a minister by the government of the United States. The certificate from the secretary of state, Mr. ”

“ But whatever you or your colleagues thought, the JURY did think the secretary of the home department a DOLT AND IDIOT, and shewed their opinion by their verdict. I will take leave to observe, that there is this difference between the credulity of such men as Mr. Lambton, and of such ministers as yourself and your colleagues: the former may interpose to save, but the consequence of the latter has been to destroy. ”

“ The limitations, under which the court below thought the secretary could vacate one patent and issue another, show that the power he is expected to exercise is judicial. The defect must arise from inadvertence or mistake, without fraud or misconduct. The power of the secretary to act, then, depends upon his having adjudged the case to be one of mistake, and not a case of fraud. This is judicial power. How can the secretary make this judicial investigation.
1. He has no parties before him, and no power to bring persons before him. ”

“ That is true, for, as we said, what the statute requires 'relates to substance and not form.' Conceivably, the Secretary, in a case the narrow limits of which made such a procedure practicable, might himself hear the evidence and the contentions of both parties and make his findings upon the spot. Again, the evidence being in, the Secretary might receive the proposed findings of both parties, each being notified of the proposals of the other, hear argument thereon, and make his own findings. ”

“ It makes no difference whether the appeal is in regular form according to the established rules of the department, or whether the secretary on his own motion, knowing that injustice is about to be done by some action of the commissioner, takes up the case and disposes of it in accordance with law and justice. The secretary is the guardian of the people of United States over the public lands. ”

“ You are a lawyer, practising before the Departments. Are you so ignorant as not to know that while principles of administration and rules of practice and the like may be changed, the adjudications in any specific case by any one Secretary have always been held to be final and conclusive and binding upon his successors, unless new and essential facts be adduced which were not before the Secretary making the decision, or a new state of the law? ”

“ It is essential to a proper administration that the Secretary or the President should have the power of removal, and it should never be coupled with the duty of making a statement of the cause. Not infrequently a statement would be the occasion of scandal and of suffering by innocent parties. ”

“ The questions involve the power of the heads of departments to regulate the appearance of counsel in those departments and to disbar them for good cause; and no Secretary can keep his department clear of illegitimate practices if he is obliged to permit everybody to transact business there as an attorney, no matter what tricks the attorney may resort to. ”

“ It is a maxim of the law, admitting few if any exceptions, that every duty laid upon a public officer, for the benefit of a private person, is enforceable by judicial process. So that the secretary would be bound, upon proper application, in every such instance, to inquire into, and if necessary redress, the alleged grievance. And hence the official duty of direction and supervision on the part of the secretary implies a correlative right of appeal from the commissioner, in every case of complaint, although no such appeal is expressly given. ”

“ Yet here we have a paper introduced as a record, as the act of the Governor, when the proof relied on to sustain it conclusively shows that the record, if it be one, is incomplete; that it in fact is falsified by itself; and the act of the Governor, if it be his act, is not permitted to speak for itself; but an attempt is made to establish that act by a wholly distinct and independent declaration, by a person styling himself a Secretary.
Every foundation of the plaintiff's claim, so far as it is made to rest upon this alleged grant, or on the verity of the copy, must fail. ”

“ If a mere outsider were to make a claim, it would have to be rejected by someone, and the Secretary is the natural, if not the only, person to do it. No list or authentic determination of the parties entitled is referred to by the agreement, so as to narrow the Secretary's duty to identification or questions of decent in case of subsequent death. ”

“ A hard-worked Secretary of State, whose time, night and day, is crowded with every kind of duty, correspondence, and labor, in the House of Commons or in the Home Office, has to consider a vast number of petitions, complaints, and miscarriages of justice, or too severe sentences, any one [150] of which might require hours and sometimes days to investigate. He is assisted by several officers, but, strange to say, it is no part of their qualifications (or that of the Home Secretary himself) , that they should be familiar with the criminal law or the prosecution or defense of prisoners. ”

“ In our view it was the intent of Congress that the Secretary should have exclusive jurisdiction only to determine disputed questions of fact, and that, as in other administrative matters, his decision upon questions of law should be reviewable by the courts. ”

“ To do this, it is argued, 'would require as much judgment and discretion as the Secretary could muster.' A striking contrast is exhibited to this by declaring that the duty required of the Secretary under relator's contention was 'to do a sum in arithmetic which any schoolboy could do in five minutes ”

“ The matter to be shown is one of observation and examination, and whether arising before the secretary, whose duty it was primarily to decide it, or before the court, whose duty it became because the secretary had failed to do it, this was clearly the best evidence to be had, and was sufficient for the purpose. ”

“ By the words of the statute, the Secretary's is the only voice authorized to express the will of the United States with respect to the imposition of the fines; the judgment of a court may not be substituted for the discretion which, under the statute, he alone may exercise. In conferring that authority upon an administrative officer, Congress did not transcend constitutional limitations. ”

“ It would be a singular issue to present to a jury for trial, whether the facts contained in such statement were sufficient or not to satisfy the Secretary of the Treasury, that there was no wilful negligence, or intentional fraud. If the plea, by setting out the warrant at large, contains, as I have endeavoured to show, an averment, that a statement of facts had been transmitted to the Secretary by the proper officer, as required by the law, it was all that was necessary. ”

“ Any one of these various circumstances is sufficient to satisfy the first fact which the Secretary of State must believe, and I do not doubt that a court could investigate the question whether there were grounds for a reasonable man to believe some at least of those facts if they could be put before the court. ”

“ As long as it is possible for an ex-coroner or sheriff to be appointed to a secretaryship of a foreign legation—a man who does not speak the language and whose wife understands better how to cope with croup and measles than with wives of foreign diplomats who have been properly trained for this vocation, just so long shall we be obliged to bear the ridicule heaped upon us over here, which our government never hears, and wouldn’t care if it did! ”

“ It is a power which belongs to the legislative department, and can no where else be exercised.
In certain cases courts may issue commissions to take depositions, and these give authority to administer oaths in the cases stated; but this is done under the express sanction of law. Can the secretary himself administer an oath which shall lay the foundation of a prosecution for perjury? But it is said that it has been the usage of the department to act on oaths administered by state officers. ”

“ It is clear that if this order exceeds the authority conferred upon the Secretary by law and is an illegal act done under color of his office, he may be enjoined from carrying it into effect. Noble v. ”

“ United States, supra. But, in determining whether in conducting an administrative proceeding of this sort the Secretary has complied with the statutory prerequisites, the recitals of his procedure cannot be regarded as conclusive. Otherwise the statutory conditions could be set at naught by mere assertion. If upon the facts alleged the 'full hearing' required by the statute was not given, plaintiffs were entitled to prove the facts and have the Secretary's order set aside. ”

“ Though mandamus may sometimes lie against an executive officer to compel him to perform a mere ministerial act required of him by law, yet such an officer, to whom public duties are confided by law, is not subject to the control of the courts in the exercise of the judgment and discretion which the law reposes in him as part of his official functions. ”

“ The position of the secretary must be determined by his actual power and authority, and not by the name which the defendant chooses to give him. To invest him with the duties of an agent, and to deny his agency, is a mere juggling with words. Defendant cannot thus play fast and loose with its own subordinates. Upon its theory the policy holders had absolutely no protection. They were bound to make their monthly payments to the secretary of the section, who was bound to remit them to the board of control ”

“ But the function of the Secretary in this regard is purely ministerial and is to be contrasted to other situations in which the Secretary is exercising discretionary authority. Cf. Boske v. Comingore, 177 U.S. 459, 20 S.Ct. ”

“ Rep. 193, and the earlier cases there cited. The case is not one where the approval proceeded upon a mistake of fact with regard to a matter on which it was necessary that the Secretary should pass. See Noble v. Union River Logging R. Co. ”

“ Senior executives: removal, demotion, or suspension based on performance or misconduct ‘‘ (a) Authority.— ‘‘ (1) The Secretary may, as provided in this section, reprimand or suspend, involuntarily reassign, demote, or remove a covered individual from a senior executive position at the Department if the Secretary determines that the misconduct or performance of the covered individual warrants such action. ‘‘ (2) If the Secretary so removes such an individual, the Secretary may remove the individual from the civil service (as defined in section 2101 of title 5) . ”

“ Giving officials below cabinet or equivalent rank qualified privilege for statements to the public would in no way hamper the internal operation of the executive department of government, nor would it unduly subordinate the interest of the individual in obtaining redress for the public defamation uttered against him. ”

“ Still, I am American enough to despise people who are courteous or otherwise, according as they look up to or look down on the particular person's family and position. I guess young Mr. Burke is his father in an aggravated form. Yet Jessie, and Rachel, too, pretend to like him. And probably they really do—it's not hard to like any one who is not asking favors and is in a position to grant them, and isn't so near to one that his quills stick into one.
The Countess of Wend came in to see me this afternoon and told me all about the row over at the legation. ”

“ When, then, an officer is known or suspected to be guilty of malversation in office, some member of the house of representatives usually brings forward a resolution to accuse the party, or for the appointment of a committee, to consider and report upon the charges laid against him. ”

“ I will proceed at once to the evidence. The question here is, has a law of the United States been violated? I throw to the winds every question except whether this defendant is guilty; high or low, it matters not; the higher in station, the more amenable. I do not suppose for a moment that the Commissioner has any prejudice. We cannot, and we never will regard, the office, which the counsel seems to consider sacred. The sacredness of an office depends upon the sacredness of character. ”

“ When the responsibilities of lawmaker, prosecutor, judge, jury and disciplinarian are thrust upon a judge he is obviously incapable of holding the scales of justice perfectly fair and true and reflecting impartially on the guilt or innocence of the accused. ”

“ No one accused can ever afford to be tried by his accuser or a biased court. It is because of this consideration that I should be unwilling to have the resolution referred to a special committee, as by parliamentary courtesy the chairman of this special committee would be one who in the preamble has expressed his convictions against the propriety of conduct of those to whom the investigation relates. ”

“ In exercising the functions of his office, the head of an executive department, keeping within the limits of his authority, should not be under an apprehension that the motives that control his official conduct may at any time become the subject of inquiry in a civil suit for damages. ”