Convinced  at  last  that  neither  by  appeals  to  heads  of
departments  nor  by  holding  up  appointments  could  they
bring  the  President  to  an  acknowledgment  of  their  right
to  control  removals,  the  senatorial  majority  tried  another
tack.  On  July  17,  1885,  President  Cleveland  had  re-
moved George  M.  Duskin  from  his  post  as  Federal  At-
torney for  the  southern  district  of  Alabama,  and  had
appointed  John  D.  Burnett  to  the  place  thus  vacated.  In
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  Duskin's  term  had  expired  on
December  20,  1885,  and  that  for  that  reason  his  was  a
poor  test  case.  Senator  Edmunds,  Chairman  of  the  Com-
mittee on  the  Judiciary,  on  December  26th  requested  the
Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  to  submit  to  it  all
information  and  papers  relating  to  the  nomination  of
Burnett,  and  to  the  removal  of  Duskin.
On  January  11,  1886,  the  Attorney  General  sent  the
former  documents,  but  declared  that  he  had  received  no
direction  from  the  President  which  would  justify  him
in  sending  those  relating  to  the  suspension  of  Duskin.
Within  a  few  hours  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee  took
up  a  discussion  of  the  question,  and  that  evening  Senator
Vest  wrote  to  the  President:

''I  think  you  should  be  apprized  of  what  occurred
this  morning.  ...  A  letter  from  the  Attorney  General
was  read.  ...  I  then  inquired  of  Mr.  Edmunds,  the
Chairman,  whether  the  Committee  proposed  to  obtain
the  reasons  of  the  President  for  removals  and  suspen-


176  GROVER  CLEVELAND

sions.  That  for  myself  I  denied  any  such  right  in  the
Committee — that  we  had  the  right  to  examine  the  quali-
fications of  persons  nominated,  but  not  the  President's
reasons  for  suspension.
