1. the members of the president’s cabinet are seven in number, viz.: five secretaries, at the head of their respective departments, of state, treasury, war, navy, and interior; and the postmaster general, and attorney general. it is through these departments and their various bureaus, officers, agents, and clerks, that the president performs most of the duties of his position, viz.: that of executing, or putting in force, the laws of congress. he must, therefore, necessarily take them into his counsels, and arrange, by their assistance, the conduct of public affairs. each one has the affairs of his department so thoroughly systematized that he can tell, with a little examination, the means at his disposal for carrying into effect any special measure; and precise records of the whole state of the public service may, at all times, be found in their offices.
2. they are also selected for their several positions from among those regarded as the most eminent statesmen of the country, and each is supposed to be specially adapted, by his experience, acquirements, and capacity, for his special position, as well as in harmony with the general policy adopted by the president. they are, therefore, properly, and ex officio (by virtue of their office), his advisers. no one else can tell as well as they the condition of public affairs at any particular time, nor, in consequence, give as good advice on any special measure requiring such knowledge. without their aid the president would have few means of judging what was best, or[237] possible, to be done at any particular crisis. they furnish the material for his decisions, and the instruments to execute them. they are heads of the executive departments, and, together with the president, who is the head of them all, bringing them all into harmony, and under the control of a single purpose and will, they are called the administration. they administer, or carry on, the government.
3. in other countries these administrative heads are usually called ministers, probably because they serve the ruler—servant being the original meaning of the term minister—and are commonly chosen among the members of the legislative bodies—perhaps because that brings the government into closer sympathy with the legislators, and promotes harmony of action; but with us, no member of the cabinet can have a seat in, or take any part in the proceedings of, congress. great care was taken to keep the different branches of the government distinct and independent of each other. each branch, and each subdivision, is kept separate, and confined to its own range of duties, being united to the others only by its head, so that confusion and conflict might be impossible.
4. each sub-department reports at stated intervals to its head, and he to the president, and through him to congress; and at the same time they present such suggestions and arguments for legislation in regard to their several departments as their knowledge, experience, and reflections may have convinced them to be desirable. they are supposed to give their whole time and thought to the care and improvement of their several branches of the public service, and to be in condition to know what further improvement should be provided for by law, better than any one else.
5. under washington’s administration the departments and members of cabinet were but three—of state, of the treasury, and of war. in 1798, during the administration of john adams, the department of the navy was added, and its secretary took his seat in the cabinet. it then had only four members down to jackson’s administration (1829 to 1837), when the[238] postmaster general was made a cabinet officer, which increased the number to five. during mr. tyler’s administration (1841-1845) the attorney general was made a member, and the number was then six. at the close of mr. polk’s term as president, in 1849, the department of the interior was created, and its chief given the seventh seat in the cabinet; since which time there has been no increase. congress may, at their discretion, as the country grows, and the public service with it, create other great or independent departments requiring its representative to have a seat in the cabinet, that the state of the entire service may be readily known from the officer most familiar with each branch.
