On the 9th day of March, less than a week after the accession of the new President to power, a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives providing for the immediate repeal of the Tenure-of-Office Act, and was passed, immediately and without debate, by a vote of 138 to 16. These 16 were naturally Republicans. {233} The Democrats voted for the repeal on principle. When the bill reached the Senate it was sent to the Judiciary Committee. This Committee quickly reported to the Senate a substitute for the bill of the House. This substitute provided that the Tenure-of-Office Act should be suspended from operation until the next session of Congress. No more shameless piece of partisanship was ever advanced on the floor of the Senate than this. It simply meant, suspend the Act when the Republicans wanted to get the offices, and keep it in force when they might be in danger of being put out. The Senate itself could not be brought to vote this proposition of its Judiciary Committee. It was withdrawn by the committee, and Mr. Trumbull proposed to supersede the existing law with a measure which would allow the President to suspend from office without assigning any cause for the same to the Senate, or even reporting the suspension to the Senate, and to nominate to the Senate a person to fill the vacancy, and in case of rejection by the Senate to nominate another person; and only when the session of the Senate should come to a close without a ratification should the suspended officer be restored. [Sidenote: The modification of the Tenure-of-Office Act.] It was pretty clear that the President would not find any trouble with such a measure as this, but it seemed to the House that the Senate was trying to cling to a certain control over the Executive, and the House refused concurrence in the bill. The matter was finally referred to a conference committee, and this committee speedily matured and reported a measure, which allowed the President, during a recess of the Senate, to suspend any civil officer appointed by and with the consent of the Senate, except judges of the United States courts, until the end of the next session of the Senate, and to designate some other person {234} to discharge the duties of the vacant office in the meantime, and made it the duty of the President simply to nominate to the Senate, within thirty days from the beginning of its next session, some one to succeed to the office permanently, and in case the Senate should refuse to ratify the nomination, to nominate another person. Both Houses accepted the recommendation of the Committee and the bill agreed upon by its members became law April 5, 1869. [Sidenote: The President's dissatisfaction with the measure.]