§10. The appointment of judges of the supreme court by the president and senate, seems to be proper. Their election by the people, most of whom could have little or no knowledge of the persons who should be chosen, would be injudicious. Besides, the mass of the voters are not so competent to judge of the qualifications necessary for so important a judicial office, as those to whom the constitution has given the power of appointment. §11. The power of appointing the head officers of the several executive departments, is with equal propriety given to the president and senate. As the president is in a measure responsible for the acts of his subordinates who conduct the business of these departments, and as, without their coöperation, he could scarcely carry out his own measures, it is proper that he should have the right of selecting them; and by being required to submit his choice to the body of senators for their approval, a sufficient safeguard is provided against the appointment of unworthy or incompetent men. §12. "The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session." (Art. 2, sec. 2, clause 3.) Without such a power somewhere, the public interests would often suffer serious injury before the senate should again be in session to act upon a nomination by the president. As it is his duty to see that the business of the executive offices is faithfully done, he seems to be the proper person to make such temporary appointment. §13. The powers and duties of the president enumerated in the next section of the constitution, are all necessary to insure a successful administration of the government; and they are so clearly of an executive nature, that they could not with any degree of propriety have been devolved upon any other officer or department of the government. §14. The last section of this article of the constitution enumerates the persons liable to be removed from office by impeachment, and the offenses for which they are thus removable. As in the state governments, so in the general government, impeachments are made by the house of representatives, and tried by the senate. (Chap. XX, §6-8; Cons. U.S., art. I, §2, 3.) Chapter XLI. Auxiliary Executive Departments. Departments of State, of the Treasury, of the Interior, of War, of the Navy, of the Post-Office; Attorney-General. §1. The great amount and variety of the executive business of the nation, requires the division of this department into several subordinate departments, and the distribution among them of the different kinds of public business. At the head of each of these departments is a chief officer. These chief officers, sometimes called _heads of departments_, with the attorney general, being private advisors or counselors of the president, are called the _cabinet_. They are appointed by the president and senate.