n aspect of stern
displeasure." There was a manifest reluctance of the Senate to proceed
with the matter in the President's presence, and finally a motion was made
to refer the business to a committee of five. A sharp debate followed in
which "the President of the United States started up in a violent fret.
'This defeats every purpose of my coming here' were the first words that
he said. He then went on to say that he had brought his Secretary of War
with him to give any necessary information; that the Secretary knew all
about the business, and yet he was delayed and could not go on with the
matter." The situation evidently became strained. Maclay relates: "A pause
for some time ensued. We waited for him to withdraw. He did so with a
discontented air."

The privy council function of the Senate was thus in effect abolished by
its own action. Thereafter the President had practically no choice save to
conclude matters subject to subsequent ratification by the Senate. It soon
became the practice of the Senate to restrict the President's power of
appointment by conditioning it upon the approval of the Senators from the
State in which an appointment was made. The clause providing for
the advice and consent of the Senate was among the changes made in
the original draft to conciliate the small States, but it was not
supposed that the practical effect would be to allow Senators to dictate
appointments. It was observed in the _Federalist_ that "there will be no
exertion of choice on the part of Senators." Nevertheless there was some
uneasiness on the point. In a letter of May 31, 1789, Ames remarked that
"the meddling of the Senate in appointments is one of the least defensible
parts of the Constitution," and with prophetic insight he foretold that
"the number of the Senators, the secrecy of their doings, would shelter
them, and a corrupt connection between those who appoint to office and the
officers themselves would be created."

Washington had to submit to senatorial dictation almost at the outset of
his administration, the Senate refusing to confirm his nomination of
Benjamin Fishbourn for the place of naval officer at Savannah. The only
details to be had about this affair are those given in a special message
of August 6, 1789, from which it appears that Washington was not notified
of the grounds of the Senate's objection. He defended his selection on the
ground that Fishbourn had a meritorious record as an army officer, had