"The Congress shall have power to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces."-Constitution of the United States, Art. 1, Sec. 8, Par. 14.

"The Chief of Ordnance shall, half-yearly, or oftener, if so directed, make a report to the Secretary of War of all the officers and enlisted men in his department of the service and of all ordnance and ordnance stores under his control. Every officer of the Ordnance Department, every ordnance storekeeper, every post ordnance sergeant, each keeper of magazines, arsenals, and armories, every assistant and deputy of such, and all other officers, agents, or persons who shall have received or may be intrusted with any stores or supplies, shall quarterly, or oftener, if so directed, and in such manner and on such forms as may be directed or prescribed by the Chief of Ordnance, make true and correct returns to the Chief of Ordnance of all ordnance arms, ordnance stores, and all other supplies and property of every kind, received by or intrusted to them and each of them, or which may in any manner come into their and each of their possession or charge. The Chief of Ordnance, subject to the approval of the Secretary of War, is hereby authorized and directed to draw up and enforce in his department a system of rules and regulations for the government of the Ordnance Department, and of all persons in said Department, and for the safe keeping and preservation of all ordnance property of every kind, and to direct and prescribe the time, number, and forms of all returns and reports, and to enforce compliance therewith."-Section 1167, Revised Statutes of the United States.

"If the laws, then, require a particular officer by name to perform a duty, not only is that officer bound to perform it, but no other officer can perform it without a violation of the law; and were the President to perform it, he would not only be not taking care that the laws were faithfully executed, but he would be violating them himself. The Constitution assigns to Congress the power of designating the duties of particular officers; the President is only required to take care that they execute them faithfully.”—Opinion of Mr. William Wirt, Attorney-General of the United States, 1828, (1 Opin., p. 625.)