A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS IT* JOHN FENNO, No. 34 , NORTH FIFTH-STREET, PHII. A'Dhl.l'Hl A [No. 81 of Vol. IV.] CONGRESS. HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES. THURSDAY, Feb. 28. ON the motion for referring the resolutions refpefting the official conduit of tiie Se cretary of the Treasury to the committee of the whole, The two firft resolutions being read, refer ring them to the committee was objected to; it •was said they were abilrafl proportions—may contain felf evident truths in themselves, but Jiable to modification in their application to particular circumstances ; if these are refer red—the committe may wale their ti*ne'in <lifcufung propositions which do not in to the merits of the main object of the enquiry; this discussion may and probably would be spun out to such a length as to preclude a con sideration of the main object; the charges adduced against the Secretary. The coofe cjuence will be that the resolutions will be printed, go out into the world, and make im pr#>4foiw op t*ie public mind without being ■ac companied with any statements or reasonings to counteract or obviate their tendency That the present enquiry may involve a fur ther step—an impeachment; it therefore ap peared improper for the House to commit it felfin refpeeV to abftraft portions, which would tend to embarrass both the Houle and the Se nate should an impeachment be the confe rence of the firft discussion. In answer to these obje&ions it was said, that it was furel v not the way to obtain a full difcuflion of a proposition to mutilate that proposition in the firft instance—That every member has a right to bring forward such propositions as he thinks proper—that it ap peared a strange way to decide on the merits of a proposition, to preclude the House from a •lonfideration of all the parts of such propo sition.—That a difference of opinion appears to exist in the conftruftion of the lawbetween Congress and the Secretary of the Treasury— That the two firft propositions may be confi «iered in the light of a preamble to a fubfe <)»ent act—whieh is afterwards susceptible of ificJ.M4»n io any ftegp of th* deliberation on the a<st, fetter or embarrass that deliberation. The last resolution is to this purport, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be laid be fore the President of the United States. It was remarked 011 this, that the obvious motive sos it is, that the President may take a hint to dismiss the officer in question from office—this it was said was giving the Reso lutions all the force and effect of an impeach ment; for dismission from office is the only confeauence of impeachment—so that the responsible officer is in this way to fuffer all the consequences of criminality without one of the forms prescribed by the constitution in cases of impeachment. The following remarks were made by Mr. Smith, of South-Carolina, on this occasion : Mr. Smith was decidedly opposed to re ferring thole resolutions to the consideration of the committee of the whole house, because he neither viewed a discussion of them as ne celTary on the present occasion or warranted by the nature of the inquiry into the Secre tary's conduct. It was trifling with the pre cious time of the House tolavifh it on abftraft propositions, when the obje<ft of the enquiry ought to be into facts ; he was fatisfied that should the House once involve itfelf in an in vestigation of theoretic principles of govern ment the short residue of the fellion would be exhausted, and no opportunity remain for examining the charges themselves ; t.hofe charges being made, it became the House from a sense of duty to the public and jultice to the accused to proceed immediately tocon fider them. If the mover intended to apply the principles of the two fir ft resolutions to the fatts contained in the subsequent ones, it was unquestionably proper firft to substantiate the fa&s and then eftablilh the principles which were applicable to them, but it was surely a reversal of order to spend much time in eftabliihing principles, when it might hap pen that the charges themselves would be to tally unsupported. He did not like this mode of proceediag because it might tend to mis- Jead the House; it was sometimes a parlia mentary practice to endeavor to lead the mind to vague and uncertain results by firft laying down theorems from which no one could dissent and then proceeding to imper ceptible ihades to move unsettled positions in order ultimately to entrap the House in a vote which in the firft instance it would have rejected. This mode of conducting public hufinefs he confickjred as inconliftent with fair inquiry. The qneftion was, had the Secreta ry violated a law ? iffo, let it be shewn ; eve ry member was competent to decide so plain a quettion; he could examine the proofs, read the law, and pronounce him guilty or innocent without the aid of these preliminary methaphyfical djfcufllons. If it were urged that the proportions are so and obvious that no time wouldbe loft Saturday, March 9, 1795. in confuli-ring them, he then b«gged leave to observe that all antecedent difcnfGons of con-* ftitutional questions had never failed to occu py a larjre portion of their time and that how ever felf evident the resolutions might at the firft glance appear, a more critical attention would fatisfy a mind notmuch given to doubt that they were by 110 means so conclusive as ta be free from objections. Though the position contained in the firft: resolution, as a general rule, was not to be denied ; yet it malt he admitted that there may be cases of a fufficient urgency to jufti fv a departure from it, and to make it the duty of the legislature to indemnify an officer ; as, if an adherence would in particular cases, and under particular circumstances, prove ruinous to the public credit, or prevent the taking meafuresefTential to the public fafctt, against invasion or infurre&ion. In cases of that nature and which cannot be forefeen by the le.ifUture, nor guarded against, a dilcre tionary authority must be deemed to reside in the President, or some otberexecutive officer, to be exercised for the public good ; fucn ex ercise instead of being construed inro a crime, wotfM always mert ttaf approbation of the national legislature : if tliere be any weight in these remarks it does not then follov.* as a general rule, that it is eflential to the due ad ministration of the government, that laws making Specific appropriations should in all cases whatsoever, and under every polTible circumstance be ftri£tly observed. Before the committee could come to a vote on such a proposition, it would be proper to examine into the exceptions out of the rule, to state all the circumstances which would warrant any departure from it, to whom the exercise of the discretion should be entrusted, and to what extent. Did any member wilh at this period to attempt this enquiry I He supposed not. Let every deviation fiom law be tested by its own merits or demerits. The second resolution v/as liable to stronger objections ; it might with propriety be ques tioned whether as a general use the position was well founded. A law making appropri ations may be violated in various particulars without infringing the constitution, which only enjoins that no monies (hall be drawn irom tik treasury but in consequence of the appropriations made by law j this is only to fay, that every disbursement must be author ized by foine appropriation ; where a sum of money is paid out of the treasury, the pay ment of which is authorized by law, the con stitution is not violated ; yet there may have been a violation of the law in some Collateral particulars ; there may even have been a fhifting of funds, and however exceptionable this may be on other accounts, it would not amount to that species of offence which is created by the constitution. The comptrol ler of the treasury must countersign every warrant, and is responsible that it be author ized by a legal appropriation—yet it cannot be supposed that he is to investigate the source of the fund. One of the alledged infractions stated in the subsequent resolution*, namely, the drawing part of the loans into the United States with out the inftru&ions of the President, evinces that the opposite conftruftion is not a found one, for suppose the fa ft proved, and suppose it a violation of the law, it certainly would be a very different thing from drawing mo ney out of the treasury without an appropri ation by law, for in this cafe there would be no drawing money from the treasury at all, the money never having been in the treasury. Mr. Smith then said, he should also object to referring the last resolution, -which is in these words, Resolved, that a copy of the foregoing resolutions be transmitted to the President. The object of this resolution went clearly to direst the President to remove the Secre tary from office : the foregoing were to de termine the guilt, the last to inflidt the pun ifhment,and both the one and the other with out the accused being heard in his defence ; when the violation of the constitution was so uppermost in our minds, it would be indeed aftoniJhing that we should be so hood-winked as to commit such a palpable violation of it in this instance. The principles of that con futation, careful of the lives and liberties of the citizens, and what is dearer to every man of honor his reputation, secure to every in dividual in every class of society, the prc cious advantage of beirg heard before he is condemned. That constitution, peculiarly careful of the reputation of fcreat public funttionaries, di rects that when acciifed of a breach of duty, the impeachment must be voted by a majority of the House of Repreientatives, and tried by the Senate, who are to be on oath, and two thirds of whom must concur before a sentence can pass, by which the officer is to be deemed guilty-—The officer is to be furnifhed with a copy of the charge, and is heard by himfe!f or his counsel ill vindication of his conduct.— Such ie the fo'emnities and guards by which they are protested, and which precede a sen tence, the only effect of which is a removal from office. But if the House proceed in the 321 mantfc'r contemplated hy this TPfoUrtwm, if thfcy. firft vu te the chargevand lend a of them to the Pieiid-.nt, as an inflection to him to remove the officer, they will violate the sacred and fundamental prn :cipiesof thi?, and every free they wjjl con demn a man unheard, nay, without his having even been furniftied with the charges him j they will condemn to infamy a high and responsible officer, eopviCled by the Re presentatives of the people, <>1 a violation of the important trusts committi d to him, with out affording bim one opportunity of vindi cating his character and juftifying his conduct. In committe* of the whole, Mr. Muhlen berg in the chair, on the 3d, 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, and Bth ltfolutions, as pub lifted in the Gazette of Wednesday last. MR. Giles, the original mover of the refolutions,rofe. He was fenlible, he said, that he flood in a peculiarly de licate. iituation, iu which nothing ,tk« public good, could have indited him to place himfelf. If a public and highly responsible officer had violated the laws, it was neceflary that he should be called to an account for it ; and to determine, whether in the inrtances before the house he had been guilty of that violation, it is neceflary to compare the teftimouy with the facts alledged in the resolutions befoie the committee. He firft adveited to the law authorising the President of the Unit ed States to borrow 12 millions of dol lars, for the purpose of paying the foieigft debt. On this he remarked, that the au thority of borrowing was expressly given to the President, no doubt with an eye to the personal virtues of the charafier who fills that office } the loan is also diredted to be made, solely for the purpose of pay ing the public debt. Here he remarked, that in every appropriation-law the appio prrAtlun i» always emphwifcaily mtifition ed, which is an evidence that the legisla ture intend to remain the sole judges of the applications of money. He read a let ter from the Secretary of the Treasury, who was employed by the President to ne gotiate this loan, to Mr. Shoit, the Se cretary's foreign agent 'for this purpose, dated ihe 9th May 1791, i" which the Secretary informs Mr. Short, that one million and a half of the money he had obtained on loan was destined for Franct ; of which sum he was authorised to apply immediately one million, but to relei ve 800,000 florins to answer subsequent di rections he should receive from the treasu ry. He cited this paflage to fliew-that the million and an half which had been ob tained on loan, was defined for France. To remove any doubt that might re main npon this head, he referred to a pre ceding letter from the Secretary to Mi. Short, dated the 13th of April, in which it is also expiefsly said, that of the two millions borrowed, one million and an half is intended for France, the remaining half million to wait for further dire&ions. Having eflablifhed this point, he advert ed to the resolution before the committee, which fays, that he applied a portion of the principal borrowed to the payment of the interest falling due upon that princi pal, without being authorised so to do by any law. To (hew this he referred to a re port of the 3d January, containing sun dry statements refpefting foreign loans. That part of the report to which he allud ed in proof of the fad, dated in general terms, a sum paid on account of foreign loans, and this sum was taken from the principal borrowed, and amounted to 189 florins. If his statement was accurate, the fad he wilhed to eftablifli was, he said, proved. He wanted more light, however, he confeffed, than he could colled from the Secretary's official communications. He should not go into the examination of what circumitancts might have induced the Secretary to devi ate from the poGtive injunctions of the law, or to make any remarks upon his condud, until he had heard what gentle men would fay to controvert the fad he wished to eftablifli. Another fa A of confluence be wiflied [Whole No. 405.] to prove, viz. that part of the money ob tained on loan in Europe bad been drawn over, though not wanted here fui any pub lie purpose : this appeared, he (aid, from other papers—He turned to the iintitic tions from the Prelident to the Secietery of the tre a fin y, authorizing him to bor row fourteen millions of dollars, in which the Secretary is cautioned to keep in view the two several atts authoring the loans, and the diftinft conditions they content plate. By the inltru&ions of the Preli fident the Secretary is authorised to apply the monies. In the execution of the trult confided to him, the Prelident generally dire&s him to employ Mr. Short to nego ciate the loans, to borrow in the manner prescribed by the a«Sts, and to discharge immediately the arrears of interest due to the French, to which purpose and tt> the complete payment ef that debt, the 12 million loan was appropriated. If this money, then, was fliewn to have been drawn here, it was neither warrant ed by law nor by the Prefident'g inltruc tions. The Secretary d'd begin to draw as early as 1790, and had continued to draw from time to time, till 1793. with out giving notice of this to the legislature. Having (hewn that the Secretary had drawn without authority to draw, he next proceeded to consider the object of thole drafts. The money thus drawn for was not, he dated, applied to the purchase of the public debt ; no money obtained from fo reign loans was thus applied until this year ; the resources appropriat ed to this objedt were never exhaufled. These were the fadts involved in the firft resolution, which he \vifhed to eflablifti : before he proceeded further into the dif cuilion, he Ajeilhed to hear what gentlemen had to fay to controvert them. He wiftted to fee jullice doiie in the bufincf* before the house ; he meant justice, also, to be tempered with moderation and mercy, and if gentlemen could fliew a necedlt v for the deviations from positive law, whichhc had endeavoured to point our, it would exonerate the Secretary from a very great share of blame. Mr. Barnewell called for the reading of certain paits of the two acts authorising the loans. Out, of the 4th of August, ati thorifes a loan ps 12,000,000 to be ob tained without limitation as to the inter ell, for the purpose of foreign debt, the other is of the 12th of Angufl, for 2,000,000, the interest to be not more than 5 per cent, and for the purpose of reduciug the domcllic debt. Mr. Sedgwick lamented'the fhortnef* of the time for the difcuflion of an obje& of so milch impoi tance to the party accu sed, and in which the honor of the go vernment ami the peafce and quiet of the community were so deeply interested. For what object, he was thi6 extra ordinary invelligation at this time ? It was not for the dete&ion of fraud, cor tuption, peculation ? Thef? chargeswere relinquiflied, and now the prosecution was confined merely to enquiry whe ther this officer had discreetly and ably discharged the important duties assigned to him; whether he had observed by (hillings and pence, during the conrfe of his adminifttation, the precise limits of his authority, in points of appropriation; and whethrer, fiom confcions innocence, he has dared to express to thin House, the natural fentimer.ts of an injured and me -1 itoiious officer in language ofFenfive from being too plain not to be understood, and too bold not to give offence, in short, io the language of freedom. Gentlemen did not hesitate, for these unimportant purposes, to r.onfume the greater portiqn of the few days allotted to our political exiltence, and even attempt to agiute by founding an alarm, the public mind from St. Croix to St. Mary's : and for what ends ? Did the gentlemen prosecuting propose an impeachment ? No, they r*- prefsly disavowed any such intent ion. Fcr what other puq>ofe we were authorize A V
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